Amazon is taking a private-label swing on the golf course.

The online retail giant started recently selling golf balls under its Amazon Basics brand in mid-October. Priced at just $15.99 for a dozen balls (when GeekWire purchased a box in November), Amazon is targeting a budget-conscious golfer with one of the cheapest options across its online marketplace.

The price got our attention. Next we needed to test performance.

The balls showed up on my doorstep a day after ordering. I swung by the Evergreen Golf Club practice facility near Seattle and enlisted the help of teaching professionals Austin Nutt and Tyler Yee.

I brought along the Amazon Basics balls, as well as two higher-end competitors: Taylormade TP5x ($45/dozen) and Titleist ProV1 ($55/dozen).

Using each ball, the pros hit 10 shots with three different clubs: driver, 7-iron, and wedge.

It wasn’t a huge surprise to see both professionals generate more distance and higher ball speeds with the Taylormade and Titleist balls, particularly off the driver (about 10 yards on average).

Yee said the Amazon balls felt like hitting a “marshmallow” as opposed to a firmer feeling with Taylormade and Titleist. Amazon brands the balls as “Core Soft.”

Nutt said it would be harder to control the Amazon ball with shorter shots around the green. “You get what you pay for in the world of golf balls,” he said.

However, Yee said he wouldn’t be opposed to a student using the Amazon Basics ball. And at the low price point, Nutt said it’s “certainly not a bad option.”

The Amazon ball also didn’t scuff — while both Taylormade and Titleist had small marks after the test run. That durability may appeal to some golfers.

Online golf reviewers have responded positively. Popular YouTuber Rick Shiels said he was “blown away” by the value in his own test, while instructor Matt Fisher called the balls an easy buy for golfers who “lose a bunch.”

The balls have a 4.5-star rating from nearly 600 reviews on Amazon.

It’s not clear where Amazon’s balls are manufactured. Shiels said they are supplied by the same company behind Costco’s Kirkland Signature balls.

Amazon’s golf balls are USGA-approved, meaning they can be used during competitions. The balls are currently listed as out of stock on Amazon’s site, but will be available again in early 2026.

Personally, as a golfer myself, I prefer the higher-end ball, just to get that slight edge to (theoretically) help lower my score. But I see the appeal for beginners, high-handicap golfers, and anyone more worried about losing balls than squeezing out extra yards down the fairway.

Amazon’s ball isn’t trying to beat premium tour-level options — but maybe it doesn’t really need to.

The Seattle Seahawks gave blind and low-vision fans a new way to follow game action this season as one of several teams testing a device from Seattle startup OneCourt.

OneCourt’s laptop device uses generative audio and haptics to translate live gameplay into trackable vibrations, so fans can follow the action with their fingertips. The users hear the team’s radio broadcast that is synced with the device with almost little to no time delay, according to the Seahawks.

Testers at Lumen Field in Seattle used the devices at games, including against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 14, as part of the NFL’s pilot program exploring such accessibility. The Jaguars, Vikings and Falcons were the other teams in the pilot.

Participants shared feedback with the league and the Seahawks about how the device performed and takeaways will be analyzed and applied to an in-stadium accessibility strategy.

“Football is at its best when every fan can be part of the moment,” said Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement. “The OneCourt pilot showed how innovative technology can bring fans who are blind or have low vision even closer to the game, and the response was incredibly powerful.”

OneCourt was co-founded by a group of University of Washington graduates, including CEO Jerred Mace.

The NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers were the first professional sports team to provide OneCourt devices at every home game.