Golf Ball Layers Determine Spin, Distance (Video) - by Pete Styles
Golf Ball Layers Determine Spin, Distance (Video) - by Pete Styles

When selecting what you’d like your golf ball to do it’s really important that you understand how the construction of the golf ball will alter how the ball actually flies through the air, so it’s not just what it looks like in the pattern or the number or the name that’s written on the golf ball, but it’s understanding that we need the golf ball to kind of do two things and try and get a balance of those two things. Ideally we want a golf ball that goes as far as possible, but then when we get near the green we’d like a golf ball that spins as much as possible and a golf ball that’s quite soft for touch around the greens. And those two things are kind of fairly contradictory to each other. We’d like a very hard golf ball to go maximum distance and quite a soft golf ball to get the touch and the feel around the green to enable you to spin the ball and hold a few more putts.

So when you build a golf ball, when the manufacturers build the golf ball, they try and build it in such a way that we kind of get the best of both worlds. Now what we also need to do is the golf ball needs to be durable. The manufacturer can’t just make a golf ball for the tour pros that last for 2 holes and they can throw it to the caddie and they get a new one. For most club golfers they want a golf ball that last at least 18 holes if not 36 holes, it needs to be durable. So we need a cover that’s quite firm and quite hard and quite durable, but then we need a center of a golf ball that kind of really gives us explosive distance, so if you find a two piece golf ball, it’ll have a very hard cover so it’s durable and a fairly hard center so it gives you maximum distance. But that doesn’t really give you the touch and the feel of the spin shots around the greens.

So manufacturers are now making 3, 4, and some even 5 piece golf balls and the different layers, the different levels, the different covers of the golf ball they’re trying to get to a point where when you hit it very hard and you compress the golf ball against the face of the driver with hundred plus mile an hour club head speed, that activates the core of the golf ball, the hard center to give you explosive distance. But then when you’re around the green and you’re just chipping and pitching or putting the golf ball, you’re hitting the outside cover and maybe compressing the outer sort of core or some of the outer part of the core, so the second or third layer that’s going to give you a softer touch around the greens. There’s a huge amount of investment of research design and technology going into the golf ball that you’re playing with. First thing to do to decide what you need to do, what you need to look for in a golf ball is work out what your strengths and what your weaknesses like. If you don’t hit the ball very far, maybe go for a firmer and longer golf ball, maybe a 2 piece golf ball. But if you’re hitting the ball plenty far enough but you’re not necessarily scoring around the greens, your chipping and putting is lacking a little bit, maybe go for one of the 3, 4 or even 5 piece golf balls. But don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out a few different balls, see which one gives you the best balance of distance, accuracy and control around the green, but also check out how much these golf balls costs, because if you’re going to lose a lot of golf balls, that starts to ratchet up the cost of playing golf. So make an informed decision on the construction of the golf ball, how it performs and how much it cost as well.

 2012-06-07

When selecting what you’d like your golf ball to do it’s really important that you understand how the construction of the golf ball will alter how the ball actually flies through the air, so it’s not just what it looks like in the pattern or the number or the name that’s written on the golf ball, but it’s understanding that we need the golf ball to kind of do two things and try and get a balance of those two things. Ideally we want a golf ball that goes as far as possible, but then when we get near the green we’d like a golf ball that spins as much as possible and a golf ball that’s quite soft for touch around the greens. And those two things are kind of fairly contradictory to each other. We’d like a very hard golf ball to go maximum distance and quite a soft golf ball to get the touch and the feel around the green to enable you to spin the ball and hold a few more putts.

So when you build a golf ball, when the manufacturers build the golf ball, they try and build it in such a way that we kind of get the best of both worlds. Now what we also need to do is the golf ball needs to be durable. The manufacturer can’t just make a golf ball for the tour pros that last for 2 holes and they can throw it to the caddie and they get a new one. For most club golfers they want a golf ball that last at least 18 holes if not 36 holes, it needs to be durable. So we need a cover that’s quite firm and quite hard and quite durable, but then we need a center of a golf ball that kind of really gives us explosive distance, so if you find a two piece golf ball, it’ll have a very hard cover so it’s durable and a fairly hard center so it gives you maximum distance. But that doesn’t really give you the touch and the feel of the spin shots around the greens.

So manufacturers are now making 3, 4, and some even 5 piece golf balls and the different layers, the different levels, the different covers of the golf ball they’re trying to get to a point where when you hit it very hard and you compress the golf ball against the face of the driver with hundred plus mile an hour club head speed, that activates the core of the golf ball, the hard center to give you explosive distance. But then when you’re around the green and you’re just chipping and pitching or putting the golf ball, you’re hitting the outside cover and maybe compressing the outer sort of core or some of the outer part of the core, so the second or third layer that’s going to give you a softer touch around the greens. There’s a huge amount of investment of research design and technology going into the golf ball that you’re playing with. First thing to do to decide what you need to do, what you need to look for in a golf ball is work out what your strengths and what your weaknesses like. If you don’t hit the ball very far, maybe go for a firmer and longer golf ball, maybe a 2 piece golf ball. But if you’re hitting the ball plenty far enough but you’re not necessarily scoring around the greens, your chipping and putting is lacking a little bit, maybe go for one of the 3, 4 or even 5 piece golf balls. But don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out a few different balls, see which one gives you the best balance of distance, accuracy and control around the green, but also check out how much these golf balls costs, because if you’re going to lose a lot of golf balls, that starts to ratchet up the cost of playing golf. So make an informed decision on the construction of the golf ball, how it performs and how much it cost as well.