Anyone ever use a Check Go Pro device?

jakkim · April 4, 2009

Ball Balancing

I just got done reading the Pelz Putting Bible and he had a section on balancing golf balls for better roll. I know this was hugely popular with older wound balls but thought was pretty much irrelevant with today's multilayer balls. Anyway, I was curious so I picked up a Check Go Pro ball spinning device. It's supposed to spin the ball at 10,000 rpms and identify the balls exact balance point. I took it home and ran through 2 dozen Callaway XI's and to my surprise not a single ball had the same balance point, also not a single ball was balanced alignment stamp or the balls seem. After marking a few balls I put them back in the Check Go with the balanced equator in a different alignment and marked the balls again. In every case the same equator was identified so I'm pretty sure the device works properly and as advertised. This is supposed to help out with putting and eliminate wobble. Who knows if it will actually work on the course or if there will be any actual benefit, however, I thought it was pretty cool and it was super easy to use. If for no other reason at least it provides a reliable alignment mark rather than just arbitrarily drawing some line...plus when it comes to putting I need all the help I can get :) . Has anyone else used one of these things, what were your thoughts?

indaruff1 · April 4, 2009

Yes I have used one for about 2 years and "for me" it does work . May be mental and may be for real . But there is a "true" balance point to a golf ball and it does change with each ball .

BankerGolfer · April 4, 2009

Completely unnecessary nowadays. The major ball manufacturers essentially do this process to ensure consistency in their balls.

jakkim · April 4, 2009

Completely unnecessary nowadays. The major ball manufacturers essentially do this process to ensure consistency in their balls.

Then why don't they mark them accordingly? At least the Callaway XI's that I play with have a little sight line on them, however not one was aligned with the proper equator of the ball. Like I said, I even respun the balls and each time it provided me with the exact same equator, which tells me at least that there may still be balance issues in modern day balls...how else would it keep giving me the same exact line. If the balls were already perfectly balanced I would expect to get several different lines, however each ball had a distinct equator when spun. It's weird, pretty cool, maybe stupid and pointless, but seems to work with what I've seen.

HarboursideTC · April 4, 2009

This is Golf, Jakkim. The first and foremost rule of golf is (you may want to write this down): If it works for you, it WORKS!

I have tried that machine and it does seem to provide consistent results. As others have said, it might be unnecessary since balls are way better than they used to be. Still, it can't possibly hurt to be even more exact - so go for it!

MTM · April 4, 2009

I used one for a year or two. For me it made me too analytical on the greens.

I'm more of a feel player and I started wondering if I lined the marking up EXACTLY on my intended line. What if rolled a perfect putt but the line on my ball wasn't pointed correctly? I guess it could help figure out if your stroke or your line was wrong on a missed putt but I found myself thinking too much about it.

I now place my ball so I can't see any markings when I putt. I just look at the ball the hole.

stevesxm · April 5, 2009

Completely unnecessary nowadays. The major ball manufacturers essentially do this process to ensure consistency in their balls.

Then why don't they mark them accordingly? At least the Callaway XI's that I play with have a little sight line on them, however not one was aligned with the proper equator of the ball. Like I said, I even respun the balls and each time it provided me with the exact same equator, which tells me at least that there may still be balance issues in modern day balls...how else would it keep giving me the same exact line. If the balls were already perfectly balanced I would expect to get several different lines, however each ball had a distinct equator when spun. It's weird, pretty cool, maybe stupid and pointless, but seems to work with what I've seen.

because the make about a trillion golf balls a year. to individually balance and mark them wouldn't be practical in any respect what so ever. a golf ball would cost $ 20. on the other hand if you look at the rotational physics at play you would see that the out of balance accellerations ( centripetal) and the resulting forces ( centrifugal) at the nominal revs of a putting stroke which looks to be about 20 to 40 rpm would be 3 decimal point sort of numbers and the realistic chances of that effect having some influence over the driven path of the ball when you consider the turf and club face effects are, in fact, absolute zero.

science says , " yes... everything makes a difference" and that is the literal truth. however in the real world, that difference can be immeasurable and have no genuine influence.

thats what golf ball balancing is. don't believe me ? ill take 20 golf balls and balance10 of them. then, without you knowing which is which, you go putt them.

then , for $100 , ill bet you can't identify 6 of the 10 that were balanced.

LucF · April 5, 2009

Stevesxm, I think you're absolutely right. It's on drives -- not putts -- that hitting balanced balls should have the most impact, but even on drives, and contrary to what the people making the Check Go Pro claim, I think the impact should be negligible because although the device may find the ball's perfect balancing point, my intuition tells me that the overall balance of modern balls is so good that the delta between the perfect balancing point and any other ball position is minimal.

Jakkim, having said all this, I've been using the device on every ball I put in play for more than a year :beruo: . I have had the same results you describe with Pro V1X's. I find it useful to make a neat line all around the ball, and since I'm making line, I figure I'll make it on the perfect balancing point. On the course I'll sometimes use the line to align drives or putts, depending on my mood. I most often align short putts, as I find it helps keep me focused on the ball -- not on the cup. I mostly align first shots on par 3's for the same reason.