What started out as a practical need for bright coloured golf balls (easier to see in low light and poor conditions), has grown into a variety of customized balls to suit every person and personality on the course.
Many golf ball tools out there include a sharpie and stencil to draw a straight line on your ball to differentiate it from the rest of your foursome (when you’re all playing ProV1s) or to add a personalized touch. Those personalized touches are now commercialized with many companies (such as Vice Golf) offering custom balls available for purchase in low quantities.
At that end of the spectrum, there are a lot of ways that a manufacturer can go when the criteria includes fun, colourful and different!
Putting on our marketing hats, we had a fun brainstorming session to create some personalities associated with each of the players who chooses to play these balls. This isn’t meant for you to start seeing stereotypes on the golf course, but it is definitely showing off the lighter side of golfing and maybe giving you some ideas for your next gift for the golfer on your list.
Here are our top 5 Characters on the Golf Course who refuse to play a standard white ball.
- Athletic Andy/Sporty Steve
His ball tells you a lot; he’s fanatical about his sports. Although golf is a sport, his golfing buddies often debate whether he goes golfing just to talk shop about his favourite sports team. It might be the place he went to/played at in college, where his kids are going to college, or maybe it’s the team he’s been rooting for since his childhood.
You’re confident that there’s a bumper sticker (or two) on his car in the parking lot that matches his golf balls… and his golf shirt, his hat, his head covers, his bag…
No question about passion here. No idea on how he’ll play that day, either. If his team just lost a big game, you might even see a club or two go into the pond!
- Emoji Eric
Barely says a word but definitely not lacking emotion, his ball changes on each tee box based on how he played the last hole. With a whole range of emojis to choose from and to avoid a Captain Holt level of confusion about how he felt that last hole went, we’ll explain each of these wonderful golf ball emojis.
- Retro Ryan
Likely to be sporting a neon shirt, sneakers from a few decades ago (that now have a golf shoe version) and a mullet peeking out from under his painter’s hat, Ryan’s golf balls are likely from the 1980s as well. This collection of neon golf balls are certainly 80’s colours.
Never losing his ball (that’s not to say he’s in the fairway though) and full of Caddyshack references, Retro Ryan is on the top of your call list when you need to round out your foursome at the last minute.
- Old-School Owen
Stuck in the glory days of college, Old-School Owen is inspired by the movie Old School, but we truly hope there isn’t any streaking on the golf course (unless we’re talking about a consecutive run of birdies/pars)!
Owen could be called “inappropriate” by traditionalists or even kicked off the course for his bad jokes and foul mouth. Alas, the game’s got to grow and questionable characters might be a good place to find new golfers who would love to dish out 18 holes worth of jokes, puns, and amusing stories.
Check out these balls that are just as questionable as Old-School Owen.
- Matte Matt
He might be close to adding an “e” to the end of his name as he’s obsessed with everything being “frozen”, “matte”, or “flat.” He’s got the newest gear, always in his colour of choice.
His car, phone case, appliances and now… his golf balls! The colour is what attracted Matt to these matte balls, but “apparently they perform better”. I’m sure Matt won’t let you forget that.
Got any colourful characters that you play golf with? We’d like to talk about them and their golfing stereotypes! Let us know in the comments below who your favourites are.
