“It’s all physics,” Owens said. “The ball’s hollow core puts the weight on the outside of the ball, which minimizes sidespin. In engineering we refer to it having a High Moment of Inertia — that’s kind of the ‘Holy Grail’ of golf ball design.”

Taking the design forward was also a chance for engineers to do what engineers like to do, such as field-testing with a golfing robot and building an air cannon inside a netted area to test the coefficient of restitution, or rebound energy efficiency. “The first shot was pure excitement — and danger … Lots of fun!” he said.

Owens and his fellow “golf ball engineers” on the project shopped their invention around. “I devoted myself to it full-time for about three years. Maxfli had some interest and signed some non-disclosure documents. It all sounded very exciting — we thought we were going to be gazillionaires! But after a few months they decided not to pursue it, so we put it away and continued with our engineering careers.”

Eventually, the product was sold to a company in Buffalo called OnCore Golf, which made some refinements and is now marketing the ball.

As for Owens, his environmental engineering business is helping to make the Carolinas “greener,” and he has also become an author. Released earlier this year and already earning good reviews, his first novel, The Search Committee, breaks completely different ground, telling the story of a group of seven church members traveling around the South on Sundays seeking a new pastor for their congregation.  The book won the Operation First Novel contest sponsored by Tyndale House Publishers and the Christian Writers Guild.

His next project is helping his wife start a cut-flower business (zinnias) on a small farm they purchased.  Owens says, “We’re fake farmers, of course, but I love working on the old tractor.”