GolfWRX.com had published a story five years ago about OnCore’s Genius golf ball that was in development. The company reported that it raised $110,000 to develop a hollow-core golf ball with a GPS tracking system. The tracking device was designed to pair with an app on a smartphone and provide data about the golf ball such as its velocity, spin rate spin direction, carry and other factors. OnCore brought one of its prototype golf balls along to the 2018 PGA Show.
OnCore’s latest prototypes may have taken the company to a new level, as it prepares to enter the market by 2023.
PGA Tour golfers were seen testing the balls on Wednesday, at the Charles Schwab Challenge 2023. The Colonial Country Club putting-green was used by multiple players. The new Genius G50 prototype, which means “under 50 yards”, is currently only used for putting. It records data such as skid launch, velocity, and spin.
Erik Compton uses the VERO X2 ball to play OnCore balls on the PGA Tour. OnCore’s Genius ball has loftier goals with the Genius than just getting on the PGA Tour. It wants to take the golf ball industry, instruction, game improvements, and game enjoyment forward.
The company is still tweaking the construction of the ball, but one top-50 PGA Tour players told me, after testing it at Colonial: “This is going be huge.” I asked him if he felt any weirdness in the ball, or if putting was a problem, and if he thought the ball was bouncy, he replied, “Not at the least, it feels fantastic.”
OnCore Chairman/CEO Keith Blakely personally attended the Charles Schwab Challenge to test with players and receive feedback. Blakely was on-site at the Charles Schwab Challenge to test the ball, get feedback from players, and learn more about the technology.
The entire Q&A is below.
I watched a few professionals test out the new OnCore Golf Ball. What is it exactly?
The prototype Genius ball is designed for putting instructions, putter fitting and short game. The first product will be launched later in the year.
What is the purpose of a golf ball?
The green speed can be measured as long as the putt is long enough to reach the same velocity that you would get at the bottom a stimp-ramp.
We’ll show the launch angle visually, as well as the part of the slide and the angle of impact. Beyond that, I am not sure what other information will be needed. But we’ll work with the best putting instructors in the world to ensure we get the data they feel is important for people’s short games. The ball is the only thing that matters, and not the club.
Which PGA Tour players tested it and what was the feedback?
All testing was done as a demonstration trial. I don’t know who wants us to reveal their names, but Erik Compton has been using our conventional tour golf ball for several years.
When might this product be available in retail stores? Do you have an estimated time frame? Do you have a timeline?
The plan is for this ball – and app – to be used at least for putting down mid-irons. It’s more a matter of timing and performance than if it will be available to play on the full course. The brain of the golf ball takes up a certain volume that can’t be used to provide a Coefficient of Restitution, golf ball velocity and other things. We have to design the outer layers so that they can deliver the performance we need – spin, velocity, or whatever it is that translates into distance – in different situations. The easiest thing to introduce is par-3 play. After that, full-course play. Our vision is to have three models that will be named according to the distances they are intended for. G50 (50-yards and in), G200 (200-yards and in), and G Infinity (you can hit them as far as your arms can reach).
Do you know of any golf balls that are currently on the market with this type capability?
There are not many on the market. We do know there are several being developed. John Calbria, one of our ball designers, and Mike Jordan, another, are producing some of best conventional golf balls on the market right now. We are confident that the final ball formulation will be on par with conventional golf balls. The ball’s performance won’t change much when you use it. This is important for the data to be relevant as well as enjoyment of using the ball and practicing.
Do You Feel That You’re On The Cusp Of Bringing Golf Ball Manufacturing And The Market Into the Future?
Yeah. Again, this is not the case for traditional competitive games like these tournaments. This will not be used in competitive professional play. Professionals may use it for training, instruction, and analysis but not in competitions. It would be great for golfers to have the ability to analyze and track their shots, like TopTracer, on their phones. We also get asked a lot about helping golfers locate their ball using the Bluetooth proximity feature. This way, if they’re looking in the rough or in the woods they have a greater chance of finding it.
Twenty years ago we thought there would be Bluetooth technology in golf balls, and we wouldn’t lose another golf ball. Why is it so hard to make a golfball that can be tracked and found, such as skids on the green or the speed of the clubface?
Spotted on the Colonial Country Club practice green during player testing.
It’s important to note that, if you plan to use Bluetooth, you will need to include a power source, and a battery takes up space. This means that the ball must be built around the Bluetooth chip and antenna as well as the battery, control board, and the battery. It becomes more complex to build a ball that is only for Bluetooth communication. Add accelerometers and gyroscopes to the mix, as well as magnetometers and all the other data acquisition and functionality we are looking at. It becomes more complicated, expensive, and prone to failure when the ball is hit with 20,000g.
Do you have a putting coach who has been guiding you on the product, or are you doing it in-house?
At this time, we’ve not formalized any of our arrangements. We have had several conversations with well-known figures. We’ll do it before the ball becomes available commercially, so people know that there was input and advice from some of best instructors in the industry.
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Blakely is already marking his calendar for Black Friday or the end of the summer to get the golf balls ready.
When will the future arrive? We’re still uncertain. OnCore has made a big step forward in its quest to create a smarter ball with the Genius “G50”.
