Author Topic: Ball of the Month Manufacturers (Read 1175 times)

golfnutFL · « **on:** December 10, 2003, 05:23:58 AM »

I post infrequently but I read nearly everything posted. My curiosity was piqued by references to how often ball manufacturers introduce new equipment. From reading posts I would have thought that Track probably had the highest annual ball per month introduction ratio. So...I did a little checking. Using the PBA approved balls section as my reference here are the number of new introductions by company, some of it is surprising.

The Most Prolific Introducer of New Balls (hint...it's NOT Track)

Columbia

They introduced 20 (!) new balls in 2003

Right behind, nearly as prolific....Ebonite with 17 for the year.

Storm came in 3rd....with 11.

Track ranked 4th with 10, so they didn't really earn their membership in the ball per month club !!!

In the How The Mighty Have Fallen Category

AMF with a miserly 5 ball introduction in 2003. I remember not so long ago they introduced a 4 ball introduction at ONCE, so we could have an insta-arsenal.

Least Prolific of the Big Guys

Brunswick introduced only 9 balls this year. However, they included 3 Infernos, 2 Zones, 2 Monsters, and 2 Power Grooves. Now, I'm not a Brunswick disciple (see my profile), though I previously owned an original Inferno and I just purchased a Raging, BUT I must give big B credit here. What they put out this year was a great balance in types and prices of balls. Let's move on to the little guys....

Small Company Releases

Hammer ... 9
Lane #1 ... 7
Dynothane ... 5
RotoGrip ... 5
Visionary ... 4

The only number among the little guys that surprised me was Lane #1's 7. I am a relatively new Lane #1 fan and do NOT exclusively purchase their equipment. However, my impression was that they introduced small numbers of new equipment and in years past maybe that was true. This year they released nearly as many new balls as their cover-stock maker, a much larger company.

What any of this means, who knows? I was merely curious after reading posts of people berating certain companies for releasing so many balls. Surprisingly, it wasn't the company I thought it would be. While they may not release as many as people think, Track does seem to focus an awful lot of their resources on only heavy oil balls.

REVOLUTIONS PS · « **Reply #1 on:** December 11, 2003, 02:53:17 PM »

I am fairly sure that Track these days pass themselves off as makers of almost only "high performance" balls. That would explain why they seem to make so many balls for use on oil.

I was interested to read your post because I am one of those people who would like to see things slow down a bit in terms of ball releases. You also have to remember with those numbers that Ebonite now owns and manufactures all Hammer balls, so they may be more guilty than others. I know Columbia and Track use the same facilities for r&d and production but I think they are still separately owned. They also make AMF's stuff these days. I'm not sure but I think Storm owns Roto Grip. They also manufacture Dynothane but that is separately owned. Brunswick makes all of Lane #1's balls and I have no idea who makes Visionary products.

golfnutFL · « **Reply #2 on:** December 11, 2003, 04:22:02 PM »

Rev,
Thanks for reading. I, too, would like to see a slow down. It's a little crazy, Columbia put out nearly 2 (!) new balls per month, every month last year. Ebonite/Hammer more than 2 per month.

I think that Track either has it wrong, or they like their niche. High-end doesn't have to mean only particle oil balls.

REVOLUTIONS PS · « **Reply #3 on:** December 11, 2003, 06:04:56 PM »

I think this is situation can't be resolved without some kind of cooperation between the manufacturers. I feel as though the perception here is that 'new' balls drive sales. This site alone is an example of the hype that can be created with a new ball release, especially when there is some lead into it. The reality it that we would all be better off if balls were available long enough to 'get to know them' and use them as tools instead of toys...putting them away when the new one shows up.

I think the companies do this to maintain market share. When one company makes a splash with something new, the others have to create some excitement of their own. I personally think Ebonite/Hammer are the worst (most aggressive) right now and they don't even have a really good product line. (My opinion only.) Anyway, I could go on forever on this subject so I will cut it short.

Author Topic: Ball of the Month Manufacturers (Read 1175 times)

golfnutFL

Ball of the Month Manufacturers

REVOLUTIONS PS

Re: Ball of the Month Manufacturers

golfnutFL

Re: Ball of the Month Manufacturers

REVOLUTIONS PS

Re: Ball of the Month Manufacturers