USA Today Flash: Golf Ball Has Improved!

Jerry Potter does that informercial thing that only the USA Today has the cajones to try, this time with layering a monumental puff piece/suck up to advertisers with contributions from nearly everyone in the golf ball business. 

See if you can spot the theme here:

Garcia sealed the victory with a wedge shot on the par-3 17th island hole when the ball stopped 4 feet from the cup. Garcia's skill certainly was a factor, but all players are finding that the current generation of golf balls is far better than anything in the past.

Next...

Statistics can be misleading, but victories aren't. Titleist, which dominates the PGA Tour in players, has 11 wins this year; Nike has six, including Trevor Immelman's win at The Masters.

Callaway has two wins, but on the LPGA tour Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam have combined to give Callaway eight wins in 11 tournaments.

Clearly, the golf ball, whether a three-piece or a four-piece construction, is better than in past generations.

And finally...

As Nike's rep to the pro tours, Rick Nichols often pitches a new golf ball design to his father, Bobby Nichols, a former touring pro, who at 72 is all but retired from tournament golf.

"He always says, 'The ball is the same size as it used to be, isn't it? And, it's still round isn't it?' " Rick says.

The answer is yes to both questions, but today's golf ball is closer to perfect than at any time in the game's history.

And better than in past generations!

Come on Wally, even you had to find this one painful to read.