Ball split ?

TreeSeeker

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Never seen a Chrome soft do this. Have seen it happen with a much inferior make (Dunlop DDH) which caused much fun and consternation to our group when it happened to a mate while playing Silvermere

Similar, the only ball i've had really break was a Slaz, the rest just scuff up too much to be nice to use.
 

upsidedown

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Simple 8 iron to the green this afternoon, looks up...nothing til I see this white thing 40 yards ahead spiralling to the left, gets up it's my ball.

Anyone care to explain how a ball just splits in half like that ? Has it just had enough ? Can they only take so much ?

File is too big for uploading but it's a Callaway chrome soft.
That's interesting in 20 years of playing only had it happen to me once but today mate I was playing with showed me his Chrome Soft that had split exactly like yours down at Trevose last week, his was only one round old !!
 

User 99

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Can't explain the split but on Saturday I used it and it was spinning like a spinny thing to great effect, so there was nothing wrong with it at the weekend.
 

Slab

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I’m reminded of the social game I played when a fella hit is ball way right somewhere neither of us saw

He went off searching and came back a few minutes later with about an 1/8 of a ball in his hand (that’d clearly been there a while) and claimed it was his ball but it had disintegrated!


(he was serious)
 

Sweep

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Just recently I have noticed a few balls splitting (just the surface, not splitting in two) when hitting in my net. Now these balls are being hit over and over again so I guess that could explain it, but I haven’t seen splits like these since we played with Balatas.
 

jim8flog

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I have seen many a ball split over the years.

Less so since they became multi layer rubber and not wound.

Srixon Zstars in particular when they have been used for a few rounds.

Note the difference between 'breaks in to pieces' and 'cut or cracked'. The rule for 'breaks in to pieces' came in when balls were true one piece balls such as the Penfold Commando ie totally solid construction with no layers.

The rule is 4.2. There is a different rule for a ball that breaks in to pieces and one that is cracked


4.2 b. Ball Breaks into Pieces While Playing Hole


If a player’s ball breaks into pieces after a stroke, there is no penalty and the stroke does not count.


The player must play another ball from where that stroke was made (see Rule 14.6).

4.2 c When Another Ball May Be Substituted.

The player may only [URL='http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/definitions.html#substitute']substitute the ball in play.ball if it can be clearly seen that the original ball is cut or cracked and this damage happened during the hole being played – but not if it is only scratched or scraped or its paint is only damaged or discoloured.[/URL]


Under rule 4.2b you would place the substituted ball at the point where the original ball was
 

Slime

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How many rounds had you used it for?

I've only put a crack in a ball once (never split one in half) and that was when I was using it for the 10th time in a row - the only time I've ever gone that long without losing a ball. :LOL: Generally I lose a ball after 3 rounds at the most so it's not a problem I face often.

Playing off 20 and you only lose one ball every three rounds?!
That's amazing, I'd have lost several by that point.
 

Orikoru

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Playing off 20 and you only lose one ball every three rounds?!
That's amazing, I'd have lost several by that point.
I think my wording was off - what I meant was 3 rounds is the most a ball usually lasts for me, so splitting or cracking one isn't an issue.
 

jim8flog

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I think my wording was off - what I meant was 3 rounds is the most a ball usually lasts for me, so splitting or cracking one isn't an issue.

That reminds me of one of my mates who says he never scuffs up Titleist ProV1s

I retort back to him " its because you never hit the ball hard enough"
 

brendy

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Ive had a chrome soft truvis split on me and it's been mentioned a few times by others across the internet, seems to be a failure point for a limited few but it put me off them.
Of the 4th tee, it didn't fly as expected, the marks are after I hit it from the fairway (didn't see the crack) and it veered unnaturally straight left into a tree and found it sat with the crack, face up.
20181116_005317.jpg
 

jim8flog

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Ive had a chrome soft truvis split on me and it's been mentioned a few times by others across the internet, seems to be a failure point for a limited few but it put me off them.
Of the 4th tee, it didn't fly as expected, the marks are after I hit it from the fairway (didn't see the crack) and it veered unnaturally straight left into a tree and found it sat with the crack, face up.
View attachment 25936


Given the condition of the ball on the right that would have been consigned to the rubbish heap long before it cracked by me.
 
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