The Ball
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: A premium three piece at a nice price
It must be extremely difficult to break into the golf ball market, and yet this year, I have had the chance to review the products of three companies trying to do just that.
The third of these is called simply “The Ball.”
The Ball is a three piece cast urethane with a tungsten embedded core.
The cast urethane cover has 318 dimples (for whatever that’s worth). The company says that a slow cure process improves durability, while the materials help to increase “grab” and improve spin.
The second layer is a ionomer mantle, which is supposed to generate lower spin off the driver.
Finally, the tungsten core is said to add length without sacrificing feel.
Data from The Ball’s manufacturer claims a lower spin rate off the driver and higher spin rate off irons than comparable models—which I assume to be the Pro V1.
In practice, I found that the ball is plenty long and has adequate spin around the green. I don’t swing fast enough to take advantage of pro level three piece balls, but in terms of distance, this performed as well as the lower compression balls I usually use. I liked the way the ball checked up on pitch shots to the green—a play I use often.
The Ball is also the luckiest ball I’ve ever played. In spite of repeatedly hooking tee shots into the Northern Michigan woods, my sleeve of The Ball has always managed to hit a tree and return to safety.
Price is little lower than you would expect for a premium three piece ball: $34.99 a dozen. If they want to really break into the market, though, I think they have to get that point down a little more.
Overall, The Ball is a very nice product. But I question the marketing. To call a golf ball “The Ball” strikes me as leading to a bit of Abbot and Costello silliness: “What ball are you using?” “The Ball.” ‘That’s what I’m asking.” “The Ball.”
Further, there’s nothing on The Ball to indicate what company produces it or where to buy it. All that is there is a logo with the Wurm Ouroboros as its central image. I’m not sure what the logo has to do with golf. For me, it’s always had a bit of a doomsday connotation, since Thor and Jörmungandr will kill each other in the battles of Ragnarok.
If you currently play a Pro V1 or similar pro level ball, I can recommend that you give this one a try.
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Love this ball. I’m right in that tweener swing speed between a ProV1 and 1x, or comparable competition. This is a great middle ground. Other balls might offer better specific performance (driver spin, wedge spin, distance) but I’ve yet to find another onetthat gives you high performance in all areas.
Plus the customer service is second to none. I agree that a price drop (sub $30 would be great) is the biggest hangup, but I happily pay the extra $5-10 for the money back guarantee and to support a really good company.