Golf
Today Equipment Special - Spring 2000
The
Callaway 'Rule 35' Golf Ball
So
here it is at last. Not so much Waiting For Goddo as Waiting
For Golf Ball. Was it really back in 1996 that Callaway
announced ambitious plans to break into the competitive
snakepit that is the golf ball market? Since then the world's
army of Big Bertha owners have waited patiently for news
on perhaps the most hotly-awaited equipment launch in the
history of golf. Would it be wound, two-piece or multi-layer?
Or some new-fangled design, perhaps? And how could it hope
to compete in a market dominated by giants like Titleist
and Top-Flite? What could it possibly promise and more importantly
what would it deliver?. Callaway stubbornly refused to divulge
even the merest morsel of info even making reporters sign
a confidentiality agreement resembling the Official Secrets
Act for a sneak preview.
All
we knew were rumours that the company, under the guidance
of former Spalding ball whiz Chuck Yash, had invested some
$170 million evaluating more than 300 dimple patterns and
a 1,000 variations of cores, boundary layers and cover materials.
And all tested on aerodynamic modelling programmes used
by Boeing and General Electric.
But,
disarmingly, the finished product seems blissfully removed
from the technicalities that has threatened to choke the
golf ball market in recent years.
"We
set out to cut through the 'noise' regarding the performance
claims by most of the competitors' products: all the techno-babble
about various polymers and compressions and dimple patterns
and claims regarding the longest distance balls," says
Chuck Yash reiterating Callaway's now famous mantra of 'demonstrably
superior and pleasingly different' products.
"While
there is a lot of complex science that goes into making
a golf ball, we don't think there should be a lot of complexity
in buying one," says Ely Callaway, the founder and
still the CEO of the Carlsbad outfit. "We're certain
that we have made the golfer's choice clearer and simpler
than it has been in recent years.'" he adds.
Certainly
Callaway's refusal to be drawn into the 'distance', 'control',
'spin' and 'durability' characteristics of their 'Complete
Performance design' is a breath of fresh air. But it could
have been even simpler: a true one-ball-suits-all dream
that effortlessly removes that pondering in the pro shop.
For while you won't have to wrestle with knowing your duodecahedrons
from your elipiticals, you'll still have to make the choice
between the options of Firmfeel and Softfeel with the Rule
35. And isn't that the hardest choice of all with many golfers
already agonising over how to discern between feedback from
the hands and that from the ears?
"What
we have in Rule 35 is still a very clear message,"
counters Yash. "If you prefer a firm feel, our Firmfeel
ball has everything you need in performance. If you prefer
a softer feel, our Softfeel ball is the choice. It's that
easy. We believe this simplicity will change the way that
golfers approach their golf ball purchase."
So
simple in fact that Callaway won't even reveal the construction
of the ball let alone the make up of their 'proprietary
material', though we understand that their competitors'
R&D departments are busy dissecting samples of the beast
as we speak.
The
packaging in five-, 10 and, eventually, 20-ball packs is
similarly unique while the name, Rule 35, is presumably
a play on the current 34-strong categories of official rules
governing the game of golf.
Meanwhile,
with tour exposure so vital to manufacturers as they strive
for a foothold in a new market, Callaway were no doubt praying
for some high profile victory to install some early professional
credibility. And barely were the wrappers off the first
consignments when Bruce Fleisher notched up his first Senior
Tour victory of 2000 with a Softfeel Rule 35.
We
await with bated breath the reaction from the world's amateurs
who, despite their famed loyalty to existing brands, will
no doubt be tempted to road-test the latest outing from
the team behind the Big Bertha legend.
That
is if they can get their hands on a sleeve. As with all
new Callaway gear, production will lag demand and it may
be the summer before every UK outlet is filled.
Price:
£16.49 per five-ball sleeve, £32.99 per 10-ball pack.
Contact:
0181 839 0111
