Ball spinners

[Hendy]

Curious does anyone here use one?

I see a few vids demonstrating how they work.

And i see a line on the ball once they finish spinning it. But how do you know if the ball is balanced or not? All the lines seen the ball line is perfect every time. But how do I know if the core is off centre in the ball or not?

 

[jim8flog]

I have used one for years.

You can definitely see the difference when the ball is spinning on the M/C, some balls much more than others.

However once you have hit a ball a ball a few times ...........

Of course the line will still be there to aid line of putts.

I know some may find it offputting when the line added does not match up with lines already on the ball such as triple track lines.

 

[Neilds]

Not sure what the point of knowing which side of the ball is heavier. I can (just about) see it making a difference on a putt but for other shots what do people do? Do you look down at the ball on the fairway, see where your mark is and aim off to make allowances for the heavy side causing a difference in flight?

 

[tugglesf239]

No argument against people spinning balls. Makes sense if that’s your bag.

It’s poor in a world where a single ball costs nearly a fiver, that there is a need to conduct this though.

 

[sunshine]

Waht's the point of a ball spinner? Do you take the wonky balls back for a refund? Do you adjust for this on the course?

 

[Orikoru]

Waht's the point of a ball spinner? Do you take the wonky balls back for a refund? Do you adjust for this on the course?

I think once one has established the centre of gravity, or the 'equator', that's where they draw their pen-line on it to aid with putting and giving it the truest roll. Or something. I'm sure it helps a great deal.

 

[mikejohnchapman]

In al my years playing golf I have never seen one of these. Do they sell them in the UK?

I had heard that Bryson used a salt solution to check the centre of gravity but never realised it was a "thing" which required a technical solution.

 

[Springveldt]

Think I just heard @Backsticks head explode.

 

[nickjdavis]

In al my years playing golf I have never seen one of these. Do they sell them in the UK?

I had heard that Bryson used a salt solution to check the centre of gravity but never realised it was a "thing" which required a technical solution.

Yep....its amazing how, once you have floated a ball in a salt solution and marked the upper most point, no matter how you spin the ball or throw it into the salt solution, it always returns to the same position....at least this was commonplace in years gone by....not sure if more modern manufacturing processes have largely eliminated such variances.

 

[Hendy]

I have used one for years.

You can definitely see the difference when the ball is spinning on the M/C, some balls much more than others.

However once you have hit a ball a ball a few times ...........

Of course the line will still be there to aid line of putts.

I know some may find it offputting when the line added does not match up with lines already on the ball such as triple track lines.

Yeah but surely the pro's out weigh the cons.

 

[jim8flog]

Yeah but surely the pro's out weigh the cons.

put simply I bought mine over 15 years ago and I still use it.

 

[harpo_72]

Yep....its amazing how, once you have floated a ball in a salt solution and marked the upper most point, no matter how you spin the ball or throw it into the salt solution, it always returns to the same position....at least this was commonplace in years gone by....not sure if more modern manufacturing processes have largely eliminated such variances.

I have done it in the past using Epsom salts .. wife thought I was mad, but realised I was an engineer with a propensity to “tune” ( I would use the short form of Richard but Fragger might get a bit conflicted).
I was doing it to Callaway balls , I didn’t know at the time they had quality issues with their centres.
To be honest I was sinking a lot of putts they were really true, but I would caveat all of this with the greens have to be in a good honest condition to be even justify this.

 

[jim8flog]

I have done it in the past using Epsom salts .. wife thought I was mad, but realised I was an engineer with a propensity to “tune” ( I would use the short form of Richard but Fragger might get a bit conflicted).
I was doing it to Callaway balls , I didn’t know at the time they had quality issues with their centres.
To be honest I was sinking a lot of putts they were really true, but I would caveat all of this with the greens have to be in a good honest condition to be even justify this.

Every make I have used shows it to some degree*. Never put a Wilson True through the machine as it is a make I do not use but it was there selling hype that they were balance in manufacture.

* I have had an occasional ball fly off the machine because they have so out of balance. One ball I put to to test off a club and you could see it wobble in flight it was so bad.

 

[Neilds]

put simply I bought mine over 15 years ago and I still use it.

As asked previously, does it affect how you aim on shots that are not putts? Do you aim off to allow for the 'heavy' side of the ball?

 

[harpo_72]

Every make I have used shows it to some degree*. Never put a Wilson True through the machine as it is a make I do not use but it was there selling hype that they were balance in manufacture.

* I have had an occasional ball fly off the machine because they have so out of balance. One ball I put to to test off a club and you could see it wobble in flight it was so bad.

The machines are like rocking horse Pooh though or they were the last time I investigated.
Always liking a bit of controversy and fire starting for fun .. do you think the ball manufacturers closed down the ball balancing machine makers to hide the poor quality they were happy to ship out to customers.. your average golfer is probably going to say I am x handicap that’s just the quality of my game

 

[nickjdavis]

As asked previously, does it affect how you aim on shots that are not putts? Do you aim off to allow for the 'heavy' side of the ball?

No....simply because virtually all of us impart side spin on the ball so it makes no sense to worry about which side of the ball is heavier.

The concept originally came from people believing their putting was being affected by unbalanced balls.

 

[Neilds]

No....simply because virtually all of us impart side spin on the ball so it makes no sense to worry about which side of the ball is heavier.

The concept originally came from people believing their putting was being affected by unbalanced balls.

As I thought, ball spinners are up there with ball finding glasses

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Well seems like some here use one, but given the relatively imprecise and often rather random nature of my ball striking, I have other and more important things to bother about than whether or not my ball is precisely stable.

 

[jamielaing]

I've used the salt solution.

The lightest point of the ball floats pointing directly up. You mark that point and draw a line. Putt with that line and the ball rolls light over heavy and not side by side so it should roll straight.

I was told by someone who got very into it that you could place the ball in different configurations on the tee to encourage a fade, draw, low shot, high shot etc. I'm not good enough to buy into that.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Out of interest to a sceptic and someone who has never considered this a "thing" how much difference is a mid-handicapper realistically going to see? I can't see how it can affect things like my putting when my strike is variable and same on my drives and irons