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The Oval GolfCross® Ball

Hold the oval GolfCross® ball in your hand and you're unmistakably holding a golf ball. It has the same smooth white dimpled exterior you know so well and it's about the same size and weight, but what makes it so intriguing is that it's oval instead of round.

For more than 500 years golf balls have been as perfectly spherical as we can make them, so why, you may ask, would anybody want to mess with something that has such a proven record? Have we somehow had it wrong for five centuries? Not at all; the round ball is exactly right for golf, which like soccer, requires that it be played along the ground as well as in the air. Nothing but a perfectly round ball can be accurately putted across the smooth surface of a green and into a hole, but if a game has no need for the ball to roll towards a target, then the oval shape, which is easier to control and capable of more flight path variations, becomes an interesting alternative.

When you play with the oval GolfCross® ball you'll be playing with a genuinely smart ball, which despite appearances, is actually more aerodynamically stable than the round one you know so well. Amongst other things it will enable you to:

  1. Hit the ball straight every time.
  2. Perform controlled slices and hooks, when you want to, with ease.
  3. Adjust the degree of fade or draw you require.
  4. Generate backspin - even with a wood or out of the rough.
  5. Apply top-spin to achieve long low running shots and;
  6. if you really want to show off, do double curves and play tunes!

Playing an oval GolfCross® ball requires only one stroke, a clean hit, most beginners through to good players can achieve this (even if they do end up putting a huge amount of spin on the ball, which with a round ball would end up in a hook or slice, but as you already know, in GolfCross® will end up with a perfectly straight shot).

Positioning the Oval GolfCross BallBasic Ball Positions

Since it is perfectly round, there is only one-way to position a golf ball, but the oval GolfCross® ball can be positioned in many ways, each of which results in a different flight pattern. There are four basic positions, which are used to achieve specific types of shot when playing the oval GolfCross® ball.

Because the flight of the ball is controlled by the way it's angled, you're allowed to pick it up and position it within one foot (30cm) from where it lies, but not nearer the goal or into the yard. You can 'tee-up' your ball in the yard but only where is lies. You can't position your ball in a 'heavy rough', a hazard or sand bunkers.

All flight patterns required from controlled hooks and slices, stopping the ball dead on landing, bringing the ball backwards and even achieving the 'snake shot' are all achieved as simply as using the correct ball positioning on the tee cup.

For more detailed information see the Rules & Etiquette of GolfCross.
 

GolfCross Tee CupThe Tee Cup

A high-grip rubber tee cup is used that makes it easy to hold the oval GolfCross® ball at the correct angle. The tee cup is stretched over a regular tee after pushing the tee through the bottom of the cup. The ball may be either set on top of the cup at a variety of angles or held by pressing the mouth of it over the sharp end of the ball so that it sucks onto it.
 

 

Why the oval GolfCross® ball flies straight;

Because of its aerodynamic complexity, the oval ball is easier to control and can be made to fly straight or curve simply by adjusting its position. When positioned vertically, the oval ball is almost impossible to hook or slice because it has two axes of spin; slicing your club across the face of the ball has no effect because the sideways spin that results is immediately counteracted by the ball's simultaneous tumbling spin. Each half revolution the ball makes as it tumbles through the air reverses the direction of the sideways spin that causes a round golf ball to curve.
 
Why it can fly round cornersWhy it can fly round corners;

The oval GolfCross® ball will curve in a pre-set direction because once it has been set spinning on a particular axis it maintains its angle of orientation in space in the same way as a spinning gyroscope or frisbee. If the ball's angle of rotation is leaning over to one side then it will curve round to that side.
 
The Four Basic Positions & Playing The Oval GolfCross® Ball

1. Reflected - For Maximum Distance
For maximum distance, the ball is angled back to reflect, or be parallel with, the loft angle of the club face. The reflected ball has minimal back spin, an efficient trajectory and runs on.
 
2. Upright For Back Spin
To apply backspin, even with a driver, so that the ball stops quickly on landing, position it vertically. This allows the club face to strike below the centre of the ball which gives it plenty of backspin and a higher trajectory. The ball tumbles rapidly backwards with a high pitched hum, the higher the pitch, the greater the speed of spin and the shorter the flight of the ball. Reduce backspin by leaning the ball back slightly. The vertical ball struck with a wedge gives maximum backspin and is the safest shot round the goal as the ball is less likely to run off if the goal is missed.
 

3. Torpedo For Top Spin
When the ball is laid horizontally and hit on one sharp end while the other end faces the target like a torpedo, the resulting top spin produces a long, low, bounding flight.
 
4. Angled For Fades & Draws
Hitting fades or draws and controlled slices and hooks is simply a matter of setting the spin axis of the ball. The further over it is angled to one side the greater will be the movement to that side. You'll find that the more the ball is angled over the flatter its trajectory will be, resulting in a more oblique angle of decent with greater run-on. Unstable flight will result if the ball is fangled, reflected when it is also angled left or right.
 

General tip for all of the above shots; Ensure that the ball, for the upright shot is absolutely vertical i.e. not leaning forwards, backwards, left or right. For other shots ensure it only leans one way, the way you want it to fly i.e. backwards, left or right but not across two planes i.e. backwards and right as this will result in an erratic flight pattern.


The book; GolfCross® - The Definitive Guide is a very handy book to keep in your golf bag that gives detailed information on how to position and play the ball, which is available along with other product from the On-Line Shop.