Spin Rates of Balata vs Modern Urethane Balls

[Holy Moses]

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[quote name='Holy Moses' timestamp='1425919514' post='11108519']
On PGA Tour Radio, Dennis Paulson has been arguing that today's pros aren't as great of wedge players compared to pros who used balata balls. What are the spin rates of balata vs urethane balls with a wedge? What about proximity from 125 in 2014 compared to the 80s and 90s?
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So the guy who played back then says players were better back then? Sounds legit.
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Only because the ball was better for controlling wedges back then. Today's Tour players would be just as good as a 90s player.

[3jacker]

Spin was more of a hindrance back then.
Today's balls pretty much spin just the right amount.
Back in the 80s, early 90s, I never met any good player or pro who wanted more spin.

[OrangeGravy]

I was hitting a bucket at a local goat ranch range a few weeks ago. Found 2 tour balata balls mixed in with the range balls. I put them in my bag. Played the last 6 holes today with one of them. Same distance off the tee, but oh man I forgot how awesome those balls feel of the face of an iron and specially the putter! I'm gonna have to track some more down. Managed to make it all 6 holes without putting a smiley face in it

[jmcorr4]

We had to be better back then because all of the golf courses were uphill.

 

From the time you left the clubhouse until you got back, it was uphill all the way. So much uphill that you never saw the flags on the greens, so we had to be more precise with exactly how much spin we put on those balatas.

 

I remember putting so much spin on balatas that the ball would just hover in the air like a helicopter. Physics was different then, anyway. Back then, according to the Laws of Physics, you aimed path where you wanted the ball to start and set the face where you wanted it to end up. And we got more spin by hitting down, but the Laws of Physics changed and now you don't get more spin that way.

 

Ah, those were the good old days...

Yes. Balata Balls seemed to be suspended over the green forever and come down like a butterfly with sore feet. The sound though was the best, awesome! I miss that.

[elwhippy]

Yes they spun more. But one decent bunker shot or a slightly thin strike and hello practice bag. Add in the fact that balata balls moved all over the parish with longer clubs and I'll stick to my new TM Tour Preferred thank you.

[DevilDog]

Even just a wound Titleist Professional with a urethane cover compared to a Pro V1 has a lot more spin. Had a sleeve of 100 Professionals last year. Missed a green and flew the ball to the pin with it on a short pitch and it dead stopped where it landed. With a Pro V1, same club, same shot, the ball checked after taking a hop and ended up about 4 feet away from where Professional stopped.

[stage1350]

Like everything else, the death of the would ball was less about eliminating balata and more about consistency between balls. You might go through a dozen and fine 2-3 good balls. And they were only good until they went out of round or until you cut them.

 

ProV1 allowed for a solid core that stayed round and gained more distance. (Which Top Flite had proven with Z-Balata and Strata already)

[klbcec]

What I remember about balata was long irons going out to about 75% of the distance then rising due to the spin. Not the parabolic flight we see today.

[KMD]

I recall being happy watching a balata launch extremely low and balloon - it meant that you made a good swing and compressed the ball. Now, that same shot is met with a look of disgust - times have certainly changed.

[BobR_421]

CXX is right. The balatas were an entirely different ball. A lot more than just the cover. Soft, hollow rubber core filled with various fluids. They even had an acid core. Wrapped with rubber band and then a balata(natural rubber) or a synthetic cover. 
   When the two piece balls came out, they had one advantage. They did not loose as much distance in cool weather as did the rubber band balls. 
    The rubber band ball, even the DT90/DT100 rubber band balls with the synthetic cover just behaved better. 
     I believe it was in ‘90 maybe when Spaulding came out with the tour edition ball which was the first solid core ball I saw to behave similar to a rubber band ball.
    And the balata cover on a rubber band ball behaved best of all…

But, they were expensive and those covers were easy to cut. Lotta balls in the bag with a smile on them. 
 

I realize the post is old but so am I. 

[deepred]

On 4/21/2016 at 1:37 PM, klbcec said:

What I remember about balata was long irons going out to about 75% of the distance then rising due to the spin. Not the parabolic flight we see today.

Remember it well, almost hockey stick like flight. I remember Ray Floyd complained loudly that the solid balls didn’t spin like the “old Titleist balls”, you could really spin those! 
 

[Jgiori]

balata spun I ton and got tore up very easy

[StraightDriver235]

I miss chipping and pitching the old balata wound balls. The wedges weren't technologically advanced, but there was a feel to shots around the green that no longer exists. I recall hooking right to left low chips that rolled out so predictably. I don't feel you can work the ball inside 50 yards like you used to be able to.

[munichop]

The difference between balata balls and today's urethane is similar to impressionist painting and paint by numbers.  Today you can hit the ball very straight if you want but with a balata a straight ball was almost random.  To me there is a bigger difference between balata and current tour balls than current tour balls and the low compression 2 pice surlyn supersoft I play now.