Callaway Diablo balls for performance

• By Global Golf Post
• Jul 25, 2011 1:25 PM ET

While the newest ball offerings from Callaway share the Diablo name as well as use of the company’s Hex aerodynamic technology to reduce drag and strengthen ball flight, they are designed to reach very different audiences in the same mid-tier, price-point category.

The HX Diablo Tour is a multi-cover, three-piece model geared toward the player who wants more complete tee-to-green performance – and does not mind paying a bit more for it. “We utilize a power reaction core in this ball, featuring a softer center that firms up toward the perimeter, creating less spin off the driver for more distance and more spin when using shorter irons for better greenside control,” says Steve Ogg, vice president of golf ball research and development at Callaway.

As for the HX Diablo Tour cover, it is a blend of three ionomers made to bolster that all-important short game feel without producing excessive driver spin. According to Ogg, it is also designed to work as a sort of performance-enhancing system with the mantle, which is produced by DuPont and comprised of highly neutralized polymers whose main job is to boost ball speed.

With regard to the HX Diablo, which retails in the U.S. for about $6 less than the HX Diablo Tour, it is a two-piece product targeted for the golfer who is mostly about distance and accuracy off the tee. Ogg says there is no re-grind with the synthetic rubber core of this ball, which means Callaway can make it extremely resilient – or lively, in other words – while maintaining its low compression.

The result, he says, is higher ball speeds that are supposed to translate into greater distance. In addition, Ogg explains, the company is also able to make the HX Diablo “extremely spherical,” which allows it to mold a very thin, ionomer blend cover for better feel while keeping driver spin low.