Ball trajectory- then and now

[spinningwedge]

Do you remember the rising ball flight?

I've been messing around with some old blades and balata balls recently, and really noticed how different the ball flight is these days.

Hitting long irons well was not only possible but positively enjoyable for the average (100mpg driver) speed swinger, since the old ball spun much more on full shots, producing lift.

Pros these days have such a different ball flight- they bomb it upwards, and draws and fades seem to apex in a "regular" way- they start to turn left or right immediately and gradually. Back in the 1980s, straight shots would start much lower and rise- and hooks and fades would start out straight but turn much later in flight.

I miss the old trajectory It was SO impressive to watch someone like Seve hit screaming long irons that started 30 feet off the ground, then rose, and later tapered off left/right towards the target.

I'm getting old.

[blade_man]

I've been messing around with some old blades and balata balls recently, and really noticed how different the ball flight is these days.

 

Hitting long irons well was not only possible but positively enjoyable for the average (100mpg driver) speed swinger, since the old ball spun much more on full shots, producing lift.

 

Pros these days have such a different ball flight- they bomb it upwards, and draws and fades seem to apex in a "regular" way- they start to turn left or right immediately and gradually. Back in the 1980s, straight shots would start much lower and rise- and hooks and fades would start out straight but turn much later in flight.

 

I miss the old trajectory It was SO impressive to watch someone like Seve hit screaming long irons that started 30 feet off the ground, then rose, and later tapered off left/right towards the target.

 

I'm getting old.

 

Please take this as funnin' cause its 100 mph not mpg!! or did we get 100 mpg on the driver? I've never been that lucky and yes I can remember the different ball flight and it was VERY different. I'm old too!

[Ezgolfer]

Very good observation....

I love the old ball flight ...rise to apex than fall left or right ..

All we see now is more of a parabolic trajectory.

[palmettoman]

I loved those old Titleist balata balls. We had a local pro at our club that could hit the sweetest looking drive. It would travel out low for a hundred yards or so and then it seemed the afterburners kicked in and it rocketed skyward. Loved watching it.

 

As a kid, we would scour the course looking for lost balls. We would sell them to the men around the club, but never the Titleists. We coveted those things like they were gold. Nothing, not even fear of snake bites, chiggers, or the occasional snapping turtle, could keep us out of the creeks/woods looking for the holy grail of golf balls.

 

I feel sorry for the kids growing up these days...they will probably never know the feeling of a balata Titlesit being hit on the screws of a persimmon driver. Best feeling in golf.

[MNGolfer03]

Ah, the days of the old Titleist Tour Balata. As a kid I too used to covet those things as well. I only used them on Par 3's that didnt have water because i didnt want to use them.

[XYB34A]

I started playing golf, or attempting in 1973. It was about 10 or 12 years later before I could play 18 holes and not smile a ball. If you could do that with a balata ball back then, you were considered as "stick" , or a good player for those not old enough to know.

 

They had so much greenside spin, they make the Nike One Platinum, Prov or any of the other new spinning balls look silly. And to putt with one, was like heaven.

 

I bet it would take about 6 balls to play a round with todays aggressive grooves on wedges.

[Ham Solo]

Boy! This thread brings back some memories. :)

[tjewell1994]

my long irons now start out low and then rise, but i have changed my swing around just to get that flight, and ever since i did that, i've been playing much better.

[spinningwedge]

TJ 1994 how exactly are you doing that, and with what ball?

 

Seriously, I'm scouring Play It Again for balatas in decent shape to play with- I don't mind the loss of distance off the tee at all, for the pleasure of hitting good looking long irons again. It feels great having a 2 iron back in the bag.

 

Durability isn't an issue at 10c a ball and yes the grooves on my MP-R wedges make an absolute mess of the ball. 6 a round would be a conservative estimate, if playing competitively- remember Langer used to use 18 Wilson staffs a round!

[deeviant]

My ball flight has always been like this. It seems like its just going to fall fifty yards out then starts to head up rather quickly. As a matter of fact it caused me problems when I first started because I would try to help the ball get up. After a while I realized it was going just as far as everyone else's ball and just went with it. I don't really know how I do it though. I just always have.

Its very pronounced as well, to the point that most people I play with have made a comment or two about it. Once, we were playing behind a group that couldn't hit very far at all. They were about 100 - 125 yards out and I joked about hitting it over them, then playing thru. My buddy said there was no way I could do that as my ball would ding one of them in the back of the head before it decided to get up in the air.

[freelanceterry]

I so miss the Z balata 100's..... :angry2: :angry2: :angry2:

[502 to Right]

As a kid, we would scour the course looking for lost balls. We would sell them to the men around the club, but never the Titleists. We coveted those things like they were gold. Nothing, not even fear of snake bites, chiggers, or the occasional snapping turtle, could keep us out of the creeks/woods looking for the holy grail of golf balls.

 

 

Don't forget leeches. :)

 

When I was young (in the 1980's) my brother and I would go to a local course at night and go diving in the ponds for balls. Good times. I never liked the balatas back then--to me the holy grail was a Titleist 384 DT. Balatas were one bad swing away from toast.

 

I think kids today just expect their parents to shell out the dough to get them ProV1's.

[yoonie]

My dad sure does. When I started playing seriously 2 years ago, I'd hit some really steep shots that would start super low and then just balloon up into the wind. My dad would respond with "great shot!"....until he saw where it ended up. I guess he assumed his ball flight had changed because he doesn't have the strenght he used to.

[italianstallion]

I started playing in 2004, but the combination of a persimmon driver and a balata ball produced a first shot tradjectory I'll never forget. Its what hooked me

[golfdad907]

AH, yes the memories you bring back...

 

You knew you just killed it when it took off about flag high, then started climbing like a plane taking off about 100 yards out, it was a thing of beauty....anyone remember denting those babies? Especially in the summer, the 100 compression you could cream one, maybe bust a few threads (they were really wound) and the ball would have a flat spot....of course it got expensive when they smiled at you

[ScooterMcTavish]

Ah, the joys of hitting the nuts off of a Spalding Tour Edition or a neon-yellow Maxfli DDH with a laminated Golden Bear driver with the transparent cycolac insert.

 

Well, with my Nickent hybrids, I can still hit some of those "climby" type shots. Especially with the 3-hybrid.

 

Guess the old Top Flite Plus or the Golden Ram 492 with those 492 tiny dimples were a harbinger of things to come. Those things always seemed to go farther up than long.

 

Living in cold and windy Manitoba, those DDH's always seemed to be a great ball. Not just for wind, but for sidespin.

[funkyfedora]

I have had a few drives like that with the newer balls... Granted. It was into the wind...

[hoganfan924]

The "rising fastball" used to be the mark of a good ballstriker. I don't really miss it though!

[HISPL]

I loved the feel of the old Rextar Promodel balata balls off of a persimmon wood.

 

I used (and still have somewhere) a Persimmon Mizuno Pro 4 wood and a Persimmon Honma Hiroshima driver there was no better feeling than hitting one off the screws with these clubs. They both had carbon fibre inserts in the face.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind having to go back to balls that spin like those old balatas if the R&A or USGA declared a rollback. :)

[Dei3Nascar8]

I still have a 3 ball sleeve in my office that I will never play with left over from playing High School Ball. I stopped playing for about 5 years and when I went to buy golf balls again the guy looked at me like I was nuts when I asked for Titleist Tour Balata 90's. Laughed and told me they didn't make them any more. I spent a year searching for the feel and performance from the balata. I hated the Pro V1's cause they were so hard. Little did I know that they were one of the softest. After a year of searching I came across one and started playing it to see what the fuss was about. I loved it compared to all the other balls I was using. Since then I have had a much more open mind about the feel of the ball because I don't think we will ever find the buttery balls of the past. I curently am playing the Pro V1 and Nike One Tour. Both are great balls with the Nike being a touch more resiliant.

[steverum]

I've been messing around with some old blades and balata balls recently, and really noticed how different the ball flight is these days.

 

Hitting long irons well was not only possible but positively enjoyable for the average (100mpg driver) speed swinger, since the old ball spun much more on full shots, producing lift.

 

Pros these days have such a different ball flight- they bomb it upwards, and draws and fades seem to apex in a "regular" way- they start to turn left or right immediately and gradually. Back in the 1980s, straight shots would start much lower and rise- and hooks and fades would start out straight but turn much later in flight.

 

I miss the old trajectory It was SO impressive to watch someone like Seve hit screaming long irons that started 30 feet off the ground, then rose, and later tapered off left/right towards the target.

 

I'm getting old.

 

 

I miss the days of the "old low riser" I think when the ProV1 and maybe the professional came out, it was a thing of the past.

 

Still alot of people out there trying to hit those shots, because they grew up that way, but the equipment now is for high launch low spin and I havent seen or hit those shots in a long time

[ezra76]

I started playing in 2004 so after the balata's but have hit a ton of them at the range. I got a tub of over 1000 balls and at least half were "tour balata's" . I still throw a half dozen in my bag and hit them off at the range time to time. I love hitting a longer iron and especially my 13* 3W with them. The ball goes out low, rises and draws. Also, can feel the ball off the clubface. Those balata balls have to be more workable/controllable than the balls of today. I actually hope they'll go back to something with similar qualities when the Vgrooves are back for everyone.

[cheers big ears]

In an attempt to re-live my youth I procured a set of sam snead blueridge blades, a set of speedslot woods, and a dozen tour 90's (All in ebay cost £60uk). In fear, I had to chicken out and head to the range to make sure I could hit them alright - but things were fine. I could almost keep up with the driver as the shaft was so short (42") you can middle every swing!

 

Anyway eventually plucked up the courage to turn up at the Sunday competition with plus fours - leather carry bag and tour 90's.

 

Had amazing fun - by the second nine I was firing 5 irons under branches and round corners, on the 17th I called a shot to my playing partners as "I'm going to hit this to the left bunker draw it on a couple of yards then the backspin will zip it left" The plug mark was literally 30 feet away from the ball.

 

I had a nightmare on the front nine as the normal chip shot would grab so fast it got nowhere near the hole. And as for distance (more caused by the ball i'm sure) that shot I called was a 7 iron, my mate hit a Tm black powered PW from about 5 yards on.... For the hole i'd hit driver, 7iron. He'd hit 3iron, wedge. But, trust me, I had way more fun!

[ksteven]

This is starting to look like an "old man" thread and I believe that I easily fit the profile. I do remember the balata balls and persimmon woods. Just thinking about the old balls brought back many memories, with the quick snap hook being foremost in my mind. The golf game today has become, even for us "rank" amateurs, tee it high, swing hard, go find and putt. One of the earlier posters stated that the ball now will self correct in mid flight. Just watch the shot tracers on telecasts and shots start drawing or fading then straighten out. I would love to see a tracer on a balata ball. I believe the results would show how much harder it was to groove a swing back then.

 

I will now get back in my rocker and pull up my blanket to keep warm. Is it time for my medication?

[cristphoto]

I sure do remember. I've always played a high spin ball. Maybe about 15 years ago I switched to the Spalding Tour Edition ball one season and it had to have had the highest spin off every club in the bag. I remember hitting 2-irons that would take off low for maybe 100 yards or so and then rise up quick. You don't see that with todays products since the drivers (and balls) are designed to have lower spin off the tee.

[honketyhank]

I remember those days too. I quit golf in 1982 -- was never any good, never had lessons, never had a clue, and didn't have the time to keep my banana slice grooved. When I played with folks who "hit it on the screws" resulting in those line drives with afterburner trajectories, I just thought "good grief, how did he do that?".

 

Fast forward. Started golf again in 2004.

 

Does anyone nowadays know what "hit it on the screws" actually means?

 

The line drive, delayed onset afterburner trajectory is now considered to be a defect -- it certainly robs you of distance compared to what you should be able to achieve with a carefully selected shaft, properly selected ball, and optimally chosen clubhead.

 

I am having trouble deciding whether that is good or bad. Please pass the Metamucil.

[Cal]

Do you remember the noise--- hit your Hogan driver and it would take off low with a "whish" then after about 100 metres it would rise and make the "whhhrrrrr".

 

Love it.... feck it- where can I get some of that again!!

 

" hit it in the screws"- thats what the red plastic plate used to be held on with... four screws---- I remember the first metal drivers even had fake crews and plate to make it look like the old persimmon.!!

[Srixon-Ian]

I am not an old man I am 18, but I know what you are talking about. I learned golf with my Dad's old hogan irons from when he was in High School and the matching 1-3-5-7 woods. Also, my uncle worked on a golf course so I had loads of old titleists. It was definitely a transition when I got new clubs and balls.

[mikpga]

As we're remembering yesterdays golf ball with a smile on our faces, let's remember what these balls were also good at creating, SMILES...

 

Remember those!

 

I remember hitting thin shots, and immediately getting mad because I knew there would be a stinking gash in the ball...

 

I think I will be content with the new golf ball!

[honketyhank]

As we're remembering yesterdays golf ball with a smile on our faces, let's remember what these balls were also good at creating, SMILES...

 

Remember those!

 

I remember hitting thin shots, and immediately getting mad because I knew there would be a stinking gash in the ball...

 

I think I will be content with the new golf ball!

 

I remember trying to decide if the smile was big enough to worry about. If so, well tee it up on a water hole par 3. For goodness sake, don't throw it away.

 

Yes, new balls don't smile like they used too. :-) But you know? ... I smile more than I used to.