Snell Golf Launches Prime 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 golf balls

Snell Golf is launching three new balls. Two will be familiar while the third is a compelling offering that will allow Snell to reach a larger and, perhaps, unique audience. 

It could be said the theme of the new Snell lineup is “simplicity.” That starts with the names—Prime 2.0, Prime 3.0, Prime 4.0. The numerical bits refer to the number of layers. 

We’ll dig into more details but the idea is to keep fitting simple as well. Snell will recommend a model based on how far you hit your 7-iron. It’s an approach that speaks to the reality that golfers don’t always know how far they hit their drives and, even when they think they do, the numbers tend to be inflated.  

As a target club, golfers tend to have a more realistic sense of how far they hit their 7-iron.

A Fresh Start 

It’s unusual for a direct-to-consumer brand like Snell (or any ball brand, for that matter) to replace an entire lineup just one year into a product cycle but there were some issues with the prior generation—most notably with the MTB Prime X. So Snell founder Dean Snell took the unusual step of pressing the reset button well ahead of schedule. 

“It was tough because they [customers] were waiting for things to come and to me that the Prime X was a disappointment last year for them, which bothered me,” says Snell. 

“I wasn’t happy about it but I stayed in touch through email and just was honest with them, saying, ‘I agree with you and I’m gonna fix it and we’re not gonna make it anymore’. So you’re right and we’re wrong and it’s time to move on. So that’s what we did.” 

Starting over with a new factory is no simple task to begin with but Snell’s issues were further complicated as the company was ready to start production on the Prime 4.0. Its factory of choice, Launch Technologies in Taiwan, burned to the ground before the first balls could roll off the line. 

Yet again, Snell was forced to pivot and set up tooling in a different factory. It’s the reason the new Prime balls are launching now instead of in January as intended. 

What’s New and Improved 

The new Snell Prime balls feature a series of significant improvements over the previous Prime series. 

First, Snell tweaked the core chemistry to add a bit more speed without making the ball firmer. 

Most notably, Snell tackled durability and, more generally, the cover issues with the prior generation. He ditched the factory that made the balls and switched to a new XV3 urethane formulation for the covers.  

To ensure the durability issues were resolved, Snell leveraged his customer base. A healthy percentage of the prototype testing was by those same customers who experienced issues with the prior generation. 

Based on internal testing and the feedback from those golfers, Snell is confident the durability issues have been put to rest. 

As a small aside in all of this, those same testers have told Snell that the new cover performs better in the wind. 

Also resolved are the issues with the paint system. Snell’s previous factory used an anti-staining agent to help prevent grass stains. The tradeoff was that it made the balls hard to mark with a Sharpie and impossible to print custom logos on. 

A final note on the paint story: Snell has tweaked the pigmentation of the new models. Golfer preference is always a bit of a moving target but some of the feedback on the previous MTB Prime models was that they looked “old” next to other models. 

The New Snell Prime Series 

The 3.0 and 4.0 are more or less what you’d expect from balls in the “Tour” category. Snell says the 3.0 is a mid-80s compression offering while the 4.0 is just slightly firmer, landing in the high 80s. 

Greenside and short-game spin are similar for both models and, as is standard these days, both are designed to keep spin in check off the driver and long irons. 

It’s perhaps a simplification but with the additional layer and slightly higher compression of the Prime 4.0, it should prove more suitable for higher swing speed players (golfers who hit their 7-irons farther than 160 yards). The 3.0 should work well for a wide range of golfers from low-mid to mid-high swingers who won’t over-compress the ball but also don’t stand to gain much of a performance benefit from the extra layer. 

Snell Prime 2.0 

Arguably, the most significant piece of the new Snell golf ball story is the Prime 2.0 which, as the numbering system suggests, is a two-piece ball. The unexpected ripple in our story is that one of those pieces is a urethane cover. 

A rarity in the marketplace, Snell says the two-piece urethane offering is the ball he’s wanted to make for years but it wasn’t possible previously, at least not if you wanted the ball to perform.  

Historically, the tradeoff for higher greenside spin was invariably higher spin off the driver so you’d end up with a ball that was very slow and very short. 

Who wants that?  

Anybody? 

Advances in core and cover technology have made Snell’s Prime 2.0 a viable, if not surprisingly compelling,  offering for slow swingers. 

And, yeah, this is coming from a guy who habitually rails against two-piece golf balls. 

To be clear, coming in at roughly 80 compression, the Snell Prime 2.0 shouldn’t be considered low compression, especially not alongside balls like Supersoft and DUO Soft. That said, with the urethane cover, it’s going to feel significantly softer than its compression number suggests and, more importantly, it’s going to provide a level of short-game and greenside performance that’s all but unheard of in the two-piece category. 

That said, the Prime 2.0 won’t work for everyone. 

“If a player that hits the ball 180 miles an hour tries to play the 2.0. he’ll lose ball speed, so it’s not for him,” says Snell. “The player that hits the ball 180 yards with a drive is not gaining anything with 4.0 so it’s on both sides of the spectrum.  

“You really want to play and pay for what you’re gonna have value from. Don’t judge something by how many layers it has. Judge something by how you play and what those layers can do for you.” 

Snell’s thinking is that if you’re only hitting drives 180 yards, you probably shouldn’t focus on hitting it 182. It’s more important to put your efforts into what’s going help you finish the hole in fewer strokes. 

To do that might require you to think differently about what matters in a golf ball. 

“Consumers believe that the soft two-piece golf balls is what they need to compress the ball and that message, somehow down the road, really needs to be taken out of their minds, “ says Snell. “The four you made on that hole wasn’t because you compressed your driver a little bit more and you added .1 ball speed. It’s because you had the ball spin a little bit more and it stopped a little closer and you two-putted.” 

Notably, Snell has been a long-time advocate for the idea that the lowest swing speed players benefit more from Tour balls than Tour players do but he also understands there’s a cost element involved and not everyone is willing to pay $55 for a dozen balls. 

With the Prime 2.0, the idea is to take the cost out of the equation and give golfers something that can help them. “To me,” says Snell, “that is more important than just trying to push soft and low compression down their throat.” 

While he takes full responsibility for the issues with the previous model, Dean Snell believes the problems are in the past. He’s happy with the new lineup and believes his loyal customer base will be, too. 

Snell Prime Golf Balls – Pricing and Availability 

To help those customers find the right Snell Prime model, Snell is offering a standard Test Pack (Prime 2.0, Prime 3.0, Prime 4.0 and Get Sum) as well as Tour Test Pack which contains two sleeves each of Prime 3.0 and Prime 4.0. 

The price of the Snell Prime 2.0 is $24.99. The Prime 3.0 is $32.99 and the Prime 4.0 is $34.99. 

The Prime 2.0 and 3.0 are shipping now in white and yellow. 

The Prime 4.0 is tentatively scheduled to ship May 1, though it could be a bit longer. They’ll ship as soon as they come off the boat. The yellow version is expected to ship around June 1.

For more information, visit Snellgolf.com.