MissionMan Posted July 9, 2023 Posted July 9, 2023 Picked one of these up because I wanted to see if there was any validity to the balanced thing. For those who don't know, it's a machine that allows you to check the balance of a ball and then draw a line around the ball. Construction Pretty basic, not sure what it costs to manufacture one of these but I think it's probably a little overpriced for what it is. The quality is good though. How it works (in theory) In principle, the idea is that you can check whether a ball is perfectly balance. It spins the ball, and in theory, if it's unbalanced, you should see the ball return to the same position every time. The idea is to make a small dot, move the ball and see if the dot returns to the same spot. If it does, it's unbalanced, if it doesn't, then it's a balanced ball. What to do with balanced and unbalanced balls. Balanced balls I've seen some reviews on Amazon, confused on how this works beyond this point, so I'll go a step further. If it doesn't return to the same spot and you have a balanced ball, use the marking point around the equator. The motion of the ball will make the mark so continue letting it spin while you let the marker lightly touch it. Note: Balanced balls will not return to this position again so don't get confused if you spin it again and it doesn't return to this position. The ball is balanced so it will always return to a random position. Unbalanced balls. If it returns to the same point, it shows the ball is unbalanced. Obviously, the idea is not to use these balls, but if you're anything like me, you're not a professional and don't care too much, you just want to get the best out of a bad ball. In this case, don't use the equator point to mark the ball while spinning. Wait until it stops, ensure the dot is at the top and use the line around the top to make the mark. This will ensure that imbalance is top to bottom, so less likely to impact the ball turning left or right. Issues/Problems The instructions aren't very clear, and it doesn't seem to offer a website with clear instructions. This causes a bit of confusion around how to use it. The friction for the lid is a little light, so you have to hold the lid in place Does it make a difference? It's hard to say. Technically, it should make a difference, but whether it makes a real difference is hard to establish. Some interesting things I discovered in my tests They say you get what you pay for and its pretty clear here. When I tested new titleist balls, I didn't find any balance issues on Pro V1 and AVX. With Kirkland balls that I use for chipping practice, I had 4 out of 6 show balance issues. These were all new balls. Obviously the Titleist are premium balls but it shows the money does make a difference. Shankopotomous and cksurfdude 2 Quote GT2 10° Project X HZRDUS 6.0 Black 5G 60 GT2 16.5° Project X HZRDUS 6.0 Black 5G 70 TSR2 18° HZRDUS Black 6.0 4G 2 Iron T200 Utility HZRDUS Black 6.0 4 Iron T200 Utility HZRDUS Black 6.0 T150 5- PW (44) Nippon Modus 3 Tour 105 Stiff Vokey SM9 48.10 F Grind, Vokey SM9 54.10 S Grind, Vokey SM9 60.08 M Grind, L.A.B DF3 Armlock Grip Master Tour Wrap Grips Garmin Z30
cksurfdude Posted July 9, 2023 Posted July 9, 2023 You could also test balls in a large glass or a bowl filled with an Epsom salt solution - make it thick enough so the ball floats - the process is similar to what was described above to check for Balanced vs Unbalanced. MaxFli has done this with their Tour CG line during manufacturing; supposedly the alignment line is painted around the equator containing the balance point. MissionMan 1 Quote WITB of an "aspiring" play-ah... Driver... Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Max (Newton Motion 3 Dot) 3W... Callaway Bertha Mini 1.5 (ProForce V2 HL 5F3) 7W... Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R) 4H... Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3) 5H... Callaway Big Bertha '19 (Recoil 460 ESX F3) 6i-GW... Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) SW, LW... Mizuno ES21 54-08, 60-06 (KBS Hi Rev 2.0) Putter... MLA Tour XDream or EvnRoll ER5 .. all in a Bag Boy hybrid bag on an MGI Zip Navigator. .. ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour/S. Or a found Pro V1/x. .. (dark orange text = MGS Forum influenced selection) Forum tester for the Newton Motion driver shaft ('24) Forum tester for the Paradym X driver ('23) Forum tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator ('20) Other tests: MLA putter; Cleveland Hi Bore driver; Ben Hogan hybrids. For Sale in Classifieds: SkyTrak home launch monitor in excellent condition
Aim490 Posted July 13, 2023 Posted July 13, 2023 I remember having and using a Check-Go around 15-20 yrs ago. I stopped using it after a year or 2. It sat in a box of misc. golf stuff and finally got tossed when we moved to a new house. #1 - It’s nice to have a stripe on the ball to use for alignment, but almost all balls (at least the ones I play) come with decent alignment marks now, so I don’t need to add that. #2 - I didn’t feel like it added anything to my game, but it DID give me a chance to spend almost an hour spinning and marking per dozen balls - time that would have been much better spent practicing my swing. #3 - My fade/slice tendencies (with a few other oddities thrown in for good measure) remained and Check-Go did not make any noticeable difference in my game. A fat or thinned shot or hitting with an open club face or misreading green break (which is the combo platter of ills where most of my extra strokes come from) has nothing to do with ball balance. I stopped using it when the specially-fit marking pen went dry. Overall, after giving it a good long chance to prove its worth, I felt it was waste of time, money, and false expectations that it could improve my game. It may have some value for those golfers with near-perfect swings, but the average golfer is unlikely to benefit in any way, IMHO. Quote Lousy golfer, but playing makes me happy. WITB: PXG Proto 0811X+ Driver PXG Proto 0341X 5W PXG Proto 0317X 22deg and 25deg Hybrids PXG Gen3 0311XP irons 5-GW (5i only for chipping from under trees ) Cleveland CBX Zipcore 52deg & 56deg wedges Putter-PXG Gunboat w/Superstroke regrip + others I design and mill from super-dense wood.
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