Range balls at pro tournaments

I'm sure the ball sponsors insist, plus, why would they want to hit something other than what they hit in the tournament anyway?

 

The Byron Nelson Classic uses Pro V-1's and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas resells them to it's members after the tournament.

 

Did you go to Augusta this year Phil?

 

Dave, tough times in construction have cut our entertainment options back, so we are doing some smaller/ cheaper trips to keep up the relationships. The Masters is a fantastic experience, and I still say that getting there monday, and watching the tuesday and wednesday practice rounds, as well as the par 3 tournament, then leaving, is the best value for the buck. Pro's are laid back, you can take all the pics you want, and the shops are still fully stocked. Buy all the stuff you want, and walk next door to UPS and send it home. I was glued to the TV all Master's weekend.

 

When I was in highschool I worked the range and pro shop at Atlanta CC and when the Bellsouth was played there they used Titleist and then donated the balls to local junior golf associations.

 

Each Tour stop has it's own deal with the ball company that supplies the range balls. Nike has several Tour stops that use their balls on the range, and Titleist has a large number of Tour stops where the range is all Titleist. I have never seen Callaway balls on the range at a Tour event, but I would imagine they have a presence on Tour.

Most PGA Tour stops donate the range balls to Junior Golf after the tournament. Nationwide Tour events do the same.

As for players that use a different brand ball than the balls on the range, it's not that big of a deal. They can make any brand golf ball work just fine. Especially since they are more concerned with getting loose and free before a tournament. Many players have their caddy toss them a few of their normal balls towards the end of their range session to finish up with. I have seen a few pros hit several sleeves of their own balls, but they are an exception.

 

At the Buick Invitational (Torry Pines) this year, they used Pro V1's that also said "practice" on them. I brought one home to keep.

Regards,

Josh

 

I'm looking forward to the Byron Nelson, my office is right around the corner from the "back gate" at 17, I've been walking over there at lunchtime on nice days, the club has done a fantastic job with the new course, much better over last year!