The Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot golf ball has amassed a cult following. It’s never been added to the retail lineup, and is available only in select fittings, on Tour and in limited releases on a random schedule from Titleist. Even when those releases hit, you’re allowed to purchase only two boxes at a time from Titleist. So the question then is, why? Why is the Pro V1 Left Dot so sought after? And with this amount of popularity, why hasn’t the ball made its way out of the “Custom Performance Option” program?
The difference between Pro V1 and Pro V1 Left Dot
As a variant of the Pro V1, the Left Dot option takes the feel and short-game performance that players love from the standard Pro V1 and tweaks the long-game performance. In your longer irons and woods, the Left Dot is going to launch a spin just a touch lower. This lower, more penetrating trajectory is due in part to the spherically tiled, 352 tetrahedral dimple design of the Left Dot, as compared to the 388 dimples of the standard Pro V1 model. Thirty-six dimples may not seem like a big change, but keep in mind the size of a golf ball — it’s a huge difference. Lots of players have also said that this new flight is extrememly stable in high winds, which can be a worry for lower-spinning golf balls.
Who’s the Left Dot for?
Although the difference in performance is easy to understand — and in my testing easy to see — it’s not an easy ball to fit into. The Pro V1 is already the lower-spinning version of Titleist’s high performance lineup when compared to the Pro V1x. So it takes a special player to need the advantages of the Pro V1 Left Dot and its lower-launching, lower-spinning properties. My personal worry when putting players into lower spin-golf balls is having a low-spin miss. If you don’t produce enough spin, the ball is going to fall out of the air more quickly, particularly to the pull side. Yes, I’m talking about that dreaded duck hook. So, for me, if a player is looking at something like the Pro V1 Left Dot, they need to be in total control of their golf ball. This usually means that they player has the ability to manufacture spin, or that they are already a high-spin player who’s able to take spin off when they need it.
I like to tell players that we want to find them a golf ball that naturally sits into a usable launch and spin window rather than forcing that preferred window by choosing whatever golf ball makes their equipment work. For a good player who’s able to control their flight really well, the standard Pro V1 is probably going to check all the boxes. It’s a wonderful feeling golf ball with a very neutral spin and launch profile that leaves room for the player to manipulate it.
The Left Dot, however, would work great in the bag of a player whose launch ceiling is just a bit too high, and tweaks to their equipment are out of the question. It also makes for a great golf ball in less-than-ideal conditions. A lower flight usually gives more control, particularly in windy conditions. In a Titleist social media post from 2021, Tony Finau said of the Left Dot: “It’s very stable. Crosswinds, down wind, into the wind, I seem to get proper numbers with it.”
Why hasn’t it left the Titleist ‘Custom Performance Options’ program?
The short answer is that there isn’t enough true performance demand for the golf ball. It makes up less than 6 percent of all Titleist usage across major tours. It’s won majors, it’s in the bag of big names like Finau and rising star Jake Knapp, but it’s still a very niche golf ball. Its use is not as widespread as something like the Titleist Pro V1x (left dash), which was also originally a CPO offering. This isn’t to say that the golf ball hasn’t inspired other launches. The High Gradient ZG Process Core now found in the standard Pro V1 was originally designed in the Left Dot model, and then after testing and success, it was brought to the retail Pro V1 golf ball.
Dimple patterns in the CPO program continue to be tested and adopted into the retail lineups. As I said above, it’s just a niche customer for this golf ball, and for the general consumer base, it’s likely not going to be a huge benefit for players who are playing a Pro V1. Most golfers could probably switch to a lower lofted driver, or find a better launching shaft for their driver and call it a day. But at the highest levels of golf, with the most amount of control over their golf ball, some elite players prefer to play the Left Dot and enjoy its benefits.
The golf balls are already sold out at Titleist.com, but search around, as there are some other sources with some still in stock before you have to pony up on eBay for some.
Is your driver launching too high, but the rest of the bag looks good? Book a fitting at True Spec!
Listen to Johnny Wunder talk with Patrick Reed (who won the 2018 Masters with a Left Dot) about his equipment on our latest episode of Fully Equipped.
