Field hockey and indoor hockey balls – 8 models from our range: dimple, training or match, a soft ball for children

This is a follow-up to the post Field hockey balls – training or match?. That text explains what the FIH rules say about the ball, what the dimples are for and how to understand the split into training and match balls. Here we go down to the products: a hockey ball in our range means eight models from two brands, Kookaburra and TK, at prices from PLN 26 for a soft ball for learning to PLN 155 for the Kookaburra Dimple Elite. Six of them are marked Outdoor, two Indoor. We show what the product pages say about the surface, colours and purpose of each, and which to choose for club training, a match, indoors and for practising with a child at home.

The ball data comes from the product pages in our shop as of October 2026, and the prices from product pages checked on 10 November 2026; the list of eight models was compared the same day with the balls category in the shop. The product pages give neither the weight nor the circumference of individual models; the FIH requirements are the same for all balls and we described them in the base post, so we do not repeat them here.

Eight models in one table

The “Surface” column is the wording of the product page: “dimple” means the page talks about a textured, raised surface; “not given on the product page” means the description says nothing about the surface. Purpose shortened from the manufacturer's description.

Kookaburra: Dimple Standard and Dimple Elite

The two Kookaburra balls differ, according to the product pages, in class, not in construction: both have a textured dimple surface whose small bumps, as the manufacturer writes, help keep an even roll on grass and artificial surfaces.

• Kookaburra Dimple Standard – for PLN 84, colour white. According to the product page a basic ball with a dimple surface, “the standard version, for everyday training and play”. The page mentions various colours, but the shop has the white variant.
• Kookaburra Dimple Elite – for PLN 155, colours white and yellow. According to the product page “a higher-class version, for matches and demanding training”; the manufacturer adds that the bumps keep an even roll also in wet conditions. It is the most expensive ball in the range.

The price difference between Standard and Elite is PLN 71, which is more than the price of two TK Dimple balls. The Elite page does not say what the “higher class” consists of in figures, so we do not describe it in more detail; the choice between them comes down to whether the ball is for everyday training or for a match in which the competition regulations or the organiser specify a higher-class model.

TK for grass: Dimple, Dimple Deluxe, Dimple Supreme and Club Ball

TK has four Outdoor balls in the range. Three of them are the Dimple family at three levels, the fourth is a club ball without “Dimple” in the name.

• TK Dimple Ball – for PLN 32, colours white, yellow and pink. According to the product page a basic ball for training and matches, with a raised dimple surface that makes rolling on grass and artificial surfaces easier. The only Outdoor ball in the range available in three colours.
• TK Dimple Deluxe Ball – for PLN 45, colours white and yellow. According to the product page “a higher-quality version” whose dimple surface “performs well on grass and artificial surfaces and in wet conditions, where it keeps a stable roll”.
• TK Dimple Supreme Ball – for PLN 54, colours white and yellow. According to the product page also a higher-quality version for training and matches, with an even roll also in wet conditions. The Deluxe and Supreme pages describe the balls in almost the same words; the price difference is PLN 9, and how they differ in construction the pages do not say.
• TK Club Ball – for PLN 32, colour white. According to the product page a ball “for club training and everyday sessions”, for the regular work of a team: technique drills, passing and finishing, on grass and artificial surfaces. The page does not mention a dimple surface.

At PLN 32 there are therefore two TK balls: the Dimple Ball with a dimple texture in three colours and the Club Ball, which the manufacturer describes as a training ball for a team. If you are buying a few balls for your own training, the difference between them comes down, according to the product pages, to surface and colour.

TK for indoors: Indoor Deluxe and Soft Ball

How, according to the rules, an indoor ball differs from an outdoor ball (not at all in dimensions, entirely in the way the game is played) we described in the post Indoor ball vs outdoor ball – how they differ and how it changes the game. In the range two balls are marked Indoor:

• TK Indoor Deluxe Ball – for PLN 41, colour yellow. According to the product page an indoor hockey ball “for play on parquet and hard surfaces indoors”, a higher-quality Deluxe version for indoor training and matches. The page says nothing about texture.
• TK Soft Ball – for PLN 26, colours blue and pink. According to the product page a soft polyurethane (PU) foam ball for training at home and indoors, light and safe, “suitable for children and beginners”; the manufacturer writes plainly that you can practise technique at home “without worrying about windows and furniture”.

The Soft Ball is not a ball for match play or team training: according to the product page it is a ball for learning technique. In the indoor season it is useful as a ball for carrying drills in a corridor or a garage, and six such drills with a stick and ball we described in the post Training at home and in the garden – 6 stick and ball drills.

Standard, Deluxe, Supreme, Elite: how to read the manufacturers' levels

The names in the range form a ladder, but a different one for each brand. Kookaburra has two rungs: Standard (“the standard version”) and Elite (“higher class”). TK has three for grass: Dimple Ball (basic), Dimple Deluxe and Dimple Supreme (both “higher quality”), and one Deluxe level indoors. The product pages do not define exactly what changes between the rungs; from the descriptions it only follows that the manufacturer aims the higher levels at matches and demanding training, and the basic ones at everyday work.

So when choosing, do not compare names across brands (a TK Deluxe is not the same as a Kookaburra Elite); look at three things from the product page instead: the variant (Outdoor or Indoor), the surface (dimple or no information) and the purpose in the manufacturer's words. Prices in the range follow these rungs: PLN 32 for the basic TK level, PLN 45–54 for the higher TK levels, PLN 84 for the Kookaburra Standard and PLN 155 for the Kookaburra Elite.

Colour: white, yellow, pink, blue

The FIH rules, as we wrote in both base posts, allow a white ball or an agreed colour that contrasts with the surface, and the colour in a match is decided by the regulations of the given competition. In the range the colours are spread like this:

• White – Kookaburra Dimple Standard and Elite, TK Club Ball, TK Dimple Ball, Dimple Deluxe, Dimple Supreme (six models).
• Yellow – Kookaburra Dimple Elite, TK Dimple Ball, Dimple Deluxe, Dimple Supreme, TK Indoor Deluxe Ball (five models; the only indoor ball for play comes in yellow only).
• Pink – TK Dimple Ball and TK Soft Ball.
• Blue – only the TK Soft Ball.

For training choose a colour that stands out from the surface you play on: on green or blue artificial grass the manufacturers' pages do not decide for you, and we wrote about visibility at dusk in the base post. If the club plays matches with a white ball, the same model in the same colour is useful for technique training, so that you practise receiving and shooting with what is used at the weekend.

Which ball for what: four situations

• Your own training on grass, a few balls for the basket. TK Dimple Ball for PLN 32 (three colours) or TK Club Ball for PLN 32; three balls come to PLN 96. Kookaburra Dimple Standard for PLN 84 if you want that brand.
• A match or training where the roll on a wet pitch matters. According to the product pages, for wet conditions the manufacturers point to the TK Dimple Deluxe (PLN 45), TK Dimple Supreme (PLN 54) and Kookaburra Dimple Elite (PLN 155). Check the match model in the regulations of the given competition.
• Indoors. TK Indoor Deluxe Ball for PLN 41, the only ball marked Indoor for play; colour yellow. Outdoor balls have the same dimensions under the rules, but the manufacturer aims them at grass and artificial surfaces.
• A child, a beginner, home. TK Soft Ball for PLN 26: PU foam, safe according to the product page for children and beginners, for practising technique without worrying about windows. For play at the club, though, a child needs an ordinary ball, which it gets at training.

What a set of balls costs and how to pack it

A ball is one of the cheapest items of equipment, so a set for the season is quick to add up. Three TK Dimple Balls for your own training and one TK Dimple Deluxe for wet days come to PLN 141; for a player on grass and indoors: two TK Dimple Balls and one TK Indoor Deluxe come to PLN 105; for a child starting out: a TK Soft Ball for home and one TK Dimple Ball in pink or yellow for the pitch come to PLN 58. All balls fit in a parcel locker, so when ordering balls alone you can choose an InPost parcel locker or a courier; balls ordered together with a stick go by courier.

Balls travel in the bag together with the stick: which bags have separate ball pockets we described in the bag round-up of 6 November, and the bags themselves are in the category hockey bags and backpacks; and a ball still needs a stick from the category outdoor and indoor hockey sticks. The ball product pages give no care or durability guidance, so we do not say after how many sessions to replace a ball.

Before buying: a checklist and a club order

A ball is a quick purchase, but five things are worth checking before it goes in the basket:

• Variant. Outdoor for grass and artificial surfaces, Indoor for parquet; in the range six Outdoor balls and two Indoor, of which one for play (Indoor Deluxe) and one for learning (Soft Ball).
• Competition regulations. For a match the organiser may specify a colour or a model; check this before buying a match ball, especially the more expensive Kookaburra Dimple Elite.
• Colour for the surface. White in six models, yellow in five, pink in two, blue in one; for your own training choose the colour you can see on your pitch.
• Quantity. One ball is the minimum for drills at home; for technique training on the pitch a few will come in handy, so that you do not chase after every one, as we wrote in the base post. At PLN 32, three TK balls cost less than one Kookaburra Elite.
• A child. A TK Soft Ball for home; for the pitch an ordinary ball in a colour the child sees well. A hockey ball is hard, so drills with a child on the pitch call for shin guards, as at every training session.

A club or an academy orders balls differently from a player: what matters is one model in one colour for the whole group, so that the children practise with the same equipment. For a larger number of balls the threshold from the Delivery and payment page matters: from PLN 1,000 of products delivery is free. Thirty TK Dimple Balls come to PLN 960, thirty-one to PLN 992, and only thirty-two, at PLN 1,024, cross the threshold; the other rules on shipping, receipts and invoices are on the Delivery and payment page.

Questions about balls: short answers

• Is a training ball smaller or lighter than a match ball? No. As we wrote in the base post, the FIH rules set the dimensions and weight equally for all balls; “training” and “match” is a manufacturers' split.
• Can I play indoors with an Outdoor ball? The rules do not require a separate ball for indoors; the manufacturer, however, marks six balls in the range as Outdoor and one for play as Indoor. The model for an indoor match is decided by the organiser.
• Do all the balls in the range have dimples? Five product pages talk about a dimple surface (both Kookaburras and the three TK Dimples). The TK Club Ball and TK Indoor Deluxe pages say nothing about the surface, and the TK Soft Ball is foam.
• Which ball is the cheapest and which the most expensive? The cheapest are the TK Soft Ball at PLN 26 (for learning) and the TK Dimple Ball and TK Club Ball at PLN 32 (for play); the most expensive is the Kookaburra Dimple Elite at PLN 155.
• Is there a ball for a goalkeeper or for the drag flick? The product pages single out no such balls; all eight are, according to the descriptions, balls for play and general training, and the Soft Ball for learning.
• Is a hockey ball hard? Yes, in both variants the rules require a hard ball, which is why shin guards are worn for play and a goalkeeper wears full protective kit; the exception is the soft foam TK Soft Ball, which according to the product page is for learning technique.

Eight models, two brands, prices from PLN 26 to PLN 155: for your own training a few TK Dimple Balls are enough, for a match the model specified by the organiser, for indoors the TK Indoor Deluxe, and for a child at home the TK Soft Ball. Orders for a club or an academy, with the model, colour and quantity, come through the Contact page. You will find all the models in the category field hockey and indoor hockey balls.