Jump to content
IGNORED

Balatas


Note: This thread is 4611 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

  • Moderator
Are those available anymore? I can't find any of my old Titleist balatas (rats, I really wish I saved some) and I'd like to hit the different balls back to back, and see the difference between the old and new technology. I suppose if I tried to work the ball, I'd really get some action with the balatas.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I used to use those too,YEARS ago and loved them..I think the new ProV's are the new balatas..I use TM balls now,I think they're the closest ones,for me..

Driver- HiBore XL 9.5°
Hybrids- #3,#4 and #5
Irons- RAC CB/MB combo
Wedge- Vokey 52° Oil Can
56° CG-1060° CG-10Putter- CorzaBall-Bag- '08 Monaco

Link to comment
Share on other sites


They're available on ebay for as little as $35 a dozen.

Titleist 905T Accra SC75 M4 Shaft

Nike SQ 4W Accra T70 M4 Shaft
HB001 17* Hybrid with Mitsubishi Diamana Thump X Stiff Flex
Baffler Pro 20* Accra Axiv 105 Tour Hybrid Shaft

Taylor Made 24* Burner Accra Axiv 105 Tour Hybrid Shaft

Mizuno MP-32 5-PW Black Oxide Finish Project X 6.0 Shafts

Vokey 52* Oil Can Finish TTDG S400 Shaft

Cleveland 588 60* TTDG S400 Shaft

Rife Bimini Blade Putter

 

Ball-White and Round

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Administrator
Also note that today's equipment is geared towards today's ball, and yesteryear's equipment was geared toward's yesteryear's ball.

A driver from 1990 wouldn't perform very well with today's ball, just as a driver from today won't perform very well with a ball from 1990. Doesn't mean either ball sucks (or sucked) or that the either driver sucks/sucked, just that they're not matched up together.

There's a reason guys had drivers with 6.5° loft back in the early 90s and why some have 9.5 or even 10.5° today.

And if you think modern wedges shred the urethane covers of balls, wait until you hit a balata ball with a new Spin Milled wedge or something.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

OMG you can nearly bite through the tomato's (soft as)

INT Grom

MP600 - UST V2 STIFF SHAFT

PT906F2 UST V2 STIFF SHAFT RESCUE DUAL MP60 Irons CG12 Wedges Redwood Anser Black SatinITS ALL GOOD!! =]

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 5 weeks later...
i found a really scummy ball the other day i brought it home and washed it... it is a Wilson Staff - Smart Core the side says Wilson Balata Distance... i was pretty excited cause i had just heard about balata covers last week and noticed i didnt have a single balata ball in my shag bag!!! im gonna keep an eye out for them now!
Driver: Tour Burner 10°5
3 wood Tight Lies 13°
Hybrid 3DX DC 23°
Irons: G5
Wedges: oversize 48°PW & 56°SWPutter: Anser 2Ball: TOURix
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Also note that today's equipment is geared towards today's ball, and yesteryear's equipment was geared toward's yesteryear's ball.

you make some good points... the balls of yesteryear were indeed very different... and I can just imagine the sharp U grooves on a Balata... it would be a massacre. It reminds me of the days when you hit driver and the ball would take off low and swoop high right at the end... ballflights were so different with woods back in the day.
My Clubs: Callaway FT-i Tour LCG 9.5° w/ Matrix Ozik Xcon 6 stiff; Sonartec GS Tour 14° w/ Graphite Design Red Ice 70 stiff; Adams Idea Pro 2h(18°) & 3h(20°) w/ Aldila VS Proto 80 stiff; Adams Idea Pro Forged 4-PW w/ TT Black Gold stiff; Cleveland CG12 DSG RTG 52°-10° & 58°-10°; Odyssey...
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I remember how excited I was as a junior golfer (12-15) when I would find a balata in the woods or high grass. I was playing Rock Flites at the time so hitting a balata was like playing with marshmallows.

Ya I remember Tiger saying something how he sometimes plays a practice round with persimmon and balatas. Seems like a pretty fun round.

Nike SQ 9.5 w/ ProLaunch Red
Titliest 906F2 15
Miura 202 3-5 Irons
Miura Blade 6-PW Irons
Mizuno MP 51 & 56Yes! Tracy IINike One Black

Link to comment
Share on other sites


i found a really scummy ball the other day i brought it home and washed it... it is a Wilson Staff - Smart Core the side says Wilson Balata Distance... i was pretty excited cause i had just heard about balata covers last week and noticed i didnt have a single balata ball in my shag bag!!! im gonna keep an eye out for them now!

Balata distance sounds like an oxy moron. They were so soft.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I have not seen balata's except for in range balls that are really old. The closest thing that you will get to it is the Pro V1 is you are playing titleist. It has great fell around the green and explodes of the clubs for full shots.

Joey R

In the Bag:

905T w/Aldila NV 75x 904F w/Dynamic Gold x100 MP-32 w/Project X 6.5 Vokey 52.08 BeCu 56 MP-R 60 Studio Stainless Newport 2 ProV1, ProV1x, or NXT Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites


i played balatas back in the day ... man they were fun but the prov1's easily get 15 - 20 yards more with the same amount of spin.

Sean

What's in the bag:
Driver: TaylorMade R11S 9 degree.  Set to upright 8 degree.  Aldila RIP Alpha 60s X flex shaft.

3 wood: TaylorMade 13 degree RocketBallz (coming shortly).. X Flex Matrix X Conn.

Hybrids: 2iron / 4iron Taylor Burner Rescue.

Irons: 5 - PW 2008 Model Year Titleist AP2

Wedges: 49*, 54* 60* Cleveland 588 Rusties.

Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi Long.

Balls: Titleist Pro VX

Bag: Titleist Black / Red Staff

Link to comment
Share on other sites


when my dad and i were cleaning out our basement we found a box of them. i was putting them around and it was amazing. i hit the balata fiirst and felt like heaven than i hit a pro v1 and the feel was not nearly as good. than i hit a top filght and it felt like a rock. I wish i was alive when these balls were around

In my bag:
r7 Driver 9.5*
3 and 7 wood
3dx Hybrid 17*
3-PW DCI 990 irons 56* Hooter SW CG10 60* Wedge White Hot XG 2 Ball Putter Pro V-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Probably can be bought on ebay. I found a Strata Professional Balata the other day and it was in really good condition. I played it on one hole and I birdied it. First birdie ever so I had to keep it kind of as a trophy- kind of aggravating seeing as the thing was like hitting a marshmallow as other's have said and they are extremely rare to find at the courses by me.

"What is best about a great victory is that it rids the victor of the fear of defeat. 'Why not also lose for once?' he says to himself; 'now I am rich enough for
that'" -Nietzsche

In My Stand Bag:
R7 Draw 9.0 Deg Stiff Flex Driver AMF Progression 3 Wood SUMO2 3/20 Deg Hybrid & CPR 4/24 Deg...

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I've been hunting balls for a while and have been hitting balls into my woods for six years. I looked in my shag bag after reading this thread and I counted that I have 97 Balata golf balls, half in new conditon.

Driver: Hyper X Tour 10.5* Graffalloy Prolaunch Blue Stiff Shaft
Hybrid: Acer Select 5000 16* Ping Cushin Stiff Shaft
Irons: NDS 3-PW (missing #7, replaced with clone) True Temper Uniflex SpeedStep Shaft
Wedges: Acer XK Tour 56*10 Precision Stiff Shaft, Revolution 60*10 True Temper Wedgeflex

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I've been hunting balls for a while and have been hitting balls into my woods for six years. I looked in my shag bag after reading this thread and I counted that I have 97 Balata golf balls, half in new conditon.

Sell them.

What I Play:

Driver: Sasquatch SUMO² 9.5º Stiff
Hybrid: HiBore 16º (3W replacement)
Irons: Staff Ci6 3-PW StiffWedges: Vokey Spin Milled 54.10 60.04Putter: Newport Studio Style 35"Ball: Pro V1xAge: 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I used to use Titleist Balatas and a little bit later I used the Maxfli DDH Balatas for a few years and yes they were soft. One of my party tricks if I gave a mate lift to the course was to leave one sitting on the dash of the car while out playing to let it heat up and then on the way home chew the cover off it. Not too good for the teeth. If you really managed to get through the cover and in to the elastic winding the thing would go off like crazy and spin rubber band material everywhere!

As for the new wedges chewing up the covers, trust me the old ones did a great job of it as well. I'd usually change ball every 3 or 4 holes during competition rounds.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 3 years later...

Also, any balata ball you would find today in someone's garage or basement would not be nearly as good as when it was new.  Today's ball has a much longer shelf life than a balata ball.  The balata ball had a liquid center, inside a rubber ball and then all of that was wound with a rubber ribbon.  The ball would lose it's "bounce" as time went along, part of the reason that the Pro's would play a new ball every hole.  Also, part of the reason that ball manufactors would deliver balls to the Pro's at every tournament, they wanted to make sure they had a fresh batch and not balls that had sat on a self in a pro shop for 6-8 months.  So unless you had a balata ball that was made recently, comparing it to any current ball would prove valueless.

Craig 

Yeah, wanna make 14 dollars the hard way?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note: This thread is 4611 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.
  • Posts

    • Day 76 - Pretty sore today, so I opted for putting over my Stack session. Primary focus was on starting line, as my putting has been pretty poor this year. 
    • Been a bit of delay in updates but I needed to come back east as my mom's health has taken a serious turn for the worse. In a 3 day span we learned she had a tumor to she has stage 4 cancer and stopped eating and drinking for the most part. She has had a rough 3 months but certainly didn't think we'd be at the point of setting up hospice for her. My mom was never into any sports really other than following the Red Sox because my dad was a big fan. She always cared about what we were involved in including asking about how golf went.  I have kept up with my 5 minutes of daily practice and will go to the gym here in NH tomorrow morning. Despite the somber nature of this trip my family has commented more than a few times about my weight loss so it's important to me to keep it up. I know my mom always wanted us happy in whatever we did so I'll continue with my fitness journey keeping that in mind. 
    • Day 109- Putting drills on a putting green for 20 minutes. 
    • Day 252: did a stack session. Did some slow rehearsal swings during breaks. 
    • Day 82: 3/18/24 Tried a Stack session but could not certify my warmup. Finished with indoor chips and putting. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...