dibadiba

Dave,
I've seen a lot of people on here, and throughout the web, link to your 'leather 101' page to educate people on what makes 'good' leather 'good'.
Unfortunately, I have to keep taking the time to correct these people, because your leather 101 page is absolute nonsense, and based on your experience in the industry, I can't honestly believe you're of the opinion that anything on that page is true.

Here's a photo of some french calfskin, used by Hermes. For the record, this is the cream of the crop when it comes to leather. According to your 'leather 101' page, this would be "bad leather".
Are you honestly not familiar with the nature of chrome-tanned leather?
Why does your leather 101 not mention anything about vegetable-tanned leather?
Also, why do aspects of leather that your products lack not appear on your leather 101?

Sorry, but the entire page is a marketing ad, and it's dishonest and incredibly misleading towards any consumer who wants to actually learn something about types of leather and their qualities.

Go figure you'd get downvoted for asking a question like this. The B.S Saddleback spouts on their website is an insult to craftsmen everywhere.

My problem isn't with the bags themselves, rather how they're marketed and represented. For the price, they seem pretty good! I don't understand some of the 'rivals'. swaine adeney brigg, for example, is a completely different class of bag.

It has. Horween is one of the most well-known tanneries in the world, and Shell Cordovan, along with Chromexcel, are likely the most well-known of their leathers.
I can already tell you that 'Cost' is actually the answer. Horween leather isn't cheap.

My understanding is that ball with less 'fluff' on it is better for a hard and flat first serve due to less air resistance. At that level, even a couple more km/h can be the difference between a forced error and a return.