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Unlessyou’redevelopinga fertilizer,youprobablydon’t
expecttodisruptthegolfindustryfromthespareroomofa
sewagecompany.Butthat’swhereDeanSnellfoundhimself
fouryearsago,holedupinanofficewitha singlecomputer.
“Inthemornings,wewerewalkingpastthetrucksthatpump
outtheport-a-johns,”hesayswitha laugh.
It wasn’twhatSnellenvisionedwhenhedecidedtostart
hisowncompany.He’dbeenanengineerinthegolf-ballbusi-
nessfor 25 years—firstwithTitleistandthenwithTaylorMade
GolfCo.,whereheworkedwith
suchprosasDustinJohnsonand
JasonDayandwasinstrumental
indevelopingtheTourPreferred
line.Hisnameis ondozensofpat-
ents,includingonefortheoriginal
TitleistProV1,themostpopular
ballonthetour.(GaryWoodland
playedwithit forhisU.S.Openvic-
toryinJune;BrooksKoepkaused
theProV1x whenhe wonthis
year’sPGAChampionship.)
ButSnellfiguredhecouldbring
hisknowledgeofmaterials,patents,andprocessingtothe
publicand“eliminatebigtourcontracts”thatpayproshand-
somelytousespecificproducts.Hispremiumballwouldhave
theperformancecharacteristicsofmarketleaderswhilepass-
ingthesavingsbacktotheconsumer.Thebaseratefora
12-packofSnell’snewMTB-Xsis $33;a dozenProV1scost$52.
SnellGolfisamonga handfulofcompaniesthathave
disruptedthegolf-ballmarket—valuedbyGolfDatatech
at$420millionoutofa total$5billiongolf-equipment
industry—byfollowinga direct-to-consumermodelthat
rewardsvolumeshoppers.ViceGolfwasstartedbya pair
ofGermanlawyerswhometwhilesurfing.“Weweren’tthe
typicalgolferscomingatthiswantingtoturnourfavorite
sportintoa business,”saysco-founderIngoDüllman.
Instead,afterseeingthesuccessofDollarShaveClub,
Harry’s,andotherconsumerbrands,theysetouttogivegolf-
ballmarketinga makeoverwithcheekycommercialsyou’d
expectfromOldSpiceorGeico.Vicesellsa dozenballsfor
anywherefrom$34downto$11,if youbuyinbulk.Theycome
inlimegreen,neonred,andtraditionalwhite,oryoucanmix
andmatchallthree.Andyoucanpairthebrand’slogo—which
ridesthelinebetweenedgyandgaudy—witha pictureofyour
ownora rival’sface.Thecompanyalsosellsflat-billcaps,golf
bags,andwaffle-knittowelsandhasteamedupwiththeNBA COURTESYONCORESPORTS BloombergPursuits August19, 2019sobasketballfanscantouttheirfavoriteteamonthefairway.
Anothercompetitor,Buffalo-basedOnCoreGolfTechnology
Inc.,is takinga moretechnologicalapproach.Itsfirstballhada
hollowmetalcore,whichhelpsdrivesstaystraighter,andeven-
tuallyforcedtheU.S.GolfAssociationtorewriteitsrulebook.
ItsGeniusball,makingitsdebutinthesecondquarterof2020,
willhaveaninternalGPStomeasureshotvelocity,spinrate,
totaldistance,trajectory,andapex,allwhiletellingyouhow
faryouarefromthegreen.BrokeragefounderCharlesSchwab
joinedasa shareholderinJanuary,
andthebrandwasrenewedinApril
astheofficialballoftheNewYork
StateGolfAssociation.Itspremium
Elixrsellsfor$35perdozen,butbuy-
inginbulkcandropit to$30.
If youlose four orfive balls
a round, like Cut Golf founder
andChiefExecutive OfficerSam
Uisprapassorn does, youmight
need a cheaper substitute. He
startedCutundertheassumption
thatif hecouldgetpeoplehooked
ontheball,they’dalsoponyupfor$80polosdowntheline.
“Thegolfballwasa waytobuilda loyalfollowing,”hesays.
Intwoanda halfyears,Cuthascarvedouta discountniche,
sellingitsballsforlessthan$20perdozen.
Mostmodernpremiumgolfballshavethesamethreeele-
ments:a rubbercore,oneortwo(oreventhree)additional
layers,andthedimpledcover.ButSamRobinson,senior
directorforproducttestingattheindependentreviewsite
MyGolfSpy,saysconsumershavea misconceptionthatpre-
miumgolfballsareallthesame.Thedistinctionsarejusthard
tomeasure,becauseeveryonehitsdifferently.Testedusing
a robotthatmakesthesameswingeachtime,Snell’sMTB-X
ballhada slightlyhigherballspeedonaverageandhence
traveleda fewyardsfartherthanalmosteveryotherballon
themarket.OnCoreandVicedidn’tlagfarbehind.
Eventhoughmostgolfersdeterminetheirbrandloyalty
byhowfartheballgoes,Snellbelievesa bettertestis tostart
125 yards from the green and then work your way in, because
that’s where you take most shots. After you’ve found a ball
you like, he says, use it when you’re looking for a new driver,
which is the opposite of how most golfers shop. “The ball
is the only piece of equipment you will use on every single
swing,” he says. “If you can’t tell a difference between them,
then go buy the one that’s most affordable.” <BW>Golf-ball startups are chipping away at a $5 billion market. By Michael Croley
Any Way You Slice It