Post your Q&A Questions for Dean Snell of Snell Golf

[iacas]

Guys,

I'm looking to put together a list of questions for Dean Snell of Snell Golf.

Here are some pages with information:

• About Snell Golf
• About Dean Snell
• Dean's Work (Balls he created)
• Q&A with Dean

Ask anything, but there are of course no guarantees that Dean will answer.

After we have enough questions, I'll compile the list and send them along to Dean. At least, that's the plan. I haven't run this entire thing by Dean or Snell yet, but I think we have a good shot at it.

You can ask multiple questions. If you want to build off a question already asked, quote it and do so. You can ask personal questions, though of course Dean may choose not to answer them at all.

[Phil McGleno]

In no order except whatever they come to me

• Reducing SKUs seems wise but what percentage of golfers do you think you cover with two models? Bridgestone has four B330 models but you have just one urethane ball.
• Will we see yellow MTB any time soon?
• Any plans to offer customization for customers with stamping of their names or pithy sayings? Or custom numbers?
• Your balls are made overseas but you offer logo options here and that is done aftermarket stateside?
• How difficult to navigate is the golf ball patent sea? How are you able to come up with a dimple pattern that works and yet is not in violation of some of what seems to be thousands of patents?
• Do you support the patents in the golf ball industry or are they a necessary evil? Should a dimple pattern be patentable? Or a method of making a golf ball? Are there bad patents among the good ones?
• What is most challenging about working with tour players? What is most fun? Easiest?
• How often do you get to play golf?
• If you could go back to school and had to do something completely different with your life, what would it be?
• Is the golf ball the most highly engineered piece of sporting equipment in the world, or does something else hold that title, like a hockey stick or a ski or something?

[Hoganman1]

Please ask Dean if he's as tired as I am of hearing about the Kirkland Signature ball which is, as best as I can determine, no longer available anywhere on the planet.

[Golfingdad]

According to the website FAQ, you don't have any tour players under contract to help keep the cost of the ball down for us, which we appreciate! :)  However, do you have any tour players that are playing the ball anyway?  If so, can you share any more info?  Names?  Number of players on different tours using them?  Anything like that.

[Pretzel]

What was the most surprising thing you learned or discovered during the prototyping and testing of golf balls?

[jsgolfer]

Since the four piece urerthane seems so hot in the ball industry right now, is there any chance that Snell will come out with a four-piece ball?

[mchepp]

What are the tradeoffs that must be made when considering golf ball design? Example is the obvious ones like greenside spin/distance but what about from a manufacturing perspective to help you increase yields or lower the bill of materials.

[saevel25]

What was the biggest impact to modern golf ball design that allowed it to be low spinning off the driver and high spinning off the wedge shots? 

How much diminishing returns are their on the number of layers? 

How big of a difference is there between premium golf balls?

What is the biggest hurdle in starting a business? 

 

[Club Rat]

Many manufactures are now advertising "Soft" as in being soft cover, soft feel, etc.
From your perspective, will you follow the market trend and produce a soft golf ball?
And would you describe why the market is "Hot with Soft or Softer" golf balls? 

[Patch]

Way back, many years ago, (20+ maybe?) there was a ball avaiable that had the word "POWER" stamped on it. It was made by either Topflite, or Titleist. I don't remember which. Do you have any info on this ball. It was absolutely the best ball I have ever used. Thanks, 

[Wanzo]

Love the MTB. Did you grow up playing golf?  How many times can a golf ball be hit before performance is compromised?  I'll hit the same balls into my net and they seem to react pretty similarly, except for the typing starting to fade, until they ultimately crack. A lot of pros change every few holes and I assume that is as much a mental thing as anything. Thanks for what you do. 

[HitAndGiggle]

I just want to tell Dean thanks for producing and promoting a high-performance ball for us mortals - the Get Sum.

[RandallT]

In the page about your past work, there's a pic of you with Jason Day

https://www.snellgolf.com/deans-work/

Quote

You also mention your previous work with lots of other pros in your About page: https://www.snellgolf.com/about-dean-snell/

Can you share with us generally how the conversations about golf balls go, when they have an opportunity to chat with someone who actually engineers the balls they use? You don't need to betray any individual golfer, but things like:

• are they generally interested in what goes into making golf balls?
• how widely do their opinions vary on the importance of a ball to their scores? For example, are there pros out there who can play just about anything, and it's more a contractual thing? Or do pros ensure that they are playing the absolute best ball for them because it is their living after all, and they need every advantage?
• any other interesting tidbits or overall impressions that you've gleaned from your "insider" contacts with them, as you talk about their craft?

[Hatchman]

Golf ball dimple design when purchasing.  Buy a ball will more dimples, shallower dimples for driving, chipping, etc?  Putting?  Thanks.

[iacas]

I have two, off the top of my head…

• Given what we now know about the relative importance of the full swing (driving, approach shots) and the short game and putting, does the old concept of fitting yourself for a golf ball by starting at the green and working backward still apply? Or should more importance be given to how the ball performs off the driver and irons, which are now understood to be the true scoring clubs?
• If you were to design a ball specifically for putting, what could you do, and would you do? No dimples? Weight shifted to the outer margins with a hollow center to increase MOI?

[mvmac]

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Dean! 

• Tomorrow we wake up and the USGA has lifted all restrictions on golf ball design/construction. How much farther could the average golfer (85-90mph) hit it? Tour player?
• Bridgestone (and I think Callaway) has come out with tour caliber balls for players who swing under 105mph. Is it possible to design a tour caliber ball for a specific segment of swing speed or is this just mostly a marketing thing?
• What clubs are in your bag?
• When testing out prototypes do you mostly use robots? What percentage is real golfer testing?

And I'll second these:

On 1/24/2017 at 7:36 AM, iacas said:

Given what we now know about the relative importance of the full swing (driving, approach shots) and the short game and putting, does the old concept of fitting yourself for a golf ball by starting at the green and working backward still apply? Or should more importance be given to how the ball performs off the driver and irons, which are now understood to be the true scoring clubs?

 

On 1/23/2017 at 6:41 PM, Wanzo said:

How many times can a golf ball be hit before performance is compromised?

 

[Denny Bang Bang]

How much knowledge does he need to know regarding club technology, to produce a particular golf ball?  Or does it really have no impact on a ball itself.

A lot of good info about golf balls on his webpage.  I think several of the questions above are actually already answered there (e.g. Why there is not a yellow MTB).

 

[ZappyAd]

How much of a golf ball can be recycled?  Is there any interest or pressure within the industry to make them more so?

Is electronic technology embedded within the golf ball ever going to happen?  For instance are we likely to see trackers or sensors anytime soon?