Golf Ball Balance and True Roll

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Frank,

You talked about a line on a ball a while back. To take this a bit further, it seems to me that a few years ago some company was advertising this little machine that was sort of a gyroscope that would spin your golf balls and when finished you were to mark a dot on it, and THEN draw a line through that dot and this was supposed to allow the ball to roll true when struck properly along that line. Some manufacturers have a sight line already printed on the ball. Is there any validity to that gyroscope finding the polar sections of the ball and if so is this time consuming practice of spinning all of your golf balls worthwhile?

Art

Art,
As you know I don’t suggest that you mark a line on the ball for aiming purposes.

Some tour pros do it successfully, but we have found when working with many elite golfers (including tour pros) at the Frankly Putting PAD, that all too often a mental conflict arises when the line on the ball does not appear to be pointing in the same direction as the target line, as seen by the golfer when they get over the ball ready to strike it. This is not good.

In your question, you ask about the validity of finding the balance point of a ball; marking this with a dot and drawing an aim line through this dot.

What you are doing is you are really trying to identifying a point on the ball surface in line with and connecting the geometric center and the mass center.  If you place this spot on top when putting the ball should roll on a true path.

We assume that the ball is significantly out of balance for you to take advantage of this phenomenon. Today’s balls are very much better balanced than balls were twenty years ago, so if you use a premium ball or even the next level or two down there should be no reason to try to find this balance point.

If you are not convinced, then float your golf balls in a solution of salt water (enough salt get them to just float). After spinning them slowly mark the point which ends up on top when it comes to rest. Spin the ball a few more times and if the same spot lands up on top then mark this spot permanently. This should be the point you position facing skyward when you are about to putt it.

Hope this helps
Frank