May have a source of premium balls with uneekor markings

[Tonysmjc]

I put this up on an old post but thought it might
be better in its own

Ok guys


I may and I repeat may have someone willing to print the dots on any premium balls I ship to them

ive sent them the uneekor pattern that Doug provided me

and they did a test print spacing of the dot patterns is close but not exact as they are hand rotating the balls 6 times
but printing a dozen at a clip

its not going to be cheap but I have a dozen test balls inroute to me ( these will be just a generic test ball) so I can test that they actually read accurately and that the ink is color fast ( taking the extra step of having a clear printed over the black)

if the balls read properly ( Doug has told me exact placement of the dots isn’t critical , close is ok ) and the ink is color fast on my screen

i will then make a dozen srixon z star ( my ball)
and a dozen pro v 1

id like to mail in the continental USA only
by regular post
free of charge , and assuming no liability of any kind ,one ball each to six uneekor users
for further testing

If the testing goes well we can figure out how to proceed

Post your screen name here and say I want one
and pm me your mailing address
1st 6 get a ball if my pvt test goes well

stay tuned here for updates I expect a test dozen by next Thursday

[Tonysmjc]

With the printed balls it
stoped the ink transfer to the screen
and
i believe it protects the dots to some degree

but stoping the ink transfer is the biggest issue in my opinion

im hoping that the addition of more clear from cut on the printing negates the need to add polish at all

my order should arrive by tomoorw or mondsy

yours should arrive by Tuesday

[Tonysmjc]

I can tell you it’s already huge
my playing partner been using the cut dc blue with the nail polish since we got them
I’ve been through 4 sets of stick on dots on my srixons
and he got his 1st mis read due to worn away printed dots on the cut ball today
he said he’s 6 rounds in

[shwag33]

I could just 3d print a plastic piece the ball fits in with cutouts for the dots. You could use a sharpie and mark up a ball in a few seconds, then cover with nail polish. It would be dirt cheap in comparison with the printing costs.


So if it's truly the nail polish protecting it, this way might be the way to go.

[Jwheels9876]

I used nail polish on 3 balls I put dots on the other day. I noticed barely any difference from the normal wear and tear. I know nothing about nail polish so I'm not sure if some are better than others but the balls still got chewed up just the same with dots on them

[jerry3]

shwag33 I'd happily pay you for a 3d print as you've said. I have no 3d printer or any idea how to 3d print or I'd already have done so myself. I plan on trying polyurethane over the dots

[Tonysmjc]

That may be an option for some

but the additional clear coat cuts applying to current ordere may stop the transfer completely , we will know shortly .

Sometimes it’s not about dirt cheap moving a jig six times and trying to get a nice black dot on a ball 18 times sounds more onerious to me then applying sticky dots

and I’m not 100 percent sure that nail polish won’t cause sharpie to run

I’m also not sure you’ll be Abel to print a jig that will fit ,
the holes would need to be significantly larger than the dots needed to accommodate the marker tip and still make the proper size dot

it might work with some trial and error

im going to hope the new clear works
and if not just apply polish to the cut printer balls

for me it’s fast easy and cheap enough

with 12000 plus in a sim shed
2000.00 in misc matts
lord knows how many 1000 s in clubs , cloths , lessons
And everything else 30.00 a dozen to print on some balls isn’t going to kill any of us

[Jwheels9876]

Yeah really. $30 a dozen for balls you use until they break basically is a bargain

[HarryB]

I'm hoping someone puts my decals out of business soon. I can't keep them in stock. I made 40 sheets a week ago and all but 3 are sold. The minute someone comes up with a cost effective way to make ProV1's with the correct dots, I can assure you the dot decals will be long gone. BUT.....beware of a few things. My experience with vinyl dots has been quite negative, and this has been confirmed by several others. The dots come off. And if you happen to hit a dot, unlike a decal....you will get a wonky spin reading. I also have had some trouble getting the dots to release from the transfer tape. The decal balls also have their issues. If you are lazy like I am, and just keep hitting away at the ball without worrying if you hit a decal, they will scrape. Having said that, I have had customers who tell me that they have been able to play multiple rounds with the same decal ball, but they are careful not to hit the decal. The decals do not affect spin if you hit the decal, unlike the vinyl dots. Now back to the issue at hand. If you find someone to mark up balls with 6 of the correctly spaced trios, dynamite!! But be careful that they either urethane the ball which is not easy to do well or make sure the ink is VERY permanent/color fast. The logo ink without urethane will come off pretty fast. I see this with aboutGolf balls. The lines dull out. And it will also mark up your screen. If a pad printer is used, forget it. There is a ton of ink on the ball and it ends up messing up the screen. We need a major manufacturer like Titleist or Calloway or Bridgestone to make balls with the correct uneekor pattern and then urethane them in their normal process. Since ProV1's are 45/dozen or more, and now we are having a manual process to apply 6 logos, my guess is we're talking at least $75 per dozen. I'd pay it, but the problem has been that none of these manufacturers want to run this. The overall volume isn't enough to make it worth their while. And their minimum order is usually 1000 dozen. And even if they lower the price to a wholesale price, say $30 a dozen wholesale??, plus an additional $20 per dozen for the 6x logo process?? We're talking about a $50,000 order. and what would the profit be? Let's say you can sell them for $100/dozen for new marked ProV1's. When you store and sell all 1000 dozen marked ProV1's you will have made 50k minus the cost to ship 1000 dozen golf balls. Somebody PLEASE do this.....but it ain't going to be me.

[Wizard of Coz]

Im thankful that wizard doesn't need to fiddle with stickers. Wizard is hard to deal with as it is.

[FURY]

I am sure this has been asked and answered, but I haven't seen it.

What golf balls are used in Korea...other countries, where the subject launch monitor is in more widespread use?

Thank you very much

FURY

[rjd1975]

FURY my understanding is the QED/Uneekor market in Asia is much more driving range so the balls they are using are perfect. They take a beating and last a long time. The problem we have in the US is that we want to sim golf and we need a better ball.

[Tonysmjc]

They use the same ones we do
uneekor
up graded uneekor
or some form of dots on a ball

[Tonysmjc]

Just received my srixon z stars
with uneekor markings from cut

this batch with double the clear look better than the 1st batch

I’ll try and test Tomoorw for color transfer
luckily the commercial sim room I’m in Tomoorw is getting new screens

hope fully I’ll be abel to tell I don’t know how badly there screen is already marked

if not I’ll test on mine monday

[Tonysmjc]

The dots are darker on this batch and they have more shine

[JackedUpSwing]

Nice, a good test I that covers what we need here would be to just hit a bunch of wedges and keep track of how many shots it takes till the following occurs

1) bleed on to screen
2) 888/222
3) Damage to cover of ball

[rjd1975]

Tonysmjc thank you for all you are doing. Nobody wants this problem to be solved more than I do (except maybe Doug)...that said, that pattern looks to be off (maybe too much spacing). Do the set of 6 trios fit ok?

[Tonysmjc]

Ones going to be hard to determine due to existing marks on screen and the ability to watch that closely

2 will be pretty easy

and three isn’t a printing or transfer concern as it will vary mfg to mfg my srixon skin holds up better than a pro v
that’s for sure

ill be content if I hit a hand full and can’t find any transfer

but I’m already resigned to the fact that eventually I’ll get some at some point in time it will aggravate me
ill change the screen Mark it up again and repeat

[Tonysmjc]

The reason I’m not so worried at this point
with cut doing the printing and me not being middelmam

its going to be up to each guy here to decide what he/she is willing to accept and do to play their own ball

cost
risk of marking up a screen
need to apply polish or not
longevity of ball
compared to uneekor balls
or
applying stickers
will all become personal choices and vary widely from my personal wants and needs

ive made my decision and will for the sake of conversation
comparison and providing information post my results and opinions

[Tonysmjc]

Ive seen some chatter on here about applying polyurethane or epoxy type coatings over the dots
and I’m not knocking them they may work as well or better

but do a google search about the prosperities of clear nail polish and clear nail top coats
what their ingredients and properties are
how they dry

You may be surprised at how well suited nail coating are to our needs

[Jwheels9876]

HarryB

do you have any data backing up your claim that your dots are better than cmckelvmi ? I've used both and I notice no difference in spin or any ball data. The only thing I have noticed is yours falling apart in 1 round and his lasting 3 or 4 rounds on average.

So as far as I'm concerned, his are cheaper and last longer which make them a better product.

[shwag33]

I also completely disagree with harry's assessment of the other dots. If you apply them correctly they don't fall off.

[Tonysmjc]

Brief test
5 shots each ball pw maybe 3/4 as they were swing cold with no warm up
one with clear top coat ( not nail polish , nail polish top coat)
one as it arrived from cut

as you can see the one on the right took more damage

I made sure to put each ball down in the exact same position as to impact one specific set of dots all 5 times
here’s the balls and shot data


Didn’t notice any transfer to screen in either case
but I’m alone today and my screens no longer perfect
hard to tell

my thoughts are apply polish
and swing away
then put the balls in play or on your shag bag
when they don’t read
or stay with stick ons

both are viable options
just a matter of choosing your poision

[JackedUpSwing]

Can’t read any of those numbers