BALATA golf balls?

[chaley6077]

Can you still get them?

So, I'm mulling over trying to get a Persimmon, Balata and Blades tournament going at my local course late this summer, just for some fun. Most people already have or could find blades and persimmon woods, so no problems there.

The greater than expected problem is in trying to find balata balls. My original thought was that I would try to find a source from whom I could buy enough that everyone gets 6 balatas included in their entry fee. Well, a couple of issues: 1) balatas became extinct at the turn of the century, so there's no affordable supply of new ones (I was shocked to find that on eBay "new" boxes of Tour Balatas can go in the low $100's), 2) I could maybe find used ones (still not even sure about that), but I can't imagine a 10 yr. old used balata would even be playable.

This seemed like a fun idea and the people I've talked to about it sounded interested, but I've got to find a way to get over this hurdle with the golf balls. Golfwrx seems like the #1 source for such information. Anybody out there have any ideas of any place to find a stockpile or, alternatively, if there's any decent, more modern, substitute out there that would play as rascally as a balata?

[buttuh]

I don't have any experiences with these vendors so use at your own risk. You might want to contact them first to see if they actually have them in stock. Good luck, sounds like a fun tournament.

 

http://middlegradeusedgolfballs.com/1105.html

http://www.guaranteedgolfballs.com/1101.html

http://middlegradeusedgolfballs.com/7778.html

[CRHgolfer]

Where is IL are you planning on holding the Tourney? I would play :) Sorry to be no help to your topic though!

[freddiec]

I bought a few dozen over the winter off ebay.

 

Golfball surplus was the guy I got them from. Great guy. :

 

[email protected] is his email. Name is Jeff.

[chaley6077]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'll check out the suggested suppliers and see what they've got.

 

@ pdobrove: If held, the tourney would be in the Champaign-Urbana area, probably at Stone Creek. It's in the very, very early stages at this point (i.e. - I've talked to about 8 or 9 people about it). I'll probably talk to the head pro tonight when I'm out there to see if he thinks it would fly. If it gets off the ground I'll definitely let you know.

[sk373]

looks like you can find some relatively reasonable deals on eBay:

 

NOS, 1 doz Titleist Tour Balata 100, about $46 shipped

4 doz Titleist X-Out Tour Balatas, $76 shipped.

 

alternatively, you could get like new, AAAAA, Titleist DT Spin, $9.95/doz + shipping from LostGolfBalls.com. they won't have the butter-soft feel of a balata cover, but they will spin like crazy since they're wound. you also won't put a smiley on them like you can with balata balls.

[Extreme Firepower]

...or some Spalding Tour Editions... the real 80s ball

[Gawfman123]

I still have 10 boxes of Tour Edition 100's in the box, never opened. Those actually spun more than a Titleist Balata. I remember Norman spiining a ball in a tournament like 50 feet off a green and down the fairway.

 

CRAZY spin amounts.

[chaley6077]

...or some Spalding Tour Editions... the real 80s ball

 

 

They only count as the real 80s ball if you can find them in orange or yellow. :nono:

[1641bill]

We did the same thing recently and faced the same dilemma. To keep the cost down you can get some very low compression balls such as Nike Super Soft or Wilson Zip...We went with the zips because of the whole Wilson nostalgia....They worked perfectly...very much like hitting a marshmallow. Any very low compression ball will work ok. My old Apex II's never knew the difference. :man_in_love:

[chaley6077]

Thanks, it's good to know there's a close subsitute out there for feel. While the softness is important, I'm also hoping to find something that could literally spin so much it would make a U-turn and end up back in the tee box.

 

I started playing golf right about when balata balls were on their way out, so I don't have a ton of experience with them other than maybe a season or two. But, what I do remember was that you could hit a shot that you thought was going to finish right down the middle and then at the very end the ball would just take off one way or the other like a fighter jet trying to shake off a missile. Today's balls still go just as much right or left, but they just have a much gentler-arching curve compared to that L-shaped flight I remember from a Professional 100. Anything out there that you can sling all over the course like that? I've got to admit I don't really stray too far from my usual 3-4 different kinds of balls I play, so I haven't hit everything that's out there today.

[northgolf]

You could also knock a balata ball out of round after a few holes. I usually got 6 holes out of Titleist 100 Balata at best due to them become oblong. I didn't have much problem with cuts as I was striking them well. Part of the tournament could just be making it through the rounds with the balls still usable.

[Black Label Johnny]

I got 120 Strata Tour Ace's on ebay for 20 bucks. I loved them then, and i love them now. Very soft.

[sk373]

^^ Tour Ace's are nice, but they're not balata balls. they're a 4-piece urethane ball very comparable to the original NOP.

[sigmamason]

Not exactly balata, but if you can find the Maxfli A10, you will have a wound ball with great distance and spin and won't go out of round or smiley on you after a good wedge shot...

[jay hays]

I bet my twin brother and I found in the neighborhood of 1500 balatas as kids playing and working at our local club. I'd like to say I could give them to you, but we were 12-13 and we always cut them open to play with the wind and the goey stuff in the middle.

[Large David Hammer]

I agree on the Wilson Zip idea. They're inexpensive and have a super-soft feel. (not un-like Balata though not the exact same)

[BDPgolfer]

chaley6077, do you live in CU or the surrounding area. I live in Rantoul.

 

I dont have any blades or Balata balls to play but I am sure it would be a good time. I used to play the Balata balls and loved them until you mishit then it became a practice ball.

[Joe Duffer]

Does anyone rember when the last balatas were made?

 

What is the expected "Shelf Life" for these old balls... or how much have these balls degraded distance wise, since they were made?

[freddiec]

Last production run of the Titleist Balata was in early 2001. Shelf life? Good question. I have some tour balatas that I just opened from a new box from around 1998 or 99 I'm guessing and they still go very good. I bet they might have lost maybe 10 yards off a driver, thats about it.

[spinningwedge]

I got my stash from the local Play It Again Sports.

 

Titleist Tour 100, Tour Balata 90s and 100s and Maxfli HT100s.

 

Took about an hour to rummage through and find a dozen. I selected ones in good shape and left many lesser balls for others. Balls were listed at 30c each but I ended up negotiating that down to 10c apiece -I bought a 9.5 TaylorMade Tour Burner Plus and a Hogan Sure-Out at the same time.

 

The distance loss was nowhere near as bad as I'd feared. Noticeable off the driver (20-40 yards) but maybe only 1/2 club on the irons.

 

 

Good luck!

[Dei3Nascar8]

We did the same thing recently and faced the same dilemma. To keep the cost down you can get some very low compression balls such as Nike Super Soft or Wilson Zip...We went with the zips because of the whole Wilson nostalgia....They worked perfectly...very much like hitting a marshmallow. Any very low compression ball will work ok. My old Apex II's never knew the difference. :man_in_love:

 

I thought you were joking about hitting a marshmallow but after I bough a 2 ball pack to see what they felt like your description was spot on. It reminded me of the old days. Now if Nike could make the One Tour feel like this and perform like it does I would buy stock in Nike Golf. Good recommendation for the Wilson Zip.

[Shivas22]

I did this exact same thing for the golfers in my office. Blades, persimmon and balata/professional. I bought I think a mix of used titleist balatas and professionals for around $35-40. The professionals feel and play very much like a balata. The Zip would be a poor substitution (although maybe the best if you have to go with a current ball). Nothing feels like the real deal, especially on chips and putts. Everyone had forgotten how damn soft those balls were when you putt them. They don't go far and they look terrible after a few holes, but you only are going to be putting them in play for a day. Great idea.

[Alefty]

If you were determined I bet you could get them made/make them fairly inexpensively. Aren't they made from some type of rubber in a mold?

[spinningwedge]

IIRC in the 1990s the supply of natural rubber ran short- also don't forget that there were miles of windings around the core and underneath the cover. I wonder if any of the manufacturing equipment is even still in working order.

 

I would totally be a buyer of newly manufactured balata balls. I wouldn't use them in competition, but I have had so much fun recently with my Play-It-Again specials, I'd use them in casual rounds for sure.

 

They really were awesome, that ball flight so much more satisfying.

[freddiec]

I played 9 holes Saturday at the muni which I grew up playing in the early 80s. I used a tour balata, which I bought "new" off ebay. I have a few dozen in new condition. I also used my M85 persimmon driver from the 50s'. The course is rather short, so its really the perfect place to break out the vintage stuff. I was amazed at how far the tour balata still goes. I think a lot of people would be amazed that the old balata is only about 5 to 10 yds shorter than the Pro V. I was only 1 over for 9. The course only measures about 3000 yds.

[nvaden]

I have 3 dozen maxfli balatas where are you having that tournament, i have had the same idea for a couple of years down in florida, just havent acted on it.

[nvaden]

would you ever want to get rid of some of those tour tradition balls

[boatrightgolf7]

http://www.andrewricegolf.com/tag/tour-balata/

[whiteout73]

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That's some pretty good stuff right there. The leap in distance is pretty staggering. One thing I wish they had done- have the pro then hit the balata balls with a persimmon driver, and see what the numbers look like. My theory is that the old balls would go further when hit with the persimmon. I can't even really adequately explain why I believe this, but it would be interesting to see.