A lot has happened in the golf ball business in the past ten years. In October of 2000 Acushnet introduced the Titleist Pro V1 which for touring professionals and better amateurs was a game changer – longer, as much or more spin and more durable compared to the balata covered balls then in use.
The ProV1’s construction was different, much different. Tour level balls had been made with a rubber core surrounded by windings of rubber bands and then a cover made from the dried sap of the bully tree, balata. The ProV1 featured what has come to be called a solid “high-speed core” encased in a mantle of hard plastic with a cover of Urethane, another type of plastic and no rubber bands. MORE…
Ed Travis is a well known golf journalist and writes the monthly Player's Perspective column appearing in New England Golf Monthly. He carries a 1-handicap and with his wife lives on a water hazard in suburban Orlando.
