I bet you did not know that illegal golf balls, or non-conforming golf balls were even a thing. The good news is, the good folks at LostGolfBalls and PG Professional Golf have teamed up to design the world's best illegal golf ball. The best illegal golf balls are the ones that get the most distance and also play well around the greens. Many illegal golf balls over the years have made big claims about the distance achieved, but have never really addressed the lack of playability, especially around the greens. One critic said, "You will get some great distance off the tee, yet you will have less feel and playability around the green. Illegal golf balls don't let you develop your game."

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.

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.

On October 11, 2000 at the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas, NV team Titleist introduced what would become one of the industry’s most popular golf balls. The fledgling project dubbed Pro V1 (“Pro” for professional, “V” for the veneer layer of Urethane and “1” since it was the first) was put into play by nearly 50 professionals that week including eventual champion Billy Andrade. On the heels of its record-setting success, a second model – the Pro V1x – was introduced three years later in 2003.

Russell Knox proved one thing last Saturday at TPC Sawgrass: whether you’re a seasoned professional or picking up a club for the first time, hitting a golf ball over water is tough. Standing on the tee of the Stadium Course’ famed 17th hole, Knox was a few strokes off the lead and feeling pretty good. That all disappeared when the Scotsman donated three, shiny new golf balls to the pond surrounding the infamous island green. His eventual sextuple-bogey 9 (which sadly isn’t the worse score in history on that hole), followed by a closing bogey on 18, dropped him from inside the top-10 to a tie for 40th. One ball, two balls, three balls more; watch as 17 destroys your score.

Bryson DeChambeau was all the rage during the first three rounds at Augusta National. One of only five golfers to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual title in the same year – joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore (pretty solid company) – DeChambeau captivated audiences with his unique approach to the game. The physics major is a disciple of Homer Kelly’s “The Golfing Machine,” uses irons and wedges all the same length, and relies on science to score well. So when he turned pro shortly after The Masters it wasn’t much of a shock when he signed with Bridgestone. After all, Bridgestone’s golf balls are designed using so much science it’d make Bill Nye jealous.

It’s the one piece of equipment we use on every shot, yet most don’t give it a whole lot of thought. Golf balls seem so simple, but have you ever wondered how they actually work? Now, before we get into the science of flight, let’s take a quick peek into the history of golf balls. After all, you have to understand where you’ve been to appreciate where you’re going.

Image Source: https://twitter.com/selina0403 We put the top-selling, pro-favorite balls to the test and are happy to report that both 2016 models uphold the exceptionally high-quality standard that the Titleist brand has become synonymous with over its 83-year reign. Equally impressive in terms of overall superiority, the 2016 Pro V1 and V1x golf balls vary significantly in terms of design, technology and core attributes—just as each 2016 model boasts considerable distinguishing features when compared to their respective 2013 and 2011 predecessors.