Golf ball snobbery or not

Tashyboy

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When I was on me FJ day yesterday, I was talking to one of the FJ guys. Chewing the cud and talking about nothing in particular. He mentioned that Acushnet who own FJ and Titliest also owned Cobra which they sold off a few years ago. I never knew that. So we had half a minutes good matter re that. He then mentioned that Acushnet own Pinnacle and make pinnacle golf balls. That bang that he heard was my jaw hitting the floor. If he hadn't of been there I would of pissed me pants laughing. Now don't get me wrong I was always of the ilk that pinnacle, slazenger, Dunlop were low cost Rammel balls. When I found one of them balls, a day or so later they went down the range. My jaw hit the floor again when he said that the pinnacle balls were made in the same factory as the Titliest balls.
Now don't get me wrong, I had a 90 minute journey home after the FJ day and I was mulling over how good are pinnacle balls. In my own little mind I compared Skodas to a Pinnacle in the same sense that Skoda is now owned by VW so the kudos of a Skoda has now gone up. Now I know Pinnacle are made by Titliest the kudos has gone up. Or has it coz I still don't know how good a pinnacle ball is. I have had a quick search and cannot find any decent reviews. I don't know if the for fast or slow swing speeds. Lower of higher hcaps. Are they two or three piece. Nowt.
This then leads me to an assumption that Acushnet, Titliest, FJ or pinnacle are screwing up re selling some of there products? If a product is not advertised well how do we know how good it is aside from finding one, hitting it as a provisional or down the driving range in my case.
The odd thing is that my ball of choice has gone from an AD 333 to a Titliest DT trusoft. So how would I compare that to a Pinnacle ball.
Thoughts me dears.
 

duncan mackie

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News for you - not all.

Pinnacle Gold was exactly the same ball as an iteration of the NXT; simply brand positioning. Yes they were priced differently but many NXT players wouldn't have been seen dead with any Pinnacle branded ball.

Oh, and you compare them by hitting them - it's really simple 😀
 

Coffey

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Srixon and Dunlop balls used to be made in the same factory (could still be).

The Dunlop v3 golf ball was the exact same as a zstar. They don’t seem to make them anymore but was in sports direct the other day and they had a box for £8. 3 piece urethane golf ball for a fraction of the price. I would have bought them but have about 6 boxes of balls in the house.

Marketing and branding can do some phenomenal things
 

jusme

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As a premium ball user during the summer I use cheaper balls the rest of the year. Happy to use Pinnacle gold when available at the right price. As 2 piece balls go...nought wrong with them. From what I read I can only assume that cheaper balls are much better quality now than they were at some point in history
 
D

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Didn’t know that Tash me man, everyday’s a school day.:)





Still not using them though. ;)
 
D

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Srixon and Dunlop balls used to be made in the same factory (could still be).

The Dunlop v3 golf ball was the exact same as a zstar. They don’t seem to make them anymore but was in sports direct the other day and they had a box for £8. 3 piece urethane golf ball for a fraction of the price. I would have bought them but have about 6 boxes of balls in the house.

Marketing and branding can do some phenomenal things

I don't think that is true of the Dunlop balls sold in UK & Europe.

The Dunlop golf brand in those territories is owned by Sports Direct Group and I don't think that Mr Ashley would be prepared to meet the production costs of Sumitomo RI who own the rights to Dunlop in the rest of the world.
 

Slab

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I remember winning a couple dozen Pinnacle Soft (blue/silver box) and being very surprised how they felt compared to the older pinnacle distance balls I'd tried (red box)

I'm sure a lot more people would be surprised too but are put off even trying them by the brand name (I guess I wouldn't have bothered either if I hadn't won them)
 

HomerJSimpson

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Definitely an air of snobbery from me I'm afraid. I can't get past the Pinnacle of old and given the advances in the two piece and three piece market, I'd feel far more comfortable on the first tee with a recognised make I trust rather than a Pinnacle. They probably have made huge advances and in the same way as the Dunlop, probably do represent value for money and are a functional ball but in these cases brand loyalty and snobbery first for me
 

Lord Tyrion

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Being made in the same factory doesn't mean it's the same product. Different production lines, different specs, different materials. They may be similar or they could be entirely different.

As with all things golf you have to feel good about what you are using. If you look down and feel suspect about using a Pinnacle then don't use it. If you can get past it then you may be getting a bargain.
 

cookelad

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There was a lad at my first club (we were both lads at the time) who tried to make it as a pro, he didn't make it but still a good scratch golfer, he played Pinnacle Exceptions saying they were basically a pro-v for half the price.
 

patricks148

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Being made in the same factory doesn't mean it's the same product. Different production lines, different specs, different materials. They may be similar or they could be entirely different.

As with all things golf you have to feel good about what you are using. If you look down and feel suspect about using a Pinnacle then don't use it. If you can get past it then you may be getting a bargain.
personally i would rather use a pinnacle than an NXT
 

Orikoru

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Just because they make both balls it doesn't mean they use the same manufacturing process or that they're the same ball under different names does it? Chances are that the Pinnacle balls really are as bad as you thought, and that's why they're not willing to write 'Titleist' on them and cheapen the brand!
 

duncan mackie

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Just because they make both balls it doesn't mean they use the same manufacturing process or that they're the same ball under different names does it? Chances are that the Pinnacle balls really are as bad as you thought, and that's why they're not willing to write 'Titleist' on them and cheapen the brand!
In that particular example they were the same ball, off the same production line at the same time - some were printed with the Pinnacle Gold printing, some the NXT.
Why are they cheapening the brand? Look really closely at your Porche Cayenne and your will find parts with other VAG tags on them, and many major parts not just fixtures and fittings...
 

Orikoru

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In that particular example they were the same ball, off the same production line at the same time - some were printed with the Pinnacle Gold printing, some the NXT.
Why are they cheapening the brand? Look really closely at your Porche Cayenne and your will find parts with other VAG tags on them, and many major parts not just fixtures and fittings...
Oh fair enough. I was just touting possibilities, didn't know that they were actually the same ball.
 

hines57

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Neil Tappin posted a very good video on the You Tube Golf Monthly channel recently, where he compared premium and cheap balls. Very enlightening.....
 
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