Snell Golf is back after a troubling 2023 with three new balls that should restore the company’s reputation

By Tony Dear

Dean Snell says golfers making equipment choices can sometimes be overloaded with data and choices and end up suffering from that old stumbling block ‘paralysis by analysis’. “Sometimes there is just too much data,” he says on his company’s website. “It leaves many golfers feeling overwhelmed.”

Last week, the former TaylorMade and Titleist ballmaker introduced three new golf balls – the Prime 2.0, Prime, 3.0, and Prime 4.0 – designed to simplify the process of choosing the right ball for your game. And because of Snell Golf’s Direct To Consumer (DTC) model, these golf balls come at very attractive prices.

The numbers in the name signify how many layers each ball has. There’s more tech involved, of course – what do you expect from the guy who designed or co-designed the Pro-V1, Professional, and Tour Prestige (and many more besides) during his seven years at Titleist; TP Red and Black, Penta, and Tour Preferred line (and many more besides), during 18 years at TaylorMade; and the successful Get Sum and My Tour Ball since launching his own company in 2015? But Snell is keeping the names and choosing which one works best for you refreshingly simple.

The three models in the new line-up should have been available much earlier in the year, but Snell was forced to delay the launch following a couple of setbacks. The first was the disappointing performance of last year’s MTB Prime and MTB Prime X in particular which not only wasn’t as fast as was expected, but also had durability issues. Snell acknowledged the problem and shifted manufacturing to a completely different plant, in Taiwan. Tragically (setback #2), that one burned down last September before production could commence. Nine people lost their lives following two explosions and a subsequent blaze thought to have been caused by excessive organic peroxides (used in the production of golf balls and highly flammable), being stored in the building (3,000 tons in a country whose legal limit is 100 tons) where several top ball-manufacturers’ products were made.

The Prime 2.0, designed for those who don’t generate a great deal of clubhead speed and hit a 7-iron less than 120 yards, is perhaps the most interesting of the three new balls as it combines a fairly typical high-speed core, which causes higher launch, with a urethane cover. Urethane covers are usually reserved for much higher-end balls, of course, with the more affordable two-piece ball tending to have a firmer ionomer cover (like Snell Golf’s $20/dozen Get Sum). The new XV3 Urethane cover gives the Pime 2.0 a soft feel and much higher greenside spin than you’d normally get with a traditional two-piece ball. Softer golf balls are usually slower golf balls, but improvements in ball tech have allowed Snell (and others) to create the two-piece ball that offers more than decent distance and durability.

The Prime 3.0 which Snell says is suitable for golfers who hit their 7-iron 120-170 yards (that’s a lot of us). The core is designed to increase ball speed but reduce driver spin, the mantle (second or middle layer) helps you control the spin of your iron shots, and the XV3 Urethane cover gives you that greenside spin. The Prime 4.0, which starts shipping today, is designed for those who hit their 7-iron more than 170 yards and features two mantle layers that are designed, says Snell, to work together for optimal speed, spin, and flight for superior iron play.

Snell Golf had a fairly quiet 2023, but 2024 (minus the first four months, of course) is shaping up to be significantly better.

Prime 2.0 – $25/dozen

Prime 3.0 – $33/dozen

Prime 4.0 – $35/dozen

2024 Test Pack (includes four sleeves – Get Sum, Prime 2.0, Prime 3.0, and Prime 4.0) – $30

2024 Tour Test Pack (includes six Prime 3.0 and six Prime 4.0) – $34

Available in – White/Yellow (Prime 2.0 and Prime 3.0. Yellow version of Prime 4,0 is expected to ship June 1st)

snellgolf.com

 

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