Nike Has Balls

In 2000 Titleist introduced its new golf ball the Pro V1.  The very first week that it was available to professionals, Billy Andrade won using the ball.  A few months later it was available to the public and soon after became the #1 ball in golf.  It has since held its spot at the top comfortably only experiencing a slight dip in popularity due to the 2008 Callaway lawsuit debacle.  However, as of February 15th all of this may have changed.  You see the new technology introduced into the Pro V1 in 2000 has long been thought to be the top rung on the ladder with no where higher to climb.  Nike has just released a new golf ball bolstering innovative technology that may very well have extended the golf ball ladder. 

The new ball is comprised of an extremely light resin core rather than the traditional rubber core.  In order to keep the overall weight constant, the outer layers are replaced by heavier ones.  How is this beneficial?  It's all about MOI baby!  MOI, or moment of inertia is the tendency of an object to resist rotation.  It is the rotational equivalent to momentum.  This increases golf ball performance in two ways.  First of all, off the tee, using the driver, a golfer attempts to minimize the amount of spin imparted on the golf ball.  High spin rates off the tee create shorter, less accurate tee shots.  An increase in MOI makes it more difficult for a flat club such as a driver or 3-wood to create spin on the golf ball.  The second area of improvement is the response of the ball around the green.  Golfers are always attempting to increase the spin around the green.  Although the increase in MOI will not increase the actual spin rate of the ball, it will help the ball keep its spin once contacting the green.  This equates to more accuracy and the "drop and stop" effect that golfers are looking for in their approach shots.

The name of the new golf ball is the Nike 20XI and will be available to the public on April 29, 2011.  The MSRP is $58/box of 12.

Personally, I have always been a "Titleist" guy and have always stayed clear of the Nike brand as I feel that it is hyped up by the amount of endorsement deals it creates by being arguably the biggest sporting company in the world.  However this new ball appears to be technologically superior to any ball currently on the market and I will be sure to get my hands on some as soon as I can to see for myself.

Sean