A year after introducing golf’s first oversized ball for men, Spalding has rolled out the Top-Flite Magna for Women oversized golf ball to take advantage of the considerable growth of the women’s golf market.

Keith Campbell, product manager of golf clubs and accessories for Spalding Canada, says the company will introduce the oversized ball to women golfers largely by demonstration.

Campbell says the best way to market a club or ball is to get them into the golfer’s hands.

He says to get the new balls to women, Spalding Canada will depend heavily on ‘ladies nights’ at golf clubs.

There, women golfers will be given a three-ball sleeve of Top-Flite Magna for Women at tee-off, and will be invited to try the new oversized product.

Campbell says Canada’s golfing season runs from about May to about August, so the demonstration will be done during that period.

Also, he says, print ads are planned for next year in Score and Golf International magazines.

Campbell says there will also be some spillover from magazine and tv advertising in the u.s., where the oversized ball for women has already been introduced

The patented Top-Flite Magna for Women is 1.72 inches in circumference. It is 2% larger than other balls and has a soft cover and a soft core.

The impetus behind the new ball was Spalding research that concluded the average woman golfer is limited to choosing equipment that is designed for men.

So, Spalding developed the Top-Flite Magna for Women to accommodate such differences as swing speed.

Spalding was granted a patent last January for its Top-Flite Magna technology.

Concord, Ont.-based Spalding Canada is the country’s golf ball market leader with a 65% share. It sells 13.2 million golf balls a year.