What is good brand of golf balls?
- It's more important to understand your clubhead speed and course tendencies than to buy an expensive golf ball.
- Be patient, too — You'll need to test balls on your own to truly know which kinda suits you best.
- Our top pick, the Titleist AVX, is a premium golf ball that's durable and works well for those with slower swings.
What is the best golf ball in the world?
The best golf balls, in order of preference
- TaylorMade Tour Response. This is a great choice for mid-level golfers. ...
- Titleist Pro V1. Titleist likes to remind us that that the Pro V1 is the No 1 ball used by professionals on worldwide golf tours, but that it's a ...
- Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Balls. ...
- Wilson Staff Model R. ...
- TaylorMade TP5x. ...
- OnCore Vero X1. ...
- Titleist AVX. ...
- Vice Pro Soft. ...
What are the two main types of golf balls?
#1 – Golf Ball Types
- Distance golf balls typically have a larger core and thinner cover to help boost yardage, especially from the tee box. ...
- Spin control golf balls are designed to help you hit the ball straighter. ...
- Tour performance golf balls are the ones used by the best golfers in the world. ...
Are there any golf balls made in the U.S.?
There are at least seven major golf ball brands:
- Callaway (Made in Chicopee, Massachusetts)
- TaylorMade (Made in Carlsbad, California)
- MaxFLI (Made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Bridgestone (Made in Covington, Georgia)
- Titleist (Made in New Bedford, Massachusetts)
- Top Flite (Owned by Callaway, Made in Chicopee, Massachusetts)
- Srixon (Made in Japan)
What are the 2 dominant cover materials in golf balls today?
The exterior surface of the golf ball is referred to as its cover and is constructed either of Surlyn (a thin, plastic resin created and trademarked by DuPont) or urethane (a slightly softer, slightly less durable synthetic compound).
Are golf balls made out of metal?
OnCore Golf Balls: From feathers to fluid, there have been some interesting materials inside golf balls over the centuries. Until now, though, there has never been metal at the core of a ball. OnCore Golf has changed that with their MA 1.0 ball ($35/dozen).
Are golf balls still made with rubber bands?
Today's golf balls usually have a synthetic rubber core. Technology has shown that these rubber cores return the most energy put into them. The core can be made stiffer and produced in different sizes and compression.
What is the best material for a golf ball?
There are two main materials used to cover a golf ball, which include Urethane and Surlyn. Most tour balls use urethane as it helps to deliver the highest spin on wedge shots, however, it is not as durable as other materials, such as Surlyn.
What is inside a modern golf ball?
At its core, a golf ball is made from rubber. It is then covered with either plastic, a thermoplastic resin called Surlyn, or urethane, which is an artificial crystalline compound that's also used in pesticides. Ultimately, the golf ball's design will vary.
What material is a golf ball made out of?
Throughout much of the early 20th century, gutta-percha and balata balls became the weapons of choice for most golfers, pro and amateur alike. These days, a golf ball is typically made of a butadiene rubber center surrounded by one or more rubber mantles and topped off with a tough skin.
What was the liquid in old golf balls?
For decades, the wound rubber ball consisted of a liquid-filled or solid round core that was wound with a layer of rubber thread into a larger round inner core and then covered with a thin outer shell made of balatá sap. The balatá is a tree native to Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Are wound golf balls still made?
Wound balls are known now for their spin and feel, but not so much for their distance. Golf balls with solid constructions that we know today eventually replaced those antiquated wound balls.
What were old golf balls made of?
Guttie/Gutta Golf Balls Robert Adams Paterson invented the Gutta-Percha ball, or Guttie. The guttie was made by using dried sap from the Malaysian Sapodilla tree. The sap had a rubber-like quality to it and upon heating could be formed into a sphere.
Which golf balls are urethane?
Examples of Urethane Balls –Titleist Pro V1.Titleist Pro V1x.Srixon Z-Star XV.TaylorMade TP5.Bridgestone Tour B330.Callaway Hex Black Tour.
Are golf balls made of ivory?
A golf ball is made up of mostly plastic and rubber materials. A two-piece ball consists of a solid rubber core with a durable thermoplastic (ionomer resin) cover.
Are golf balls biodegradable?
Golf balls are non-biodegradable objects; they cannot quickly decompose or decay. This is primarily due to the materials from which these objects are made.
What are the different materials used in golf balls?
What Are The Different Golf Ball Materials? Golf balls are made from different materials from synthetic rubbers for the core to thermoplastic polymer for the mantle to Surlyn for the cover are used to construct a golf ball. All of these different components play a key role of the make up of a golf ball.
What are the main components of a golf ball?
A golf ball comprises of three main elements. The cover, the mantle and the solid rubber core. These three areas combine to allow golf balls to offer spin rate, compression and initial velocity.
What is the mantle of a golf ball made of?
Golf ball mantle is made from different materials within their respective layers. A strong, rigid thermoplastic is found on the outer layer of the mantle. Whereas a thermoplastic polymer would be found in the middle section and a rubber is used in the mantle’s inside layer which is much softer. Before plastics and other synthetic rubbers were used, ...
How to wash golf balls?
Step 1: Washing. The first step, washing involves the use of a machine that washes the golf balls in order to prepare them for the imprinting process . The washing machine is a washer and dryer hybrid that uses high pressure to remove unwanted material, such as oil, from the ball surface.
Why are golf balls segmented?
Finally, the golf balls are segmented for packaging and a metal casing. Compression is important and can have an impact on how the ball travels. Golfers should take golf ball compression into consideration when making a purchase.
What are the three main areas of golf ball performance?
In golf speak, they are referred to as the spin rate, compression and initial velocity respectively. source: intheholegolf.com.
What is the process of making golf balls?
The process for golf ball manufacturing include: washing, imprinting, coating, pressing and packaging the golf balls. Every step must be done in a specific order and there are many different machines involved in order to produce a golf ball from concept to completion.
What were the first golf balls made of?
The first golf balls of leather were made with a bird feather stuffing. They were known as “featheries”. Surely they were burly and not very consistently made. Since they were made from leather they absorbed moisture during play and changed characteristics throughout the round.
Who invented the golf ball?
The American Robert Adams Paterson invented the so-called “guttie” golf ball in 1848. He took some rubber material called gutta-percha, which was extracted from a special kind of Malaysian rubber tree. Nowadays this rubber compound is used widely in dentistry and for insulation on electrical cables.
What is a surlyn golf ball?
Surlyn is a specific type of ionomer resin, developed by the American company DuPont in the 1960s. Ionomer golf ball covers bring something different to the table than urethane. It is the preferred material for distance balls because spin rates are lower and durability is higher. Usually, manufacturing costs are lower than urethane, ...
What are the two most common covers for golf balls?
The two most common ones are urethane and ionomer/Surlyn.
What is the mantle layer in golf balls?
The mantle layer will have the possibility to increase spin and greenside control on approach shots, or it can reduce side spin on longer shots.
What is the last thing on a golf ball?
Numbers. The last thing on the surface of the golf ball is the writing . It usually consists of the brand name and model, along with a number. You will be able to identify your ball from the numbering, and that is mostly what that is used for.
When did golf balls start to have dimples?
But around the 1910-1920 mark some began experimenting with dimples indented in the surface. This discovery led to even more consistent ball flights and even enabled the very best players to put backspin on the ball and stop it easier. The next major discovery is mostly how we see the golf balls today.
How are modern ball balls made?
The two-piece modern ball is formed by surrounding a spherical molded core made of rubber or synthetic rubber with a hard covering. The core is then placed in an injection mold. Hot plastic, either surlyn or urethane, is injected and forms a hard, dimpled coating around the core. The ball is painted, stamped with a logo, given a glossy coat and dried.
When was the rubber golf ball invented?
The First Rubber Golf Balls. The game didn't get back to the common man until more than 200 years later, in the mid-1800s, when the gutta percha ball was invented from the newly discovered substance called rubber. "Gutties," as they were nicknamed, could be mass-produced by heating the rubber and pouring it into molds.
Why didn't the featherie golf balls last long?
The balls didn't last long, either, because the leather was more fragile than wood. The advantage of the featherie was its superior flight ability. The innovation made golf a game for the rich, since the featheries were expensive and prone to damage.
What is the earliest golf ball?
Earliest Golf Balls. The game of golf is defined by hitting a round object through a predetermined course into a hole. Scotland is credited with being the birthplace of the game.
What is a three piece ball?
The ball is painted, stamped with a logo, given a glossy coat and dried. Three-piece balls have a core center, a rubber covering of the core and a final coating. The rubber covering may be rubber string wrapped around the core.
What was the purpose of the stick in golf?
The stick was used to hit the ball towards a goal . Early golf balls in the 1400s were carved out of hard wood, and the game was played by all classes of people – from peasants to nobility – during that era.
Do modern golf balls meet the requirements of the governing bodies?
Andrews, Scotland. Those specifications now match, but they didn't always.
What sap is used to make Haskel golf balls?
Thus bringing the modern look of the golf ball that we’ve become accustom to. The balata sap initially used to make Haskel golf balls had a tendency to get indents on it as it was relatively soft.
Where did the hairy golf ball come from?
Hairy Golf Balls. From 1486 through 1618, the Scottish received and used the hairy golf ball imported from the Netherlands. The hairy golf ball was a hand-sewn round leather ball filled with cows’ hair or straw. In 1554 the hairy golf ball was being produced in Scotland by the “cordiners and gouff ball makers of North Leith.”.
Why is a featherie golf ball harder to fly?
Since the featherie golf ball was filled with feathers it was able to be stuffed more full than the hairy, making it harder thus able to fly farther. To make a featherie, the feathers and leather would be shaped while wet. Upon drying the leather shrank and feathers expanded creating the desired hardness for the ball.
How many stages of evolution are there in golf?
The modern golf ball has undergone a few transformations to get to where it is today. The origins of the golf ball can be traced to five distinct stages of evolution. From a wooden ball in the 14th century to the modern rubber core balls, discover the history behind the golf ball.
When was golf invented?
By many accounts it is presumed that the earliest games of golf were played with a wooden ball in the 14th century. It’s been refuted that wooden balls were never used in links golf in Scotland, but instead they were used in early games that were similar to golf.
Who invented the Gutta Percha ball?
In 1848 Dr. Robert Adams Paterson invented the Gutta-Percha ball, or Guttie. The guttie was made by using dried sap from the Malaysian Sapodilla tree. The sap had a rubber-like quality to it and upon heating could be formed into a sphere.
Who was the first golfer?
Golf’s first professional, Allan Robertson, was considered the premier ball and club maker of his time, in the early 1800s. In 1835, at age 14, Tom Morris (later known as Old Tom Morris & the Grandfather of Golf) began working under Robertson at St. Andrews.
When was the golf ball invented?
The Haskell Innovation. Coburn Haskell created the next important golf ball innovation in 1898 when he introduced a ball made from a solid rubber core with rubber thread wrapped around it, and encased in sphere made of gutta percha. These balls were immediately popular because they added 20 yards to most players’ shots off the tee.
What is a feather ball made of?
The featherie ball, introduced in 1618, was made of pieces of horse or cowhide tightly stuffed with goose feathers and then sewn together. Both the leather and feathers were wet during manufacturing. The leather shrank as it dried and the feathers expanded--forming a hard compacted ball.
What is a Gutta Percha ball?
The Gutta Percha ball or “guttie” was introduced in 1848. This ball was made from the rubbery sap of a tropical tree, which could be formed into a sphere when heated. The guttie cost much less to make than the featherie.
When was the dimpled pattern used in golf?
The dimpled pattern we see on golf the covers of balls today, which improves ball flight, was first used in 1905.
Why are soft covers used in golf?
Soft-cover golf balls are thought to make it easier to put spin on the ball with wedge shots. This technological revolution in golf ball manufacture spanned nearly 400 years.
Golf ball specifications
To fit within the rules of the game, a golf ball must conform to certain specifications set up by the sport’s two main governing organizations: the United States Golf Association (USGA) and a group of companies known as the R&A.
Golf ball types
Nearly every golf ball looks the same on the outside, but there are significant differences among golf balls on the inside. The design and materials used for the interior of the golf ball play a huge role in determining the flight characteristics of each different type of ball.
Golf ball prices
You can spend anywhere from less than $1 to about $5 per golf ball. Used or X-Out golf balls fall at the lowest end of that range, while four- and five-layer golf balls are the priciest. Most recreational golfers may spend around $1 to $2 each for new golf balls.
The First Golf Balls
- Let’s look at what’s inside golf balls. In the 1500s, the original golf balls were made from beech and shaped for the game. Later on, around 1618, they became leather pouches stuffed with wet goose and chicken feathers. As the leather and feathers dried, it shrank into a tightly compacted ball. As you can imagine, they probably didn’t last too long...
The Modern Golf Ball
- While you may not give your golf ball much thought when teeing it up, its genesis and evolution are considerable. Much of it has to do with the internal use of different materials to give golf balls slightly different playing characteristics. Today, you have one, two, three, four, and five-layer balls, each with an increasing number of materials between the core and the cover. Covers are still eit…
What Golf Ball Should You use?
- Before looking at what golf ball would suit you, ask yourself what you want out of your golf ball as well as what level you play the game at – and be honest! Chatting with your coach or local pro will undoubtedly yield some good advice, and DON’T get suckered into buying premium balls because their marketing is so good. Buy a ball that will suit your game and your pocket as a $1 ball make…
Final Thoughts
- The evolution of the golf ball continues, and it’s going to be interesting to see whether the USGA / R&A will consider implementing restrictions on the golf ball design to combat growing calls for reducing distances in the pro game. Developing new materials that could leave the current designs obsolete in a few years will be more interesting. Who knows, maybe they can make a ba…