Are any glow-in-the-dark golf balls legal?

[chspeed]

Apologies if this has already been covered (couldn't find anything through search).

Are any glow-in-the-dark golf balls legal? We usually tee off right before dawn in the summer, and often can't see our balls on the first hole.

Thanks!

[iacas]

On my phone so apologies for the brevity, but I don't think so. Maybe they could be if they were the type that just lit up from a flashlight. Like a glow covering. Those could, maybe, conform.

But the kinds with sticks or electronics or whatever don't, I don't think. Could be wrong though.

Most glow balls perform pretty poorly.

[Piz]

They do obviate the need for a night light.

[Robert Peterson]

Chspeed, I can definitely answer your questions pretty accurately. I own Glowgear golf that makes the GlowV1. The best rated tour quality night golf ball on the market. It's a two piece ball with a proprietary glow pigment in the skin. It charges up with a UV flashlight/torch. Per the ball, it hits as far as a Callaway HX and a bit short of a ProV1. It out distances traditional LED balls by up to 3 clubs. 

Per being USGA compliant, we've had several conversations with them and it turns out that even though our ball complies with all distance and compression guidelines, they will not approve us because of an augmented skin that they say gives a player an unfair advantage. So to answer your question, yes, our night golf ball doesn't hit like a rock and performs like your favorite daytime ball, but simply can't get the USGA stamp of approval because of it's glow skin and how that makes more visible at twilight. 

Hope that answers your question. Feel free to check us out at Glowgear.net

 

 

 

[Lihu]

45 minutes ago, Robert Peterson said:

Chspeed, I can definitely answer your questions pretty accurately. I own Glowgear golf that makes the GlowV1. The best rated tour quality night golf ball on the market. It's a two piece ball with a proprietary glow pigment in the skin. It charges up with a UV flashlight/torch. Per the ball, it hits as far as a Callaway HX and a bit short of a ProV1. It out distances traditional LED balls by up to 3 clubs. 

Per being USGA compliant, we've had several conversations with them and it turns out that even though our ball complies with all distance and compression guidelines, they will not approve us because of an augmented skin that they say gives a player an unfair advantage. So to answer your question, yes, our night golf ball doesn't hit like a rock and performs like your favorite daytime ball, but simply can't get the USGA stamp of approval because of it's glow skin and how that makes more visible at twilight. 

Hope that answers your question. Feel free to check us out at Glowgear.net

3

Is there a way to allow them? Seems like those neon colors on Volviks perform a similar function?

[Robert Peterson]

Actually the Volvik balls simply have neon in their skin, so they reflect the flagging twilight better than a straight white ball. But when you actually power up the skin with UV, it significantly out shines the Volvik neon balls for sure.  

[Missouri Swede]

2 hours ago, Robert Peterson said:

Per being USGA compliant, we've had several conversations with them and it turns out that even though our ball complies with all distance and compression guidelines, they will not approve us because of an augmented skin that they say gives a player an unfair advantage. So to answer your question, yes, our night golf ball doesn't hit like a rock and performs like your favorite daytime ball, but simply can't get the USGA stamp of approval because of it's glow skin and how that makes more visible at twilight.

Let me get this right:  Increased visibility of the golf ball is an unfair advantage, without any other change in performance due to the skin, according to the USGA?

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

Let me get this right:  Increased visibility of the golf ball is an unfair advantage, without any other change in performance due to the skin, according to the USGA?

Seems reasonable and consistent to me. It relies on an external device (flashlight) too.

[Robert Peterson]

Regretfully yes. An artificial light source be it battery powered of artificially created by using UV activated materials is considered an unfair advantage. In fact, I am not sure if the Volvik neon balls are conforming either. The LED balls don't conform because of their obvious weight and flight issues. Note that the USGA is very protective of their standards, and I suspect they don't want to open up a flood gate of innovation per ball standards. Right now they keep the golf ball at it's present compression so it doesn't over shoot dog legs and create new legal issues with people getting hurt in their homes because of a new longer ball. Right now home owners who get hit with a USGA approved golf ball have no recourse because they knew the golf course was there before their home and the ball is standardized. If they made a hotter ball people could have a position to sue over increased danger. That doesn't have anything to do with approvals, but it's a cool piece of golf ball legal trivia. All in all you can't do a whole lot to the skin of a golf ball if you want it USGA approved. But we are still an awesome twilight to night golf ball. 

 

 

[chspeed]

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just have to hit my first shot at 5AM without any warmup right down the middle.

[Robert Peterson]

Yes, that's it as well. The flashlight. It was an issue. I asked if it could conform if we did absolutely nothing and the flashlight was not involved. Their response was that if it had the possibility of being jacked in some way it would have a hard time getting approved. Thank you for helping jog my memory.  

Hit away. We have a great following at 5am believe it or not. You will like how soft our skin is compared to LED balls. 

Enjoy your round. 

 

 

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, chspeed said:

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just have to hit my first shot at 5AM without any warmup right down the middle. 

The good news is you’ll tend to hit shorter on cold winter mornings anyway. That’ll help you hit more ‘ middlish’ 

[Missouri Swede]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Seems reasonable and consistent to me. It relies on an external device (flashlight) too.

I understand the point about an external device. I’m wondering about better visibility alone, like the Volvik. I thought I had seen Srixon with a brighter white advertised previously, but looking at their website I see it only says “pure white.” Is it just a matter of degree, on a case by case basis when light reflection is different than most others?

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

I understand the point about an external device. I’m wondering about better visibility alone, like the Volvik. I thought I had seen Srixon with a brighter white advertised previously, but looking at their website I see it only says “pure white.” Is it just a matter of degree, on a case by case basis when light reflection is different than most others?

It seems to me the line is fairly clearly drawn.

You can have a ball that's any color you like, so long as the "color" or properties of how it looks is not influenced in the manner of the glow balls that need to be "charged" up. The glow balls then produce their OWN light, they don't just reflect existing light.

Some Volvik balls are really bright. But they aren't across the line of where you can charge them so they literally produce their OWN light.

P.S. So even if you just rely on the "sun" to "charge" your glow balls, the point is they're still producing their own luminescence.

[Robert Peterson]

Pretty much. In the same way you can't have a chip inside the ball and say you just aren't using it and you left the remote in the car.