Not Really Turning But . . . . . . .

[W.Y.]

I am not a golfer. Never golfed in my life but I managed to find a couple golf balls to practice on. It appears as if the previous owner had circled the name with a felt marker for some sort of identification.
These were just for practice so the ball part will be thrown out. The stoppers are just threaded or pushed in and not glued/
I need to know which looks best . Leaving the whole round ball sitting up on top of the Stainless Steel top ring or flattening the bottom off to match the diameter of the ring. Of course the one on the right is much easier to do . The flattened one on the left seems to somehow defeat the purpose of a round ball.

Then I tried one with a silicone stopper kit and just flattened the bottom of the ball to make a nice match to the silicone but the ball still looks round.

Believe it or not I checked every available place that sell golf balls around here in this one horse town and they are only available in 12 to 48 lots at ridiculous high prices.
I will be going to the city in the morning on other business so I will check with Wal Mart and see if they have smaller quantities at a better price. There are a couple golf courses on the way so I might even pop in and see if they have some "recycled" ones at a good price.
I don't want to buy a bunch of expensive new ones until I see how they sell around here but I have a feeling they will go good because there are quite a few golfers in this area. .
Also any tips from ones that have made these would be helpful. I have already found how tricky it is to drill a round ball and have the stopper part fit perpendicular to it and have the printing on the ball centered properly on both sides . Not as easy as it looks.

 

[woodchip]

I think i like the upper left one with the flat bottom better but, offer both and see which option the buyer likes. Cooll idea though.

 

[TomW]

I built a couple of them last night.... including one that had the logo upside down... Pretty easy to drill with correct 4 jaw chuck. Can line up the logos on the side of the ball with the chuck jaws.

Tom

 

[W.Y.]

I built a couple of them last night.... including one that had the logo upside down... Pretty easy to drill with correct 4 jaw chuck. Can line up the logos on the side of the ball with the chuck jaws.

Tom

That was my first thought but I was afraid of the chuck jaws marking the outside of the ball. Of course on that pair it wouldn't hurt anyway because they were just for practice. .
I have a center hole in my drill press table and positioned it as carefully as I could in there and held it with a clamp with smooth vinyl jaw faces.
Those golf balls drill just like cheese and thread real nice to screw on the S S bottom part .

 

[TomW]

Current technology golf balls are virtually "smile" proof (unlike the Balata covered balls from 10 years ago). I put one layer of masking tape around the circumfrence (so can still see the lables on the side) and tighten the chuck till I can feel the ball deforming.

Tom

 

[denaucoin]

I like the flattened bottom, great work.

 

[arioux]

Hi,

Great job. Il like the one with flat bottom the best. If there is a Canadian Tire or a Dolorama near you, the got them cheap. Like $8 or $9 for 12 (new) at Canadian Tire and 3 for $1.25 at Dolorama (used but like new). you should be able to get cheap brand around that price a WallMart too.

Golf club price will kill you.

 

[JimB]

So, how did you flatten the bottom? I like that one better.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Hey William,

Canadian Tire has some on sale for 7 dollars a dozen right now...if they don't have them at your local one, I could always ship 'em to you!

Andrew

 

[W.Y.]

Canadian Tire has some on sale for 7 dollars a dozen right now...if they don't have them at your local one, I could always ship 'em to you!

Thanks Andrew. I will check out my local CTC. They are only 120 km away from where I live

So, how did you flatten the bottom? I like that one better.

.

JimB
I did that on the disc sander. A light touch because the vinyl has a tendancy to melt if pressing too hard.

 

[DAVIDDECHRISTOPHER]

Hi
I like the rounded one if the stopper was machined to the conture of the ball.

 

[JimB]

Thanks Andrew. I will check out my local CTC. They are only 120 km away from where I live


.

JimB
I did that on the disc sander. A light touch because the vinyl has a tendancy to melt if pressing too hard.

Thanks William. I got a bit of a chuckle out of your answer becuase I was expecting to hear that you build some sort of jig for your table saw or band saw or something. I was expecting to have to build another jig. Disc sander sounds much easier.

 

[bgibb42]

I like the flattened bottom as well. Cool idea, nicely done!

 

[rjwolfe3]

I am partial to the flat bottomed one, it seems to blend more.

 

[jleiwig]

Flat bottomed look best

On another note, if your going to cater to real golfers with this, don't buy cheap golf balls. Get a high class ball like a titlist Pro-V1 and expect to pay around $50 a dozen.

check out http://www.lostgolfballs.com/

 

[hunter-27]

Flat bottomed look best

On another note, if your going to cater to real golfers with this, don't buy cheap golf balls. Get a high class ball like a titlist Pro-V1 and expect to pay around $50 a dozen.

check out http://www.lostgolfballs.com/

Good call!!!!!!

 

[tim self]

Agree with the flat bottom. Blends better.

 

[louisbry]

You got balls to make this post! Seriously, a good idea and the golfers will love them.

 

[jleiwig]

Another thought is sometimes you can find logo balls at golf shops for cheap. Usually over runs from an event or something of the like. Or you could put your logo on them as well and give them out as gifts or door prizes. Also I saw a guy last year that finds the really old golf balls with solid centers and carves charicatures in them. That would be sweet on a bottle stopper. Like these, but on bottle stoppers. Now for these you could use any old type of golfball.

 

[dogcatcher]

I have found that golfers are loyal to their brand. One brand might be okay, but a selection of the better known brands will be better. It is like the Ford versus Chevy, the non-golfer won't care but the golfers will pay more for their brand over a generic.

 

[DAVIDDECHRISTOPHER]

I like the one on the right if the top of the stopper had a radius machined in to it then it would be continuous. The one on the left gives the appearance that somthing is missing. If the stopper head was just a little larger in diammeter I think both would look nice.

 

[W.Y.]

Thanks for the responses both here and elsewhere . It was much appreciated information.
I understand what you are saying about some golfers might want their own particular brand name on top of a stopper.
As this is an experiment to see if there is much interest in these at craft sales I am not going to purchase a bunch of high end golf balls and then wonder who wants what brand.
I was in Wall mart today and asked about popular ones and he suggested these . Of course he seemed to know as much about golfing as I do which is practically nothing . .lol . .
These were $15.00 for 15 balls so at a buck a piece I can't get into much of a loss situation if they are not accepted. .
I will try a few round and some flattened on the bottom and some with silicone .
If I run into a situation where it is more than just a a novelty to have a golf ball on top of a stopper and they want different brand names than what I have , then I can look for ones they want on a special order basis.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

William, the most popular balls are probably Callaway and Titelist...

Honestly, your best bet is probably getting a bag of 'recycled' or 'experienced' balls - they were found on the course and repackaged for sale; that way, you get a variety of brands in one cheap bag/box..even Wallmart sells those...

Andrew

 

[Daniel]

First I like the flattened bottom. looks like I would expect a ball to look setting in a tee.
as far as finding balls. unless you are willing to settle for Xouts which are basically rejects for one reason or another. you are going to pay quite a bit for them, even spalding balls are getting expensive. also you will likely be having to buy an aweful lot of brands and styles. Teitlist, Max Fli, and Spalding are just three I can think of cause I use them. If I where interested in having you make me one of these I would most likely reach in my golf bag and give you the ball to make it out of. that way it is made with my favorite ball. the best way I know of you to be able to find most any type of ball one at a time is to go to a local golf club and search through there slightly experienced balls. all pro shops have them and many of these balls have only been struck once, then they took a long bath. I woudl expect to get them for a buck to a buck and a half per ball but you will be able to pick and choose the exact ball you want. there usually will be a pretty well rounded selection in there as well. don't be shy about telling the pro what you are doing, my bet is he has a bigger box of them setting behind the counter. otherwise you should be able to find any ball sold in sleeves of only three balls and not have to buy a full dozen. this gives a couple spares for when the customers buddies call you. of course golfing buddies don't often use the same balls. When I play with my father I will use titelist if he uses Max Fli, or visa versa. the polite reason for this is so that we do not get our balls mixed up. the truth is I would not be caught dead using the same ball as that hacker. lol.
in short the experienced balls are your best chance of getting clean balls in several brands and still have the shirt on your back.

edited in: By the way some balls have a liquid center. you might get a bit of an unexpected surprise when you drill into one of them. the fluid did not come from soaking in the lake

 

[arjudy]

I like the flattened ball the best.

Try ebay for used golf balls. There are guys out there that retreive them and clean them up and they look brand new but much cheaper then new. Of course if a customer wants a particular ball they could provide it to you.

 

[W.Y.]

I started this topic elsewhere as well to get some ideas. Thanks to all who responded and for now I have gone with the majority of suggestions which was logo on top and flattened bottoms for the stainless steel ones .
I am only trying three stainless steel and three silicone for now to see if there is any interest in them.
I will see what happens at tomorrow mornings craft sale . I am not looking forward to the intense heat of the heat wave we are in right now . It gets awful hot under those 10 x 10 easy-up shelters with full sun beating down on it. Still better than rain or no shelter at all.

 

[jleiwig]

Another idea would be to sand the logo off for the flat spot that way no one would really know what type of ball it would be.

 

[W.Y.]

Another idea would be to sand the logo off for the flat spot that way no one would really know what type of ball it would be.

The logo is on both sides with any I have seen so far . I grind the logo off one side to become the bottom and the other logo shows on top .

Someone asked on my site if I flattened the bottoms or left them round.
This was my reply.

The angle of the shot did not show if they are round bottom or flat bottom.
Here is a shot from the bottom side showing that they are all flat bottom for both styles to match the hardware .

Are we having fun yet :-*

 

[rjwolfe3]

Those are really cool!

 

[bitshird]

I also like the flattned bottoms they have a more finished look, Ruth Niles stoppers might be a better bet for the golf balls though.

 

[W.Y.]

I also like the flattned bottoms they have a more finished look, Ruth Niles stoppers might be a better bet for the golf balls though.

I have way better luck with the teardrop style than the Ruth Niles short stubby ones.

 

[jleiwig]

I have way better luck with the teardrop style than the Ruth Niles short stubby ones.

Are you referring to luck selling the style or problems?

 

[W.Y.]

Are you referring to luck selling the style or problems?

No problem with either one. Both excellent quality. They just like the appearance of the teardrop one better and if placed side by side with identical tops on them they will take the teardrop one almost every time.
I think it is because the teardrop one feels better balanced.

 

[elody21]

Very Cool!!!

 

[nava1uni]

I like the flattened ones. The eye tends to automatically round it out and it looks well proportioned sitting on the stopper top. The round appears to be sitting precariously on the stopper. That last batch looks great.

 

[purplehaze]

golf

It could also be that the tear drop ones look more like a tee.

This is a great idea thanks for posting it.

I tried this yesterday with one of Ruths stoppers. Since these stoppers fit almost flush with the bottle, it looks pretty good if you screw the ball down just far enough so the threads dont show. Plus you dont have to flatten the bottom.

 

[sejman]

Hi William,


I golf (sporadically) and think the round ball on the chrome stopper is more visually appealing. Don't think you can pull that off with the silicone stopper though. Very novel idea!

Mark