While a ball is in flight, the swinger will look upward and yell such instructions as “sit…cut…get down...get up…fade...draw,” or something to that effect.
I’m here to tell you that it just doesn’t work. Golf balls — by their nature — just don’t listen after they have been struck. The only time you can talk to a golf ball is before you hit it, not after.
If you want to make a golf ball react to your desires, you have to talk to it while it’s on the tee. That is the proper time to say, “Ball, I want you to go high and then fade. OK?” It’s too late to address a ball, even the smart, expensive ones, such as the Titleist Pro V1, after you have hit it. Like children, they just won’t mind.
All of this brings up a few facts of life concerning golf balls. Unfortunately, most players don’t know the inner workings of these heavily dimpled little devils that fly through the air with abandon. As a seasoned veteran, let me share some time-honored data and extensive research on golf balls. Bear with me.
As stated, one cannot talk effectively to a golf ball after it has been hit. A ball must be addressed before it is struck.
A golf ball doesn’t know the age of the player that is hitting it. Therefore, a teenager such as Michelle Wie or a senior citizen like Arnold Palmer can send a ball soaring to amazing distances.
A golf ball doesn’t know how much your clubs cost and doesn’t care. A ball is not expected to travel farther because it was hit with an expensive instrument or “pop up” because it was hit with inferior equipment.
A golf ball must be hit with a square clubface at impact to fly correctly toward its destination. When smote accordingly, even a hickory shafted club will produce positive results and can out perform a titanium head that is propelled by a graphite shaft with a clubface that is open or closed.
If a ball falls off a tee, be assured that ball is nervous and should be replaced by a more experienced ball.
If a ball will not fall into the hole, that ball is afraid of the dark. Again, it should be replaced by a ball that doesn’t have such fears.
A ball may be either wound, solid core, two-piece or have a liquid center. Distances may vary accordingly.
Balls may have odd names such as Noodle, Strata, Ultra and 2000 or 3000. Do not let that prejudice you.
The smart player will experiment until he finds a ball he can communicate with, regardless of the name.
Don’t expect a ball to play well if it is wounded. Like humans, a ball that is cut, scratched or bruised should not be expected to perform to its full capacity.
Balls are known to punish players who hit them incorrectly by losing themselves in high rough, water or woods.
These are the “Ten Commandments” of golf balls as I see it. Now that you are up to snuff, you probably will play better.
The thing to remember is that while golf balls — even the featheries and the gutta perchas of olden days — don’t have ears, but they do have hearts and will respond to a little TLC.
Take my word.
Bill Hensley is a hall of fame golf publicist and free lance writer who lives in Charlotte
