How It's Made: Promotional Golf Balls

Promotional golf balls are an innovative way to reach a wide audience and develop your brand recognition. Branded by Disrupt creates custom made golf balls on which you can stamp your company logo, and we thought it would be a good idea to show you just how these golf balls come to be. Golf balls today come either in three-piece or two-piece form. Three-piece balls are generally reserved for more experienced golfers, while the reduced spin of a two-piece ball is often better suited to beginners. The two-pieces that form the golf ball are a spherical rubber core with a hard covering, and a hard dimpled coating around the core. Given the complexities associated with manufacturing a three-piece golf ball – they can take up to a month to manufacture, compared to a day for two-pieces – we'll focus on the two-piece for today.

Spherical rubber core

The interior of a promotional golf ball is made by blending various compounds (what are they) to form a rubbery material. Heat and pressure is applied to make the core malleable, and it is then moulded into a sphere. This core is about 1.5 inches in diameter.

Dimpled cover

The dimpled cover is created by injecting hot plastic which forms a hard, dimpled coating. This is done through one of two processes; either injection moulding  or compression moulding.

Injection Molding

Injection molding involves injecting ionomer resin into a small space surrounding the core, before allowing it to cool and harden in the desired shape. So for a golf ball, imagine a spherical cavity in which the rubber core is placed. The heated materials are forced into this cavity which molds them to a certain shape. When they harden, you have the hard exterior cover surrounding the rubber core. In other words, you have a promotional golf ball.

Compression Molding

Compression moulding is a similar process, but involves using ionomer resin in two hemispherical cavities to create two symmetrical, hardened molds. These molds are then joined together around the rubber core to create a golf ball.

Finishing Touches

After these steps, production is almost complete. All that's left is for the manufacturer to polish the balls to ensure there are no rough spots, and apply a couple of coats of paint. Following this, the ball is ready to have its manufacturers logo branded across it. At Branded by Disrupt, we let you complete this final step, imprinting your own company name or logo across the promotional golf ball.