It seems Bryson DeChambeau’s ‘salting his balls’ hack has another contender. The Scientist’s recent confession at Pinehurst No. 2 has led Phil Mickelson to admit to his old ways. The 53-year-old has come forward to confess to having used the same salt-based technique back in the day to overcome the problem of a moving center in some of the golf balls.
However, he claimed that he stopped using the ‘salty balls’ technique over three years ago, thanks to Callaway’s perfected technique of manufacturing perfectly balanced golf balls. Even though Mickelson and Callaway are no longer collaborating following his official split from the brand after 20 years in January earlier this year, Mickelson continues to claim that he has maintained a “great relationship with everyone” at Callaway.
An extension of this is also evident in his newly released ‘salty’ admission. Mickelson said in the recent episode of the LIV Golf podcast, “As recently as three years ago I stopped (salting golf balls). They would be out of round early because the center would move. But Callaway now X-ray images each center core. When they started doing that, every one of my 12 golf balls would come up in a different spot… So, I used to do that and then every ball that I’ve gotten from Callaway now is perfect.”
The HyFlyers GC captain also presented some alternatives to overcome this problem, and added, “You can get around that and what he does you want it going end over end. If you don’t want the heavy part on the side because it will pull on the roll. It’s like if you get mud on a ball, it will fly opposite but it will roll towards it because of the extra weight. The aerodynamics cause it to go the other way but the weight causes it to go towards it.”
Phil Mickelson also added that some “two manufacturers” continue to produce batches of golf balls that have only two or three “perfectly centered” balls. However, he refrained from naming which manufacturers these exactly were. With that said, what is the reason behind Bryson DeChambeau going for this particular approach, and is this even allowed?
Diving deeper into the intricacies of the ‘salting golf balls’ hack
Thankfully for the likes of DeChambeau and Mickelson, there is no rule against salting one’s golf balls at the moment, and thus their approach would not lead to any repercussions. The Scientist’s experimentation with using Epsom salt helped him improve his game and be methodical on the tee. Despite Callaway’s advances, the physics major chooses to trust his experimentation and leave no stone unturned on big stages like the U.S. Open.
He admitted, “I put my golf balls in Epsom salt, I’m lucky enough that Connor, my manager, does that now. I don’t have to do it. But essentially we float golf balls in a solution to make sure that the golf ball is not out of balance.” DeChambeau’s approach surely has reaped him some benefits this season, while Mickelson has not turned around a major win or the LIV Golf win for himself since joining the breakaway league, a fact that could have other not-so-salty reasons as well. Lefty’s long years of dynamic experience definitely gives him credibility.
Regardless of which approach is better to ensure the balls are not out of balance, it seems this method is here to stay. Don’t you think so? Let us know in the comments below.
