OnCore Rising: Buffalo, NY-Based Golf Ball Brand Grows
An NFL quarterback and a running back. One of the world’s most respected financial advisers. A professional golfer who has had two heart transplants. And maybe the A leading authority on golf ball design and engineering throughout the industry.
What do all of these seemingly random dots have in common? OnCore Golf. The Buffalo, NY-based golf ball manufacturer founded in 2011 has grown into one of the industry’s premier golf technology accelerators.
Along the way, OnCore has assembled a team of investors and ambassadors ranging from Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Dallas Cowboys backer Ezekiel Elliott, legendary investor Charles Schwab and PGA / Korn golfer. . Erik Compton ferry excursion. The group has been affectionately nicknamed “Team OnCore”.
âTeam OnCore is an eclectic mix of golf professionals, pro athletes, investors and influencers who understand and appreciate how we are disrupting the golf ball market through our proprietary designs and direct business model. consumers, âsays OnCore co-founder Steve Coulton. âIt’s about coming together around a common cause and belief system. “
Coulton, along with his longtime friend and business partner Bret Blakely, founded OnCore at a time when investment was fleeing the golf industry, not to it.
âThis is what happens when two young New York entrepreneurs lose their jobs during the 2008 financial crisis,â explains Bret Blakely. âMy dad likes to say that OnCore is an overnight success story that spanned ten years. But building something special takes time, and we like to think we’ve done it the right way.
Blakely’s father and OnCore CEO Keith Blakely is a serial entrepreneur, investor and specialist in advanced materials and nanotechnology. He led the design of the company’s first ball with a perimeter-weighted hollow metal core that ultimately led the USGA to rewrite its authorized golf ball technology rules for the second time in 100 years. alone.
âI’ve always seen OnCore in three verticals,â says Keith Blakely. âThis is the first golf ball design, the second is a golf-focused technology, and the third is the development of experiential golf facilities. These are not disparate things. They form an interdependent solar system of technologies and products to help propel the game exponentially.
Advantage of innovation
When it comes to designing golf balls, OnCore doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of its inherent technological advantages. First, it uses exclusive peripheral weighting to create increased moment of inertia and centrifugal forces.
This, in turn, results in lower pilot rotation rates, narrower dispersion, extended aerodynamic lift, and more consistent and stable flight. In other words, OnCore helps golfers hit longer and straighter while providing more control around the greens.
Keith Blakely and Senior Technical Advisor John Calabria are the driving force behind the development of the company’s current three-tier lineup: the AVANT 55 low-compression two-part, the three-part medium compression ELIXR and four lathe pieces – caliber VERO X1, which has accumulated numerous awards and accolades.
OnCore VERO X1
Calabria is the Roger Cleveland of the golf ball industry. His name appears on no less than a dozen golf ball and club patents, including Titleist, TaylorMade and Maxfli. He and Keith Blakely are evangelicals of the cutting edge technology and new materials that are the driving forces behind golf ball innovation.
Independent testing of OnCore’s weighted perimeter bullet suite continues to validate the company’s modus operandi. The VERO X1 recently outperformed both the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x in Golf EQ driver and iron tests and produced 60% less driver side effects.
Push the envelope
Golf ball sales generate the majority of OnCore’s revenue and fuel the fire of invention. For example, the company is developing the âiRollâ ball for mini-golf facilities and putting courses. iRoll is a âsmart ballâ that delivers unprecedented data on golfers’ putts.
“We had a call with [golf instructors] Ron and Dave Stockton the other day, and they think iRoll will be a paradigm shift in putter design and fit, âsays Keith Blakely. “Dave was one of the best putters on the PGA Tour in his day, and he’s excited about the impact iRoll could have on the game.”
OnCore iRoll
And innovation doesn’t stop at the putting green. The next iteration of the iRoll ball is a âGENiUSâ ball that golfers can take out onto the course to measure ball speed, spin speed, distance, and more. Think launch monitor, but infinitely more affordable and accurate in terms of actual playing conditions.
Earlier this year, OnCore acquired Golf Boost AI, an artificial intelligence-based swing analysis app that generates personalized lessons and exercises using a universal golf swing algorithm. The AI ââGENiUS Ball and Golf Boost will integrate to create an affordable and accessible game improvement solution for all levels of players.
OnCore Golf Boost AI
Helping golfers improve quickly is part of OnCore’s recipe for developing the game. The other part is making sure they enjoy the trip. In partnership with other real estate and technology development experts, OnCore is helping launch the next generation of off-course golf entertainment centers.
âFrom day one, we were committed not only to developing OnCore, but also to developing the game of golf,â explains Bret Blakely. âFor us the key is to help golfers play better and lower their scores. If they like the game, they’ll stick with it. This has been our mission for ten years and we are delighted to continue it for the next ten.