The Callaway HX Pearl- Because it takes a real man to play a ladies' ball

I’m always experimenting with new golf balls, primarily because I am so inconsistent that I convince myself that the ball actually has something to do with my play. So, I try a new brand and come to find out that the problem is more often with my swing than with my ammunition. And although I’ve found that I do not need the a Pro VI or HX Tour to play well, there are certain places I just won’t allow myself to go; Pinnacle, Wilson Staff, Top Flight, and Dunlop’s Loco (this one is more out of principle due to the slogan “crazy long") are where I draw the line. I’m not as much a sucker for a ball’s distance as I am for the feel and spin, so any ball that has less juice than a Tim Wakefield knuckleball is out of the question.

For a while a I was content with the Callaway HX Red, but three months after I’d discovered it, it was discontinued. And so my search goes on.

The most recent ball I tested was the Callaway HX Pearl, which is marketed as “a three-piece golf ball for women, offering soft feel with exceptional distance.” Did this deter me from walking up to the register at Kiawah Island’s Cougar Point with the sleeve that is decorated in a soft blue that would fit perfectly in a nursery? Absolutely not. Was I shamed into buying a “men’s ball” when the guy in the pro shop looked at me in the eyes as though I’d never played golf and said, “You know this a women’s ball, right?” Absolutely not.

So, I proceeded to the 1st tee with my new pearls, eager to see how these balls that were made for women were any different than the balls I’d been playing. I’ll be the first to admit that I am no equipment expert, but I play enough golf to be able to tell the difference in golf balls.

I immediately noticed that the HX Pearl has a nice, soft feel whether swinging at it with the driver, 7-iron, or putter. I also noticed that it actually does have good length, as I blew a 5-iron over the 2nd green, a par three that was playing about 185. The final test came when I had 85 yards in to the par four 7th. I hit a soft sand wedge, and the ball landed just short of the hole, hopped, and spun back about 10 feet.

Through the front nine, I was very happy with this ball’s performance. It hadn’t broken any nails, it didn’t get overly emotional, and it certainly did not play too slow.

The fact is that there isn’t a person in the world who could actually tell that this ball is “made for women” if it weren’t advertised that way. The ball plays just like an NXT Tour, HX Red, or any other quality golf ball that is in the $20-$30 price range, and I will certainly be buying it in the future.

Aside from the fact that it has no downside for the average player, it will serve as a great tool for gambling. I figure if I wear my hat from LPGA International in Daytona, Florida and play the HX Pearl, I can sucker anyone into bettting me and giving me several shots. It will be fairly demoralizing for men who ironically criticize women’s golf for all of its short-comings(of which most men themselves are more guilty) to get whipped by someone playing a “ladies’ ball” and wearing an orange hat from a “ladies’ course.”