Equipment

5 things you didn’t know about Callaway golf balls

Published

8 years ago

Oct 20, 2016

Not to downplay the science and engineering behind making golf clubs, but there’s an extra-impressive complexity in the chemistry and precision necessary to make golf balls, especially when you’re making them by the millions.

There’s also an impressively off-putting, rotten-egg-like smell that emits from a golf ball factory that awakens the nostrils.

Recently, I headed to Callaway’s golf ball manufacturing facility in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as part of a GolfWRX member experience — check out the thread here for photos and info from the event — to learn more about Callaway golf balls and tour the plant.

Get the full, step-by-step process of how Chrome Soft golf balls are made here.

Below, I highlight 5 things you may not know about Callaway golf balls, the golf ball facility and the company’s history.

1) Chico-what? Chico-who?

The front entrance to Callaway’s Chicopee facility

How does one of the largest golf ball manufacturers in the world end up in a place called Chicopee?

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington fancied the area as a National Armory because of its location on the Connecticut River, according to Vince Simonds, who is the Senior Director Global Golf Ball Operations who has spent more than 30 years working at the facility. At that time, and still to this day, metal and gunmakers thrived in the area, making it a place for manufacturing business to thrive.

The building, which we know today as Callaway’s golf ball facility, was built in 1915 for car manufacturing, but Ford’s monopoly put the brakes on that business. Spalding later purchased the facility, where it made the world’s first dimpled golf ball, and Top Flight golf balls for years. The company also made other products including basketballs, volleyballs and more equipment for a variety of sports. In fact, the halls of fame for basketball (Springfield) and volleyball (Holyoake) are each located nearby. As the story goes, James Naismith invented basketball at a YMCA in Springfield in 1891… while volleyball surprised everyone in the world, including me, by having an entire Hall of Fame dedicated to the sport.

In 2003, Callaway beat out TaylorMade in an auction for Top Flight’s assets, which included patents and the Chicopee golf ball plant. And there you have it.

2) The secret’s in… the secrets

CS16 Chicopee-4-3

“The key to this business is the tooling,” Simonds said.

Since Callaway makes all of its tooling in house, including the cavities used to formulate the dimples — which is a trade secret with which I’m sworn to secrecy — it’s a safe bet you’d never be able to replicate a Callaway golf ball.

To make its 2016 Chrome Soft golf balls, which generate big ball speeds from a low-compression design, Callaway makes its core, mantle and outer layers from a unique type of rubber and a special mixture of Surlyn.

3) Is Truvis the truth?

Custom GolfWRX logo Chrome Soft Truvis golf balls from @CallawayGolf pic.twitter.com/Z0SgXdmCnu

— GolfWRX (@GolfWRX) October 4, 2016

Callaway’s new Chrome Soft Truvis golf balls currently represent 30 percent of sales in the Chrome Soft golf ball umbrella. THIRTY PERCENT!

We should have seen this coming, since soccer is the world’s most popular sport (about 115 million people watched the 2015 Super Bowl, while more than 1 billion tuned into the 2015 FIFA World Cup final, according to multiple sources). A golf ball designed with soccer-ball like pentagons is certainly a shift from the norm — a shift that is apparently working.

GolfWRXTruvisCallaway

The labeling on a Truvis golf ball requires a special machine and process. When the company decided on bringing the concept to production, it planted one of the “Truvis machines” in its Chicopee plant.

“We forecasted the machine would be collecting dust by now,” Simonds said.

On the contrary, there now sits three machines in the Chicopee plant, and there’s no dust in the forecast.

Fun fact: The Truvis design is treated as a logo on a golf ball, meaning you can play a Chrome Soft regular ball (all white or all yellow) and switch in a Truvis Chrome Soft ball mid-round without violating the USGA’s one-ball rule.

*Congrats to forum user Lavaone who made his first hole-in-one using a GolfWRX Truvis golf ball!!

4) 45 degrees

ChromeSoft45degrees

Callaway has a machine that orients the logos on each Callaway golf ball the same way every time. The “seam” on each golf ball runs at a 45-degree angle to the lettering on the side of each ball. According to Simonds, aligning that seam a certain way to the target will have no effect on its flight.

5) Dimple patterns used to be designed and tested on bowling balls

BowlingBallCallaway

Golf ball manufacturing wasn’t always the super advanced and highly technological process it is now. Callaway used to layout different dimple designs on bowling balls, as pictured above. And instead of files of feedback compiled on a computer, feedback was compiled on handwritten sheets of paper, and stashed in actual files. Remember those?

It wasn’t until later the now-famous HEX dimple was developed, but it is possible the idea was conceived on a bowling ball.

And no, the bowling balls were not made by Spalding.

: The front entrance to Callaway’s Chicopee facility

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

38 Comments

Dave r

Oct 23, 2016 at 7:57 pm

So how do they make a ball with interior balls and a cover without seams ? Are they one piece injected into a mould ? Who knows the answer ? Please

Reply Report comment
Golfer

Oct 22, 2016 at 4:12 pm

All their balls as good as not to be used at the tour. Most of the guys play special made callaway balls made for them. Forget and buy prov1 or x and have the real best ball.

Callaway is no real ball. Period.

Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Oct 25, 2016 at 9:40 am
  
  Sorry to burst your bubble of hatred, but I know for fact that balls used by the tour players are the very same ones used by the likes of you and I. I know this as I used to be involved in the manual printing of their personal logos on the balls in the UK.
  
  Reply Report comment
BIG STU

Oct 22, 2016 at 8:09 am

Pretty informative well written article. I gave it a like
Now not wanting to burst any one’s bubble but Callaway was not the first to come out with the hex dimples. US Royal did it in the early 70s with the Royal Plus 6 ball. Some of us old timers were hashing it over the other night in the Classic Golf Forum of WRX. At the time it was the distance leader hands down for Balata balls but it would balloon bad into the wind and do some funky stuff it the wind was behind you. It would also do some funky stuff out of a flyer rough lie. Normal play it would fly and spin on a approach shot as good as any other Balata ball at the time and it putted decent too. They only made them a couple of years until the US Royal golf division went belly up

Reply Report comment
- Joe Golfer
  
  Oct 22, 2016 at 11:43 pm
  
  I remember those Royal golf balls, with the hexagonal dimples.
  Back then, I was in middle school, so I played pretty much whatever golf balls I could get my hands on, regardless of brand name or type. Thus, I never really knew the difference between different brands or models of golf balls.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John O'Neill
    
    Oct 26, 2016 at 10:35 am
    
    Thanks for the input, I too was thinking about the Royal ball when reading the hex claim in the article! Just for fun I remember another ball that came out around the time of the Royal remember Polaris the ball that supposedly would not hook or slice? At least I think that was the claim.
    
    Reply Report comment
Kenny

Oct 21, 2016 at 3:39 pm

I have never seen a Truvis ball on the course. Amazing that many are being sold. Is that mostly overseas?

Reply Report comment
- Hack
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 6:14 pm
  
  I have been playing them for over a year now and just recently had to mark my ball for the first time as another in my foursome was playing them. I can’t find them in any brick and mortar retailer and in fact have trouble finding them online except for Callaway’s site. I have a buddy that is good friends with a rep and he wanted to get me a dozen, rep told him he can’t get his hand on any.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Big Diesel
    
    Oct 21, 2016 at 8:33 pm
    
    Interesting, the shop at my club sells them and Dick’s has them in the shelf next to the plain white and plain yellow. I’ve been trying the truvis and I like the optics although my normal playing partners can’t stand seeing this “ugly” thing on the green.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Diesel425
    
    Oct 21, 2016 at 8:37 pm
    
    That’s interesting, the shop at my club sells these and I just saw a bunch of boxes at Dick’s. Wonder why your area is running low?
    
    Reply Report comment
  - jim
    
    Oct 27, 2016 at 2:55 pm
    
    my buddy plays them, i can’t help but yell GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL when he sinks a long one
    
    Reply Report comment
- Ben
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 10:39 pm
  
  Golf Galaxy carries ball in White/Red and Yellow/Black.
  
  Reply Report comment
Troy Sheaffer

Oct 21, 2016 at 1:16 pm

Nice article and informative.
Have been playing the Chrome Soft’s since they were introduced and love them.
They have great feel on and around the greens, very good distance and are priced well.

I have found a few differences in the 2015 and 2016 models.
At least for me I found the 2015 version seemed to be longer on every shot, but only average spin around the green. I am one half club longer with my irons with this ball.

the 2016 doesn’t appear to be quite as long but has more spin/bite on approach shots and especially pitches and chips around the green.
Both versions are great to putt.

For the money, I don’t feel you can find or play a better ball.

Reply Report comment
- Ben
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 10:40 pm
  
  The 2015 ball is 3-piece. The 2016 is 4-piece.
  
  Reply Report comment
Pingback: 5 Things You Didn’t Know about Callaway golf balls | Swing Update
Ob

Oct 20, 2016 at 8:50 pm

These balls have seams? No wonder they play like cr@p. The most overrated ball that changed overrated balls

Reply Report comment
- Ignorant
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 9:44 pm
  
  A ProV1x and pretty much any other golf ball out there has seams…
  
  Reply Report comment
  - SI
    
    Oct 21, 2016 at 3:38 am
    
    Except for Srixons. Z Stars have none
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Scott
      
      Oct 21, 2016 at 5:26 pm
      
      nope, srixon has seems
      
      Reply Report comment
      - ACGolfwrx
        
        Oct 21, 2016 at 5:59 pm
        
        Bridgestone don’t have seems, that’s it.
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        mhendon
        
        Oct 22, 2016 at 10:13 pm
        
        All balls have seams they just learned how to hide it by following the dimple pattern instead of going straight
        
        Reply Report comment
Matt

Oct 20, 2016 at 7:30 pm

Seriously want a Golfwrx dozen!!!!!!!

Reply Report comment
alexdub

Oct 20, 2016 at 2:55 pm

Sorry to be negative— but for such a cool experience, the photos accompanying this article are absolutely terrible. Doesn’t seem like much work to bring a DSLR and get something worth posting. A great opportunity shouldn’t be held back by bad content.

Reply Report comment
- ooffa
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 3:04 pm
  
  1 up
  
  Reply Report comment
- Boobsy McKiss
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 5:20 pm
  
  You don’t think Callaway had all kinds of restrictions on what he could take photos of? Wake up. It’s called protecting your business. An engineer familiar with the business could possibly dissect important information from detailed photos. They have proprietary manufacturing processes and the writer was apt to point that out in the article. Obviously the writer incorrectly assumed readers such as yourself would be smart enough to figure out why there are so few photos to accompany the article.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Regis
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 12:04 pm
  
  I’ve visited a lot of plants and facilities for all sorts of product manufacturers, shipping and routing facilities etc. I represented them in litigation. You’re not bringing a Film crew or even a DSLR into any of them. You want pictures-ask and they’ll send them to you. Matter of fact you usually are only given access when the workers aren’t present.
  
  Reply Report comment
Luis Carrion

Oct 20, 2016 at 2:21 pm

How can we get a hold of the CS Truvis with the GolfWRX logo?

Reply Report comment
Luis Carrion

Oct 20, 2016 at 2:20 pm

How can we get some of the GolfWRX Truvis Golf Balls???

Reply Report comment
Sl

Oct 20, 2016 at 1:08 pm

Srixon: Seamless = Better balls.

Reply Report comment
- Scott
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 5:25 pm
  
  From Golf Digest “According to Rae, the aerodynamic properties of a ball are different in a dimpled area than they are across a seam. To help maintain ball speed in the air, Srixon developed a system that fuses the two halves of the ball together without creating a straight seam. Instead, the seam is created between, over and around dimples. By eliminating the straight seam, the ball should simply fly better, and more predictably, through the air.”
  
  Therefore: Srixon = seem
  
  Reply Report comment
- ACGolfwrx
  
  Oct 21, 2016 at 6:04 pm
  
  Srixon has a staggered seam. Bridgestone is the only company that make seamless golf balls.
  
  Reply Report comment
the bishop

Oct 20, 2016 at 12:22 pm

5 things you didn’t know about Callaway golf balls. #4 is pretty unnerving.

Reply Report comment
- es
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 4:40 pm
  
  i use the yellow / black truvis chrome soft balls and love it.
  
  That said – can we have more clarification on #4, “According to Simonds, aligning that seam a certain way to the target will have no effect on its flight.” what does that mean? does that mean we should be using the lettering to line up drives? I never pay attention to how my ball sits on the tee, are you telling me I should?
  
  Reply Report comment
- rymail00
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 7:20 pm
  
  Anyone which way to line the ball for limited effect?
  
  Just curious.
  
  Reply Report comment
Greg V

Oct 20, 2016 at 12:14 pm

So if Top-Flite sold their assets to Callaway, who is making the Top-Flite Gamer and Gamer Soft?

Reply Report comment
- cgasucks
  
  Oct 20, 2016 at 12:50 pm
  
  Callaway…
  
  Reply Report comment
  - RVA USMC
    
    Oct 20, 2016 at 4:13 pm
    
    Actually Top Flite is owned by Dicks and they make Top Flite and Slazenger balls.
    
    Reply Report comment
- tzed
  
  Oct 25, 2016 at 1:22 pm
  
  Top Flite are made overseas, I believe in Taiwan or Chine. I’ve played the Top Flite Gamer Tour, a 3-piece urethane ball. You can get 2-dozen for $35 at Dick’s (and only at Dick’s). They’re not as good as Chrome Soft or Pro V1s around the green, but better than mid-priced balls like the e6, NXT Tour Project(a).
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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