FIRST LOOK: Graff Golf is Developing a Smart Golf Ball That’s Actually Affordable

Golf balls have been a big source of debate lately. Core, dimple pattern, distance etc. Well this ball is different.

You are probably thinking “I’ve heard that before” but I am serious. This is a smart golf ball and the best thing is it is affordable!

The tech world has been gaining more and more influence in the golf world in the last few years with stat tracking and the evolution of golf simulators. Personally, I have been waiting for a smart ball to hit the market that is not only useful, but affordable as well. The Graff Golf Ball looks to be just that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Graff Golf (@graffgolf) on Jan 8, 2020 at 9:57am PST

I first heard about this ball from an ad that popped up on my Instagram. I thought “yeah right, I’m not falling for one of these again” (I got burned on something last year and it still hurts). But the strangest thing happened, it kept popping up, so I went to their website to dig up some information.

I wanted to find out not just what the ball’s intention was but who came up with it. So I decided to reach out to them to see if I could find out anything else. They responded to me the same day and even asked if we could have a call. It was at this point I started to think that this potentially revolutionary piece of golf equipment can actually change the way we play and practice golf.

I spoke to Aaron who is one of the owners of Graff golf. He is currently a student at Johns Hopkins, but he has a passion for golf and business that is helping drive this product to market. I found out that not only will this ball be able to be used on the course while you play a round of golf, but you can setup a net and use it as your own personal launch monitor!

This “smart”  golf ball will give you all the spin rate, spin direction, velocity, hang time, launch angle, and distance hit stats you would expect from a launch monitor, but Graff isn’t stopping there. Their app will come up with a personal practice plan based on how you perform with their ball so you can become a better golfer!

Think about it, you go play a round of golf, and after the round you have something telling you what you did right, but more importantly what you did wrong and how to fix it! That’s all fine and good but you might be asking, “how is that going to help me if I can’t find the damn ball?”

The same app that’s keeping track of all your stats and performance is also equipped with a “find my ball” feature. You just hit the ball locator feature and it will walk you directly to ball! Granted if it ends up in a lake, you’re probably out of luck but that holds true with any ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Graff Golf (@graffgolf) on Dec 6, 2019 at 1:47pm PST

These features really have me excited to try this ball out. I have some concerns over the durability but per Aaron the ball will last as long as a regular golf ball.

This is the point where you are asking yourself how much does this ball cost? Not as much as you would think.

A sleeve of Graff smart balls is going to cost around $49.99. I was honestly expecting these to cost around that much per ball, not for a sleeve. If you are using these for practice in a net at home, that purchase could last a long time.

One additional cost with this is the app. It’s free to download but to get everything that Graff golf is offering you will need to subscribe to their app at $20 a month. Yearly subscriptions will be available if you live in a warmer climate but if you are in the Midwest like me, monthly subscriptions may be the way to go.

Having a tool that finds your ball, gives you your ball stats, can be used as a launch monitor for practice and provides a personalized coaching plan tailored to your game seems well worth $20 a month. Looking down the line to the end of 2020 the Graff golf app will come with a version 2.0 update. With that update will come weekly competitions for prizes but those details are still in early development.

Graff Golf Promotion Video

Uploaded by Graff Golf on 2020-01-03.

If you want to try this ball for yourself pre-orders will be available starting today (February 25^th) and the ball will be shipped out late June. I plan on getting my hands on at least one of these so I can do a hands-on test in both a net, and on the course.

To say Graff golf has my attention would be an understatement. I think they are onto something here and if the app can deliver everything, they are promising I expect this product to be on the mind of every golfer by the end of 2020.