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Evolution of the Golf Ball - Interesting Stats

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arydolphin

arydolphin

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I saw a blog post today that I thought was pretty interesting, here is the complete link: http://www.andrewricegolf.com/2011/08/evolution-of-a-golf-ball/

The guy that wrote this post is a teaching professional, and he had 4 generations of Titleist golf balls. He got another professional at his club to hit 6 shots with each type of ball with his driver, and he took the averages of the stats from Trackman for each ball. He does state in the blog post that while all of the golf balls had never been hit before, obviously some of the balls were much older than others, so that may have affected distance. However, you can't ignore the numbers and how much further today's golf balls go compared to the golf balls of the past.

Tour Balata 100
Titleist Tour Balata 100
​
  • Total Distance 261.6 yds
  • Carry 224.7 yds
  • Clubhead Speed 110.1 mph
  • Ball Speed 160.7 mph
  • Smash Factor 1.46
  • Attack Angle -0.4 degrees
  • Spin Loft 9.0 degrees
  • Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
  • Spin 2789 rpm
Professional 90
Titleist Professional 90
​
  • Total Distance 262.1 yds
  • Carry 251.9 yds
  • Clubhead Speed 110.6 mph
  • Ball Speed 161.4 mph
  • Smash Factor 1.45
  • Attack Angle -1.1 degrees
  • Spin Loft 6.9 degrees
  • Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
  • Spin 2915 rpm
Pro V1 – 392
Titleist Pro V1 - 392
​
  • Total Distance 286.4 yds
  • Carry 251.9 yds
  • Clubhead Speed 110.1 mph
  • Ball Speed 164.7 mph
  • Smash Factor 1.50
  • Attack Angle -3.0 degrees
  • Spin Loft 10.8 degrees
  • Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
  • Spin 2739 rpm
Pro V1 New
New Titleist Pro V1
​
  • Total Distance 298.4 yds
  • Carry 271.1 yds
  • Clubhead Speed 110.8 mph
  • Ball Speed 167.2 mph
  • Smash Factor 1.51
  • Attack Angle -3.1 degrees
  • Spin Loft 11.7 degrees
  • Launch Angle 7. degrees
  • Spin 2850 rpm
Click to expand...
 
it's called technology, man.
 
Wow those are crazy numbers. I wonder what they would have been with the SERIOUSLY old school balls with the feathers and leather and twine.... :act-up:
 
What an increase in distance. Wow

MattyCaulk Aka Hawk hunter
 
Neat stuff. I wonder how it would compare going back to the feathery and gutta percha. When you pair that with the technology in drivers and such, its even more crazy.


The evolution of the Titleist ProV1 is interesting though.
 
That's what I love about golf technology, or any technology for that matter. It just keeps advancing. As a 17 yr old, it makes me wonder what the equipment will be like in 20, 30, or 40 years.
 
This is crazy! Wonder how we would shoot with a titleist balata?
 
This right here is the problem with professional golf, not grooves.
 
That's just the technology change in golf balls. Now think of everything used in a round and think why these guys are getting better and longer.


Tapatalk... Loved by me hated by the wife.
 
Surprising in the numbers wow
 
Wow - great find!

Professional 90 and Pro V1 392 both have same carry but Pro V1 rolls an additional 24 yards....craziness!!


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Very interesting stats. Would be curious to see the same balls hit with a mid iron and wedge as well.
 
Interesting numbers but not at all surprising. What would make a good complementary study to this would be to hit drivers of the same era as the ball is from. The technology in clubs has changed as much or maybe even more than the ball technology.
 
Great find Ary. Pretty cool to see how much golf ball technology has added to driving distances.
 
Very cool.
 
Very cool stats! I knew the distance would increase, but didn't think by that much! Figured the spin would go down as well.

That. Just. Happened. (tapatalk)
 
Those are some crazy numbers
 
Great find ary, I agree with Jrod, the ball is whats improving faster than any other technology, I love it though.
 
It amazes me how some people I play with will spend $60 on a round of golf but refuse to play decent golf balls. Interesting post!
 
golfinFF said:
Interesting numbers but not at all surprising. What would make a good complementary study to this would be to hit drivers of the same era as the ball is from. The technology in clubs has changed as much or maybe even more than the ball technology.
Click to expand...

That would be really interesting.
 
Wow!!! That was a crazy difference! Someone should do this with old drivers all the way up to this years offerings, all hitting the same newest balls to see which has helped us gain more distance... A $4 ball or a $400 club.


Tempo, timing, tapping.
 
what a difference,i was amazed at the total roll they got with the tour balata ball.almost 40yrds of roll!!!

i think i'll make sure i'm sure an up to date pro v from now on haha!!!!
 
Nice find and interesting stats.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
arydolphin said:
I saw a blog post today that I thought was pretty interesting, here is the complete link: http://www.andrewricegolf.com/2011/08/evolution-of-a-golf-ball/

The guy that wrote this post is a teaching professional, and he had 4 generations of Titleist golf balls. He got another professional at his club to hit 6 shots with each type of ball with his driver, and he took the averages of the stats from Trackman for each ball. He does state in the blog post that while all of the golf balls had never been hit before, obviously some of the balls were much older than others, so that may have affected distance. However, you can't ignore the numbers and how much further today's golf balls go compared to the golf balls of the past.
Click to expand...

I have read that the "shelf life" of the older balls was very short before their performance began to deteriorate, something less than 2 years, whereas I have read that the "shelf life" of the newer balls is much much longer than the old balls. I would think that would greatly distort the findings. Does anyone know the exact data on this?
 
wow thats crazy, I would have never guessed that big of a jump
 
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