Cut-away of the HX Pearl
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I must admit that when my attention was first drawn to these new balls aimed especially at women, I was more attracted by the pale blue packaging and the pearly lustre of the ball than I was to its claimed performance.
In the past, some manufacturers have tried to have us believe that because a ball has a nice pastel shade of pink, tangerine or lemon, it would be just the kind of thing we’d be looking for when we set off on a Tuesday morning in our weekly roll-up with ‘the girls’.
Furthermore, even though a ball might feel like Brighton beach shingle off the clubface and looks like a miniature snooker ball, it would still be ideal for the likes of us. After all ‘it goes a little further and will be easier to find in the rough!’
Bloody cheek!
However, on behalf of the female fraternity, I’m delighted with my box of a dozen HX Pearl balls – they’re distinctive in the fairway with that opaque, mother-of-pearl sheen glistening in the sunshine and they’ve each given me at least 10 more yards of distance.
As a three-piece ball, I also like the feel I get off the face of my fairway woods and irons. And even at my slower swing speed, I can detect a little more bite and spin around the green than I could from my usual batch of Pinnacles and Top Flight XLs.
I have also learned with this ball to strike my putts more positively towards the hole, even on the faster greens we have been experiencing this week.
I read recently that one of Callaway’s directors had intimated that the company was stepping up its commitment to women’s golf, which is good to hear. Could also have something to do with having 2006 US Open champion Annika Sorenstam on their books.
George Fellows said: "Women golfers have told us they want the same high-tech performance balls men play, but they want them to be designed for their style of play. We listened to them and the result is a ball that delivers exceptional distance and soft feel, tee to green."
Good on you George!
If I have one criticism, the ball isn’t very durable. I know we tend not to hit the ball that hard but if occasionally we do find a hard-pan lie or find ourselves in a bunker we don’t want our pristine ball to emerge as damaged goods. If I’d bought it from M&S I’d be seriously considering asking for a replacement.
However, playing with a better quality ball has taught me to concentrate on keeping it straight. That way they tend to last a lot longer.
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