TaylorMade TP5 Golf Ball (2021) Review

Last updated: 02 February 2024

At a glance
TG Rating 5 out of 5
Owner Rating Not yet rated

What we say...

The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 golf ball has a larger, more reactive core and uses an all-new Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, taking aerodynamics and carry distance to a new level for golfers at every level. Read on for our full review…

Four years after setting out on a journey to “redefine the path to distance” with the launch of golf’s only five-layer Tour balls, TaylorMade have used their Tour stars’ feedback and a revolutionary new dimple design that reduces drag and promotes distance to create the all-new TP5- one of the best golf balls on the market.

The original ball spurred a movement that has TaylorMade among the fastest growing golf ball brands of the last several years. It utilised a proprietary construction with four increasingly stiff layers wrapped in cast urethane, creating the foundation to optimise both distance and spin.

For the second generation in 2019 the company wove High-Flex Material (HFM) into the construction of their premium balls to more efficiently convert compression into ball speed. Known as the Speed-Layer System, this design injected a new level of speed into TP5 over the prior generation.

FULL REVIEW: TaylorMade TP5x 2021 golf ball

Now, for 2021, TaylorMade have introduced the Tour Flight Dimple Pattern. The revolutionary new design has a unique dual-radius shape that decouples dimple volume from depth to optimise airflow around the golf ball during flight, ultimately improving the aerodynamics and increasing carry distance.

But there’s more to the new TP5 and TP5x than a dimple pattern. Analysing insights from Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and others who have used both prior models in competition, engineers discovered that players switched from TP5x to TP5 for the enhanced greenside spin and control in the short game. Conversely, players switched from TP5 to TP5x for the added distance and ball speed.

The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 golf ball has a larger, more reactive core.

Taking that information on board, the new TP5 now has a larger, more reactive core that delivers more ball speed while retaining the same feel and spin properties of the prior generation.

RELATED: Best Premium Golf Balls

TaylorMade have given the TP5x a slightly softer cast urethane cover that better grips the grooves on a wedge for increased spin around the greens with lower launch, while remaining the fastest Tour ball in their line-up.

TP5 still provides a softer feel, increased greenside spin and a lower launch in comparison to TP5x, which is faster, longer and higher launching.

The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 is a five-layer premium golf ball.

As well as the standard white TP5 and TP5x models, both golf balls will be available in pix, the alignment system co-developed with Rickie Fowler and first released in 2020.

The pix tech remains the same for 2021 with the performance upgraded to match the all-new design of the 2021 TP5/TP5x.

Both balls will also be available in a new and improved yellow colour scheme, which uses a an enriched yellow urethane finished with UV resistant yellow paint for added durability and while maximum visibility.

The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 pix golf ball.

TaylorMade TP5 golf ball review

Who plays the 2021 TaylorMade TP5 golf ball on tour?

Being TaylorMade’s best golf balls for Tour players it’s hardly a surprise to see such a wide range of their Tour pros putting them in the bag. Collin Morikawa plays the standard TP5 with Matthew Wolff playing TP5 pix. The new TP5x has already been put in play by Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler (pix) with Dustin Johnson still testing the new balls and continuing to play the 2019 TP5x that took him to victory at the Masters.

Should I play the TP5 or TP5x golf ball?

The 2021 TP5 and TP5x offer complete tee-to-green performance thanks to TaylorMade’s proprietary five-layer construction. Both models deliver world-class distance off the tee, with the TP5 having a softer feel and more spin around the greens, while achieving fast ball speeds with a new reactive core that is larger than the prior generation.

TP5x is the fastest and longest ball in the current TaylorMade line-up, with a firmer feel and higher launch on iron shots. In addition, it has more greenside spin than the prior generation with a new and softer cast urethane cover.

Should I play the standard white TP5 model, TP5 pix or TP5 yellow?

Co-developed with Rickie Fowler, TaylorMade released pix in 2020 and, in our tests, the combination of performance and functionality impressed, and it proved particularly beneficial on the greens.

The ClearPath Alignment system uses 12 evenly spaced graphics to enhance visibility while significantly aiding in alignment on the putting green and helping golfers immediately gauge the quality of their stroke by watching the ball’s roll.

The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 golf ball is available in white, yellow and pix.

TESTED: Best alignment golf ball

Matthew Wolff has followed Fowler into the TP5 pix. It has helped him improve his putting inside six-feet by nearly half a stroke and seen him jump from 44^th to 14^th in the world rankings.

The 2021 pix’s visual technology has not changed, but the performance has been upgraded to match the all-new design of the TP5 with the Tour Flight Dimple Pattern and larger, more reactive core (TP5).

The high-visibility 2021 TP5 Yellow has a new enriched yellow urethane, finished with UV resistant yellow paint to provides added durability while maximising visibility. The 2019 model was white urethane with UV resistant yellow paint.

RELATED: Best winter golf ball

How does the TP5 fit into TaylorMade’s 2021 golf balls line up?

The five-layer TP5 and TP5x models are TaylorMade’s tour-level premium ball offerings and sit at the highest RRP of £49.99 per dozen.

Then comes the Tour Response. Aimed at the average club golfer it has many of the hallmarks of a market-leading tour ball – three layers, 100 per cent urethane cover – but comes in a lot cheaper with an RRP of £39.99 per dozen. We’re big fans of the ball and it performed very impressively when we tested it against Titelist Pro V1 (read it here).

Next in line is the TaylorMade Soft Response golf ball, with it’s three-layer construction and Ionemer cover. It’s designed to perform well at moderate swing speeds with its soft compression providing great feel. TaylorMade say new U-shaped dimples extend flight especially well at lower spin rates and with an RRP of £24.99 per dozen it’s a great option for amateurs.

And finally, new for 2021, is the two-piece Distance+, designed for speed and maximum driver distance with a soft feel. It has an ionemer cover with a 342 Aerodynamic Dimple Pattern and a React Speed Core. It also features a new +Alignment stamp for immediate feedback and easy aligmnent on the greens and has a very reasonable RRP of £18.99 per dozen.

What TaylorMade say about the TP5 golf balls

Michael Fox, TaylorMade’s Category Director of Golf Ball & Accessories

“Since 2017, we have blazed a path to distance and speed with TP5/TP5x – building upon a foundation of Tour-proven performance with the patented five-layer system at its core.

“With the development of HFM in 2019 and now the Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, we’ve examined every component of the golf ball to ensure that each layer is functioning at its highest possible level and working in unison to deliver unmatched performance on every shot.”

RELATED: Best Golf Ball Retrievers

Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade’s Vice-President of Tour Operations

“It’s one thing to test a new ball, it’s another to put it in play during competition with confidence and ease.

“The fact that Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood all switched into the new ball for their first event of the year speaks volumes.

“The best players in the world have quickly embraced the performance of the new TP5 and TP5x.”

ROBOT TESTED: Our mammoth golf balls test