If you’re a fan of Nike golf balls like Rory McIIroy, the news of the company ceasing their production of golf equipment might have been a tough pill to swallow, but don’t give up on the swoosh just yet. With a variety of Nike’s ultra-popular RZN models in stock, LostGolfBalls.com is keeping your golf bag stocked with your favorite balls.

Perhaps you have seen that odd miniature soccer ball rolling across your golf course. Well, that golf ball isn’t sporting that pattern as some sort of gimmick to appeal to soccer-mad golfers. Its name is Truvis, and it is helping players around the world improve their game and lower their handicaps. But don’t be mistaken, this isn’t just an aid for your average Joe. With 16 Pro Tour wins already, the Truvis pattern is making its impact among the professional ranks as well. In fact, Truvis patterned golf balls have become the favorite of eight-time major champion Tom Watson.

Over recent years, technology used in manufacturing golf balls has witnessed massive leaps forward. The days of liquid-core balls that would lose compression and distance after exposure to heat or water are far in the past. The modern solid-core ball offers consistency, longevity and durability that far exceeds the golf ball of yesteryear. This has opened a market for recycled balls.

In just a few days the world’s best golfers will compete at the Olympics for the first time since 1904. By the end of the weekend, there will be a new Olympic gold medalist in men’s golf for the first time since Canadian George Lyon claimed the title at Glen Echo Country Club 112 years ago. The question is, who will it be? Though some players have decided to stay home, the field competing in Rio will be one of the strongest of the year. That is why today we make our bets on the top-four most likely to find on the podium and what ball they’ll be using in their quest for gold.

Did you catch Hideki Matsuyama’s approach shot on the par-4 second hole during Friday’s coverage of the PGA Championship? It landed 20 feet past the hole, safely in the middle of the green and seemingly was nothing special. Then it began to roll. And roll. The ball would continue to roll until it disappeared into the bottom of the cup. The crowd erupted and Matsuyama found himself climbing up the leaderboard. While many of us may dream of holing out for eagle in a major, most will have to resign themselves to simply watching such moments on TV. However, there is a way average Joes can get one step closer to competing like such superstars as Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell and Keegan Bradley: play the same ball. Enter the Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV.

With the 98th PGA Championship beginning this week, golf’s greatest stars will descend upon Springfield, New Jersey as Baltusrol Golf Club plays host to the year’s final major. The first PGA Championship was contested in 1916 with Jim Barnes defeating Jock Hutchinson in the final round of what was then a match play tournament. Though much about the game of golf has stayed the same since that first championship 100 years ago, one facet of the game has been the focus of unrelenting innovation – the golf ball. That is why this week we take a look at the balls used by the last three PGA Champions and the features that helped them on their way to lifting the Wanamaker Trophy.

Callaway Golf burst on to the equipment scene more than 25 years ago with the game changing Big Bertha line of drivers, fairway metals and eventually irons. Alongside a few other key competitors, these products pushed the industry away from persimmon woods and toward the modern era of equipment defined by titanium and composites materials. While its influence on the world of club design is undeniable, the company has also been making some excellent golf balls for the past decade and a half. For this blog post, we want to focus on the Tour caliber balls that rival other industry titans like the ProV1 for a spot in the bags of high-level amateurs and professionals.

With the Open Championship contested this week, all eyes will be on Royal Troon and the annual battle for the Claret Jug. The Open or British Open is the oldest of the four major championships, and the only to be contested outside the United States. First played in 1860, the event has hosted the greatest players from every era, and we wanted to examine a few of the top performances over the past 150 years.

The professional golf season is unique among major sports in America, as fans can enjoy a PGA Tour event basically any week from January through early December. We know the season technically ends with the FedExCup and picks up again in October, but golf really has no “off-season.” As such, fans and players alike get to experience a new venue every week. We thought it would be fun to look at the schedule and give our take on the top-five courses the Tour visits.