Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
Note: This thread is 5388 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

Posted

Best Balata Ball ever made Bridgestone Rexstar 100, liquid center, grafite wound, balata cover = Crazy spin, I could suck those babies back 15 feet!  The Titleist 100's were as good but not as durable


Posted

The closest thing to a Balata in a modern ball is the new Wilson Staff FG Tour. At least that's what "they" say. I've been playing them for a couple of weeks now and they really are soft. Best feeling ball I've hit in a long time.

In the Bag:
Driver: Cleveland Launcher Ultralight XL 270

FW: Taylor Made 300 17 degree 
3-PW: Mizuno MX-23

AW: Mizuno TP-T11 52/07 (Bent to 50)
SW: Mizuno TP-T11 56/10

LW: Mizuno TP-T11 60/05

Putter: Original Ping Zing

Ball: Wilson Staff FG Tour


Posted

Balata balls would cut (I remember see a 'smiley' on the ball if I bladed one), they spun twice as much as today's balls, and you could literally knock them out of round with a big drive. And crack the cover where the grooves on the driver's insert hit the ball.

Durability wasn't in their vocabulary.

Closest I've found today is the really soft ladies balls for when I'm hitting the persimmons.

In the Bag

Ping i15 8* Diamana Whiteboard

Titleist 909f3 13.5* Aldila NV

Ping S57 3-PW KBS C-taper

Macgregor 52, 56, and 60 wedges

SC Newport 2.5

 

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

 


Posted


Originally Posted by blackxpress

The closest thing to a Balata in a modern ball is the new Wilson Staff FG Tour. At least that's what "they" say. I've been playing them for a couple of weeks now and they really are soft. Best feeling ball I've hit in a long time.



Low compression, high spin, soft feel. They reminded me of balata too. I didn't care for balata "back in the day".

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.


Posted

AHHHHH the good old days! Used to love the Maxfli DDH Balata ball. Also used to shred it like a birch tree! But there was nothing like hitting it pure, felt like butter, probably caus it was

  • Upvote 1

Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated


Note: This thread is 5388 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

    Carl's Place
    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).
  • Posts

    • I work with a lot of golfers who want more shaft lean at impact, who currently have AoAs that range from +2° to -2°, and who love to see the handle lower and more "in front of their trail thigh" from face-on at P6. And a lot of these golfers try to solve the issue by working on the downswing. They do something to drag the handle forward. Or they just leave their right thigh farther back so the same handle location "looks" farther forward. Or they move the ball back in their stance. Or they push themselves down into the ground to get the handle lower and increase (decrease?) their AoA (to be more negative). The real fix is often to get wider in the backswing. To do LESS in the backswing. To hinge less, fold the trail arm less, abduct the trail arm less. I had a case of this over the weekend. Before, the player had 110° of trail elbow bend, "lifted" his trail humerus only a few degrees, etc. The club traveled quite a bit around him, and he tended to "pick" the ball from the fairways. In the "after" swings below (which are mild exaggerations — this golfer does not need to end up at < 70° of elbow bend. These were slower backswings with "hit it as hard as you normally would" intent downswings), you can see that he bent his elbow about 70° instead of 110° and lifted his right arm an extra ~15° or more. You can't see how much less this moved his hands across his chest (right arm abduction), but it was also decreased. His hands stayed more "in front of" his right shoulder rather than traveling "beside" them so much. The two swings look like this: The change at P6, without talking about the downswing one little bit (outside of him telling me that he tends to pick the ball), is remarkable: Without 110° of elbow bend to get out (which he gets to 80°, a loss of 30°), the golfer actually loses slightly less elbow bend (70 - 50 = 20), but delivers 30° less elbow bend, lowering the handle and letting the elbow get "in front of" the rib cage… because it never got "behind" or "beside" the rib cage. If you look at this video showing the before/afters of P6, you'll note the handle location (both vertically and horizontally) and the shoulders (the ball is in the same place in these frames). This golfer's path was largely unaffected (still pretty straight into the ball, < 3° path and often < 1.5°), but his AoA jumped to -5° ± 2°. I've always said, and in talking with other instructors they agree and feel similarly, that we spend a lot of time working on the backswing. This is another example of why.
    • We had a member of our senior club who developed a mental block on pulling the trigger. I played with him to see what the membership was talking about. I timed him a few times when he would get over the ball. 45 seconds. He knew he had a mental block and would chide himself, “Just hit it!” Once on the green he was okay and chipping was a bit better. It was painful to watch him struggle. Our “bandaid” was to put him in the last tournament  tee time with two understanding players. We should have suggested to him to take a break from our tournaments. I agree with the idea that when a player realizes they have a problem, the answer is to go fix it and not return until they are able to play at an acceptable pace.
    • Day 56 (4 May 26) - Worked on some ball-then-ground drills - going from P3 thru impact - with a slowed tempo, working to keep all parts in sync.   
    • Wordle 1,780 3/6 🟩⬜🟨🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • Wordle 1,780 4/6 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟨🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
×
×
  • 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.