OK, I didn't know that. When I first noticed that he was playing the ball I could find nothing about an endorsement deal. He was evidently playing the ball to see if it was to his liking.

I do know that when he went from Titleist to Nike his Nike contract allowed him to play any products that he liked until Nike came up with one that satisfied him. He continued to play Titleist clubs and ball for quite a while. Eventually, they came up with an iron that he liked. Then he switched drivers and eventually the wedges and ball. He had a Titleist three wood in his bag for a long time into his Nike contract.

I know that Nike made hundreds of different prototype balls for him to test until they found something that satisfied him.

Most tour players are not going to change anything unless they are sure it's going to be better or at least equal to what they're playing.

In fact, when Taylor Made wanted their player to play a Taylor Made ball, the hired Dean Snell, the man who invented the Pro V1, away from Titleist. The new Taylor Made tour ball was basically the same as the Pro V1 with improvements. I met Dean Snell and he told me that the Taylor Made ball was what the Pro V1 would have become if he had stayed with Titleist.

So it's not like a company is going throw a lot of money at a guy and he's going to play with something that he doesn't think will benefit his game.

Making a golf ball is tricky business. Most people are surprised to find out that every ball has thousands of patents. Titleist owns many of these patents and leases or sells them to other ball companies. If you develop a ball chances are that you have infringed upon a patent.

I'm surprised to see how many of the LPGA Players are playing that ball. Volvik is evidently on to something. I think a few PGA Tour players have gone over to it as well.

I would suspect that Bubba is going to play a pink ball.

Here's an article regarding Tiger and his contract with Bridgestone.
As you can see in the quote below taken from that article, he tried out several different brands and settle on Bridgestone before signing a deal with them.
It's never just about the money when it comes to equipment for top tour players.

Tiger Woods Signs Multi-Year Contract to Play Bridgestone Golf Balls | Golf.com

While it's true that Nike created a different ball for Tiger, this is the only example that I could find of a company making a product for a tour player that is not available to the general public. Every other company states that you can buy the exact equipment that the tour pros are playing.

No other company has been sued over this.

I wonder if this kind of decision is part of what cause Nike Golf to go under. It is very expensive to make a small quantity of a different ball for a tour player. Why they just didn't put the same ball out to the public is a mystery. It makes no sense from a business standpoint.

But the fact that this was found out and they were sued should tell everyone that no one else is doing it. If they did, these same watchdog groups would be suing them as well.

You can read statements from Titleist and Callaway here:
Nike admits that Tiger uses different ball in play | Online Athens

That statement is absolutely false. :oops:

There have been quite a few top players, who after a modicum of success, were lured to different equipment/ball makers... because of lucrative endorsement deals.

Here's but a short list, of the most high profile ones who did it...and had their games suffer as a result.

Ranking the 5 Worst Equipment Changes by a PGA Tour Player | Bleacher Report

This may be somewhat off topic, but I have noticed that many golfers putt with a cross handed grip. This was never done in the old days. I wonder if there is any objective evidence that this grip has improved the overall statistics in putting? If so, why?

I'm not sure there would ever be a way to scientifically quantify that, but on an anecdotal and personal level...it certainly helped me.

I went cross-handed (left hand low) over 20 years ago and found that it kept me from breaking my wrists and helped to develop more of a pendulum stroke.

After I switched, I read an article where the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Nicklaus said that the only thing he would have changed...was to have started out putting cross-handed.

Left Hand Low Putting: What You MUST Know | RotarySwing.com

That's a pretty good endorsement IMHO. :thumbup:

I have done business with Costco since the early 90's. Believe any product that has the Kirkland Signature name on it IS equal to or better than the top branded products. I personally have developed a Kirkland Signature product with and for Costco. The research and product development including inspection of the manufacturing plant is unparalleled. The reason the price/value is so great is that Costco negotiates a fair price but limits the their profit margin to no more than 14%----period. Hopefully they will get the KS golf balls back soon.

I purchased a few Volvik balls from Golfsmith during their going out of business sale. I didn't see much difference from NXTs or the E series balls, other than thier funky finish. They are now in the pond on #4 at Mangrove. I'll just stick with the Bridgestone E6 or E7 ballls.

Actually putting "left hand low"...
 

for right handed players has been around for decades....yup the old days too. What it helps prevent is the left wrist from bowing on the follow through.

What it proves is that even the professionals will try anything to keep the putter on the line they've chosen. If it works then it works....after all putting is MAGIC!

Costco Kirkland Signature Golf Balls on sale Costco on line again today

Except you can't add any to your cart. Must be sold out already.

I've never tried the Kirkland are they really that legit?

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Off topic remark
 

A quick remark on the "left hand low" form of putting. Dave Pelz, a former NASA engineer, and his associates have done research on this and has determined "left hand low" is (according to Pelz and their research) a "better" putting method than the old standard used for years by professional golfers. In short, you can google this for additional research and information. Dave Pelz is considered a short game guru (lacking another word) in the professional golfing world. Sorry off the Costco golf ball subject. I usually get 2 or 3 dozen ProV1 Titleist at Christmas so maybe I will ask for some of these Kirkland golf balls for my birthday.