Golf Ball IQ
BASIC GOLF BALL 'HIGH-IQ' - Our basic philosophy on buying a golf ball is to look for a golf ball that helps you score better. Therefore, you want to start from the green and go backwards to the tee when picking your golf ball. Focusing only on a golf ball that is long off the tee will not, by itself, help you play better golf. So, pick a golf ball that will help you putt, chip & hit good wedge shots more effectively.COVER - The cover is mega-important. You ideally want to find a golf ball with a soft cover that resists scuffing. You may gain some spin on your longer shots, but it will assist with the 'scoring' clubs, 120 yards and in. Most mid-level golf balls are made with a Surlyn Ionomer cover. Surlyn is a trademark name of Dupont. Dupont states that Surlyn "has a high affinity to water and therefore when a sheet has been exposed to high humidity for a long period of time, drying is needed. Best results for drying are obtained at 145 F for sixteen (16) hours." Therefore, avoid buying Surlyn covered balls that have been sitting in a pond, promoted & sold as 'recycled.'CORE - A larger core will help your distance & a more active core design will give you more responsive iron shots and longer drives. The core typically is pre-formed, vulcanized rubber, heated to 320 to 360 farenheit. The core gives the ball its' bounce. Some golf balls, like Callaway's 'i' series, use a dual-core, this means that the two separate cores inside the ball react differently to shots of different clubhead speeds. The “moment arm” is a measure of torque upon the ball from the spin-generating force (club impact) to the ball’s center of gravity. A reduced, or shorter, moment arm causes the ball to spin less. Less spin equals more distance. Note: Using old and/or balls that have been soaking in a pond for a period of time effect the core's performance ( and not in a good way btw).MANTLE - the mantle refers to the other layers on top of the core but below the cover, of course, that are designed to achieve certain flight & spin goals of the manufacturer. The mantle layer – is the boundary between the cores. Some new mantle material is denser, which additionally helps increase the MOI and move weight out and away from the inner core to help improve driver distance.RECOMMENDED SWING SPEED - check out the packaging or company website for the ball you're considering to determine if it has a swing speed rating & try to match your driver swing speed to the recommended level for that ball. The reason being is that most balls are designed, meaning the materials and construction, to target the ball for a particular player's level of play & ability.CONSTRUCTION - refers to the 2, 3, 4 or 5-pieces that are used to put the ball together. Normally, a minimum design level you should consider, be at 3-piece, with exception of the Bridgestone e5DIMPLE DESIGN - the dimple design involves a large amount of the computer technology employed by golf ball manufacturers. Why, you ask. In our humble opinion, dimple design, which is not regulated by the USGA, creates the best opportunity for ball makers to get more distance. The dimple design, not only refers to the shape & depth of the dimples, but the overall number of dimples.
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