A couple of month in the past we requested you to take our golf ball survey. We wished to get a greater sense of what golf balls you’re enjoying and maybe a bit about why you’re enjoying them. We additionally wished to know the place you’re shopping for your golf balls and whether or not “white, spherical and on the bottom” stays the straightforward reality about what you’re enjoying.
In complete, greater than 7,700 of you (7,746, to be actual) took the survey.
We’ve chosen a number of of the extra attention-grabbing questions and solutions to share with you as we speak.
Right here’s what you advised us.
Which kind of golf ball do you sometimes play?
If nothing else, the responses served to validate what we already believed to be true. The overwhelming majority (almost 83 p.c) of our readers who took the survey play a golf ball with a urethane cowl.
We’ll proceed to combine within the occasional ionomer-covered choice product however our readers are, by and huge, performance-driven, which is why urethane-covered balls will proceed to be our focus.
How a lot do you sometimes pay for a dozen golf balls?
An intriguing consequence to say the least: $30-$40 was the most-selected value vary but lots of the hottest balls (see beneath) exceed the $50 value level.
Even with bulk reductions, it’s exhausting to get beneath $40 for the trade leaders. For what it’s price, most direct-to-consumer (DTC) manufacturers can get you beneath $40 with bulk pricing.
As extra producers push retail value factors above $50, it is going to be attention-grabbing to see if shopper shopping for habits observe.
Which of those golf ball manufacturers have you ever performed inside the final yr?
Greater than three-quarters of respondents report enjoying a Titleist ball inside the final yr. TaylorMade is subsequent on the record however trails by greater than 25 share factors.
Srixon is third, forward of Bridgestone by a few share factors whereas VICE holds a snug lead amongst DTC manufacturers. Greater than twice as a lot of you reported making an attempt VICE than Snell, although Snell’s well-documented provide chain points seemingly performed a task in that.
Which of those manufacturers makes your most well-liked golf ball mannequin?
Titleist is once more a wholesome chief with almost 40 p.c of you itemizing the corporate as your most well-liked model.
TaylorMade is second once more whereas Srixon is a sneaky third edging out Callaway and Bridgestone.
Of word, DICK’S Sporting Items home model, Maxfli, edged out VICE to steer all DTC (or DTC-like) manufacturers.
How seemingly is it that you’d advocate your most well-liked golf ball to a good friend or colleague?
Web Promoter Rating is probably the last word metric for judging model affinity and loyalty. It’s significantly attention-grabbing provided that previous surveys have taught us that smaller manufacturers will sometimes fare higher than bigger ones.
It’s indicative of a smaller, however vocally passionate, following. Chances are high, when you play a ball from a small or DTC golf model, you like it.
Amongst all manufacturers, Maxfli led the field with a Web Promoter Rating of 73.
An exception of types, the Costco Kirkland model was final amongst all manufacturers that have been chosen at the least 100 occasions as the popular golf ball model.
Amongst golf’s conventional manufacturers, Titleist was first with an NPS of 55. Srixon was once more surprisingly robust (NPS 49) whereas TaylorMade, Callaway and Bridgestone weren’t far behind.
Rank the next golf ball efficiency traits by significance.
Whereas the full rankings reveal a relative steadiness between Really feel, Driver Distance, Iron/Method Efficiency and Spin, really feel was most frequently chosen as an important attribute.
Have I taught you nothing?
We’ll look to regulate the wording of solutions in future surveys, however Really feel needs to be, at greatest, third on this record.
What’s attention-grabbing in that result’s that whereas Really feel was chosen first most frequently by a slim margin, it dropped off considerably from there. It was chosen because the second most vital issue solely 16.6 p.c of the time and third most vital solely 18.3 p.c of the time.
The opposite three prime decisions have been chosen greater than 20 p.c of the time as the primary, second and third most vital traits.
My takeaway is that when you care about really feel, you actually care about Really feel – and when you don’t, it’s actually not that vital (and it shouldn’t be).
The place do you purchase the vast majority of your golf balls?
It by no means hurts to verify in on shopping for habits from time to time.
On the subject of golf balls, Huge Field is king with one-third of you telling us that’s the place you purchase most of your golf balls.
On-line from the producer was the second hottest alternative whereas smaller on-line specialty retailers account for greater than 12 p.c of the full.
Of word, Amazon was chosen solely six p.c of the time, whereas “inexperienced grass” was only a bit above seven p.c.
What shade golf ball do you play most frequently?
Lastly, I wished to see if tendencies in shade and patterns have been transferring the needle with our readers.
Whereas it’s inarguable that vivid colours and issues like Truvis, Pix and Triple Track have a following, white nonetheless accounts for almost 78 p.c of the balls performed most frequently by our survey respondents.
I suppose it’s noteworthy that it wasn’t that way back that non-white use was typically stated to be round 20 p.c. The truth that it has reached 22 p.c with our base of largely severe golfers suggests there might be some momentum, although I don’t anticipate something overtaking white in my lifetime.
Have your say
Did something stand out to you within the outcomes? Tell us.
