Balata ball

[RobotDoctor]

13 hours ago, MadMex said:

That's a thing of beauty right there !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a laminate 3 wood, think it was a Tommy Armor ?!?! Anyway, it was my "It's the equipment's fault club" which I banged and threw after a bad shot. Friend noticed after I skanked a shot on a par 3, I walked back to my cart, grabbed that 3 wood and banged it on the ground, he asked why I did not bang the iron I had used, I told him they were too expensive. Well, that 3 wood was thrown , banged by several of USAF's best F4D mechanics, it was taped, epoxied, glued, so many times different ways, should have kept it. 

I don't know why I have such an affinity to persimmon woods but I do.  I started playing golf with a laminated mid 80s model Ben Hogan set (1,3 and 5).  My first persimmon was a mid 80s Powerbilt Citation driver my brother had that he gave to me.  I could murder the ball with it.  Of course I had started playing Balata balls (Titleist) at that time because I starting to have some ability with my game and better and consistent ball striking.  I then went to a Cleveland Classic Tour Action driver for a couple of years.  I went Taylormade metal wood for a year or so before going back to a Cleveland Classic DG43 driver (which I still have).  After the DG43 I went with a 1954 MacGregor Toney Penna TP Special then a run of other classic MacGregors.  When the Titleist 975D came out my days of persimmon drivers was over.  I still gamed the 1953 MacGregor Tommy Armour 945W 3 wood I had put in my bag in 1990 until I could not find Balata balls to hit.  That was around 2001.  Now persimmon woods are fairly cheap to find so I am able to collect woods that in the 80s and early 90s were cost prohibitive.  I have a couple of people that I know who restores woods very well.  There are a few people out there that do this so I am working on completing the restoration on my collection and I'm wrapping collecting up.  I do have several dozen Balata balls though! 

[driveandputtmachine]

Wow bringing back some memories.  Maxfli HT, Top Flite Z balatas, next we'll hear about the Tour Editions or the Precept EV Extra Spin.

The Maxfli HT was a proper wound balata ball.  However I may completely off in my thinking, but neither the Z balata, Tour Edition or the EV extra spin were wound balata balls were they?  I mean I know golf courses that had Z balatas as their range ball in the early/mid 90's.  I never saw a course with the HT or Titleist TB as a range ball.

I do remember the Tour Edition spun more than any of them with a wedge, the Z balata was a ball that spun pretty decently, but wasn't as soft as the Maxfli or Titleist. 

[GregGarner]

On 5/6/2020 at 9:11 PM, RobotDoctor said:

I have 7 dozen of these and a dozen Maxfli HT balata balls.  Yes, they have lost compression.  On a solid stuck shot they might go "out of round" on a single shot.  But they are great when I hit it with one of these.  And that is not my whole collection. 

WOW! WingtipGolf would be alllll over that!

[revkev]

On ‎7‎/‎13‎/‎2020 at 4:27 PM, RobotDoctor said:

Back in the day (1988 into the late 90s/2000) the lack of distance from balata balls was not even a concern.  The reason I played them was control.  If I wanted distance I could have played Pinnacle balls or Top "Rocks".  Back then I worked every iron shot into the greens depending on what the shot needed.  I also worked tee shots to hold fairways.  Distance was sacrificed for absolute ball control and performance.  Of course I had to put a great swing on the ball to accomplish what I wanted.  I went from a 12-14 handicap in 1988 to a 7 or 8 in 1988.  My handicap rose to 12-14 in 1989 due to major swing changes when I played on my college team my last semester in college.  This was to lay down a foundation to become scratch.  I went back to 6-8 handicap into 1990.  I dropped to scratch between 1991 and 1992 due to playing with a group of guys who were really good.  I got tired of losing the Nassaus and skins we played.  Really tired of it.  I also was playing around 100 rounds a year and practicing a lot.  Long story short, the spin and control of a balata ball allowed me to fire at a lot of pins that I would never have tried for with a distance ball.  Back then I did not need a distance boost since I was young and strong.

In general back then courses were shorter.  Certainly the ones that most of us played on played shorter because irrigation systems were nothing like they are now (plus I played in CT, NY and Indiana as opposed to Florida where Sea Level and a lot of rain often lead to carry only distances).  Also, we didn't mind hitting long irons or even fairway woods into greens because that's what we saw the pros doing on TV.  Today we are disappointed if we don't have our "fair" share of short irons and wedges like they do.

 

The game has changed, not necessarily for the worse or for the better, like everything its evolved.  The beauty of golf is that if you prefer to play with classic equipment there are groups for that.  Not too many workplaces are going to let you use a smith corona and encyclopedia brittanica instead of a laptop or surface pro anymore.  

[RobotDoctor]

On 8/14/2020 at 11:15 AM, revkev said:

In general back then courses were shorter.  Certainly the ones that most of us played on played shorter because irrigation systems were nothing like they are now (plus I played in CT, NY and Indiana as opposed to Florida where Sea Level and a lot of rain often lead to carry only distances).  Also, we didn't mind hitting long irons or even fairway woods into greens because that's what we saw the pros doing on TV.  Today we are disappointed if we don't have our "fair" share of short irons and wedges like they do.

 

The game has changed, not necessarily for the worse or for the better, like everything its evolved.  The beauty of golf is that if you prefer to play with classic equipment there are groups for that.  Not too many workplaces are going to let you use a smith corona and encyclopedia brittanica instead of a laptop or surface pro anymore.  

Back in the day a 7,000 par 72 yard course was considered a big course.  Today there are par 70 courses a bit longer.  I definitely agree course conditioning and equipment technology has played a big roll in larger distances.  However, the ball is where the biggest gain has been made.  A persimmon wood needed a ball with a high spin rate and a balata ball was ideal for this.  Also, I was able to hit a forged blade 1 iron back in the day.  My set make up was 1 and 3 woods (persimmon), 1, 3-SW and a putter.  The irons were all forged blades (MacGregor or Ben Hogan).  Today I still game Ben Hogan Company forged blades but now 4-PW, Scratch Golf GW, SW and LW.  I carry three Taylormade metal woods (M3 440 cc driver, M4 small head 3 wood and a 17* SLDR hybrid and play the 2016 Taylormade Tour Preferred ball. 

Today, I can hit the ball straighter but am able to work the ball with a draw or fade but the amount is less than with a balata ball.  I used to be able to put a 15-20 yard draw with a sand wedge but now I can only put a 3-5 yard draw on a sand wedge at most.  One thing about the balls today is that they last for quite some time if there are no deformities, such as concrete rash and such.  When I was playing balata I would go through between 5 -7 balls a round.  These balls would go out of round after 3 or 4 holes, a thin shot sliced open the balata cover, wedges could shear the cover.  And that didn't count any lost balls during the round.  These balls were not for the budget conscience.  I always had 12-18 balata balls in my bag.