Earlier this week, there was some buzz about the cover on the new Chrome Tour golf ball. Before we get too far into this discussion, we do the same thing on the Chrome Soft and the Chrome Tour X – this is not just a Chrome Tour thing…

If you’re old school (or just old), you may remember when the Pro V1 came out. All the rage was that this thing had a seam on it. If you hit it this way with the driver, it’ll go further, and if you putt it that way with the putter it’ll roll straighter. Insert the dumb guy (me) from 25+ years ago. I thought COOL!! I can hit it farther AND roll it straighter?? What’s not to love?? I look at it now and say What’s not to love? An inconsistent golf ball!! I want the ball to do the same thing every time – without thinking about it. The cynical me says if it’s longer when I place it this way, it must be shorter when I place it that way. What about with the irons when I can’t place it? Plus or minus 3 yards is a big deal on a game that’s already hard enough. That was then.

The USGA stepped in and got involved. They basically said you can still have a seam, but it can’t have a deviation of more than X many yards between an on seam and an off seam strike. Seems crazy that they would have to tell the companies this, but I guess you could pitch it to consumers as above. Perhaps the ball would conform when positioned in one direction, but not in another? In our minds, better to make it all more consistent, then you can elevate the performance everywhere and make the whole thing closer to the limit.

Now, everyone has gotten better. We, as an industry, have driven each other to elevate our game. In the old days, that seam? You could see it. It was like a border on a map between two states. I used to find the seam, and then draw a line for putter alignment at 90* to the seam (that alignment made it roll straighter). Did it? Or did we all just fall for it? Funny… watching this video, I think it may have gone further. Doubtful if it rolled straighter. If anything, rolling it along the seam probably made it roll straighter. Question, though… if you always hit the ball on the seam, does that make the ball out of round faster, or wear faster? A different question for a different day.

Getting out of yesterday. The re are several key things to keep in mind and take away from this video. You should start with How is a golf ball made? A golf ball is made from the inside out (obviously). The core is made first, then that is placed inside a larger mold where the next layer is injected in. It is sanded, inspected and moved on for the next level. Rinse and repeat for each layer including the cover.

The mold is made up of two halves, and a set of retractable pins hold the core or partially completed ball in place while the next layer is injected in. If this is off by .001″, the ball will not fly straight or roll true. Needless to say, quality control is of paramount importance. You should know by now how far ahead of everyone else we are, but that will be a story in an upcoming column.

With 2 halves, there is a seam. The excess material that squeezes out where the molds come together is called “Flash”. Ever see a forged iron get hammered out? The excess steel that comes out of the space between the top and bottom mold is also called flash. Flash has the be removed completely and uniformly. If this doesn’t happen 100% perfectly, guess what? The ball will be out of balance. More quality control, x-rays and testing. When it comes to the cover, as the flash gets sanded (buffed) away, the dimples near the seam get distorted. Distorted dimples = reduced aerodynamics, which will reduce the efficiency, and make the ball fly shorter. This is something that may not be visible to a launch monitor. Any launch monitor that only tracks the first 10 feet of the flight and then uses an algorithm to calculate distance and ball flight will not see this. Our testing can recreate an entire ball flight. We see all… This truly makes a difference. If you play the ball, you know. Tour players know… 3 in the top 5 over the weekend. This happens often on the tours. In the old days, tour players switched to Callaway despite the ball. Today, they come to Callaway because of the ball. They know… How does this benefit you and your members? Golf is hard enough. Don’t you want the most consistent ball? Of course you do.

Speed, spin, and control. This is what we chase. What’s the most important? Hmmm… don’t rush to judgement. The answer is yes, they’re all important. What good is speed if you don’t have the right spin and can’t control it? What good is spin if you don’t get any speed or control? Who cares if you can control it, but it spins like crazy and has no speed?? The answer is you need the right blend of all three of these in the appropriate amounts for the targeted player. Choose the wrong ball, and you are not getting the right amount of speed, spin or control for your game…

Enjoy the video. This 4 minutes will teach an awful lot about how a ball is made. THIS will help you chat about ANY golf ball with your members and customers.

Chrome Tour Seamless Aero Cover

I hope this helps!!