OnCore Golf Creates Rare ‘Upstate to Upstate’ Connection

Historically, Upstate South Carolina and Upstate New York haven’t had much in common other than folks relocating from one (New York) to the other (South Carolina). But that changed in 2019 when Easley-based golf ball engineering guru, John Calabria, joined Buffalo, N.Y.-based OnCore Golf, the industry’s leading direct-to-consumer golf ball brand.

Over the past 25 years, Calabria has been one of the biggest names in golf ball design, starting with the Titleist Professional, the first commercial, urethane-covered, high performance golf ball. The Professional was the precursor to the development of the ProV1 and ProV1x.

Joining Maxfli in 1995 to lead “R & D,” his team developed Maxfli’s ground-breaking Revolution golf ball along with other well-known golf balls. When TaylorMade acquired Maxfli in 2003, Calabria was appointed Vice President of Research and Development, focusing on the roll-out of the company’s first urethane-covered balls as well as launching the new factory in Liberty.

OnCore, founded in 2011, was heavy into the development of the game’s first perimeter-weighted golf balls as Calabria was winding-down a 13-year stint with TaylorMade. OnCore co-founders Bret Blakely and Steve Coulton, and OnCore CEO Keith Blakely, jumped at the opportunity to bring one of the industry's brightest minds into the fold.

“We had established a prior relationship with John and held him in the highest esteem,” Keith Blakely says. “The opportunity to partner with John in a more expansive role came about in 2019 and we didn’t hesitate to make him a part of Team OnCore.”

Remote Control

While Calabria is no stranger to Upstate New York – he makes one or two trips up to the OnCore office, annually – most of his work with OnCore’s Buffalo-based team takes place remotely. He and Keith Blakely meet weekly via video conference, have calls on-the-fly as needed, and meet at the annual PGA Show in Orlando, Fla.

“You could say we were ahead of the work-from-home curve,” Calabria says. “Efficiency is vital in the golf ball engineering world and our current arrangement keeps us focused and on point in developing the most technologically-advanced golf balls on the market.”

That arrangement also allows Calabria to spend most of his time in Upstate South Carolina, where (unlike Upstate New York), golf is played year-round. A solid single-digit player, he plays most of his golf at Smithfield’s Country Club in Easley and Holly Tree Country Club in Simpsonville.

OnCore’s ‘Big Year’

The year is off to a fast start for Calabria and OnCore. In April, the company released a second-generation ELIXR golf ball, based on the current award-winning three-piece tour-level ball. Already racking up accolades from Golf Digest and Golf Tips, the 2022 ELIXR features a firmer cover, a new 350 - dimple pattern for an even more penetrating ball flight and more distance.

Additionally, OnCore will unveil the long-awaited VERO X2 later this year, a follow up to its best-selling VERO X1. The golf ball lineup also includes the AVANT 55, a super-soft, low-compression two-piece ball designed for golfers with lower swing speeds. And with OnCore’s direct-to-consumer business model, the price points are well below the industry average for premium golf balls: AVANT 55 retails for $19.99, ELIXR for $29.99 and VERO X1 for $39.99.

“The goal is to provide serious golfers of all skill levels with the highest-performing golf balls completely dialed into their games,” says Coulton. “We understand golf is an expensive sport, and we can pass along savings to our customers while providing them with the most customized and convenient ordering and delivery in the marketplace.”

For more information on OnCore, visit www.oncoregolf.com.