When you think of Volvik, you might think of golf balls in various colors, maybe even Bubba Watson for a brief stretch, but most wouldn’t have conjured up an image of creation or high performance. This story came about after finding a newer Volvik golf ball on the course and giving it a trial run. What we learned is more than we could have imagined and there is a lot of misinformation out there about a brand that should have more eyes on it.
For many, Volvik started with the Vivid, which was the first ever matte finished golf ball. That hit the US market in 2016, but the company got started long before that. This story has a number of twists and turns from riding high to new beginnings, but is a pretty fascinating tale that will shed some light on Volvik as a brand, and why you should be paying attention to what is coming.
While the Vivid might have put the brand on the map in the US, it would surprise a lot of readers to know they were actually founded over 40 years ago, in 1980 in South Korea. In that market, they are still one of the most popular products, claiming #2 in market share. To give you an idea of timeline, 1980 is before Callaway Golf got started (they began in 1982) and before TaylorMade Golf made golf balls.
The name Volvik is unique. Some might even say confusing, but there is a meaning. It is actually a combination of the Italian word Volare, which means to fly, and then Victory, so Fly to Victory. Seems rather fitting for a performance golf ball company.
In the world of golf balls, there are brands that manufacture their own, such as Callaway, Titleist, Bridgestone and even TaylorMade since purchasing a factory a few years ago. There are also brands that utilize other factories to create based on their designs. Then there are some DTC (Direct to Consumer) golf balls that utilize existing designs and have a logo put on them. Volvik not only falls firmly in the manufacturing side, but has been that way for decades. Golf ball industry veteran Brandon Sowell explains.
“We actually established our first manufacturing facility in 1991, fast forward to today, and we have just added a brand new addition that is coming online to support our 2024 product portfolio. We specialize in the production of multi-layer performance models and also have a state-of-the-art R&D testing lab all located at our global headquarters in Korea.”
Most will not know the name Brandon Sowell, and he seems to prefer it that way. With that said, he has been influential in the golf industry for a couple of decades now both in golf balls and other components. We will have more on him in the future, but for now, we will keep this story to Volvik.
The company has done many firsts, however, they are undoubtedly most known for visual technology. While alignment options continue to dominate the trends in new releases, it wasn’t that long ago that your choice in a performance golf ball was simply a number. Yellow came along and caught steam and is now a mainstay. That was simply the only options that existed. Volvik bucked that trend in 2016 with the first-ever matte finish golf ball with the Vivid. That was 6-7 years ago now and it was a three piece golf ball that took the landscape by storm. The original press release about the upcoming PGA Show in 2016 offered this:
The VIVID is a premium, 3-piece ultra-performance golf ball that is the first of its kind to the US market. It is essentially the same construction as Volvikβs best-selling new and improved version of the Crystal ball, but instead of a Crystalline translucent cover, Volvikβs world-leading R&D team has figured out how to apply a matte finish to one of the longest golf balls on the market without sacrificing distance or durability. This makes the VIVID even more visible and attractive to a broader market that is seeking something cool and unique.
The Vivid was new. It was different. It was bold. It got the curiosity of golfers enough to try it. The performance took over from there and Volvik was off and running. They gained market share. They were in retailers throughout the country.
The company followed up the Vivid, with the Vivid XT, which was designed for Long Drive. The original press release had this in it:
The VIVID XT is one of the few 100-comprerssion golf balls available to the golfing public and it is the only one available in a material that is not Urethane. The VIVID XT features a Zirconium cover that is the base material for ceramic and improves durability of a golf ball cover without sacrificing spin control. It will be available in matte green, matte orange, matte pink, matte white and matte yellow. It will carry a retail price of $39.99 per dozen. The VIVID XT will ship to Volvik retailers in April.
Things seemed like they are going well for the company in the North American market. New releases, excitement surrounding them and growth in the market place. Yet here we are nearing the beginning of 2024 and not much has been heard about the brand in a while.
Growth comes in a lot of ways. In golf, generally it starts with a good product and then continues with messaging and word of mouth. Volvik had that going for them. So what happened? How can a company go from the buzz that Vivid brought to so little being discussed just 5-6 years later?
Some might argue that Bubba Watson announcing he will be playing Volvik moving forward (in 2017) and then moving away from them later that year played a role. There is merit to that to a degree, but most brands react and recover rather quickly. Part could be other companies with big names started bringing competitive products to the space. There could be merit to that as well. Still, the company built a fairly strong portfolio of products, available at most retailers and yet very little was being said. It came down to messaging. We asked Brandon Sowell to elaborate on this for us.
“Yes, a lot of our momentum was lost. In 2012, Volvik built a plan to provide all golfers with the boldest, most playable lineup in the category, and our US presence was a joint venture partnership led by Don Shin. He established our US operations and drove our fast rise and growth as he wanted to change the game and make golf fun and unintimidating“, said Sowell.
“Sadly, in 2022, Mr. Shin was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, which was a tremendous loss and impact as he positively influenced many throughout his career. As we look to build on the strong foundation Mr. Shin established and his vision of injecting more fun into golf every day, Volvik US will now be a company owned and operated division of Volvik Inc.“
For the last few years, the largest source of messaging for Volvik has been around their relationship with Marvel. Does that move the needle for the golfer? Does it move the needle for you? In our research we were astounded by the amount of Marvel products that Volvik sells, but wanted to figure out why. Brand Sowell expands on that.
“High performance and superheroes? Of course, they go together! Our collaboration with Marvel started in 2019 as a limited edition, but the success continues to grow. Marvel has been a great partnership for our brand as it furthers the visual style and dynamic energy we want to provide golfers on course. Channeling your inner Iron Man or Thor hammer as you look to blast that next drive offers another way to energize your game with fun performance. With the recent boom in golf participation this has also allowed us to be at the forefront of new players who have embraced the social fun and personal enjoyment the game provides. Marvel has been such a great brand extension; we plan to further develop our partnership offerings in 2024.”
Marvel golf balls may be what you are searching for, or maybe the superhero realm is not for you. The brand seems to understand that more than we can explain. They know a unique golf ball like that might be looked at as a gift, or be a fan favorite, but they also know there is a golfer that views things a bit more “pure” or “serious” and wants a solid product at a good price point.
While Volvik as a brand made their name for bold with colors, the performance was never looked as secondary or an afterthought. In fact, it was first, and it will always be first. Yet the understanding that golf is also supposed to be fun is not lost on them.
Globally, the company has had a lot of success. Building off the strategy that Mr. Shin had envisioned by making the game less intimidating. Volvik has depth in R&D, and what might surprise some is that they have a portfolio of world wide patents. Their biggest success has definitely been leading the visual technology evolution and showing that players are open to moving away from a sea of traditional plain options. Brandon Sowell offers more.
“Our leadership is likely the reason you see a brand like Titleist even having a blue golf ball option. While most competitors only offer their broadest color options in basic 2-piece constructions, we have been and continue to be focused on enhancing performance with multilayer performance technology.“
Not lost in all of this is that the company understands that they are a challenger brand in the US and North America. They know that the big 3-4 brands dominate the category and to make waves in the space you have to be different, creative, and focus on the golfer. Volvik views this less like a drawback and more of an opportunity.
Earlier in the article we talked about DTC products and the types of golf ball brands that exist. Volvik is not a brand that is sourcing balls, they are a brand that is putting in the engineering and manufacturing expertise to create. Their focus was shifted for a few reasons, but their goals are far different in 2024 as they want to help the golfer combine performance and fun.
Initially visual style in golf balls perhaps carried a player caliber stigma, however, newer players want to have fun on the course. Thereβs a different vibe on the course today and we believe Volvik understands that golfer. Why? Because in a lot of ways, they created the category.
This 40 year journey and 5-10 in the US has been filled with some fantastic peaks and even a few valleys. In such a short span in this marketplace, the company has quite a bit of tour play, introduced new finishes that were adopted by nearly every company in the industry, and combined super heroes and golf balls. Yet here we are, about to reach 2024 and most of it is still relatively unknown by the performance seeking golfer.
It was unknown that the manufacturing was done in house. It was unknown that R&D was heavily invested in and produced patents throughout the industry. It was unknown that they continued to create tour level golf balls to join their array of products. Why? And what does the future hold?
While the internet golf world will buzz about the latest golf ball product that is a catalogued/sourced item with a different logo, Volvik has its eyes firmly planted on 2024 as a breakout year. They have new partnerships to announce. They have new products to announce. They are firmly planting their flag into the new year and in some ways announcing a return, despite never really leaving. We believe Brandon Sowell summed it up well here.
“As golf continues to grow and evolve with a new wave of participation, we are leading the way in embracing fresh energy and golf ball performance for players at any point in their playing journey. As we continue to engineer for golfβs participation growth and future, we embrace the new culture and will continue to place emphasis on performance and fun.“
As a company, Volvik wants to be considered a fun, performance based product. Embarking on this story to find out the history, as well as the present and future, it led us down a number of twists and turns. It also led us to a number of questions for us to ask the golfers out there.
Have you tried a Volvik product in the past? Did you have plans to try any in the future? What do you hope to see from any challenger brand?
For more information on the company or to see any of their current products, check out their website at www.volvik.com.
This is absolutely mind blowing. I just saw them as the marvel ball people. I have also seen a few crystal balls on the course and passed them over…maybe that was a mistake
Ummmmm whoa! I had nothing but misconceptions about this brand. This is why I really appreciate these brand stories. Thank you [USER=3]@JB[/USER] and Volvik for taking the time to put something together! Iβm kinda dumbfounded at the momentβ¦
Volvik talks about wanting to make golf fun. Sounds like they have a great home here at THP.
Great write up [USER=3]@JB[/USER] ! I’ve played their ball in the past but never was a big fan of the matte look. Will be looking out for their new line this year to give them a try.
I never knew the back story to them but was not a fan of matte golf balls. It will be interesting to see where they head in 2024.
Thanks for the write up. I enjoyed reading it. To be honest, I have never played a Volvik ball. I have seem the Marvel ones but had no interest. Now that I know more about the brand, I look for to hearing about the performance of specific Volvik balls.
My wife has played them in the past as she likes matte, coloured golf balls. If I find one this year, Iβll give it a shot and see how it performs.Enjoyed the history and back story. I remember Bubba switching to Volvik for the $$$ then his game went downhill and then the switch back in 2018. Unfortunately his experience I feel tarnished Volvik pretty bad.
So glad these are back. I will give this one a read during my whirlwind travel today.
Thanks for the fun and informative read. Admittedly, I always thought Volvik balls to be kind of gimmicky and never have tried them. I know have a totally different perception about the brand.
Nice read. I brought them to an experience in 2018 as I loved the color options they had. I was fairly new to golf still at that time so the performance was not my first concern but I felt like they held up ok on that end. I’ll never forget using the blue variety and the endless jokes :ROFLMAO:
I have only used them a handful of times since then, but sounds like a revisit might be in store for the 2024 season
I didn’t realize they were that big in Korea. I knew they were from there and some Asian golfers played their ball but didn’t know number 2. That’s impressive
Enjoy these, thanks for the history.
Yeah so they make colored balls to attract mostly female golfers. Pros dont use em which is all you need to know. Color me unimpressed
Interesting brand story. I like many others Iβm sure have always just seen them as a βnovelty ballβ company. Nothing Iβve ever considered playing.
2024 is definitely going to be the year of the golf ball imo. Nice to see that another company is going to make some big waves. Iβm interested to see what Volvik bring to the party.
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Yeah so they make colored balls to attract mostly female golfers. Pros dont use em which is all you need to know. Color me unimpressed
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Thatβs what you got out of the story? Weird ?
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Interesting brand story. I like many others Iβm sure have always just seen them as a βnovelty ballβ company. Nothing Iβve ever considered playing.
2024 is definitely going to be the year of the golf ball imo. Nice to see that another company is going to make some big waves. Iβm interested to see what Volvik bring to the party.
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I think this is what spurred me to look into the story. Even working in the industry, I assume and wrongfully, that they were sourcing balls or using a factory to create. I knew they were the first with a certain visual look, but that was the extent.
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Interesting brand story. I like many others Iβm sure have always just seen them as a βnovelty ballβ company. Nothing Iβve ever considered playing.
2024 is definitely going to be the year of the golf ball imo. Nice to see that another company is going to make some big waves. Iβm interested to see what Volvik bring to the party.
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That’s what I went into it thinking as well. I had no idea, on a different note the fact that Callaway opened 2 years after these guys is mind blowing.
The amount of history is pretty cool and it’s a fun read full of tidbits that I didn’t realize or ever think about.
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Thatβs what you got out of the story? Weird ?
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Yeah maybe I am being too cynical. I need to work on that for 2024
Els and Couples play yellow, but theyβre βoldβ ?
Definitely some stigma with colored balls, because they look like cheap range balls. They clearly arenβt.
Played a few Volvik balls over the years. Including the bubba ball. I donβt like matte golf balls but some love them and vivid are popular.
Outstanding Brand Story [USER=3]@JB[/USER].
TBH – I kinda knew a lot about Volvilk as I played the S4 several years ago and just loved the speed and at the time, they were known as the spinnest short game golf ball.
I’ve also played the Vibe when it was available and recently the XT Soft (Which I really liked)
[USER=42778]@ScoFoBG[/USER] and I have has discussions on Volvik Golf Balls.
I think in the day, Budget Golf sold a ton Volvik’s
The issue for me the last couple of years for me as been availability and “Value”
There was a time when Volvik was easy to be had and 10-15% cheaper in the space they played and knowing that they manufactured their own, made an interesting proposition. Now, I don’t feel like any of those option exist. I hoping to be proven wrong.
I hope this leads Brand Story leads to some ball testing here. I’d be in.
Interesting read, definitely thought that they were more in line with the DTC crowd who bought a golf ball and ordered them in crazy colors or slapped Marvel logos on them and apparently that was completely wrong. I do remember picking up Volvik golf balls for my nieces back in the day in some shimmering pink color when they started taking lessons. Will be interesting to see what they have in store for 2024.
Interesting article, a lot of things about Volvik there that I didn’t realize. I always considered them as cheap “rock balls”, and the Marvel thing doesn’t resonate with me – it just added to the aura of them being novelty products. It sounds like they have good things planned for the future and I look forward to seeing where they go in 2024, more options is always a good thing.
[USER=3]@JB[/USER] thank you for these, I always enjoy the brand reads.
impressive to hear the power of a focused individual to drive a market
Definitely going to take into their offerings
When I think Volvik I think colored balls and Marvel no doubt. Beyond that I think of Bubba and his downfall when he switched balls. Maybe thats not fair but it is what it is. This brand story is kind of mind blowing, I had no idea about any of this, really enjoyed this story.
Thatβs a solid read right there. Iβve always associated Volvik with 2 things: LPGA tour and Matte colored golf balls. Did not know they owned their own plant and have had it for 30+ years now.
Sounds like they have some big plans coming for 2024, which is exciting to hear. Going to be hard to make enough noise in this segment, but canβt wait to see what they have in store.
Very cool read, super interesting. I remember when they first launched, and being someone that often likes to play colored balls, I gave them a shot. I enjoyed them, and had a blast playing them. Not surprising, my young son loves the Marvel balls, and they are fun to throw in the bag and use during a round with him, and I dont feel like I am playing a “lesser” ball.
I think they have a great niche in the market, and what was interesting to me is the thoughts on the bigger brands now having colored options for more of their lines outside of their top sellers.
Had no clue of their presence like it is in Korea, and even was even more blown away how long they have been in the production side of things.
I like supporting brands like these, and hope they find continued success.
The VS4 seems like a low flying, spinny and short ball across the swing speed spectrum …..
….. according to other folks.
Having your own factory sounds cool. Maybe good things will come in the future. Making great golf balls seems like it’s hard. They’ve been at it a while. I wonder what is keeping them from making something really competetive.
I do not recall ever buying a Volvik golf ball, but have found a stray or two on the course and enjoyed playing them. I would have no problem buying a dozen or two, but never seem to find a sale on them like with Srixon. For full price, I will stick to what I know, but this is an interesting story and well written. You are arguably the best writer on THP and I could see you writing for Golf Digest.
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Great article. Like others, my knowledge of Volvik was far more limited than I even realized. My middle child is a Marvel fan, so we’ve bought him several Volvik products over the past several years, but I’d never taken the initiative to take a deeper dive into their backstory and to where they are headed. In a segment with what seems to be and ever-growing number of competitors, i’m interested to see what 2024 brings from Volvik.
Great story [USER=3]@JB[/USER], thanks for posting it. I was always a bit curious about the brand and how they were fairing in the market place.
I played the Volvik DS-55 a few years back and got along pretty well with it.
I enjoyed reading the article. Sounds like with the passing of Mr. Shin, there was a loss of direction for North America.
I didnβt realize the company history, the R&D, and they manufactured their own products.
My boys love the Marvel golf balls.
I played Volvik balls back in the 1990s iirc My instructor at the time sold me on them. I really liked them, but at the time they were only available to me from a golf store in Kansas. I’d order 3-4 dozen at a time. Sometimes when traveling, I’d have a bo drop shipped some where. No one in the Southern NV area sold them.
They fit my game quite well. I played some of my best golf with them.
For some reason, at the time I was using them, I thought they were being made in Florida some where. Reading this article was eye opening to me.
At some point, I moved to a different ball, probably due to availability issues. That, and maybe it was about that time guys started playing that softer women’s ball. I forget the name, as that was a long time ago.
Nice article on them. Kind of blast from the past for me.
Great write up, thanks [USER=3]@JB[/USER] .
My son loves his Volvik Vivid and watching him play with other pre-teens it’s very obvious that they all prefer brightly colored balls. If they find a white ball they even sharpie those up. That is growing the game. The prospect of Volvik also offering high-performance balls is intriguing.
Very interesting story!
These are always a great read and this was no exception. Super interesting and glad to see them making moves.
I like urethane golf balls. Look forward to articles comparing them against the other brands.
Great read, really knew nothing about them besides their Vivid golf balls.
Great article. Years ago me and a couple other guys started using these as an end of season ball because they were easy to spot. Also they just seemed to go. Next thing you know a bunch of guys were using them.I will definitely give these a shot in the spring.
Interesting stuff. I definitely noticed that US market-wise, they kinda faded into obscurity post Bubba. Would love to see them find a way to foothold into the performance golf ball market here, as I’ll be honest, they are close to the last company I’d think to buy performance balls from right now. They’re just kinda invisible at the moment.
Good article. I didn’t know Volvik predated Callaway. I’ve played a few found Volvik balls but lose them after a hole or two so I’ve got not long term idea of how the are. Maybe I’ll take a look at them.
I really enjoyed learning about this brand. As many of you were, I was not aware of some of the facts surrounding them.
Had some success with Volvik balls back in the day. I remember playing in a state tournament using a Voilvik ball. When I identified my ball on the first tee one of the guys I was playing with looked at me like I had three eyes.
Thanks for the great write up. I knew they had been around for a while, but the history is very cool. I have tried Volviks on and off and they perform essentially the same as other major name brands I have played. I may break out my Iron Man ball for my next round. π
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Thanks for the great write up. I knew they had been around for a while, but the history is very cool. I have tried Volviks on and off and they perform essentially the same as other major name brands I have played. I may break out my Iron Man ball for my next round. π
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You wonβt have to mark it ?
[QUOTE=”cagolfer, post: 12028869, member: 75968″]
Thanks for the great write up. I knew they had been around for a while, but the history is very cool. I have tried Volviks on and off and they perform essentially the same as other major name brands I have played. I may break out my Iron Man ball for my next round. π
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Same here. I got the 5 pack Marvels for Christmas a couple of years ago. Maybe give one a try tomorrow!
I’ve never really seen much about them in the past Other than finding a ball here & there. Thanks for the info, look forward to hearing more about them in ’24
The VS4 looks interesting.
Great brand story and didn’t really know much at all about Volvik.
Just finished reading this.
What an amazing story. I had no idea that they were R&D, production, and generally groundbreakers in the premium ball department. This story needs to be told more!