Who needs a catchy headline, anyway? Every time the game’s leading golf ball manufacturer announces either a new ball or a fresh iteration of an existing one, it’s big news on tee boxes all around the world. Here at GOLF.com HQ, we’re always eager to see, buy and try any new ball — not just the flagship ones played widely on the professional tours, but distance balls, too.
Let’s first look at the ball made for big distance with a gentle dose of greenside control.
The Velocity ($29/dozen), first unveiled a decade ago, has been reworked to provide increased speed and a higher launch via a new high compression LSX core and a reformulated NaZ+ cover that, according to Titleist, makes the new Velocity its longest and best performing iteration to date. In our experience, using and testing Velocity balls in the past is a big deal — the Velocity is not only one of the longest hitting performance golf balls that still has playability around the green, but it’s also one of the most durable and best-feeling balls we’ve hit.
“This golf ball is fun for our team,” said Frederick Waddell, Director of Golf Ball Product Management, Titleist. “We‘re designing for a golfer looking for distance, and that allows us to be singularly focused on speed and overall distance through the bag. We were able to achieve the performance goals of longer driver and iron distance while maintaining its high flight and greenside playability through new and reformulated core and cover technology.”
But it’s not just the core and cover of the Velocity that’s turning heads. In addition to a white paintjob, the Velocity comes in three matte finishes: Matte Orange, Matte Green and an all-new Matte Blue coming later this year. Look for the Velocity in golf shops and online starting Friday.
Next is the two-year-old TruFeel ($25/dozen), which this year has been reworked and re-tooled to provide more distance and a softer greenside feel when compared to previous iterations. The low-spin TruTouch core of the ball is bigger and faster for more speed. And the thinner, reformulated TruFlex cover’s aerodynamic dimple pattern has been tweaked to deliver longer distance not just with the driver, but every club.
“The new 1.600 core is very large for such a soft golf ball,” said Mike Madson, Director of Aerodynamics and Research Engineering, Titleist. “By adding more fast rubber to the golf ball, we add more speed for distance, but we also needed to balance the increased core size by reformulating a slightly thinner cover. The result is softer feel, and similar spin with more speed for longer distance.”
Not new but still notable, the new TruFeel employs a unique alignment aid sidestamp for easy alignment without needing a Sharpie. According to Titleist, the stamp design was inspired but the most popular alignment aid available on the My Titleist customizer found on Titliest.com since the options debuted in 2018.
The TruFeel comes in white and High Optic Yellow and will be available Friday. A Matte Red version will be added later this year.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.