Question:
I guessing here, but the original question about straight golf balls may not be as humorous as some think. Years ago, the majority of balls you would get in a dozen were not perfectly balanced, meaning you couldn’t expect a perfectly true roll or flight from each ball or at least consistency in how one ball acted vs another in the dozen. If anyone has ever had the chance to read Dave Pelz’ Putt Like the Pros, he covers this issue in depth. However, in recent years, even since the publishing of Pelz’ book, ball manufacturers have greatly improved their manufacturing. Most of the people who test balls will tell you that this is the area of greatest improvement in ball technology. Balls don’t fly as much left or right of center as they did even a few years ago. So at one time, there may have been a distinction such as a straight ball, but today, most of the major names are very consistent. Pelz’ suggestion for finding a balanced ball: Spin it in a glass of water and a little amount of dish washing liquid to help it float. Watch it as it slows to see if it wobbles. When it stops, put a dot on the top. Then take it out put it back in and spin again. If it’s imbalanced, the dot should finish on top again. Why? being out of balance, the havy end will settle to the bottom.
Response:
Will they be "coming out" at this week’s televised PGA/LPGA event ? :-) [Sorry, I just couldn't resist. After 'Ellen', how many other things, besides Straight Golf Balls, are going to "come out" ?] Hjalmar
Response:
The worst part is one of the magazines either Golf Magazine or Digest did a test of the Magna and found it’s dispersion pattern wasn’t any tighter than a regular ball i.e.it hooks and slices just as much as a regular ball. Even worse the Magna due to it’s larger size lost distance to the regular ball. Makes you wonder why anyone would play them and Spaulding where’s the morality, marketing a ball with no advantages only disadvantages.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Actually, I believe the Top Flite Magna ball is perfectly legal. I think that the golf ball specs in the rules give a range, and the Magna fits in the outer edge of those specs. Actually, the "range" is just a lower limit on the size. The Magna is further from the "outer edge of the specs" than the vast majority of balls. Small size is an advantage for both spin and distance, so most balls go for the smallest size that’s legal. And that’s why the USGA puts a lower limit on the size of the ball. The Magna is designed to give up both distance and spin for forgivingness. Reduced spin means reduced hooking/slicing. Increased size means easier to hit without blading it. Increased size possibly means less affected by surface irregularities (like spike marks) on the green. BUT, you also give up distance and "bite". Hope this helps. Dave Funny thing is some people take what would be an advantage for them and negate it. My partner found 2 magnas in the water pushed there from someone (or ones) tee shots. Probably over swinging figuring ‘the ball’ would save them from trouble 
Mac
It’s only a millimeter bigger, which I’d hardly call a less likely possibility of "blading it". Especially for me, as I can even top a tennis ball. Steve
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Actually, I believe the Top Flite Magna ball is perfectly legal. I think that the golf ball specs in the rules give a range, and the Magna fits in the outer edge of those specs. Actually, the "range" is just a lower limit on the size. The Magna is further from the "outer edge of the specs" than the vast majority of balls. Small size is an advantage for both spin and distance, so most balls go for the smallest size that’s legal. And that’s why the USGA puts a lower limit on the size of the ball. The Magna is designed to give up both distance and spin for forgivingness. Reduced spin means reduced hooking/slicing. Increased size means easier to hit without blading it. Increased size possibly means less affected by surface irregularities (like spike marks) on the green. BUT, you also give up distance and "bite". Hope this helps. Dave
Funny thing is some people take what would be an advantage for them and negate it. My partner found 2 magnas in the water pushed there from someone (or ones) tee shots. Probably over swinging figuring ‘the ball’ would save them from trouble Mac
Response:
| Try the Top-Flite Magna | this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit because it | is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an | illegal ball) | | Actually, I believe the Top Flite Magna ball is perfectly legal. I think | that the golf ball specs in the rules give a range, and the Magna fits in | the outer edge of those specs. | | Actually, the "range" is just a lower limit on the size. | The Magna is further from the "outer edge of the specs" than the vast | majority of balls. | | Small size is an advantage for both spin and distance, so most balls go | for the smallest size that’s legal. And that’s why the USGA puts a lower | limit on the size of the ball. | In addition to small size, a high weight (up to a point) is an advantage for distance. Thus, most "hot" balls (flies over 400 yards!!!!! Banned from the Tour!!!!) are either undersize, overweight, or both. From the rules of golf: 1) The weight of the ball shall not be greater than 1.620 ounces avoirdupois (45.93 gm). 2) The diameter of the ball shall be not less than 1.680 inches (42.67 mm). As a way to remember the "direction" of both the size *and* weight restrictions, I always remember that it is legal to play a helium balloon as a golf ball, as it both larger and lighter than a ball. You may have a little wind trouble, though…. | The Magna is designed to give up both distance and spin for forgivingness. | Reduced spin means reduced hooking/slicing. Increased size means easier | to hit without blading it. Increased size possibly means less affected | by surface irregularities (like spike marks) on the green. BUT, you also | give up distance and "bite". | | Hope this helps. | Dave Agree in total, as usual T.J. — T.J. Fields, Ph.D. Physicist, golfer, endless fountain of useless information http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/
Response:
Try the Top-Flite Magna this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit because it is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an illegal ball) Actually, I believe the Top Flite Magna ball is perfectly legal. I think that the golf ball specs in the rules give a range, and the Magna fits in the outer edge of those specs.
Actually, the "range" is just a lower limit on the size. The Magna is further from the "outer edge of the specs" than the vast majority of balls. Small size is an advantage for both spin and distance, so most balls go for the smallest size that’s legal. And that’s why the USGA puts a lower limit on the size of the ball. The Magna is designed to give up both distance and spin for forgivingness. Reduced spin means reduced hooking/slicing. Increased size means easier to hit without blading it. Increased size possibly means less affected by surface irregularities (like spike marks) on the green. BUT, you also give up distance and "bite". Hope this helps. Dave
Response:
Try the Top-Flite Magna this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit because it is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an illegal ball)
And what exactly makes a ball larger than standard illegal? -joseph
Response:
Try the Top-Flite Magna this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit because it is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an illegal ball)
Actually, I believe the Top Flite Magna ball is perfectly legal. I think that the golf ball specs in the rules give a range, and the Magna fits in the outer edge of those specs. Mike Alger
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them? I think Remington makes a nice .44 Magnum that goes really straight. I prefer the Smith & Wesson over the Callaway Big Bertha drivers, in a stiff shaft of course.
A .44 is nice and definitely superior to a driver for nearly all non golf applications. However, I think I’ve seen balls fly flatter from a driver than from a 45 ACP. I know the muzzle velocity is 800-900 feet per second but trying to reach 200+ yards with a 45 is like using a mortar. Plus, you don’t get the roll. A quick estimate puts a solid shot from a driver at a little under 100 foot pounds at the "muzzle" which is, alas, inferior to the 350-400 that a 45 provides. Even though a titanium driver would produce a moment of surprise if you challenged a would-be attacker with one in the middle of the night, at close range it definitely lacks the intimidating effect of a big bore pistol. The ideal compromise would be something like an M79 shooting golf balls. Not a bad fit since a golf ball is about 42 mm and the M79 has an effective range of 350 meters. Now, the M79 is definitely an intimidating weapon. (http://www.5sigma.com/joseph/inan/) (http://www.atsc-army.org/ATDL/DOCS/FM/23-31/f2331_9.htm#REF79h2) -joseph
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
I don’t care if they go straight or not – I’ve been looking for ones that go in the cup!
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them? I think Remington makes a nice .44 Magnum that goes really straight. I prefer the Smith & Wesson over the Callaway Big Bertha drivers, in a stiff shaft of course. This combo works great: low loft, long distances, low spin… The only problems arise if you want to play somewhere that you need to fly to.
Yeah, but getting an approach shot to stop on the green is pretty tough…. and the "ball" tends to embed in its own ball-mark pretty consistently. (parenthetically, I’ve thought about this from a different perspective…. the accuracy required for Tiger to get a tee-shot to stop a foot from the pin, as in that playoff with Tom Lehman a couple of months back, is *far* greater than the accuracy the common handgun is capable of. Plus, the accuracy is in *three* dimensions (up-down, right-left and front-back) where the handgun-shooter only has control of the first two.) Bruce
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them? Try the Top-Flite Magna this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit…
Good suggestion. It is designed to minimize spin. it is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an illegal ball)
Wrong! If it were smaller than standard, it would be illegal; larger is OK. But, due to its larger size: - It is more susceptible to being pushed around by the wind. - It doesn’t go as far (lower density means it doesn’t cut through the air as well). But if your major problem is hooks or slices, the Magna may help. Hope this helps. Dave
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
I think Remington makes a nice .44 Magnum that goes really straight. I prefer the Smith & Wesson over the Callaway Big Bertha drivers, in a stiff shaft of course. This combo works great: low loft, long distances, low spin… The only problems arise if you want to play somewhere that you need to fly to. Nick
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
Why, the gay ones are no good for you?
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
Try the Top-Flite Magna this ball supposedly goes straighter and is easier to hit because it is a bit bigger than a standard ball (which by the way means it is an illegal ball) but i have never used these balls so I can’t tell you from experience. The titleist tour balata is the only ball for me. Go to the titleist of top-flite site and they can custom fit the right ball for you. Later, http://mypage.direct.ca/v/vwgti/
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
OK, I’ve stopped ROTFL, and crawled back up to my keyboard. Let me assume you really mean this as a serious question, and point out the shortcomings (literally) of such a ball. I say literally, because it will always come up short. :-) Golf balls get distance from lift. In a vaccuum, a ball will lose 40-50% of its distance. Lift comes from the spin of the ball, as it passes through the atmosphere. But let that spin wander off a pure backspin axis, and the ball will hook or slice. So if it’s possible to make a ball that won’t hook or slice, even if you hit the ball with sidespin, it won’t have any lift either, so you’ve just lost 40-50% of the distance you could have expected. Your best bet is to get "distance balls" rather than "spin balls". They will spin less. True, you won’t get as much bite on the green, but you won’t get as much hook or slice either. (I realize the seeming inconsistency that a "distance ball" could get more distance than a "spin ball", given what I said before. The "distance ball" trades spin for "bounce" off the clubface. You still get plenty of spin — yes, it will hook and slice — but not as much as a "spin ball".) Hope this helps. Dave
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
Response:
Anyone know which manufacturer makes golf balls that go straight, and where I can get them?
They all go straight. You can buy them at any sports store or pro-shop.