Late Night Online Purchase: Snell Golf Balls

Golfers are gear heads, equipment nerds and endless tinkerers, so when one of those late-night infomercials comes on promising instant results after having a few drinks, we listen a little more intently and have a tendency to get a little click-happy online. That’s where our Late Night Online Purchases franchise comes in, a review of a certain piece of equipment, training aid or something else that caught our eye.

The most important piece of equipment in your golf bag isn’t that expensive new driver or those forgiving irons, it’s the golf ball. Simply put, the ball is the only piece of equipment golfers use on every single shot. As such, the ball has to be high-performing and ideally, reasonably priced. That’s what Dean Snell had in mind when he founded Snell Golf.

Snell’s résumé speaks for itself. A 25-year industry veteran, Snell helped to develop the Titleist Professional, HP2 and ProVI before heading to TaylorMade where he oversaw the development of the brand’s TP, Penta, Lethal and Tour Preferred balls. Armed with that experience, information and more than 35 patents in golf ball technology and design, Snell has rolled out his first two iterations of the Snell golf ball.

“The game is changing and people are leaving,” Snell told Golf.com shortly after launching his own company. “Something has to be done to help make the game more affordable, without sacrificing performance and technology. I want to bring the best materials, best processes and best performance that fit every golfer and improves their game without breaking the bank.

“There are a lot of people who won’t play tour type caliber balls because they don’t want to pay fifty plus dollars a dozen. Today Snell Golf can offer tour caliber performance but at an affordable price. By using tour proven technology and a strategic direct-to-consumer business model, we will be able to do just that.”

Snell’s My Tour Ball (retails for $31.99) and Get Sum ($20.99) balls could fit a sales pitch on a matchbox: High-quality, Tour-level balls for a fraction of the competitors’ price. The MTB is a 3-piece golf ball that features low compression/low spin core, a mantle layer for improved iron feel and a urethane cover that gives players that soft feel around the greens.

Each piece of the MTB stacks up against its higher-priced competitors, and in many instances, the ball outperforms them, as MyGolfSpy’s testing bore out. 

The Get Sum is a 2-piece ball that features an oversized soft core for more distance and straighter shots and a Surlyn cover for enhanced durability.

So, how can Snell make such a quality product and sell it for such a lower price? The company’s direct-to-consumer business model cuts out the middle man, depending on the sheer quality of the product to entice prospective buyers.

If there’s one thing the Costco K-Signature ball taught the golf equipment industry, it’s that consumers are looking for more quality for less price. An unlike the Costco K-Sig, Snell’s MTB and Get Sum balls are not flukes; they’re the real deal. 

[Snell Golf]

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