Golf Blog

When you get a 5.30am wake-up call from Ernie Els wanting to share his excitement about the new Tour i(s)™ Golf Ball he has just put in play, it’s fair to assume you’re on to a winner!

That’s exactly what Callaway Golf’s PGA Tour representative, Barry Lyda, received from the excited South African. Barry said: “Ernie rang me at 5.30am in the morning to tell me what a revelation the ball had been. He absolutely adores using the new Tour i(s) and he can see an immediate improvement in his performance by using it.”

Els told Lyda: “The new Tour i(s) ball is unbelievable. It’s the ball I’ve been waiting for and to make a hole-in-one on only the second day of playing with it is fantastic. I now can’t wait to get going next year and I’m thoroughly looking forward to the future with a bag of equipment that is spot-on.”

The event marked a ‘1, 2, 3’ for Callaway Golf with World Number Two and Staff Professional, Phil Mickelson, winning the tournament and Golf Ball Staff Professional, Ryan Moore, taking third.

The ‘Big Easy’ enjoyed an amazing first week with the Tour i(s) Golf Ball that saw him shoot 22 birdies and two eagles, culminating in a stunning final round of 63 – a new course record. He also made dramatic improvements to his driving stats, averaging 299 yards off the tee, that’s eight yards longer than he has averaged all-season.

Ernie added: “My final round in Shanghai was one of the rounds of my life. I shot eight birdies and an eagle and stood on the 18th tee at 10-under for the round. I may have dropped a shot on the last hole, but regardless, it was a fantastic round of golf.”

The soon-to-be-launched Tour i(s) Golf Ball features an ultra-soft thin and durable urethane cover that grabs onto the grooves of a club for massive backspin on short shots while generating low driver spin for amazing distance off the tee. It also features a refined Hex design that helps the ball cut through the air more efficiently to give increased stability in windy conditions.

Steve Ogg, Callaway’s vice president of golf ball R&D, said: “The Tour i(s) is the most highly-engineered golf ball product we have ever come out with. It is the softest ball we’ve ever produced, but it also has what is technically called ‘a high core compression differential’. This is the difference between the compression of the inner core and the outer core. When you have a high-compression outer core, the ball holds its shape better when you’re hitting wedge shots so you can create more spin.

“However, the greater force generated from a driver will penetrate the outer core and compress the soft inner core, reducing spin and creating greater distance. Basically, this ball morphs to the shot that you want.”

This ball is expected to be in Stock January 2010. We’ll keep you updated.

Comments are closed.