What about having a match play option where each player could have the opponent hit with a starter ball 3 times? There's about 36 shots on average, for a 9-hole, so you could have your opponent swing with a starter ball 3 times out of those 36.
It would add some strategy and also would demand better skills since a starter ball not only makes the meter flashing fast, it also lacks that distance and spin we're used to with our favorite balls.
Uh? Too funny?