Dean Snell on the Sportonomics Podcast

Recently Dean sat down with Jake Kranz and Tyler Webb of Sportonomics podcast. Here is a link to check out the episode.

Episode Description
Dean Snell has built golf balls for Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and thousands of weekend players, but his story is about craft, not fame. After decades at Titleist and TaylorMade, he launched Snell Golf to deliver premium performance without the price tag or tour hype. Jake and I sat down with Dean to unpack the creation of the Pro V1, why most golfers use the wrong ball, and how he’s quietly built one of the most trusted names in golf.

 
⏰ Timestamps 

00:00 – Introduction
00:52 – Early Career: From Fighter Jets to Fairways
03:00 – Inventing the Modern Golf Ball
06:10 – What Golf Balls Were Like Before Pro V1
08:34 – The Science Behind Spin and Distance
10:55 – Testing with Tour Players
16:10 – Custom Designs for Tour Players
18:37 – How Golf Ball Options Evolved
21:30 – The Explosion of Golf-Ball Technology
23:18 – Price vs. Performance
24:44 – Do Tour Players Really Need Different Balls?
27:20 – The Marketing Illusion in Golf
29:25 – Declining Tour Sponsorships
31:14 – Building Snell Golf’s Brand Without the Tour
33:02 – Sound Engineering and “Feel”
35:16 – Listening to Customers, Not Pros
36:50 – What Snell Golf Allows Him to Do
37:32 – Snell’s Vision for the Future
40:06 – Starting from Scratch
43:06 – Why He Put His Name on the Ball
45:23 – COVID-19 Setbacks and Recovery
46:11 – Keeping Numbers Private
49:59 – Lean, Outsourced Operations
50:11 – Tech Innovations: Smart Balls & Tracking Chips
53:16 – Closing Thoughts
53:39 – Host Debrief: Lessons from Dean Snell