Polara Golf facts for kids
Polara Golf is a brand that makes special golf balls. These golf balls are designed to help golfers hit straighter shots. Sometimes, when people hit a golf ball, it curves too much to the left (a "hook") or to the right (a "slice"). Polara golf balls use "self-correcting technology" to reduce these hooks and slices by a lot, sometimes up to 75%.
The company that makes Polara golf balls is called Aero-X Golf. David L. Felker and Douglas C. Winfield helped create these unique golf balls. The first Polara golf ball was sold in 1977. Newer versions, like the Polara Ultimate Straight, came out in 2010. These newer balls work even better than the original. Polara golf balls have a special design with different kinds of dimples (small dents) on their surface. They have shallow dimples around the middle and deeper, round dimples at the top and bottom.
Types of Polara Golf Balls
In 2012, Polara added more golf balls to its collection. These were the Polara XD and Polara XDS.
- Polara Ultimate Straight: These balls are best for golfers who really need help with hooks or slices. They correct the ball's flight by up to 75%.
- Polara XD: "XD" stands for "Extra Distance." These balls help you hit the ball farther. They correct hooks and slices by about 50%.
- Polara XDS: "XDS" means "Extra Distance and Spin." These balls also help with distance and give the ball a bit more spin. They correct hooks and slices by about 50%.
The XD and XDS balls fly a little higher than the Ultimate Straight balls. This higher flight can help many golfers get more distance, but they don't correct hooks and slices as much as the Ultimate Straight balls do.
The Original Polara and Golf Rules
Most golf balls used in official games or tournaments are designed to be perfectly symmetrical. This means they are the same on all sides. The original Polara golf ball, sold in 1977, was different. It had six rows of normal dimples around its middle, but very shallow dimples everywhere else. This special, uneven design (called "asymmetrical") helped the ball correct its flight in the air.
Over 300,000 of these original Polara balls were sold. However, the United States Golf Association (USGA), which sets the rules for golf in the U.S., did not allow the Polara ball in official tournaments. In 1981, the USGA changed its rules to ban golf balls that were aerodynamically asymmetrical. This meant balls like the Polara could not be used in professional play.
Polara's maker disagreed with the USGA's decision. They took legal action against the association. In 1985, the USGA and Polara reached an agreement outside of court. The USGA paid Polara US$1.375 million to settle the disagreement.
Popularity and Media Attention
Even though Polara golf balls are not allowed in official tournaments, many everyday golfers are interested in them. Research showed that about 28% of regular golfers would like to use a ball that helps their game, even if it's not "official." The CEO of Polara Golf, Gary De Bay, said that about 40% of golfers who tried the ball at special demo events wanted to buy it.
In May 2011, an article in The New York Times newspaper talked about the Polara golf ball. This article caused a lot of media attention, including a segment on the TV channel CNBC. So many people wanted to learn about or buy the balls that Polara Golf's computer servers crashed for several hours because of the high demand.
Some people in the golf world were not happy about the "illegal" ball. One writer, Ken Hambleton, even changed his mind after talking to the inventor. He wrote that the problem with the new Polara ball was "that it works," meaning it was too effective at correcting shots to be allowed in official play.
