This ball changes - Callaway Golf

GOLF BALL
TECHNOLOGY
came the HEX Aerodynamics cover pattern, which replaced traditional
dimples in the HX Series Golf Balls with a more aerodynamically
efficient pattern of hexagons and pentagons unique to Callaway Golf.
Featuring that technology, the HX Tour and HX Tour 56 Golf Balls
combined to win 13 major championships.
With the HX Tour Golf Ball enjoying such a successful Tour pedigree,
developing a superior new ball technology was no small order. The
real challenge for the Company was to make the next-generation Tour
ball significantly better, not simply tweak the previous line.
To develop such a ball, Callaway Golf’s designers felt they needed
to look beyond HEX Aerodynamics and revisit the ball’s construction
from the inside out. At the forefront of their thoughts was the idea to
add a second core to help deliver relatively low spin levels off the
driver while providing enhanced control around the greens.
Callaway Golf engineers had known of the potential performance
benefits of a dual core for some time, and the answer to the next revolution
in golf balls turned out to be tied to the growing Callaway Golf
family of brands. Callaway Golf’s acquisition of Top-Flite included that
brand’s patent portfolio. Top-Flite’s technology included the Strata Tour
Ultimate Golf Ball, which Jim Furyk used to win the U.S. Open in 2003.
“It was a dual core golf ball, but it didn’t have HEX Aerodynamics,
or a RIM (Reaction Injection-Molded) cover, and it didn’t fully leverage
dual-core technology,” says Steve Ogg, Callaway Golf Vice President,
Research and Development. We took the dual-core idea and optimized it.”
Ernie Els
Rory Sabbatini
selective spin:
The Tour i Series Golf Balls know the difference
between a powerful driver shot and a controlled
wedge and react appropriately, producing less spin
off the driver and more with a wedge or lofted iron.
3.THINNER, DENSER MAntle
The mantle layer is significantly thinner on
the Tour i Series Golf Balls, compared to
their predecessors, which allows the core to
be bigger. The new material is also very dense,
which again helps to move weight outward
and away from the center to increase the
golf ball’s moment of inertia. This important
penultimate mantle layer primarily impacts
and improves ball feel, but it also keeps the
core from oxidizing, which retains the power
or resiliency of the rubber cores – the engine
of your golf ball.
4. HEX Aerodynamics
Traditional dimple patterns cover up to
86 percent of the surface of the golf ball.
With Callaway Golf’s patented HEX Aerodynamics,
you get a seamless cover and
100 percent surface coverage, which means
a more symmetrical golf ball that flies farther.
The newest version of HEX Aerodynamics
features 38 separate facets per hexagon,
allowing Callaway Golf engineers to further
fine-tune the aerodynamic characteristics of
the ball so your shots penetrate the wind for
even longer, straighter ball flight.
5. RIM Technology
Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) precisely
centers the mantle layer-covered core of the
Tour i and Tour ix Golf Balls during manufacturing,
resulting in a more consistent
cover thickness that delivers a very steady
launch and flight, tighter dispersion and,
ultimately, a better flying golf ball. Two
liquid components are injected under pressure
into a cavity that centers the mantle
layer-covered cores. When the two liquids
mix, they create a chemical reaction that
forms a solid cover material in just seconds.
SUMMER 2008 Callaway Golf 25