Can the Birdieball help backyard golfers?

RPGM: Tell our readers how Birdieball began. How does it work?

John Breaker: Birdieball is an invention that my father and I developed after watching Tiger Woods during the 1999 Masters Tournament. The announcers of the event made a comment that they were going to have to lengthen the course to accommodate the new technology in the game that was allowing players like Tiger Woods hit the ball so far.

We talked about the need for a “Tour” ball; one that would less “energetic” for the better players, a ball that tour events would play with. We drilled holes in golf balls to have the rubber examined for its hysteresis or rebound ability. With some of the drilled balls lying around, I decided to hit a couple.

The drilled out golf balls that were hit with the holes upright flew and felt like golf balls but traveled a very short distance, they would even dray and fade, hook and slice. Any ball with the through hole sideways just knuckled in the air and had an unpredictable flight path. This observation led to the BirdieBall, an extremely limited flight practice golf ball with all of the attributes of golf ball feel and flight.

BirdieBall works essentially the same way the drilled out golf balls worked. All golf balls have reverse spin around a horizontal axis. This is true of all golf balls that get off of the ground. There is a misunderstanding that golf balls have left to right spin or right to left spin. The fact is that they only have reverse spin. The draw, fade, hook and slice happen when this axis is tilted one way of the other. So, if you leave the club head open at impact the axis is tilted left to right (from the players point of view) this is a slice or fade depending on the degree of openness. The same thing is true for a hook or draw, the club head is closed to over-closed forcing the axis to be slightly tilted from right to left, forcing the ball to go right to left based on the degree it is closed.

When the Birdieball goes straight, it simply means that the club head was square at impact, forcing the axis to spin with the horizon. The fact that the BirdieBall looks like a napkin ring simply means that the ball shifts the modality of flight as it flies.

A golf ball is round and uniform it does not need to be oriented before striking. All that is required of a Birdieball is that you hit it with the opening up. This does two things. First, it allows you to compress the bottom of the cylinder; this has a spring like effect. The Birdieball cylinder compresses and jumps off of the club head with an extremely high rate of reverse spin. As it flies it oscillates between the two modes of flight (go and stop). As it spins, the wind going through its hole is lift, just like an aircraft wing.

The straight sides of the ball are stopping its forward progress. The sound it makes as it oscillates between these two modalities is like that of a jet engine reversing its thrusters. If you leave the club open it fades or slices and if you get it closed to over closed it goes straight, hooks or draws, again based on the degree of “closed”.

RPGM: Obviously, the Birdieball looks like a napkin ring. How does it measure up to a traditional golf ball?

JB: It is so much like a golf ball that the PGA Merchandise Show awarded it “Best New Product” in the training category a couple of years ago. Having said that, we are proud to say that it is really its own thing, it is BirdieBall.

Comparisons to golf balls are fine and it is the closest thing to golf that you can do in a backyard, however, it does things golf balls can’t do. For example, the BirdieBall because of its shape is much easier to back up then an actual golf ball. Birdieballs zip back toward the target much better than golf balls do. How many people can stick a sand wedge from 40 yards on an artificial green and zip it back toward the hole? Every one can do this very thing with a BirdieBall. It feels heavy in your hands when you strike it, flies exactly like a golf ball would fly (but for an abbreviated distance), won’t break windows and zips back when it lands. Sounds like the perfect answer for backyard golfers.

RPGM: Home putting green owners are serious about their short games. How can the Birdieball benefit the backyard putting green owner?

JB: Birdieballs chip like golf balls, The Colorado Section of the PGA just had their Play Golf America day. We were the featured product in the chipping area for the new golfers. The feel and speed off of the club head is essentially the same as a golf ball. In the short game the BirdieBall is most like a golf ball.

Further, because it has a slightly higher center of gravity it gets up in the air easier than a golf ball. As a result beginners at the golf party can participate without getting really frustrated. Also, you can “chutt” the ball off of the artificial surface. On a recent trip to Savannah for the Legends Event, we had a BirdieBall Golf competition without putters on the hotels artificial putting green. To hole out you had to chutt the BirdieBall and hit the pin. The whole game is played with a wedge.

RPGM: Does it spin as true as a traditional golf ball? Has it been tested for spin and playability on synthetic greens?

JB: Because it is not a round ball it plays much better on synthetic greens. The BirdieBall not only stops it backs up for a short distance. The First Tee has three BirdieBall golf courses which use synthetic tees and greens. They play the BirdieBall onto the green and then putt out with a golf ball. RPGM: Will it react to draws and fades?

JB: Exactly like a golf ball. In order for a practice ball to react like a golf ball, it must be spinning exactly like a golf ball. When put on a launch monitor the spin and ball speed of the BirdieBall is very similar. As discussed before, when you add this attribute to the understanding of how both objects fly in similar ways, you begin to understand why this product has hit such a nerve for backyard fun.

RPGM: What is the maximum distance it will travel?

JB: Mid irons travel about forty yards maximum. The difference between clubs is only about a couple of yards so a wedge may still go thirty yards plus. The BirdieBall can be used with the BirdieBall tee and the world record non-wind aided is 78 yards.

RPGM: What are the benefits to using the Birdieball, rather than a traditional golf ball, when practicing your short game?

JB Feel is developed by doing random things not redundant things. How does Tiger know how hard to swing at a golf ball that is buried six inches deep into US Open rough from 72.3 yards from the green that is running at a 15 on the stimp meter? His BRAIN!!! His brain connected to his hands could hit a crab apple to within twenty feet of the pin. Why? Because his brain can do the math, he has hit enough rocks, crab apples, range balls and Nike Ones to know that it isn’t about practicing that very shot….it is about having experience.

My brother-in-law hits quarters off of the pavement to develop feel. People that are good at their short game can chip a quarter a crab apple a BirdieBall or a feathery to close to any pin. They let their brain not redundant practice do the math. With that said. Get good at BirdieBall chipping and get good at Golf Ball chipping. Your brain knows which is which.

RPGM: How is it better than using the plastic golf balls that we have all used in our backyards?

JB: I don’t know anyone that likes hitting the plastic or foam balls. They don’t spin like golf balls they don’t fly like golf balls. They break and are in general not well thought out. The BirdieBall is a scientific, aerospace approach to solving the problem of real feel and flight in a short distance.

RPGM: How long does a Birdieball last before it needs replacing?

JB: They are virtually indestructible. If you have 100 of them and hit them every day for a year, you should have 95 of them at the end of the year. They can break, but it is very, rare.

RPGM: What is the cost of a sleeve of Birdieballs?

JB: A sleeve is about $7 a dozen $24.99 and a dozen with the StrikePad is $35.99

RPGM: Do you have other products that complement the Birdieball?

JB: Oh yeah! The StrikePad is a remarkable innovation. It is a cambered polymer pad that allows you to simulate taking a divot. It won’t slide and can be used on any surface. We have inflatable driving nets for the folks who just have to hit real golf balls. We have LIGHT UP THE DARKNESS BirdieBalls for night golf. How would you like to do that in the back yard on your beautiful new Synthetic Putting Green?

RPGM: Are there any other cool products on the horizon for your company?

JB: Yes, we are introducing electronic scoring to our inflatable targeting systems. We have a shag tube coming that allows you go pick them up without bending over. We are organizing the BirdieBall Golf Association and BirdieBall Tour and will have our first off course event with a combination of targeting features including synthetic greens in the fall of 2007.