A golf ball without dimples on the horizon?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Geoff Shackelford prognosticates...


https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2020/7/1/this-dimpleless-titleist-experiment-could-be-on-to-something

[cary lichtenstein]

I was just shocked by what I just saw 119 yards with a driver

[Brian_Ewen]

Or .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jC-guSi7hI

[Rick Lane]

I’ve always thought that one answer to the distance issue is to change the specs of dimples.  Spec to less depth of dimples would seemingly work? The gold ball companies could still compete on all other factors like cores and covers.

[Tom_Doak]

When re-reading C.B. Macdonald's book, he had a story about a dimple-less golf ball, back in the early days.  The best players of the day could only hit it 80 yards!  But then they started hammering dimples into it, and the modern ball was born.


FWIW, Macdonald and those of his day believed the answer was to regulate that the ball had to float, and they could turn the manufacturers loose from there and be safe.


For a purist about the game, and someone intimately involved in the Rules, I was surprised that Macdonald felt it was not necessary to regulate equipment much.  He had seen the crazy variety of implements used from the 1870's to the 1920's and believed that most of it failed to help a golfer gain an advantage.

[Thomas Dai]

The half-n-half ball - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aeibKavgytc
The clever scientists and production folks can do amazing things including an easy rollback.

Where there’s a will there’s a way. We need to see some ‘will’ from the authorities though as the manufacturers have unfortunately been allowed to become too powerful. Time to call the manufacturers bluff.

Atb


See also - [size=78%]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fcjaxC-e8oY[/size]

[Niall C]

As Tom D says back in the day they used to make the guttie balls perfectly round with a smooth surface and then they found that older balls that had been nicked and had a bashing actually flew better and longer than the new ones. That lead to experiments and eventually the dimpled ball.

Interestingly football seems to have gone the other way. In the old days they had the leather ball with seems that acted in the same way as the old nicked and bashed golf balls did in terms of helping to stabilise the ball flight. As more modern materials and better production techniques were used the balls became more perfectly formed and smooth such that guys like Ronaldo were able to welly it and the ball would move in all sorts of unexpected directions totally bamboozaling goalkeepers. In order to give goalies a fighting chance Nike are now experimenting with a ball that has very subtle ridges that will help it have a more stable flight.

I'd be interested to hear whether this new Titliest has similar issues that the smooth footballs had.

Niall

[Adam Clayman]

Tom D- If CB felt most inventions of equipment failed to earn an advantage, why be so surprised he didn't feel the need to regulate them?

[Carl Rogers]

Varying dimple depth maybe the equipment silver bullet

[Joe Bausch]

Varying dimple depth maybe the equipment silver bullet

Dear Carl,


We thought the same in the mid-70s and were shot down.


Sincerely,


 The Polara Company


😉😀

[Duncan Cheslett]

The clear conclusion from this is that the dimples are the most important component of the golf ball - the composition of the core and cover are minor elements in comparison.


It is interesting that it is Titleist who are putting this out there - it is as if the have an agenda.  Have they resigned themselves to the ball being reigned in and are pitching for it to be done in such a way that allows them to retain their technological advantage and brand prominence?


After all, it would be the easiest thing in the world for the authorities to mandate a specific dimple pattern and depth for all conforming golf balls, leaving the manufacturers to fight it out on the fine tuning. It would seem that Titelist at least are comfortable with this - otherwise why put out the video highlighting the over-riding importance of dimples?

[Steve Lang]

   It be a drag on Dechambeau's 343 yard drives...

[Jim_Kennedy]

You can tell that none of the guys in the video have ever been to a local range.