Equipment manufacturers constantly seek out new product feedback from consumers. If something is working, they want to know about it. Shortly after TaylorMade’s Tour Response Stripe was released in 2022, feedback started flowing in on the visual technology — and practically all of it was positive.
Golfers had no problem using the 360-degree Clear Path alignment aid to zero in on the target. If anything, golfers who spoke to Mike Fox, TaylorMade’s senior director of product creation, wanted to see more of the visual technology beyond Tour Response, especially on the flagship TP5 and TP5x.
“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had someone ask for Stripe on TP5 and TP5x,” Fox told GOLF.com. “It’s the most requested product I get when I give presentations. Even though it wasn’t initially released on TP5 and TP5x, I can assure you if it was gimmicky or overdone, the better players inside and outside of our organization would have had no interest in it.
“Stripe is designed to make it easier for golfers — particularly from distances over 12 feet — to be able to see their line easier. The feedback we get is when you wiggle that 22-millimeter line around, it locks in your line so much clearer than it had before.”
As Stripe demand continued to increase, TaylorMade considered the idea of expanding its footprint beyond Tour Response into other models. But the process of bringing another Stripe ball to market wasn’t as easy as slapping the same visual technology on another ball.
“What we didn’t want to do was release a new product with the same equipment, because the equipment that makes the Stripe product doesn’t exist anywhere in the world,” Fox said. “It’d take a year to develop, cost seven figures. And every time we ordered more equipment, Tour Response Stripe would take another massive jump up. What we didn’t want to do was launch both products and have golfers love them and then not be able to keep them in stock. We kept leaning into the product that was already in the marketplace and kept pushing back TP5 and TP5x until it was ready.”
TaylorMade TP5x Stripe
Following years of discussions and work behind the scenes, TaylorMade believes TP5 Stripe and TP5x Stripe are ready for public consumption. The clear 22-millimeter digital band wraps around the center of the ball with a thin black line on either side of the TaylorMade logo that’s meant to match putter sight lines and be an additional alignment aid.
“Clear Stripe is going to be our Tour-validated visual alignment tech,” Fox said. “That’s the position it’s going to take in our product line. Pix is going to move a little bit more to the personality space. We’ll have our white and yellow products for our core golfers, and you’ll have our soon-to-be tour-validated visual tech in Clear Stripe.”
Tommy Fleetwood, who has embraced the pix technology, and Dustin Johnson have started using Stripe during practice sessions. The hope is both pros give the Stripe offering a chance in competition next season, along with other TaylorMade staffers who will get a look at the ball later this year.
As for why TaylorMade chose to go with a black-and-white version of Stripe on TP5 and TP5x, as opposed to a colorful option, Fox said it came down to making sure the visual technology matched what better players preferred to see in their Tour-level offerings.
“The clear version is geared for the better player, more discerning player,” Fox said. “That’s insight-driven. The TP5 and TP5x consumer was looking for the alignment benefit, not the visual benefit you’d get from the colored version.”
TaylorMade’s TP5 Stripe and TP5x Stripe ball are currently available for pre-order through Fairway Jockey for $57.99 per dozen.
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