Ever hear of the Ball of Steel? It’s a golf training aid — 5 times the weight of a normal golf ball. According to its manufacturer, it helps golfers “make a solid stroke… [focusing] all your attention on impact… [the] key to mastering any shot in golf.”
That got us thinking of the opposite scenario: “Which sport uses the lightest ball?”
Here’s the data to answer that question, using an average of weight ranges if specifics are not available. From airy golf balls to sports where you really don’t want to get hit with one.
Sports that use heavy-weight balls (>1 lb)
| Sport | Metric Weight | Imperial Weight | Source |
| Shot Put | 7.3 kg | 16.0 lb | World Athletics (Olympic standard) |
| Bowling | 6.4 kg | 15.0 lb | Skilled Bowlers (avg. male weight) |
| Bocce | 920 g | 32.5 oz | Wiki How |
| Basketball | 624 g | 22.0 oz | Hoops Addict |
| Football (Australian) | 475 g | 16.8 oz | US Australian Rules Football |
Sports that use medium-weight balls (8 oz – 1 lb)
| Sport | Metric Weight | Imperial Weight | Source |
| Rugby | 435 g | 15.3 oz | Rugby How |
| Football (Soccer) | 430 g | 15.2 oz | The Football Association (England) |
| Water polo | 425 g | 15.0 oz | Dimensions |
| Football (Gridiron) | 411 g | 14.5 oz | National Football League |
| Volleyball | 270 g | 9.5 oz | Volley Country |
Sports that use light-weight balls (<8 oz)
| Sport | Metric Weight | Imperial Weight | Source |
| Softball | 187 g | 6.6 oz | What Things Weigh |
| Pool | 171 g | 6.0 oz | Colorado State |
| Field Hockey | 159 g | 5.6 oz | Gear Hungry |
| Cricket | 159 g | 5.6 oz | Lords |
| Lacrosse | 145 g | 5.1 oz | Signature Lacrosse |
| Baseball | 145 g | 5.1 oz | Major League Baseball |
| Tennis | 58 g | 2.0 oz | International Tennis Federation |
| Golf | 45 g | 1.6 oz | Ivy Golf |
| Racquetball | 40 g | 1.4 oz | Dimensions |
| Squash | 24 g | 0.8 oz | World Squash |
| Pickleball | 24 g | 0.8 oz | Pickleball Rush |
| Table tennis | 2.75 g | 0.1 oz | Best Game Tables |
As you can see, on average table tennis is the sport that uses the lightest ball. Commonly referred to as ping-pong balls, its standard weight is a mere 2.75 grams — just a tenth of an ounce! Nothing else really comes close. Even pickleball and squash balls are almost 10 times as heavy.
Photo by Steven Shircliff on Unsplash
