Former Taylormade R&D VP is Getting into the Direct to Consumer Golf Ball Business

[billchao]

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/02/former-taylormade-rd-leader-go.html

Quote:

Dean Snell, most recently the vice president of golf ball research and development at TaylorMade, is the force behind Snell Golf. The company announced two new products today, one of which includes a multilayer, urethane-covered construction the highest-priced technology currently on the market. Like these other companies, Snell Golf will market its golf balls exclusively online, direct to consumers.

Unlike these companies, however, there’s an individual with some serious golf ball technology cred on the payroll. Snell has been at the forefront of golf ball development with both Titleist and TaylorMade over the last 25 years. His name is on 38 golf ball patents, and he has worked on the groundbreaking technology behind the original Titleist Pro V1 and the five-layer TaylorMade Penta golf balls.

Snell Golf’s My Tour Ball features a low-compression core and a multilayer construction with a cast urethane cover. The company also is offering a two-piece ball (Get Sum), also with low compression, aimed at improving distance, reducing spin on tee shots and providing softer feel.

That's a pretty big name to join this market segment. I'm interested to see how these balls compare to their big name counterparts.

[turtleback]

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/02/former-taylormade-rd-leader-go.html

That's a pretty big name to join this market segment. I'm interested to see how these balls compare to their big name counterparts.

I hope that when they start selling product they do not go the gimmick route.  But as soon as their model incorporates a regular monthly shipping and billing I am out of there.  I know some folks like these kinds of things otherwise you wouldn't have the fruit of the month clubs and coffee of the month clubs.  But it isn't for me personally.  All the stories about the problems and strange billing behavior of that other one more than outweigh the good comments about the ball's quality for me.

[billchao]

I hope that when they start selling product they do not go the gimmick route.  But as soon as their model incorporates a regular monthly shipping and billing I am out of there.  I know some folks like these kinds of things otherwise you wouldn't have the fruit of the month clubs and coffee of the month clubs.  But it isn't for me personally.  All the stories about the problems and strange billing behavior of that other one more than outweigh the good comments about the ball's quality for me.

Agreed. I hate shady marketing strategies. I'm definitely going to try out their tour ball (sorry, My Tour Ball) this summer. Terrible name, it's hard to use in conversation easily. I'll probably end up calling them "Snell Tours" or something like that. They have a website in operation. They're taking pre-orders now. [URL]http://www.snellgolf.com[/URL]

[turtleback]

You are right, and it is a nice simple website.  Their prices seem pretty good as well.  And I love their idea of a Testing Pack with 6 of the regular balls and 6 of the Tour balls.  And $27 for the pack seems like a great price - and fair since the regulars cost $21 and the Tours cost $32.

Given the fact that they claim to use the most expensive technology for making the balls it makes me wonder whether these are just introductory prices or is this an indication of just how much marketing fat in in the prices of the other top balls?

[NJpatbee]

You are right, and it is a nice simple website.  Their prices seem pretty good as well.  And I love their idea of a Testing Pack with 6 of the regular balls and 6 of the Tour balls.  And $27 for the pack seems like a great price - and fair since the regulars cost $21 and the Tours cost $32.

Given the fact that they claim to use the most expensive technology for making the balls it makes me wonder whether these are just introductory prices or is this an indication of just how much marketing fat in in the prices of the other top balls?

I believe that the lower price is a direct result of buying directly from the manufacturer.  If you look at balls offered by MG, the Top-Flite Gamer series, Maxfli U/3 and U/4, Kick X, and others they are all bypassing the retailers while producing some excellent golf balls.

[imsys0042]

I bought a dozen of the Tour balls. They are starting out and I suspect that they have a good product and I hope they do well. To get started they will need some good word of mouth. I'm going to put them up against a couple of different balls I have ready for this spring.

[Mr. Desmond]

I read a review of the Snell my Tour ball, and it was glowing- kept it's line in the wind and checked well on greens. They may be worth a dozen to try

[Ernest Jones]

[quote name="turtleback" url="/t/79848/former-taylormade-r-d-vp-is-getting-into-the-direct-to-consumer-golf-ball-business#post_1102617"] I hope that when they start selling product they do not go the gimmick route.  But as soon as their model incorporates a regular monthly shipping and billing I am out of there.  I know some folks like these kinds of things otherwise you wouldn't have the fruit of the month clubs and coffee of the month clubs.  But it isn't for me personally.  All the stories about the problems and strange billing behavior of that other one more than outweigh the good comments about the ball's quality for me.

Agreed. I hate shady marketing strategies. I'm definitely going to try out their tour ball (sorry, My Tour Ball) this summer. Terrible name, it's hard to use in conversation easily. I'll probably end up calling them "Snell Tours" or something like that. They have a website in operation. They're taking pre-orders now. [URL]http://www.snellgolf.com[/URL][/quote]Certainly agree that "Snell My Tour Ball" is a terrible name. At least they're not call Lick Golf.

[iacas]

@cedrictheo and I will be testing these out today.

[imsys0042]

@cedrictheo and I will be testing these out today.

How did they work out? I've been waiting for warmer weather, since the Wilson Staff duo has been used for cold weather golf. Maybe tomorrow or next week I intend to try ones from the dozen I bought. What I look forward to is how it feels. I read up on the cover material and how they produce the balls. Optimistic they will be really good and I'll be buying more.

[iacas]

How did they work out? I've been waiting for warmer weather, since the Wilson Staff duo has been used for cold weather golf. Maybe tomorrow or next week I intend to try ones from the dozen I bought. What I look forward to is how it feels. I read up on the cover material and how they produce the balls. Optimistic they will be really good and I'll be buying more.

Supporters and Forum Leaders are going to have the opportunity to do a Member Review of the balls soon. I wrote a little bit more about them there.

They're very, very good.

[Club Rat]

Quote:

Certainly agree that "Snell My Tour Ball" is a terrible name. At least they're not call Lick Golf.

I agree with naming them Snell is not a appealing name.

I can already hear the comments among players "what ball are you playing? a Snell, they will probably reply Gesundheit."

[dkolo]

Quote:

I agree with naming them Snell is not a appealing name.

I can already hear the comments among players "what ball are you playing? a Snell, they will probably reply Gesundheit."

Are they playing off of the fact that Snell means "fast" in German or is it just a happy coincidence they're ignoring?

[iacas]

Are they playing off of the fact that Snell means "fast" in German or is it just a happy coincidence they're ignoring?

It's just the guy's last name. It's as good a name as any IMO.  I'm going to lean toward "happy coincidence." I don't even know if he knows that.

[imsys0042]

Supporters and Forum Leaders are going to have the opportunity to do a Member Review of the balls soon. I wrote a little bit more about them there. They're very, very good.

That's good to know. At that price point they are more than competitive with higher end TaylorMade, Callaway and Titleist. Given the background on Snell. I expected that these would be worth it. Still haven't had decent weather to really see though.

[SnellGolf]

Just joined the forum, and thanks for having me... Appreciate all the comments and look forward to the testing you guys are going to do.. I had no idea on the name meaning "fast", but like it.. haha.. it is just my last name..   maybe we can look to use this later in future designs.  Being a small start up company, I certainly appreciate the feedback, and like to use this for future designs as well.. If I can help answer any technical questions, I will do my best for Snell golf balls or any other golf ball technology you may wonder about...thanks again..

[Mr. Desmond]

Just joined the forum, and thanks for having me... Appreciate all the comments and look forward to the testing you guys are going to do.. I had no idea on the name meaning "fast", but like it.. haha.. it is just my last name..   maybe we can look to use this later in future designs.  Being a small start up company, I certainly appreciate the feedback, and like to use this for future designs as well.. If I can help answer any technical questions, I will do my best for Snell golf balls or any other golf ball technology you may wonder about...thanks again..

Great to have you on board!

Bring on the news and updates.

I think the German word for fast is "schnell."

• Urban Dictionary: schnell

  www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term= schnell

  Urban Dictionary

  German for 'fast'. When you want something to be done quickly u use the word ' SCHNELL '. It is not intended as a german war joke; but because the german ...
• 
  Good luck. After I demo the sample pack, I hope to find more My Tour Balls in the post.

[Dave2512]

Lol urban dictionary. But yeah Colonel Klink yelled it often.