Words are failing me. I played with the ultimate straight Polara Golf Ball yesterday and at the end of the round, I was so excited to write this review. Now I’m sat here with so much to say and holding back in fear of sounding like an evangelical follower.
The Back Story
Let me set the back story, I have only recently rediscovered my love for golf over the past twelve months after a long hiatus. Relationships, work, marriage, kids, I’m sure many of you know the story. I relocated from the UK back to Australia last year and I’m fortunate to now work for a company remotely in a different timezone which frees up my days. I’ve played every Thursday for the last year almost without fail. And every Thursday, drive after drive, I see my ball slice to the right.
I’m a keen follower of Rick Shields and I’m one of his 1million+ followers on youtube. He did a review of the Polara Golf Ball on his channel, and I instantly saw it as a solution to my slice. I had to have these balls. Unfortunately, they’re a little challenging to obtain in Australia. I ended up buying some from the States shipped to a parcel company who then shipped them to me. It turned out to be an expensive exercise, so they better go straight as I can’t afford to lose them in the water.
The Front Nine with a Standard Golf Ball
I have been generally improving week after week, but I can’t break 100 and certainly haven’t broken 50 for nine yet. That was until yesterday. I didn’t break 100, but I did break 50 for nine.
It was an idyllic start to the round. We approach the first tee only for a Koala to wander across the fairway. The little fella put us all in good spirits with a feeling that it may be a good omen. I had an ok’ish drive ending up to the right of the tree you see in the fairway in the picture. I ended up with a double bogey, completely stuffed the next hole, and the game didn’t get much better on the first nine holes.
It was one of those days where I just felt like I forgot how to golf. It was all bogey, double bogey and triple bogeys. Until I got to the 8th hole.
The 8th hole is a long water hole. I decided to switch balls and pulled out the Polara. Needless to say, I parred the eighth.
I ended up with a 56 for the first nine. Not the worst I’ve hit, but I was playing properly. I decided it was test time, I’m going to use the Polara for the second nine and see how it compares. See the front nine scorecard shown below. Ignore the fact it starts from 10. Howeston is a 27 hole course and Arccos doesn’t record every combination, so we started from 10 on this round.
The Back Nine with the Polara Golf Ball
Starting the back nine, I shanked it left into the trees. I searched along the tree line and on the next fairway and thought my ball was lost. I was about to take a drop until my buddy yelled out he found my ball in the middle of the fairway. The tree gods were good to me. I hit a nice iron shot to the front of the green, followed by a little chip and one putt. Par for the first hole. Somewhat lucky, but it put me in a good headspace.
The next tee shot was beautifully straight. Now, this is a hole that I almost always slice onto the next fairway. Not today. Next shot was a hybrid, dead straight to the side of the green. A chip and a one put, and I’m on my second par.
At this time I realised something was different. There’s no doubt that this ball goes straight and reduces the slice and hook. However, what got me thinking was how comfortable was hitting the ball. It was like having a safety blanket.
It is often said golf is more mental than physical. For me, an unexpected side effect of using the Polara was the positive mental approach. I’m convinced that this ball is a game-changer, and my buddy, who has played with me for the last year, saw the change. He questioned if it was the ball or my mentality. He got me to hit a normal ball on the last hole from the tee box, and wouldn’t you know it, it went dead straight. Frustratingly, I shanked the second shot with the Polara.
The good news is I scored a 46 for the back nine. Absolutely smashed it. Never in my life have I hit sub-50 for nine, and I couldn’t be happier with the 46. The shot of the day for me was the seventeenth. Other reviews say that you lose distance with the Polara, but for me, I’ve never been so close to the green on this hole. I hit it beautifully straight, and if it wasn’t for the bunker, I would be on the green for a Par 4 hole.
My back nine looked like this. Only the one triple bogey, and three pars. And the best part is I used the same ball for the nine holes, after losing three on the front nine.
Why Does it Work?
So there you have it, a 10 stroke difference between a standard ball and the Polara ball for nine holes. That’s a substantial improvement. Having never hit sub-50 before, I don’t believe this was simply a coincidence and have faith that the difference was the ball.
The Polara achieves this phenomenon in the design of the dimples. While a normal ball has symmetrical dimples throughout the ball, the Polara is designed differently. On the sides of the ball, the dimples have a different pattern, with additional smaller dimples. It’s this design pattern that controls the flight.
In the image, you can see a number of smaller dimples between each of the normal standard dimples. This occurs on both sides fo the ball.
Due to this design pattern, for each strike, you need to align the ball using the guideline. Consequently, this is what keeps the ball straight, and conversely, this brings us to the point of legality. The Polara ball is illegal in competitions.
When I first pulled the ball out on the eighth hole, I showed the ball to one of my playing partners after I made Par. Alan is a senior golfer, been playing nearly every week at Howeston since 1965. A fantastic bloke, and a quintessnetial Australian. He commended me on my par, but when I disclosed that I used the Polara and showed him the ball, he was not impressed. There were a few classic Australian words spoken.
Golfers can be a funny lot, and any sign of cheating or anything looking like cheating is deeply frowned upon. So if you do use the Polara, expect some discussion. For me, as a beginner golfer, I’m clear in my conscience that I’m still on a journey and this ball is helping me get there. I don’t plan on this being a permanent ball in my bag. For now though, I see it as a device to help me build confidence and create that artifical blanket. I’m not playing competitions and at the moment I’m simply competing with myself.
Saying that, if you’re in an official competition, or playing for side bets, then I would argue against using this ball.
Polara Golf Ball: The Conclusion
If you’re a beginner golfer and struggling with a slice or hook, it’s simple, purchase this ball. Your results may be somewhat artificial, and it’ can’t be used in competitions, but it removes frustration and it is a fantastic tool to build confidence. I’m still buzzing from playing with it, and feel like a real golfer, not just your regular hack.
There are the ethical points to consider with using the Polaras Golf Ball, but as long as you don’t use it any any form of competition, I see it as a massive help.
