What you need to know when you go shopping for golf balls

By: Nicholas Sy

A large number of technological advances have take place in the game of golf over the years, but perhaps nothing has changed more than golf balls

It is no coincidence that the USGA (United States Golf Association) and the R&A (Royal & Ancient Golf Club) are cracking down on just how far they can go now days. If the association didn't keep a tight rein on just how far a ball could go just about every golf course on the earth would be reduced to a drive and a putt.Here are some of the regulation that the USGA has imposed on Titleist, Maxfli, and the rest of the manufactures:

Size:

First of all balls can't be smaller than 1.68 inches in diameter. However the ball can be as big as you want it to be, but you shouldn't expect a bigger one to travel very far.

Weight:

They cannot weigh more than 1.62 ounces.

Velocity:

The USGA has a machine that is capable of measuring their velocity, no golf ball is allowed to exceed 250 feet per second at a tempture of 75 degrees. Plus a tolerance of no more than 2% is allowed. This rule was put in place to ensure that they don't travel too far.

Distance:

This is probably the most important factor. This rule states that no ball, when it is hit by the USGA's "Iron Byron" machine, can travel further than 280 yards. Although a tolerance of 6% is allowed here making the actual distance that a ball can travel 296.8 yard. However, there are players that are able to drive the ball further than 300 yards on a regular basis.

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The shape must be round. Some years back there was a anti-slice ball that was being sold to golfers. Tests that were conducted on this show that it was weighted on one side, that caused the ball to fail this test.

Even with all of these regulations, take one look around any pro golf shop, and you will find a lot of golfballs that are being manufactured by different companies. If you take a closer look though you will find that every single one of these fall into one or two categories: They will claim that their ball goes farther and straighter than any other ball in the universe, or they will tell you that you that theirs gives you more control than any of the other brands.

When you are choosing a golf ball try not to get to overwhelmed when you are deciding which brand to go with. remember that they come in only three basic types: one-piece, two-piece, and three-piece. And you can cross out choosing a one-piece ball. One-piece tend to be cheap and nasty and they are only used on driving ranges.

About The Author... Are you a serious golfer? Do you want to learn how to fix a golf slice? Learn how to improve your golf swing at: www.PlayingWinningGolf.com

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