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The New
Dunlop & Prince Balls
What do
YOU think?
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Everything you ever
wanted to know about Squash Balls!
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Obe Ejikeme
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I have a rubber tree in my garden at home. I figured I could make my own balls cheaper than those dunlop balls and maybe they'll last longer. I know I'm known around the squash world for my ability to hit the ball hard but I went through 3 balls in a 1 hour session. That's £10 per hour. That over 15 pints at the student union bar!! P.s. I can get them at uni now for £2.20 each
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George Bannister
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the double yellow dots take a lot take a bit
of getting used to, but over all I think they are pretty good. I would've
preferred it if the SRA would've kept the system as it was. It was miles better
then.
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Pro Players
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A revolution is simmering in English squash following the
governing body's introduction of a new ball for use in many of the country's
leading competitions. "It's a disgrace," said
one player - while Malcolm Willstrop, one of England's most respected coaches,
commented: "What's happening is sinful - the sport is being sold down the
river." The ball - announced by the English Squash Rackets Association in
July as "to be used exclusively in all SRA squash tournaments and events
starting this September" - has already been used in this season's National
League matches and the British Under-13 and Under-17 Championships. "The
ball is simply not reliable enough - no-one wants to play with it. It shouldn't
have been forced upon us for events like the National League which attracts
nationally-ranked players," said Phil Songhurst, manager of National League
champions Nottingham Squash Club. "The ball still probably needs further
development and testing at all levels of play - but the National League is no
place for such development."
In fact, such is the widespread condemnation of the SRA ball that players
have been asked before National League matches if they would prefer to use the
Dunlop ball - the sport's long-established standard ball. "I've played in
all three rounds of the National League so far - and I haven't had to play with
the English SRA's 'official' ball once," said a British world top twenty
player. "My impression is that 90% of players don't like it."
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Nick Turner,13
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I played with the new dunlop ball that is supposedly meant to be
easier to hit than the old red dot. It is a bigger ball but I find that the black yellow spot bounces higher than this piece and the Dunlop xx is easier to hit.
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Jens Dahlin
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I can't feel any difference between the two-dotted
ball and the old ones. (I have played with Revelation Pro XX) and older Dunlop
balls (yellowdotted). It seemed "jumpier", but then it was new too.
When it comes to pricing there doesn't seem to be any difference here in Sweden
between the newer and older balls. They're all from 30-40 kronor ($3,5-$4,8).
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Steve Rogers
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I have used the new double yellow dot once during an Oxfordshire Premier League match and could not notice any real discernible difference between it and the old black ones. If anything the new ball seemed to be a little livelier (that could be due to it being brand new though?). As ball performance is directly related to its temperature, its difficult to tell unless you try an old ball and a new ball on the same court...
On the subject of price, we have seen the old ball price rise to astronomic levels already. How can Dunlop justify an even higher price for something that is almost (if not actually, bar the two dots) the same as the old one. Is the quality control going to be any better because some of the old balls only seem to last an hour, whereas another may last four or five matches?
On the subject of testing, as described in your Balls on Test article, perhaps the WSF should test the ball by trying to split the whole ball open instead of just using a random strip of ball, as its the weakest part of the seam that splits first, causing complete failure.
P.S. Website is very interesting and well laid out.
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John Fish
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My name is John Fish and I am a qualified coach from Blackpool. I have only
played with the new ball a couple of times and I have to say that for the pros playing under a zillion hot lights
they would seem to play like the old ones. For the normal run of the mill division two player these seem to be
ok with the adequate heating systems most clubs have. My club in particular in the winter is like the North Pole and I envisage these balls being like
wet sock, no feel or bounce whatsoever. Whilst I agree for the top level this is a good idea I have a lot of kids who I coach are busting a gut to
play like the better players and spend all court time trying to get the ball warm, some of the "old brigade" in the nw counties league will LOVE these
balls in the winter as the game will be nothing more than a lob and drop battle. For me I love to rally and play the game as it is meant to be played
like Jahangir Khan and Rodney Martin used to demonstrate so well. I feel with the NW counties leagues being forced to play with these balls it will
deter a lot of people from playing team squash really competatively. I think these balls should have only been compulsary for the professional
players. This is the greatest game in the world and should be helped and encouraged
NOT hindered.
John, Number 4 Squash Club, Blackpool.
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Neil Walker
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Tried the new Prince squash balls the other day (got a few free ones to try out) and I certainly won't be buying any.
After just two minutes in the knock up, we reverted to the usual Dunlop XX. Prince have just not got the bounce right. It comes off the front wall like a rocket, hits the floor and dies.
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Anonymous
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Green Lantern: God. Those new balls are ?%&$£!
Jimmy Wilson: Aye. You can't volley and they're heavy on the racket.
GL: If Dunlop wanted to stuff squash they've done it.
JW: (laughs and shakes head...)
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Paul Baggott
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I was playing out of my skin the other night with an
OLD ball. It
was just like the old days... Last night I played Paul Elliott and returned to
beginner status with the NEW ball.
Is it just me but do they REALLY SUCK? Practiced this morning for 30mins. Can't
figure the angles and bounces out... No Lucky Nicks either...
Is there an old balls mountain somewhere? We
should buy it...
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SquashPlayer
Editorial
Comment
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How did we get into this position? We
welcome Dunlop's initiative on the beginner's ball and have supported an entry
level game for squash for some time. However ...
Dunlop's XX has been the standard ball for team competition for some time. Now
they have introduced a completely new range of balls including a black double
yellow dot (which they claim is slower than the old XX) and a black single
yellow dot (supposedly slower than the old green single yellow dot). But there
is still a stock of XX balls around, and will be for some time.
Previously you hit with a new XX, wore
the label off, dropped it into your squash bag and still knew what it was. Now,
once the label has worn off, we will not know whether the ball is an old XX or a
new single yellow dot. Eventually the old XXs will all die and stocks will be
used up, so it's a temporary problem ... or is it?
Prince, as it happens, have also launched a new ball and the SRA has
endorsed it for use in competitions including the UK's largest, the
Inter-County. The Prince ball is a black single yellow dot!
So, in the short term we will not know whether a ball is an old XX, and
new Dunlop XT or a Prince; and in the long term, whether it is a Prince or a
Dunlop. The only solution is to put them all back into their boxes after use -
they do still come in boxes, don't they ???
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James Piddington
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I played for the first time with the new balls last week in warm conditions and found them to be very lively indeed...more so than Dunlop's single dot. Other players of a higher level than me (German top 10) have expressed similar feelings. If the lowering of the tin to 17" was designed to shorten rallies and make it easier to kill the ball then I think that this new ball has counteracted this significantly. Does anyone actually have and data showing bounce characteristics vs temp?
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Zachary Naylor
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I bought 6 balls (double yellow spot) and think they actually 'hang' for longer than old type single yellow spot. This could be down to the hot weather in the
UK recently, but one ball out of six being totally different to the other five (dead slow like a split ball) is not acceptable, think
Dunlop need to concentrate on QC a bit.
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scullion
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Just tried the double yellow a couple of days ago in very hot conditions I thought it played very nicely, however I think it will be about as playable as a lump of lead in mid-winter, ideal for all of you lob & drop merchants out there !!!!
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Sameer Ismael
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I have been playing with the new double yellow dot
ball for a few days now and I have found that it cools down much quicker and it
seems to be just a bit heavier as well. If you're playing a game with lots
of power shots, then there is almost no difference at all.
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Kouros
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i thinck it is verry verry good
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Darren
Ryan
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Very, Very Expensive, I'd recomend trying 'A.Henkels
balls they're much much cheaper. Ideal for coaching... www.a-henkel.com
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Steve
Ross
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Could it be that we use the double yellow on warm
courts (Tynemouth etc) and the single yellow on cold courts (Concordia). I
havn't bought one yet as I refuse to pay high street prices!!!!
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Robin
Grindley
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The point of this was to enhance playability and
avoid confusion? Is Dunlop kidding? Now there are 4 different balls. A beginner
will only be able to tell the difference between the 3 black balls by the dots,
which is what Dunlop claims to be avoiding. And what marketing lunatic thought
up these names? How about: Pro, Intermediate, Beginner. Doesn't that seem
clearer? And while I applaud the drive to get more beginners into the sport, 2
balls would have been sufficient, 3 at the most. I can safely predict that
players will eventually settle on one of the 2 middle balls, and the other one
will disappear. Making the beginner ball a completely different colour is the
only thing Dunlop did right. They spent 1 million on this? I'm in the wrong
business.
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Roman .
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I think I played once with it. As a beginner I found
it very difficult to play with. It dies too fast.
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Alex Preston
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I used the new dunlop double yellow dot ball during
during training in the heat of the day. It was probably slightly slower than the
old balls. This made it about right considering the heat.
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Paul
Henney
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We used one (a double yellow spot thing) in
our summer league match last friday and it seemed to hop around ok on a hot
court. Not sure how it will work on a freezing court in mid winter?
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Kevin
Dudley |
Expensive, Dunlop should be brought before the
monopolies commission |
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Steve
Cubbins |
The first double-yellow spot I tried seemed marginally
slower (but a
lot more expensive!) whereas the second one flew off the front wall faster than
a very fast thing. Bad batch, early production problems or just keeping us on
our toes ??? |
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What do
YOU think?
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