Five things we learned at TaylorMade's Liberty Ball Plant
GolfMagic's equipment editor, Alex Lodge, visited the TaylorMade Ball Plant in Liberty, South Carolina, to find out how the golf powerhouse makes its golf balls.
GolfMagic visited TaylorMade's golf ball factory in Liberty, South Carolina, to find out what goes into making some of the best balls in golf.
The golf ball is arguably the most important item in any golfers bag. Why? Because it's the only one you use for every shot.
TaylorMade has been an industry leader in the market for quite some time now, with some of the world's best players including Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler, using the brand's most premium offerings.
To find out exactly what goes into making each ball, we got a behind-the-scenes look at the ball plant with golf ball oracle and director of plant operations at Liberty, Kenny Rhinehart.
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Five things we learned at the TaylorMade Ball plant
1. Temperature is key
When the ball cores first arrive at the plant, they must remain in a temperature-controlled mantle cool room for up to eight hours before they can progress to the next step of the manufacturing process.
The room is kept at a fairly chilly 56.5 degrees Fahrenheit in order for the balls to reach an optimal temperature.
2. Golf never sleeps
TaylorMade's Liberty Ball Plant runs 24/7 in order to provide players worldwide with the golf balls they need.
A total of 300 employees work around the clock to ensure each ball meets exact specifications before it's boxed up and shipped out.
3. Attention to detail
Each golf ball produced at the Liberty Ball Plant goes through stringent quality checks to ensure it meets the company's high standards.
From the core to the paint job, every ball is assessed using artificial intelligence and the human eye to ensure it is ready for use.
If a single line on a Pix ball is even 0.001 millimetres out, it won't make it out the door.
4. The Cobot
During the packaging process, employees work in harmony with a cobot.
The cobot picks and places boxes of balls onto the pallets, ready to be shipped out to consumers and shops around the world.
5. Liberty produces a staggering number of golf balls
Each year, Liberty manufactures and ships 3.2m dozen golf balls.
That equates to a staggering 38.4m balls, or in other words, a golf ball for the entire population of Morocco, with some to spare.
