Why are ball sleeves always in 3s?

[spartan6910]

Chalk this one up under "random s*** that I thought of in the shower". Why are "sleeves" of balls always* comprised of 3? What is the purpose of only serving up 3 balls at a time? If the first answer that comes to your mind is "well, duh, to easily contain a dozen balls in a box," then I ask you...why a dozen? And why not 3 4-ball sleeves?

 

I'm thinking logistically and economically, and I think companies could be more profitable if they sold boxes with less. The perception of going through them quicker could yield more sales.

 

There has to be some logical reason why 3 is the magic number, but I can't come up with it. Is that the average number of balls used per round by the average golfer? I'd think it might be more than that.

 

Again, random musings that really require no concrete answer but it just struck me as odd that there is no deviation whatsoever from that standard.

 

 

*I remember Pinnacle made a 4-ball sleeve back in the day and I believe some company had a 5-ball at one point.

[hybrid25]

Like everything else, it has something to do with money.

[hybrid25]

Like everything else, it has something to do with money. It's a well-known fact that items sold in threes is more attractive psychologically. Also, the number 12 has more palatability then other numbers.

[hybrid25]

Like everything else, it has something to do with money. It's a well-known fact that items sold in threes are more attractive psychologically. Also, the number 12 has more palatability then other numbers.

[BicknellCC]

Kind of like the chicken or the egg.

 

There was a packaging company that manufactured the 4 sleeves in a box concept for a product that failed miserably. Rather than take the loss on existing inventory they figured out that 3 golf balls fit in each sleeve, so they sold the Haskell golf ball company on the idea, and the die was cast. :)

[scotee]

Tennis is older than golf and T balls come in cans of 3. Love the sound and smell of opening a can of tennis balls! Random thoughts from the shower :)

[brkuck]

Maybe years ago they thought that golf balls would last 6 holes each with normal wear and tear. 1 sleeve = 18 holes.

[Fade]

1 for a slice.

1 for a shank.

1 to finish the round with.

[wkuo3]

3 is just the right number, plus the sleeve of 3 fits in the pocket of trousers better than 4 or more.

[nsxguy]

Chalk this one up under "random s*** that I thought of in the shower". Why are "sleeves" of balls always* comprised of 3? What is the purpose of only serving up 3 balls at a time? If the first answer that comes to your mind is "well, duh, to easily contain a dozen balls in a box," then I ask you...why a dozen? And why not 3 4-ball sleeves?

 

I'm thinking logistically and economically, and I think companies could be more profitable if they sold boxes with less. The perception of going through them quicker could yield more sales.

 

There has to be some logical reason why 3 is the magic number, but I can't come up with it. Is that the average number of balls used per round by the average golfer? I'd think it might be more than that.

 

Again, random musings that really require no concrete answer but it just struck me as odd that there is no deviation whatsoever from that standard.

 

 

*I remember Pinnacle made a 4-ball sleeve back in the day and I believe some company had a 5-ball at one point.

 

I think you should stop taking showers. :cheesy:

[Ghost_Orchid]

Chalk this one up under "random s*** that I thought of in the shower". Why are "sleeves" of balls always* comprised of 3? What is the purpose of only serving up 3 balls at a time? If the first answer that comes to your mind is "well, duh, to easily contain a dozen balls in a box," then I ask you...why a dozen? And why not 3 4-ball sleeves?

 

I'm thinking logistically and economically, and I think companies could be more profitable if they sold boxes with less. The perception of going through them quicker could yield more sales.

 

There has to be some logical reason why 3 is the magic number, but I can't come up with it. Is that the average number of balls used per round by the average golfer? I'd think it might be more than that.

 

Again, random musings that really require no concrete answer but it just struck me as odd that there is no deviation whatsoever from that standard.

 

 

*I remember Pinnacle made a 4-ball sleeve back in the day and I believe some company had a 5-ball at one point.

 

I think you should stop taking showers. :cheesy:

 

Or start taking baths...you'll probably have time to come up with answers.

[CallWhitey]

Why is it called a “sleeve”?

[AcmeGolf]

[trackcoach13]

Callaway Rule 35 was sleeve of 5

 

[mjforn]

Well evdently I must be "Obi Wan Kenobi" Back in the day when there was only one ball manufacturer available and no Sharpies'. A foursome would buy a dozen balls and each player would get a sleeve, with each his own number 1, 2, 3 & 4.

 

 

 

:golfer:

[bigmoneyp]

I've seen sleeves of 2 and 4 as well but yes 3 is the most common.

[cardoustie]

Lots of wasted packaging $$$

[sandtrap]

You used to get 1 titleist in a box

[GolfTurkey]

Tennis is older than golf and T balls come in cans of 3. Love the sound and smell of opening a can of tennis balls! Random thoughts from the shower :)

 

I used to play a lot of tennis (until my elbow did me in) and the best part by far was opening up a new tin and snorting up a storm!

[Hanlpa01]

> @trackcoach13 said:

> Callaway Rule 35 was sleeve of 5

 

And if I’m not mistaken it was a 10-ball pack. Two sleeves in a box. Not sure the logic behind that one either or the market they were trying to hit.

[Golf Puff]

Callaway did research that told them the average player (maybe the average player who would use a Rule 35?) needed 4.x balls per round, thus the 5 ball sleeve. The two sleeve box was probably a price concession to buying 15 or 20 balls at a time, when the 15-pack was really seen as the 'hacker' pack for the golfer who needed a lot of balls to complete the round. They didn't want that connotation!

[Hanlpa01]

> @"Golf Puff" said:

> Callaway did research that told them the average player (maybe the average player who would use a Rule 35?) needed 4.x balls per round, thus the 5 ball sleeve. The two sleeve box was probably a price concession to buying 15 or 20 balls at a time, when the 15-pack was really seen as the 'hacker' pack for the golfer who needed a lot of balls to complete the round. They didn't want that connotation!

 

Interesting points that I’d never considered. Makes sense in hindsight. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Golf Puff]

I also remember TaylorMade having a 3-ball plastic sleeve, sealed, sort of like tennis balls. I think they were model "Inergel" or something like that. Creative packaging but probably not of much value. Solid core golf balls back around 1990 used to get faster/longer as the cores 'cured' over a few months. The USGA would purposely set submitted golf balls aside for a period before doing conformance testing (in the days of initial velocity and ODS). Not sure what is protocol now, though.

[grm24]

> @Hanlpa01 said:

> > @trackcoach13 said:

> > Callaway Rule 35 was sleeve of 5

>

> **And if I’m not mistaken it was a 10-ball pack**. Two sleeves in a box. Not sure the logic behind that one either or the market they were trying to hit.

Correct and they were priced at $36 for 10 balls.

 

 

[Forged4ever]

The Father...

 

The Son.....

 

The ?.......

 

Cheers?

RP

[thisjustanother]

i just thought it came in 3 cause you use one, and keep 2 in the pocket. easy managing that way

[BB28403]

I don’t know, I place my TP5X’s in a large corn silo and swim thru them before breakfast.

[Celebros]

> @trackcoach13 said:

> Callaway Rule 35 was sleeve of 5

 

Man, that brings back memories. Seems like those weird TaylorMade Inergel balls in the plastic tubes w/lids were of a similar vintage.