Through almost 70 years of painstaking product testing, we never felt compelled to strike something small, dimpled and defenseless. Until now.

Our whack at evaluating golf balls featured 25 models from leading manufacturers. We hired an independent laboratory to conduct our launch test, using a computerized robot programmed to swing a golf club – for our purposes, a driver and an 8-iron – so that it hits the ball in the middle of the club face on every stroke.

We also enlisted teaching and retail golf professionals as panelists to help us determine the “feel” of each ball – how hard or soft a ball seems when you hit, chip or putt it. We covered the balls’ identifying marks, then asked panelists to putt each one, along with a very hard and a very soft ball for reference points. Scores were averaged for a feel rating.

Off the driver, all the balls traveled comparable distances in strokes adjusted to match a pro’s (fast) and an amateur’s (slower) swings. Differences emerged in how the balls spun off the 8-iron and how they felt when putted. Much of that variation can be traced to the ball’s construction.

Two-piece balls, which typically consist of a synthetic-rubber core surrounded by a plastic cover, tend to be harder than three- or four-piece balls, which add layers of plastic or rubber. Although their thicker covers make them more durable, two-piece balls spin less than their multilayered cousins and are better for beginners and intermediate players. Four-piece balls often are dubbed “tour” or “pro” caliber, and can cost a scorching $40 to $45 a dozen. But that doesn’t mean they’re any better overall.

Indeed, you can buy balls that perform well on tee and green and in between for less than $20 a dozen. Nike’s Power Distance Super Soft two-piece, for instance, shared top overall honors with that brand’s One Black three-piece model. But at just $14 per dozen, the Power Distance Super Soft is about a third the price. It’s a CR Best Buy.

Other economical balls that should suit most golfers’ games include the three-piece Callaway HX HOT ($25 per dozen), and two two-piece models from Pinnacle: the Gold Distance and the Exception. At $13 and $19 a dozen, respectively, they also qualify as CR Best Buys.

Balls that may be better suited to beginners or players with slower swings include Titleist’s two-piece DT So-Lo ($22) and the two-piece Precept Lady ($19). Both scored “excellent” for distance and soft feel and rated “very good” for spin off the 8-iron.

Rated “excellent” for spin, and a good bet for experts and high-rated amateurs, were the Nike One Black ($41), the Callaway HX Tour 56 ($39), the Titleist Pro V1 ($44), the Ben Hogan Tour Deep ($37) and the now-discontinued Top-Flite Strata TL-Tour ($28, and still available in stores). All are three-piece balls. Our highest-rated four-piece ball was Titleist’s Pro V1x ($44), which – while an excellent spinner – scored slightly lower than its three-piece brandmate in distance, feel and driving accuracy.

– Visit the Consumer Reports Web site at www.consumerreports.org.