http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impactful

[quote comment="15114"]My guess is that at those higher speeds the ball compresses to the point that the ball design breaks down and no longer functions as designed.[/quote]

Clearly you weren't talking about overly deforming the ball. You were talking about normal swing speeds. A ball optimized for a guy swinging at 80 MPH will still go further if he swings at 90 100, or 120 MPH. Once you get into LDA speeds, it breaks down (almost literally).

And we already have balls that are aimed at slightly slower swingers. All I'm saying is that those balls will not travel further for the slower swingers than for the faster swingers. 100 MPH will always send the ball further than 90 MPH (assuming, of course, that contact, backspin, and launch angles are as optimal for each).

Oh sure it's possible. You already see this with long drive competitions. I've read several times long drive competitors saying there was a limit to how hard they could hit the ball. If they went over that speed the ball actually didn't go as far as it does if hit at a slower speed. My guess is that at those higher speeds the ball compresses to the point that the ball design breaks down and no longer functions as designed.

Do ball makers test what happens when a ball is struck with a 150 mph swing? No, because none of their customers swing that fast. My guess is as long as the ball performs well at swing speeds of 120 mph and below they're good. They don't care how the ball performs at higher swing speeds.

You can take that approach to design a ball for lower swing speeds as well. As long as the ball performs well for a 90 mph swing speed and below you're good. You don't care what happens at higher swing speeds. 80 mph. 70 mph. 60 mph. You get the picture.

What about fitness? Surely that has had a huge impact on the game today. Just look at John Daly, his beer drinking and smoking surely help keep him calm when his ball is in the deep rough (he doesn't need a sports psychologist). His beer paunch imparts great confidence to amateur players like me (who share his rotund shape). I don't drink or smoke, but that gives me even more hope, that I room to degrade considerably and still shoot closer to par golf.

Lastly what about the Internet and the World Wide Web that gives the forum to discuss all manner of minutiae of golf.

The Titleist guys like to imply similar things, saying "If we're approaching the end zone in terms of distance, we're probably not even at the 50 yard line in terms of ball fitting."

[quote comment="15090"]The velocity may be topped at 250 ft per second[/quote]

To be clear, those were the old rules. The new Overall Distance Standard is a bit different and takes into aerodynamics, characteristic time, and all sorts of things.

[quote comment="15090"]Balls that acheive their max velocity when hit at a certain speed (be it 100, 90, 80, 70, or heck even 50 mph.)[/quote]

I don't think that's physically possible, and as the Titleist guys point out in the podcast (linked already), it's not about optimizing distance for a swing speed because even within one player's set swing speed changes throughout the clubs, from driver to pitching wedge. What club would you optimize for? Short game and iron play account for about 70% of scoring.

And I still doubt that what you're suggesting is physically possible and that, if it was, it wouldn't work throughout the set at all.

The velocity may be topped at 250 ft per second, but is there any rule about what swing speed is used to produce that? Somebody is going to figure out how to create "swing speed matched" balls. Balls that acheive their max velocity when hit at a certain speed (be it 100, 90, 80, 70, or heck even 50 mph.)

As long as the ball acheives 250 ft per second with a 90 mph swing speed, and has a LOWER velocity when hit with a higher swing speed they will be good under the rules. Yea, I know it sounds like it violates the laws of physics, but given the right combo of materials it is probably acheivable.

I wouldn't argue with any of your points, but I think you have to add modern grooves to wedges among "most impactful" innovations.