Tour Golf Balls
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TaylorMade TP5 / TP5X – £49.99
Both TaylorMade TP5s have a new high flex material under the cover, which reacts like a tightly wound spring at impact to boost ball speeds.
TP5x gives a firmer feel (97 compression, the TP5 is 85), and generates higher launching iron shots.
Just 0.2 of a yard prevented TP5x being the longest carrying golf ball for all three driver swing speeds in our robot ball test last year, so it’s no surprise this ball is among the fastest three balls in each of the categories.
Dispersion-wise, TP5x delivered across the board too, posting 4th position for all five test situations, just 1.44-yards wider than the best. You give up 400rpm of wedge spin to get extra distance performance over the TP5, which would be a better option if you put a premium on maximum spin in approach play.
Callaway Chrome Soft / Chrome Soft X – £39.99
Callaway have invested $50 million in their US golf ball plant to improve quality control and it’s been money very well spent. The ball factory in Chicopee, Massachusetts, has doubled its workforce, installed new robotics to improve consistency, new rubber mixing machines and multiple X-Ray machines. That means each new Chrome Soft will be 3D scanned to ensure every core is centred, and mantle layers and covers are a consistent thickness.
The improvements at Chicopee also mean Callaway can now make a ball they couldn’t make before – the 2020 Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X. The covers are 10% and 22% thinner respectively. Both have larger cores (the standard ball is graphene infused, the X isn’t) and higher speed mantles, all of which means a bigger difference between the two balls.
Titleist Pro V1 / Pro V1x – £52
The Pro V1 has changed a lot since it first appeared in 2000, and the latest version was launched in January 2019. It’s a three-piece ball with a urethane cover. It gives very low long game spin, and a more penetrating ball flight than the Pro V1x, while it also gives a very soft feel. Adam Scott and Tony Finau both play the Pro V1.
Pro V1x is a four-piece ball with a urethane cover. Like the Pro V1, it offers low long game spin to help maximise distance, but Titleist say the X flies higher and spins more with iron shots. It also gives a slightly firmer feel. Pro V1x used to be the more played on tour and is still the choice of Justin Thomas, but recent figures now show a much more even split between both Titleist balls.
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AWARD-WINNING NON-TOUR BALLS
AWARD-WINNING PUTTERS
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