Does an alignment aid on a golf ball improve your game?

A great place to start on improving your golf game is on the putting green. But, can an alignment aid on your ball help you shoot lower scores?

There are many ways to go about holing more putts. The obvious place to start is through lessons, but you can also look to training aids or drills on the putting green that will help your game. But, a quick way to potentially hole more putts might come from alignment aids on your golf ball. 

Callaway are one of the top brands when it comes to alignment aids on golf ball. With their range there are a number of different designs and patterns which can help you hole more putts. Callaway have a total of seven different golf balls, ranging from their brand-new gold standard Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X and Chrome Soft and down to ERC Soft and Supersoft.  

All of these balls feature the option to have an alignment aid and with lots of different options, there is sure to be one that suits you.

So, which alignment aid is going to work best for your game? Let’s take a look at some of the potential options.

Triple Track 

As you can see, Triple Track design features a red line, with two blue lines either side of it on the ball. This is a design we’re becoming familiar with, as we’ve seen it plenty on the professional tours. There’s good reason for that too, as this can help you get your ball rolling on its intended target line.

When you see these rolling end over end, you’re going to know that you’ve hit a good putt. This can also be taken to the practice putting green as a training aid, even if you’re not going to use it on the course.

360 Triple Track 

The 360 Triple Track is one of my favourites. The design is a continuation of the Triple Track around the ball with the two blue lines marking a track with the redline in the middle marking the centre. The great thing about this design is you know when you’ve hit a perfect roll. If the blue lines wobble, then you’ve slightly mishit your putt or missed your target line and when you hit it perfect it looks like the lines are on a track.

It’s a great design and is fun to use when practicing your putting on the practice green or on the carpet at home. 

Truvis 

This is a pentagonal shape which is stamped over the ball. This pattern is specifically designed to maximise your view of the golf ball for better focus and visibility. It’s solid in colour but there are also limited-edition options to pick from.

This is a great visual for seeing the roll on the putting surface and off the green when playing shorter chips. It’s a great visual aid and, while you might not line your putts up with it in the conventional way, it can be a great aid to focus on your putting.

TruTrack 

When using the TruTrack design, this hexagonal pattern creates a visual where you can see the revolutions of the ball really clearly. It’s visually quite pleasing not just on the putting green but when playing various shots around the green. TruTrack combines the best elements of Truvis and Triple Track for better roll feedback, visible spin, and alignment. The new hexagonal shape is featured in a multi-colour design, for even more visual feedback. When hitting putts from shorter and longer distances you can see the role perfectly and when you’ve maybe not hit the putt at your intended target, you’ll see the roll scramble. 

360 Fade 

The 360 Fade is a great design, only available in the Callaway ERC ball. It has a wide blue stripe running down the centre which starts off with a solid line gradually fading out with another stripe in red on the other creating the 360 fade.

It’s another great option to get you picking that start line and getting the ball rolling perfectly. The line is wide, which will allow you to see the roll quite clearly and also line up your putts with ease. 

360 Splatter 

Again, we have a pattern that is exclusive to a model of golf ball, but this belongs to the Callaway Supersoft. This is Callaway’s first visual aid on the popular Supersoft line. The 360 Splatter is wider than the 360 Triple Track and the 360 Fade but it’s more subtle. It doesn’t stand out as much as other designs but with the colour options of a red and blue splatter it is enough so you can see the ball rolling. Essentially, you have a highly visible 360 splatter giving you true roll feedback on every putt.  

Conclusion – can a visual aid help your golf?

We certainly think it can. Callaway have some brilliant alignment offerings in their golf balls which can be used not only on the practice green but on the course as well.

Being able to practice with the golf ball you’re going to use on the golf course is a big plus and will add to your confidence when facing tricky putts. On top of that, when you see putts pushed or pulled, you will see the visuals which will give you a better feeling and understanding of what a good putt and bad putt looks like.

Overall, the visuals will help you understand the importance of alignment and, hopefully, you will see the perfect roll. 

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James Tait is bunkered’s Gear Editor. Want to know how the latest Callaway driver, Vokey wedge or Scotty Cameron putter performs? He’s the guy to ask. Better yet, just watch his videos on the bunkered YouTube channel. One of the biggest hitters in the UK, James also competes on the World Long Drive circuit and is a descendent of former Amateur champion Freddie Tait.

Gear Editor