Dean Snell always says he had never played golf until he joined Titleist.
Before that, he was designing parts for F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters.
He says that after joining Titleist as a quality engineer, one day he decided to play a round with his father — who was a decent golfer. During the round, Dean Snell hit the ball way right, deep into the trees.
So he and his dad went looking for it, and the group behind them — for some reason — decided to tee off anyway. One of their drives landed near Dean and his father…
and Dean’s dad smacked that ball right back in the opposite direction in protest.
Things got ugly. A heated argument, yelling, fight. They were kicked off hole 2. And off the course entirely.
That was Dean Snell’s first taste of golf — the man who would go on to be named in over 40 patents for golf balls. He designed the manufacturing process for cast-urethane multilayer balls and launched the first of its kind (the Professional) at Titleist.
This same cast-urethane tech would go on to shape the development of the legendary ProV1, the ball of balls. Many of you probably know this: urethane gives you that soft feel and control, because it keeps just the right amount of spin with your irons and wedges around the green.
And when you putt, it feels buttery soft.
Did you know that or not?
Well, after Titleist, Snell moved to TaylorMade, where he built their golf ball division from scratch. In 2010, they launched the first-ever 5-piece tour ball.
The Penta (TP5).
Ring a bell?
Ah, good...
Later, he launched his own brand: Snell Golf. The man probably said, “Screw it, I’ll make my own balls.”
I’ve always been fascinated by what’s inside those little plastic spheres. And you know that. It helps you understand the thing you're hitting.
Once, at a big U.S. golf convention, someone asked Snell:
“Mr. Snell, why do your balls feel so good when putting?”
“Because we make them round.”
Happy weekend, golfers!!
P.S. 1 – You know I’ve got a golf ball website: bolas dot golf.
P.S. 2 – This week we’ve published [a post about Snell golf balls](https://bolas.golf/en/reviews/snell-golf-balls-comparativa-mod elos-prime-2-0-3-0-4-0-y-precios/) (you know, models, prices..) in case you’re as fascinated by this stuff as I am.