These particular sponge balls are almost useless due to their hard density. I ordered them to take
with me on a trip to Europe to teach a magic break out to teens at a camp. I've been working with
sponge balls for almost 10 years now, and these were difficult for me to handle. The kids I worked
with especially struggled.
To be fair to Penguin, I'm pretty sure they would have taken them
back and made it right. I simply waited too long too order them and didn't have time for that.
Long story short... spend the extra and buy super soft.
You have the same problem as I had. These balls used to be great, and I called Goshman. He said it was a quality control issue. He corrected it by sending me a new bag of the REGULAR balls, and they are great and very soft.. I suggest you contact Penguin, they will make it right. Yours had to have come from the same bad batch as mine. So this is a current issue.
The only reason I contacted Goshman was because I have been using Goshman Balls since the 1970's. I never had any problems. I was afraid Jr. changed them. I carry these 365 days a year so I go through a lot of them. And I need an exact replacement for my personalized routine. Goshman took care of me.