The Prazza golf ball locator could be the Hooked On Golf Blog golf gadget of the year for 2011.
About The Prazza Golf Ball Finder
The Prazza golf ball location system comes from some brainiacs in the Netherlands. The setup is comprised of two components, the ball and the ball tracker.
The Tracker
The locator device, or tracker, gives a visual direction to the ball in the form of arrows on the unit’s screen, and also vibrates in the searching golfer’s hand more and more as he gets closer to the soon to be formerly lost spheroid. The device uses RFID, or active radio frequency identification to find the ball. Balls within around 100 yards pop up on the tracker, and the unit can even find a ball submerged in water up to eight inches.
The tracker charges via a standard USB cable which can plug into the wall or a computer’s USB port.
The Ball
The Prazza golf ball I tested would compare to a hard cover distance ball in feel and performance. The ball does not have a soft cover like a high performance ball (ProV1, Z-Star, Penta) would, and it shouldn’t. If it did, the cover would decrease the lifespan of the ball greatly. The ball is quite durable and would need to be, as the internal battery is said to last over 120 18-hole rounds of golf. Despite the durability, I was able to shave off some of the cover with some square grooved wedges.
Math
Let’s do some math. It is estimated that the average golfer loses 3-4 balls per round. A sleeve a three Prazza golf balls retails for $40 ($13.33/ball), about the street value of a dozen of some of golf’s high performance balls. Assuming a player will really play each ball for 120 rounds, which I really doubt, the total cost would be $40 for 360 rounds of golf. Conversely, if a player did in fact lose 4 balls in every round of 360 priced at $40/dozen, that total cost would be $4,800 in golf balls.
When put into that perspective, the cost of a $299 system with balls costing $13.33 each doesn’t sound too bad.
On The Course
For my “on the course” portion of my review, I’m simply posting my YouTube video of the system in action. The video contains two segments of losing and finding the ball.
When showing the Prazza system to some guys in my local pro shop the question was asked, “who would buy this?” I can definitely see this thing selling. Think about those guys who bet on golf, and bet heavy. Finding one lost golf ball with a $100 press on the line could make the whole system worth it. Beginners who lose balls constantly could find them. Pace of play can be increased, as people aren’t wondering around the fescues ball searching.
That being said, I don’t typically play distance balls because they are too hard and don’t spin enough around the greens. So unless Prazza offered “tour” performance, I’d probably refrain from putting it in the bag.
Good system for the golfer that loses golf balls on a fairly regular basis. Can replacement balls be purchased for the retrieval unit (is ball frequency standard so that any retrieval unit can find it?). I think replacement balls could be made of three piece design with urethane cover to be more attractive to the better golfer. You may have something here.
Would think if you played a regular course with a lot of water hazards (not much help to know your ball is precisely in the middle of the lake), it might make you even more nervous off the tee and likely to shank one into the wet stuff.
Prazza, today’s most innovative golf ball finding system has gone global, appointing key retail partners in America and Japan to sit alongside its European outlets.
I am very interested in your product. I specialize in smaller golf items, gimmicks, gadgets and what have you. I would like to know what you can get this product to me as a dealer so that we can both turn a profit. I would also like to know if you offer any promotional assistance with dealers that would put your product on their ordering list. One last thing, if you have any more products that might be of interest please let me know. AND ONE LAST QUESTION: what is the compression rating of your chipped balls? Looking forward to doing business with you.
John Cook, Golf Bag Warehouse Intl.
We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your site offered us with useful information to work on. You’ve performed a formidable task and our entire neighborhood shall be thankful to you.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
Good system for the golfer that loses golf balls on a fairly regular basis. Can replacement balls be purchased for the retrieval unit (is ball frequency standard so that any retrieval unit can find it?). I think replacement balls could be made of three piece design with urethane cover to be more attractive to the better golfer. You may have something here.
Denny, yes balls can be purchased separately at $39/sleeve.
A urethane cover option would be nice.
Would think if you played a regular course with a lot of water hazards (not much help to know your ball is precisely in the middle of the lake), it might make you even more nervous off the tee and likely to shank one into the wet stuff.
Prazza, today’s most innovative golf ball finding system has gone global, appointing key retail partners in America and Japan to sit alongside its European outlets.
I am very interested in your product. I specialize in smaller golf items, gimmicks, gadgets and what have you. I would like to know what you can get this product to me as a dealer so that we can both turn a profit. I would also like to know if you offer any promotional assistance with dealers that would put your product on their ordering list. One last thing, if you have any more products that might be of interest please let me know. AND ONE LAST QUESTION: what is the compression rating of your chipped balls? Looking forward to doing business with you.
John Cook, Golf Bag Warehouse Intl.
Um, John Cook this is a product review. This is not “my” product, nor do I sell it. I’m not sure what gives you that idea.
We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your site offered us with useful information to work on. You’ve performed a formidable task and our entire neighborhood shall be thankful to you.