Balata Golf Balls

Written by dontrahan on March 21, 2010 — View Comments

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I read a question and comment on the blog the other day by someone who was asking about what happened top balata golf balls. He said they used to be so much softer and you could spin them a lot more when you wanted to hit intentional hooks or fades and what happened to them.

Well, what happened to balata golf balls is that, first and foremost, back in the good old days of those balls, the balata cover was very soft. If you mishit one, especially anywhere near topping one, it could cut a gash completely through the balata cover and expose the rubber winding on the inside. They were expensive balls to play with if you were one to top a few shots now and then.

The other problem was that Surlyn was invented. Surlyn covers are much harder and are more able to take a top shot and not cut. In many cases, you can barely even nick them. They also reacted a lot better if you landed on the cart path where they didn’t gouge up so badly you couldn’t use them again. So Surlyn basically made the balata golf ball obsolete.

The other problem is that to build a balata golf ball to a heck of a lot longer. In fact, when I’ve asked people questions in the old days, how long did they think it took to make balata golf balls, I got everything from an hour to half a day. In reality, when Titlest was making them, it took almost a full 30 days. From the time they took the raw, rubber products, cured them and did all the other things to make the ball — the cover, the rubber windings and the liquid center — until it was ready to roll out and into the sleeve, took 30 days. So it was a very timely and expensive process.

When Surlyn came out and they started making two piece balls, the Surlyn cover with the sold center. Now we have some with two and three covers, and I think I’ve read about one with four different covers. Those balls are a lot more inexpensive to make because the materials are all synthetic and not pure rubber and they show a high profit margin for the manufacturers. For most golfers, especially if you don’t hit the ball consistently solid, they’re a better golf ball in terms of wear and tear for you, as long as you just don’t lose them.

The other issue brought up is that balata golf balls had a lot more spin and you could work the ball better. That’s true. If you’re a golfer that has the ability to work the ball, that is, hitting an intentional draw or fade or slice if you want, you’ll find that over the years, with the advent of perimeter weighted clubs, which don’t allow twisting as much, and now with the Surlyn ball with the cover being harder and the dimple pattern reducing the spin (and therefore the ball stays straighter), even intentionally wanting to hit a draw or hook is harder to do. In many cases, you have to do twice as much of the under release or over release to get it, and you still get only half the spin you used to get with a balata ball.

On the other side of the coin, for those who have a little more trouble hitting the ball relatively straight, less spin will help them not have as big of fades and hooks if they hit bad shots. So that’s a good aspect of the harder golf ball of today, as well as the fact that the wear and tear is a lot better for the golfer who can now play longer with the same ball.

So, balata really is a dinosaur and I believe it’s gone forever. Sad to say, balls are not as workable. But I think they are making better playability balls for all golfers. I would like to see them make balls with softer covers where you can get a little bit more spin and work the ball for those who have the ability to do it. I still think softer is better as far as workability of the ball, especially around the green. I think we’re starting to see that with a number of the manufacturers offering balls where they are advertising “these balls are softer and have more spin.” They’re trying to get back to making a ball that hopefully has a little bit more of the touch and feel workability of the balata, but I don’t think we’ll ever see the true degree of that when we had balata golf balls.

(Golf School Note for IC members: We have room this coming week at Port St. Lucie, FL. Click here for details. And look for details soon on our California PPGS schools at Talega Golf Club in beautiful San Clemente, May 17 – 19 and 20 – 22. It’s going to be one heck of an experience. Call: 1-888-84SWING(79464) or 1-864-525-7336.)

The Surge!

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Posted in Golf Instruction

Kevin M.

All this talk about the importance of selecting just the right golf ball has me scratching my head, wondering how those who don't play the game for a living can possibly tell the difference. Balls will spin when I need them to roll out and roll out when I need them to spin. This is true no matter the ball I play. As a 10 handicapper for 40 years, slight variations among modern-day golf balls do nothing to enhance or detract from my game in any significant way. How good do you have to be at this game before the type of ball one plays really matters matters? I can't tell you, other than to say I'm not there.

My buddies, same foursome for 30 years, will tell me they prefer this ball over that ball for this reason or for that, but I think mostly they're full of baloney. Try having someone hit four balls, the brand names whited out, then tell you which of the four is the brand he or she plays. Gues what? They'll get it right about one in four times.
Josh H

Surge
You are coming across as one who is in a hurry to sell a product and not one who knows what they are talking about. First of all, yes, surlyn covers changed a lot with balls. However, surlyn is not used on today's premium golf balls. If you are trying to make a comparison to the balata balls (which were the premium balls of their day) of yesteryear and today's comparable ball, you should draw the parallel to urethane covered balls - not surlyn. Surlyn is used in a lot of mid-range or even low-end balls but you wouldn't compare those to the balata balls used a decade ago. And by the way the 4-piece cover ball that you claim you have "heard about" is actually a 5 layer ball. For someone in the golf industry you should have a better handle on things. It also wouldn't hurt to have someone proof read your blog since you regularly have spelling errors.
HANK

I have some old DUNLOP 65 Balls --
anybody knows when they were first made.
Ken

Boy, did you ever bring back some old memories regarding the balata golf balls! I distinctly remember how I would cherish those gleaming Balata Titleist balls and how I would always have in the back of my mind DON'T HIT IT THIN! Then when the inevitable happened and I misshit it I would wonder how big a smile I would find when I walked up to my not so any more perfect ball.

It responded to what you asked of it, though, and you could work the ball like crazy. Misshit it and it also responded in a great big negative way.

My favorite is the PRO V 1 which seems to be able to overlook some of my not so perfect strikes.
Steve

Here in the NW, I practice at a golf range that doesn't use "range" balls.
They buy recycled balls composed of many different brands.
This has given me the opportunity to experiment a lot with distance, spin, feel, and workability.
I've found, for me, the best results with the Pinnacle Gold Distance ball in the late fall and winter months.
In the summer when the greens firm up and get mowed more often, I switch balls and use the
Titelist NXT Tour for best overall results.
I'm sure this is the case for many golfers in the Northern hemisphere.
Gary

I too used to love the old Titleist Tour Balatas, especially the black 100 compression for when it got really warm. They would fly like crazy and still hold a firm green with a well struck shot. Nowadays I play basically whatever is on sale provided they have a decent feel. Just bought 3 dozen Slazenger Raw Distance for 20 bucks! They fly very well, don't feel too hard, (at least to me) and with the softer conditions early in the year don't bounce off the greens. As far as guys playing Pro V1's who really have no business doing so, I agree. I found 3 brand new ones yesterday while doing some quick ball hawking waiting for the group ahead. I like the Pro V1 very much, but came to the realization long ago that I don't own a 50 buck a dozen game!
Kelly

To Steve -- You're welcome, because half the "Best" ball you have found are probably the ones I lost. (Actually, that used to be true because I used to lose about 3 balls per game, but since going to the PPGS, I RARELY lose a ball!)
Kelly

Two comments:
1) Jim Furyk did a piece on golf balls during one telecast. He said that many amateurs make the mistake of playing the same balls as the pros when these balls are inappropriate for their game. For example, he said that he and most other pros like a ball that spins lots because they can work the ball better and make the ball react around the greens. This same characteristic is not appropriate for an amateur who has control problems. For them, the difficulty is to get the ball to go straight, and the high-spin ball just frustrates this effort.

2) I once read that once you find a ball that you like, you should play ONLY that ball; if you find a different type, give it away. The reasoning was that every ball spins differently or reacts differently off the club. The writer (David Lake of 1-Iron fame) claimed that it is difficult to reach your potential for consistency if you are using a different ball all the time. When you do this, you're never quite sure how the ball is going to respond. Seems to make sense to me, even though my bag is still filled with about ten different types of balls.
Marc Lissoway

I have a question on irons blades vs cavity back, I noticed in the golf digest ping talkes about 2 different irons one to work the ball, is this a blade? I'm a 15 handicap should I even consider blades?
jerry foley

Don-

Great piece! I got to thinking about the old "balata" balls we used years ago and I don't miss them. Yes they were soft but the trade off for me was controlling drives on tight holes. When the low spin balls came along I thought my swing improved until I learned I also couldn't work a draw as well either. And even more so on irons. Then wedges got better as club makers figured out how to gain spin. (A comment from Mr. Griffin on the new replaceable face on the TaylorMade wedge would be in order here.) I'd also remark that here in the midwest and I assume everywhere, greenskeepers aerate and top-dress with "sand" so much I believe greens are getting harder and firmer and thus harder to hold shots. A top PhD golf course agronomist from Iowa State U. told me that greens are getting mowed shorter to improve speeds and more sand is getting laid down and thus the plant goes dormant. Greens need more plant heighth to stay healthy and "also" more subsurface "cushion" to absorb the force of ball landing. We shouldn't always blame the golf ball. Good stuff Don.
Steve

THE BEST BALL I've ever played is a "found" ball I didn't have to pay for! :)
Ron

I have used the same two balls since I started. If you stroke them properly, they will do the job for you. It actually feels better when someone else strokes them.
Mark

I swear by the pro v1 (not pro V1X). I've experimented with several balls while putting and the proV1 is the superior ball on the green. Changing ball has actually improved my game at least 2 strokes maybe 5 strokes on some courses.

Spend a little time washing your balls.
Ronnie McCurry

I have posted this many times. I do no work for or represent these people. I am on a fixed income and all the balls I bought here rated AAAAA were like new.

http://www.lostgolfballs.com/
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Randy Erickson

All I remember about Balata was shaving the paint off my wilson balls with some new pings. I'd play the ball until it was balata yellow. The paint was gone. Stuck in the grooves. Love the new urethane balls. Mine? B330 Bridgestone was matched to my driver and wow am I having fun with the PPGS or what my body thinks the PPGS is.
Duane Roisen

The first modern golf ball was called a Haskell and I have a copy of one on my desk. The Core wound golf ball was invented by the Grandfather of a friend and former business partner of mine who lives in Yuba City CA.of Coburn Haskell lll.

Corburn Haskell, the inventer of the rubber core wound golf ball was friend and golf buddy of BF Goodrich in Cleveland Ohio. One day when Coburn was sitting in the office lobby of BF waiting for him to leave to play golf he noticed a string of rubber band on the coffee table and started to wind the rubber banding up into a ball. While he was doing it he thought it might make a good core of a golf ball. From that inspiration came the modern rubber core wound golf ball with a BALATA cover.

I had been in business for years before Coburn's wife told me Coburn's Grandfather had invented the core wound golf ball and showed me the story in the "Spalding History of Golf." Coburn told me that when he would visit his Grandfather's summer house in Maine he saw hundreds of balls that were made during the process of perfecting the one that was evntually patented and sold and around 1900 and changed the game of golf forever.

The ball previous to the Haskell was the Machine Gutty made of Asian Tree Sap circa 1885. In 1850 the Feathery was invented and was made of leather covered Goose feathers.in Scotland.
Before the Feathery was the Leather & cow hair circa 1600 in Holland. The first the Wooden Croisse in Flanders circa 1426.

The history of the Golf Ball, included the models of the balls above was given to me by Coburn and has been on my desk in memory of his grandfather and his contribution to golf that I took up in college in 1946 and have played every since, except when I was in the Korean War in 1951 and 1952.

The golf ball evolution took 690 years and now changeing every year in some way or another.
Robert Thompson

To Peter J,

The player who I noticed using a vertical 3/4 turn swing was KJ Choi. he never went past 3/4 turn on his backswing and used a very vertical swing which went a few degrees past to about 11:30. He played very well.

Hit'em long and straight,
Bob
Peter J

Hi Surge, speaking of Srixon, was it just me when I was watching golf today on TV, Is Jim Furyk's swing similar to your swing. Call me crazy. But is he not taking a 3/4 swing???
What say you?
Regards,
Peter J
George McQueen

Now that the powers that be have ruled that square grooves are not allowed, I bet the golf ball will be modified to provide the loophole.

Played my first round of 2010 yesterday.........using a more vertical swing with irons was great....feel like I dropped a yard or so, but the accuracy more than made up for it. The Driver is still a mystery though, and I am going to get a fitting to check it out. My back and knee have bothered me the last few years......yesterday, I did not have any pain afterward!!! Thanks Surge!!!

I played a Srixon Z star for the first time.....it feels real good off the club, but it has much more spin than the Taylormade Reds I used last year........While the spin helped on a couple of holes, I got hurt by it when it spun back several times and it checked really fast on greenside pitches/chips....overall I really liked it.....just have to get used to it.
JohnOB

To Richard

If you are bothered about some spelling errors, and as you say you do not have a spell checker on this page, you can type your message and spell check it first in a word processor application, and then simply copy and paste it here, as I have just done with this short message.

Just a suggestion
Eduardo A. Salgado

Surge and guys, pardon my first post but the question on which is the best ball sent me back into my stack of magazines looking for my favorite evaluation of them all. You will find it in the Feb 2008 issue of Golf Magazine, starting at page 88. Although there have been other evaluation reports on which ball is best, they tend to be based on selling price point.

The Feb 2008 evaluation is way better than any because they hit each ball with driver speeds of 105 (pro level), 90 (good amateur) and 76 (senior and ladies) mph. The web link takes you to a summary and you miss some of the very important graphs (http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/golf-b...).

Since we all are susceptible to TV ads, we have our preferences on which brand is best. So, suggest you look at the graphs on pages 92-93, a well as the one on page 95. There are a lot of good mid-price balls that make it difficult to justify paying for a premium ball when you do not have a premium swing.

Taking 90 mph, the ProV1 premium ball goes about 250, the Noodle+ you see on special at $25 for 2 dozen went 259. Now, the ProV family spins off wedges at around 12,000 rpm and the Noodle+ at under 7,800 rpm. Another good value seems to be the TopFlite Gamer (250 yds and 10,000 rpm) and you see them under $20 per dozen.

After a lot of analysis, I personally have settled on the Bridgestone E5+. Goes off at 90 mph to 252 yds and 12,140 rpm. It is a middle price ball with all the performance of a premium ball and a Urethane cover. When they change the box markings at the beginning of each season, you can find them down to $20 or less per box at Academy or even Edwin Watts.

Of course, your mileage may vary. :-)
Frank in Sacramento

J. Griffin
To back up your statement I'll pass along a story of one of our playing partners. He is 68 years old, 3/4 swing and probably a head speed of about 70 mph. He has been playing a set of brand name expensive irons that he purchased off the shelf from a large Gold Store Chain about 3 years ago. He is 5'6" tall and his clubs are R flex and regular length. We finally talked him into visiting a local Golf Club Fitter and Club Maker two months ago who has a very good reputation. Our buddy really liked the head design of his current clubs, so after the fitting he still has those heads on his club. But he has new shafts that are a softer flex, and shorter, and his irons were readjusted for proper loft and lie for his measurements and swing. He also was fitted for a golf ball that was in the $14 a dozen range verses the more prestigious Pro V1 he has been playing. End result is he has cut 8 strokes from his game and he figures the savings on the golf ball change alone will pay for all the new work done on his clubs. Only problem is he is now winning too may Nassaus, maybe we should have kept our mouths shut.
Sea Bass

Willock,

You definitely need to feel the arms swinging vs the hands. If you are trying to make corrections by speeding up your hands, you will likely get a flipping of the hands from the inside, and you will quickly add pushes and snap-hooks to your arsenal of shots.

The surge's swing is an arms swing. People who have a huge shoulder turn and a flat swing must use a huge unwinding of the hips to get the club around and square the face. The Surge's swing is all about a quiet lower body, a minimal shoulder turn, and swinging the arms as fast as you can to a high finish. Pretty simple in concept. It may be hard to rid yourself of some of your old bad habits and feel the arms swinging instead of an overuse of the hips uncoiling, which is one of the most common mistakes I see on the practice range even with a conventional swing.
Mike

A ball you may want to try that won't break the bank is the Top flight" D2 Feel " or "D2 straight". They sell for about $16 for a box of 15. These were recommended by a clubfitter in my area for older high handicap duffers like me, and according to him, play similar to the proV!'s. BTW Top Flight was bot out by Callaway.
JLynn PPGS Fitter/Instructor

The best golf ball? It's the one that has the playing characteristics that match your swing and play. I can tell you that there are far too many golfers out there playing an incorrect golf ball. Primary example is the slower swing speed guys, those below 95mph, that are playing the Pro V1 ball. Also, compression is also a thing of days gone by. Golf balls no longer have compression. The term referred to how tightly the windings were done. The odd thing is you'll still here companies mention the word but it's non existant. A good rule to follow when selecting a ball is to go soft cover, soft core for slower swing speeds. If you can't hit the chip shot that hits, bounces once, and stops on a dime, don't get a high spin ball. If you hit the ball low, get a ball designed to launch higher. I know you all probably get tired of hearing me say this, but most club fitters can also do ball fittings and help you with that aspect of your game also.

J. Griffin
Master Fitter/Certified PPGS Instructor
Gene Krinn

Maurice, You should go to the member site as your email directed you when you bought the PPGS instruction. Then navigate to the instruction videos and download to your computer per the instruction on the video page. You will have them permanently on your computer and can burn them to another cd if you want to make it portable.
Frank in Sacramento

There is no better feeling than hitting the sweet spot of a forged bade iron when using a Balata Ball. Problem was that most of us average duffers only had that situation a few dozen times a round. The price we paid for those other mis hits was a cut ball, or what we used to call a smiley. Balls at the time were very expensive so most of us average Joes would use those cut balls from tee to green, then switch to that still perfect Balata Ball that was always in our pocket. The old days weren't always the good days.

One thing I know from personal knowledge and experience is that todays 2,3 or 4 piece Golf Balls are extremely inexpensive to manufacture. The manufacturing costs between $9 a dozen balls verses the $40 a dozen Balls is only about 30% higher, mostly due to the extra injection molds which adds a bit more manufacturing time. And within balls of the same construction, 2, 3 4 piece there is really very little difference in performance no matter if they are 50 cent balls or $5 balls. Dimple patterns and cover material and thickness are what contributes most to the variance in balls when the core compression is equal. If some of these magazines would go back to using an Iron Bron, a mechanical hitting machine, for equipment and ball testing we would all be better off when making buying decisions.
Rod

Amos,

What do you mean, "Remember when"

Rod
John Buentello

Bill Davis....go suck an egg. Writing comments are not necessarily for the intellectual only....every golfer has a right to express his opinion be it grammatically correct or not, it is an opinion and we all do have this given right.

Back to the Balata, what a loss. I played that "little darling" and could make it do as I so pleased....to bad it is no longer available.
Amos Terrell

to Surge:

Interesting history lesson.

Personally, I LOVED the balata covers -- and I can never recall cutting one of them -- a few imprints from time to time, vut never a true cut or gash (Some say I don't swing hard enough to cut them).

Also for a while, Wilson (and maybe others) made a solid core ball with a Balata cover - I think they called them ProStaff Tour Competition or something very similar. That was my all time favorite ball -- worked very well with my Taylormade BubbleShaft woods and Wilson irons, of that same era. In those days I had about a 98 mph swing speed. Mainly, I liked the spin on wedge shots to the green -- they didn't back-up, but they did stick like lawn darts! If they were still available, they would still be my ball of choice.

These days, same clubs, I swing at about 64 mph. My current favorite balls are the TayloMade TP Burner Red or the Bridgestone e6+ (Thank You J. Griffin for the tip on the Brifgestone's). Both of these balls seem to play nearly equal, but the Bridgestone MAY be a few yards (5 or 6 perhaps) longer on tee shots. But that may be due to my swing improving a little also.

to Wayne Wilson :

There is no esy answer to that question. You have to ask -- What ball is best for YOU and your style of play. Do you want more distance off the tee? More spin for shots to the green? some combination of both? Also what is your temperment and style of play -- Power or Finesse ?

All of these will factor into you choice of ball. I suggest purchasing 3 or 4 sleeves of balls from one manufacturer, in different styles or ratings. See which one plays the best for YOU. Then you may want to continue the "test" using similar balls from other makers lines.

But be aware that by the time you have your "perfect ball" -- the manufacturer will probalbly have moved on to the "new inproved" version !

to ALL:

Clubs and balls seem to "go in cycles". Remember when we had Persimmon clubs with hard inserts in the face to get "maximun compression" on those soft Balata covered wound balls?
Now we have thinner faces on Drivers to get "maximum rebound" on today's harder balls.
Same idea, just a different approach

Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG

Amos
Tom Fenech

I feel like I'm going though 3 seperate swing plains: 1.to the catcher mit 2. up the tree 3. ring the bell.
Lately I feel better practicing into the mit and directly ring the bell as one continuous arc.
What do you think? Am I on the right path
Al Rosenblum

I loved balata balls because they would stop on the green. I could hit right at the flag and the ball would hop one time and sit down. Back then with a 10-handicap I could do much more with the ball. The hard balls I play with today just keep rolling along like old man river so I have to hit up short of the flag and account for roll.

The ProV balls and the Bridgestone balls do spin more than the other balls sold today but not like the balata. The new balls go farther off the tee than the balata so you gain distance but give up workability and stoppage on the green.

Someone, please find middle ground that doesn't cost $50 per dozen.
wayne wilson

What are considered the best golf balls out there. I've played with Titleist but I am confused on the different types offered and what they are designed to do as well as the other golf balls I've used. I've played with Pennical, Nike, Precept, Callaway and most recently Taylor Made. The Taylor Made ball I used seemed to hold up very well and for some reason I had better control and straighter shots.
It could have been I was having a good day because none of my days on the golf course are ever consistant.
What ball do you prefer and why?

By the way, thanks for your instructions. My golf game has gotten better and I'm having more fun.
Fred McKimball

Surge,

I'm glad I'm not using Balata Balls because about two weeks ago I got new prescription eye glasses and now I am topping my irons badly. I cannot hit the ball up in the air and suspect my new glasses could be the problem and they could be if the ball appears to be closer than what it did with my old glasses. Any ideas of help for me? I don't have the same problem with my driver.

Fred
Richard

Sorry about the typo Bill, I do know how to spell "speed" but I agree with you that eveyone should use spell check, but this web page won't let me.
Ted Edwards DC

At my level of play, which is just hoping to make good contact, I don't find which ball I play to make much difference. The only time a balls performance becomes an issue is when the temperature here in the Pacific Northwest drops into the low 40's. During these times I play as low a compression ball as I can find as cold air, cold ground, cold irons undoubtedly impact the distance the ball travels. In my experience cold weather is a lot like playing in the wind. An 8 iron shot in 60 degree weather becomes a 7 iron shot at 45-50 degrees.

Spin is a nice concept. And sometimes when I get up to the green I can see that my ball did spin back a few feet. But most of the time the greens in the greater Seattle area are either soft or softer. It's a rare golf outing that I can land an approach shot short and have it bounce up and onto the green. Plus I tend to under club on approach shots anyway. I'm actually happy when I have a round where I'm going long. So spin is not an issue.

As for working the ball - that's a joke for me as well. I've been playing for over 8 years now and the only time I can hit a draw is at the range on a day when my swing is messed up. I tend to hit it pretty straight or fade it and of course slice. Now I'm also a pretty good pool player and I can work the ball around the table just fine. I thought I would be able to master moving the golf ball around, but such has not been the case. Fact is there are a lot of professional tour golfers who predominantly play with a fade and hardly ever hit a draw and of course vice-versa.

I've also heard it said by the likes of Jack N. that the new balls have taken the workability out of the game. Jack said he was big on moving the ball around the course and he had to adapt his game to the new balls and the fact that they just don't respond like the balls he used earlier in his career.
Richard

Surge. What are your views on compression, I have been told that if you have a slow swing speed you should use a low compession ball. My swing speed has gone fom 90mph, 35 years ago, to 75mph.
WillockBoy

Surge, firstly many thanks for your regular and freely given postings. I'm finding them very helpful when attempting to get to grips with the PPGS swing.

Can you shed some light on the following? You talk about swinging the arms faster with the PPGS swing and it suddenly came to me today that you must mean swinging the arms ... and the arms and not the hands. By that I mean not concentrating on the hands leading the downswing but simply concentrating on the arms swinging faster.

Is this a correct assumption?

With thanks.
Jim

The premium urethene covered balls are are way better than the surlyn covered balls. They spin much better on every kind of shot and they are long. The urethene covered balls such as Pro V1x and Taylor Made TP Black are 30+ yards longer off the tee than were balata. They will scuff or shear on full wedge shots but you cannot knock one out of round like you could balata balls.
Would it be fair to play a par 72 course that is 7300+ yards long with a balata ball?
It is not the equipment that has made the huge distance gains it is the golf ball.