It’s next to impossible to identify the current top-selling direct-to-consumer golf ball brand but I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest it was Snell Golf that was first to effectively reach the masses with the message that golfers don’t need to pay big OEM prices for quality performance golf balls.
Spoiler alert: That’s still true with the new Snell MTB Prime and MTB Prime X golf balls. We’ll get to those in a minute but feel free to skip ahead if you’re not interested in how we got here.
Kicking in the door for DTC ball brands
Timing, as they say, is everything. “We stepped into it at a decent time and created a niche,” says Snell.
Whether Snell is the largest DTC brand, I can’t say. That it’s beloved by many golfers for its quality products and sensible prices is inarguable.
It’s the reason Snell’s golf business was thriving, growing 30-40 percent per year. Until COVID hit and absolutely kicked Snell Golf’s ass.
Golf’s Rare Covid Victim
If you’ve tried to order Snell balls lately, chances are you haven’t had much luck. A shipment of Snell balls was supposed to arrive in June 2021. It didn’t arrive until December, which in some respects was fortunate. If the balls had arrived on time, it’s likely Snell wouldn’t have had any inventory for all of 2022.
Unlike several others, it wasn’t kicked out of TaylorMade Korea (formerly Nassau) and Dean hasn’t closed the book on having Snell Golf balls produced by TaylorMade in the future.
Snell says the communication with TaylorMade has been excellent but the realities of the market are such that TaylorMade has to choose between making enough of its own product to satisfy demand or keeping Snell fully stocked.
Understandably, it chose itself. No hard feelings on Snell’s end.
The situation hasn’t been ideal but, in the long term, it may prove to be a blessing.
A Snell Golf Reset
The reset involves Dean Snell doing new material research for the first time since stepping out on his own. It also includes working to qualify new factories so his company won’t be at the mercy of a single supplier and the supply chain will be less of a concern moving forward.
“I lived that nightmare and it hasn’t been fun,” says Snell, “but it gave us a chance to step out, figure out what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.”
The process of developing two new balls hasn’t been easy and the product Snell has received from some factories hasn’t always met Snell’s quality standards. “They made some stuff for us that’s just awful.”
It has taken effort, to say the least.
To date, Snell has qualified two factories (the MTB Prime and Prime X are produced in different facilities) and the company is close to qualifying two more.
Quality, capacity and, to an extent, redundancy are all part of Snell’s plans moving forward.
Short version: Dean hopes to never run out of golf balls again.
Better for Everyone
That’s fine with Dean Snell. “We’re not trying to take over the world of golf balls.” If golfers end up with a higher quality product because of it, Snell sees that as a win.
Rebranding
Snell believes the new logo is a bit more aggressive and has a younger vibe to it.
“I’ve always felt the logo thing was overblown a bit but it’s not lost on me that some brands are purchased almost exclusively because of their logos. Regardless, the rebrand is an improvement.”
The packaging has been updated as well. Again, simple, but also cleaner and more modern.
Snell MTB Prime Golf Balls – Two Models
Both the MTB Prime and MTB Prime X are three-piece balls. They’re differentiated by trajectory, spin and feel.
According to Snell, both MTB Prime models feature low spin off the driver. The standard MTB Prime will fly lower and spin a bit more off the irons than the X. It’s the softer of the two balls with early measurements on our gauge suggesting low- to mid-80s compression.
The firmer X is designed to fly higher with moderate spin in the iron game. Ballpark compression is in the mid-90s on our gauge.
As is practically mandatory, Snell says both models offer outstanding greenside performance.
332 Spin-Matched Dimples
It’s what every golf ball brand should do but not what every golf ball brand does.
In what amounts to a departure from the previous models, the Snell MTB Prime and MTB Prime X covers are TPU injection molded as opposed to cast. Dean Snell is a long-time advocate of cast urethane covers but the reality is that there are only a few factories in the world capable of producing them. The change was likely one of necessity. Most golfers won’t notice a difference.
Snell MTB Prime – Different Colored Covers
Snell MTB Prime – Where They’re Made
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see if our Ball Lab testing reveals any significant quality differences between the two.
Snell MTB Prime – Pricing and Availability
That hasn’t changed.
The MTB Prime and MTB Prime X Golf balls are $32.99 a dozen. Five-packs of the MTB Prime and MTB Prime X will sell for $149.95 (29.99/dozen).
The company is in the final stages of tweaking the color before submitting to the USGA but yellow versions will be added this summer.
Asked if there was anything else he’d like to add, Dean Snell’s final words were, “It’s good to be back.”
The Snell MTB and MTB X are available for purchase now. The new balls are expected to ship to golfers the first half of the month.
For more information, visit SnellGolf.com.
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