Testing golf ball balance with the salt water method. I’ll walk you thru how to check your golf balls balance at home and we sampled a random box of Titleist ProV1, Wilson Ultra 500 and Callaway Chromesoft X. The results were shocking to say the least!
It’s easy to perform this golf ball experiment at home, here’s what you’ll need:
• Pool Salt: https://geni.us/GksRQL
• Sharpie: https://geni.us/2Uvji
• Cup
• Towel
Thanks to our channel member, Steven, who suggested this video topic!
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41 Comments
Good waste of $115 dollars. Wish I had that kind of discretionary income.
If you can, cut those balls in half and see what it looks like in the inside.
This is awesome! Never would have thought of balls being out of balance
What a great test. Thank you so much
What about Wilson Triad?
Look at you chillin by the pool! Never really thought about the balance of a golf ball. This test is pretty cool. I wasn't surprised on the pro v1s but seeing every Callaway ball past the test was shocking.
Great test, i think Bryson does something similiar before he plays, what are the manufacturers tolerances on "out of balance" gonads. ie specs within 2% etc etc
I tested 3 sleeves of kirkland balls. All were balanced.
Since it’s been raining for two days here in Virginia Beach, and will be raining for the next few, guess I know what I’m doing!!! Would be interesting next test to take those balls, and without knowing which were the unbalanced, and which were balanced, and do some putting with them to see if there is any correlation…I guess same with wedge shots, irons, and driver too!
i would be willing to play with these terrible balls for science. send me 10 dozen proV1s and ill send you an email of my findings
I wanna see that done on a kirkland ball. Might be staying away from the pro v1 now lol
Great video scary results. I believe Tiger and Bryson tested every brand and Bridgestone were the best.Could you test Bridgestone and Taylormade balls? Greetings from 🇬🇧
Not mentioned in the video is that Callaway (a) makes their own balls (instead of having them made in a factory in Asia) and (b) they had SERIOUS issues along these lines with the 2020 version of the ChromeSoft and ChromeSoft X. Cutting them open, you could actually see how out-of-round they were inside. So they re-tooled their manufacturing and quality control processes in order to eliminate the problem. This video is the first I've seen that looked at this issue specifically with the ChromeSoft. It looks like Callaway was successful.
This was a much bigger problem back when tour balls were built around a liquid center, with windings inside and a balata cover. Not only did they come from the factory in all kinds of shapes, they tended to go out-of-round due to routine play. Professionals would test each ball before putting it in the bag, and they'd switch balls after 3 or 4 holes as a matter of practice. They were also easy to scuff and cut. But now, with solid, multi-layer balls with urethane covers, you can play the ball until you lose it.
Wow! What a great golf ball video! You don’t always get what you pay for !
The question is , when you tee it up, what side do you put the green dot on to correct a slice 😄 🤣
Sweet video. Thanks!!
Epson salt works well. Maxfli Tour balls claim that to spin the ball before stamping the putting line on the ball. Either way you can place the ball with the dot in the up position and the balance issue is solved for putting anyway. By the way all of the balls with a dot are mine. Please return them to me. 🤑
Guess it is hard to trust the #1 ball in golf if the qc is not so good. Definitely a surprise.
Great test! How about cutting the bad ones in half and see if you can see a difference in thickness etc.?
I appreciate the time and effort you out into this! Could you do this with more? I would be curious to see Srixon, TaylorMade ect…
Love the shirt from Roland!
Gabe guy the science guy!
🐊🏌🦅🇺🇲👍
Now cut the bad balls open to see what the cores look like.
U should cut em in half
Did you take them on course and hit them with the balance points in different orientation?? Would like to see what actual real world difference an off balance ball does with putting or driver.
Just FYI. The NaCl concentration in “salt water” pools is very low. They are actually chlorine pools as they use an electric salt chlorine generator to produce chlorine to sanitize the water.
Cut the bad balls open to confirm off center or other flaws!
Ahh …you read Dave Pelz book, "Putt like the Pros" from 30 years ago.
saw comments below about putting test on bad balls. I am a lot more worried about ball flight. Does bad ball spin to the right of left for tee shots? you have to try multiple times on each bad ball because you may put a bad ball on the tee balanced
Expect a letter from Titleist. 😜
You should have putt with them to see if there was a difference.
While this was a fun video, zero concern it gave me personally. Just like any manufactured products, balls will have a tolerance, and its most likely miniscule. The weight of 10 grains of salt will cause a ball to keep centering dot at top of water. Guarantee all the balls we have ALL played at times with a scuf mark or smallest, tiniest little cut affects ball more than what the water test showed. I would only be concerned if balls were just snapping back almost instantly to same spot.
Gabe, this was a very interesting video and test. I remember like others have mentioned a couple years back when it was pointed out that Callaway had an issue with their balls, so they re-worked the manufacturing process to correct it. They must be doing well because the chrome soft X is a four-piece ball, and they were still well balanced with the multiple layers, which I'm sure is not easy. I normally play a Srixon ball, but I think after this test I might start using the Titleist Pro V1. I need all the excuses I can get.
Cut one of the bad and good ones open to see if you can tell a difference.
Also explained why JT’s putter hasn’t been working for him lately before he PGA🤪
I am glad to see the confirmation of the idea completed in a different manner Gabe. I originally started to think of this idea when I read an article of golf balls made in the distant past that were perfectly round on the outside, but had a randomly shaped core. To me, things like this make the game more interesting. I hope this does not lead to a salt shortage… Ha ha ha! In closing, this confirms what Dr. Hanford told me years ago, the only stupid question is the question you do not ask. So keep asking Gabe questions!
Cut em open. Cut a good ball and a bad ball from each and see how they are different on the inside.
the one golf related item i've never bought in my life are balls. i just take what i find in the forest or were given to me along the way! guess i'm in a similar boat as the big spenders.
You should try refurbished pro v1s
Wow 🤔 seriously interesting 👍
I did a similar test a few years ago with brand new balls; I think I found 2 out of 12 which were not perfect. However, I played a few rounds with the good balls and found they all failed when retested, even after only a couple of hits. I came to the conclusion that the integrity of any ball, premium or not, does not survive the first full contact with a club. I would love to see manufacturer prove otherwise but they seem strangely silent on the subject. In the balata days, many pro golfers changed the ball on every hole.
Now… How much do they go off line??? Pool table test??