Practise Balls for Comps

An artisans has been asking about the legality of using "Practise Balls" in Competitions, I found the info below on the web. (Guess who!)

X-Out Balls? Should you use them? Are they "legal" under the Rules of Golf?

The USGA and R&A maintain a list of conforming golf balls, and only balls that appear on that list are "legal" in tournaments or at clubs where the Conforming Ball condition is in effect.

Needless to say, X-Out balls are not submitted by their manufacturers to the USGA or R&A for approval, and so they would not appear on the list of conforming balls.

Therefore, if you are competing in a tournament or at a club where the Conforming Ball condition is in effect, X-Outs are illegal for play.

Does that mean that you can't use an X-Out when it's just you and your buddies having a good time? No, it doesn't. And not all competition committees enforce the Conforming Ball condition, so it's possible that you might even be able to use X-Outs in competition (if you're willing to be laughed at by the other competitors).

"X-Outs are played mostly by golfers on a strict budget". Better golfers almost never use X-outs for play, but might buy them as practice balls.