At 88 years old, Ray Barrett says his continued entrepreneurial endeavors aren’t necessarily a reflection of his ambition. Instead, the serial entrepreneur just can’t stop tinkering with new ideas.
“When things come up, I can’t help myself,” he said.
That’s the reason Barrett once again is pursuing a new venture. Two years after a golf ball he designed hit store shelves through a deal with Callaway Golf Co., Barrett is taking another swing with a new golf ball technology.
Barrett this month plans to begin pitching his new golf ball design to equipment makers in hopes of inking a deal. His new patented “Pin Point” golf ball design, which is meant to help golfers improve their putting accuracy, is the result of a 2019 rule change that allows golfers to leave the flagstick in the hole while they putt. With that change, Barrett said he conceptualized a new design using lines on the ball to help putters align the ball to the hole using the flagstick as a target.
The Pin Point design includes two angled lines on the golf ball that form a triangle with an opening at the tip of it. The opening at the tip of the triangle is designed to “act as a focal point for lining up the putt with the flagstick,” according to Barrett. The ball also includes a center line that Barrett says offers additional help with aiming.
For Barrett, his golf ball design endeavors add to an entrepreneurial career that dates back to 1959 when he founded Landshire Food Systems, a packaged sandwich and food company he developed into a $50 million business before selling it to the Southland Corp. in 1977. The Korean War veteran and Saint Louis University graduate also founded Biomedical Systems, which he sold in 2017.
Barrett’s golf ball ventures initially started out of his own frustration with not being able to see the ball while he played. He decided to mark his golf balls with three lines to help him see the ball on the course. However, he soon discovered the three lines were more of a help in lining up his putt.
“I play with guys and the guy who has the most putts buys lunch,” Barrett said. “Hell, I wasn’t buying lunch anymore.”
After connecting with University of Missouri–St. Louis College of Optometry Professor Carl Bassi, Barrett learned the three lines on the ball tap into a golfer’s vernier acuity, which allows an individual to determine alignment. Barrett later would ink a deal with Callaway Golf Co., which has used Barrett's Triple Track design on its golf balls and expanded it to their putters too. Professional golfer Phil Mickelson used a Triple Track ball when he won the PGA Championship in May and became the oldest player in golf history to win one of the sport’s four major championships.
Like the Triple Track design, Barrett’s Pin Point innovation also seeks to tap into the golfer’s vernier acuity. The team behind the design says its “V sight” aiming design has been used with rifles, but hasn’t been introduced to golf. The Pin Point design has received approval from the United States Golf Association, and Barrett said testing of the golf ball found it can help golfers lower their score by at least four strokes per round and also improve driving accuracy. In addition to Barrett, the team working on the project has included Bassi, patent attorney Bob Bain of law firm Stinson LLP and local golfer Jim Holtgrieve.
Barrett said he’s hopeful the success of his earlier Triple Track design will bring a receptive audience as he shops around his newest innovation.
“People have fallen in love with that design,” he said. “Since I have the track record of doing that with Triple Track, at least they’ll open the door for me. At least I’m not just some guy like I was for the first 10 years of the other one, just knocking on doors and being told ‘get out of here.’ I carry a little more weight."
