The post Callaway’s longest golf ball just got even faster appeared first on Golf.

The post Callaway’s longest golf ball just got even faster appeared first on Golf.

Callaway is upgrading its longest Tour-level golf ball.

Just over a year after launching it, Callaway is re-introducing the Chrome Tour Triple Diamond golf ball, the firmest and fastest golf ball in their lineup, with the new Tour Fast Mantle from their 2026 Chrome Tour Lineup.

“We’ve seen great success with this product when we introduced this golf ball in 2025, especially in regard to the fast ball speeds,” Callaway Global Golf Ball Director Jason Finley said in a press release. “And with the early success that we’ve had, particularly with our Tour Fast Mantle technology on the 2026 lineup of Chrome products, we wanted to bring that in line with the new golf Chrome Tour Triple Diamond.”

Keep reading below for more on the Chrome Tour Triple Diamond, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new and why you should care

The key new feature of the 2026 Chrome Tour Triple Diamond golf balls is the Tour Fast Mantle, introduced in this year’s Chrome Tour lineup.

Callaway has been developing the new material for over four years to achieve a 16 percent higher modulus than the previous generation, resulting in a stiffer mantle layer, meaning higher speeds without an increase in spin. That means more distance through an optimized core/layer system for all of Callaway’s Chrome Tour golf balls.

Not increasing the spin is crucial for a ball like the Triple Diamond, which is designed to have a firmer feel and lower spin combined with the fastest speed of any of Callaway’s golf balls to produce the most distance.

“This ball is fast, and the Tour Fast Mantle just reinforces that it will continue to be one of the fastest golf balls in the market,” Callaway Senior Director of Golf Ball R&D Eric Loeper said. “I would put this golf ball up against anything else and it’s going to be as long or longer. It really comes down to that new material that enables us to do that and not increase spin rates.”

Moving forward, the Triple Diamond will now be released at the same time as the rest of the Chrome Tour family.

Price, Specs and Availability

Callaway 2026 Chrome Tour Triple Diamond Golf Balls

Our Chrome Tour family is engineered for outstanding Tour performance with new speed technology for players who want outstanding performance, exceptional speed, consistent flight and tee-to-greenside control. Now our Chrome Tour Triple Diamond provides all these performance characteristics in a design for faster swinging players who prefer a consistently penetrating flight, slightly firmer feel, and lower spin on full shots.  FAST: New Tour Fast Mantle The revolutionary new Tour Fast Mantle uses a material that offers excellent distance through an optimized core/layer system. CONSISTENT: Advanced Seamless Tour Aero Uniquely designed aerodynamic package and industry-leading Precision Technology manufacturing to provide the ultimate in consistency. CONTROL: Tour Level Urethane Cover This high-performance cover is developed for exceptional feel and greenside control.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Callaway 2026 Chrome Tour Triple Track Triple Diamond Golf Balls

Our Chrome Tour family is engineered for outstanding Tour performance with new speed technology for players who want outstanding performance, exceptional speed, consistent flight and tee-to-greenside control. Now our Chrome Tour Triple Diamond provides all these performance characteristics in a design for faster swinging players who prefer a consistently penetrating flight, slightly firmer feel, and lower spin on full shots.  FAST: New Tour Fast Mantle The revolutionary new Tour Fast Mantle uses a material that offers excellent distance through an optimized core/layer system. CONSISTENT: Advanced Seamless Tour Aero Uniquely designed aerodynamic package and industry-leading Precision Technology manufacturing to provide the ultimate in consistency. CONTROL: Tour Level Urethane Cover This high-performance cover is developed for exceptional feel and greenside control.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Callaway’s new 2026 Chrome Tour Triple Diamond Golf Balls are available to order starting April 24.

Each dozen costs $57.99 and is available in standard white or with the Triple Track alignment aid.

Want to find the best driver for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post TaylorMade’s 2026 TP5, TP5x golf balls show why paint matters appeared first on Golf.

The post TaylorMade’s 2026 TP5, TP5x golf balls show why paint matters appeared first on Golf.

TaylorMade wants you to know that the reason your golf ball flew offline might not be entirely your fault.

OK, it probably is, but we’ve all hit golf shots that get up in the air and then do something unexpected. Maybe it cuts when you thought it would draw. Or perhaps it flutters a touch and comes up short. TaylorMade thinks that’s due to inconsistent paint, meaning each golf ball you use might be slightly different than the last.

That’s why, for the new TP5 and TP5x golf balls, TaylorMade is overhauling its painting process with a new technique called “Microcoating” that applies an even coat of paint to the golf ball, avoiding the dripping and pooling of traditional methods.

“Golf balls are the only piece of equipment we hit on every shot, but they are also the only piece of equipment we change in a round,” TaylorMade’s Mike Fox, Senior Category Director, Golf Ball, said in a release. “Making sure we produce the most consistent product from ball to ball and shot to shot is as important as anything we do. Until now, applying paint to a golf ball to protect its appearanc ehas carried with it the potential to adversely impact ball flight. Now, with microcoating, we have a process that solves what was once an invisible problem, and allows golfers to experience greater consistency in how their shots perform from tee to green.”

Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa have already switched to the new TP5, which has a new, larger core and dimple pattern to boost ball speeds and produce a more penetrating flight. The TP5x has new mantle layers to help boost ball speed further while keeping spin low.

Keep reading below for more on the 2026 TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x golf balls, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X golf balls — and why you should care

Even (micro)coats, even flight

So I know what you’re thinking… “Does the paint really matter all that much?” I never would have considered it either. But it’s also not hard to picture how painting a golf ball can lead to inconsistency with dripping or pooling inside the dimples, leaving some parts thicker than others.

TaylorMade was only able to notice the variations in flight thanks to the state-of-the-art range technology at the Kingdom, where they can track golf balls within three inches of their flight. The company has invested $100 million in the past five years into golf ball manufacturing and R&D.

They saw golf balls with the exact same construction flying wildly differently when launched under the same conditions with a robot.

“These golf balls look absolutely identical to the naked eye, but they can fly 20 yards differently,” Fox told GOLF. “Even three yards is too much when you’re trying to make a golf ball for the best players in the world.

“Injection molding is a precision process. Casting of urethane is a precision process. Milling is a precision process. Painting was not a precision process.”

It doesn’t just matter for Tour players either. Amateurs will lose confidence when they hit what they thought was a good shot and then watch it dart off into the unknown.

To solve this, TaylorMade invested in its paint process to come up with microcoating, which meant changing the paint application guns, how the paint flowed into those guns, the curing temperature and even the paint itself. Fox said TaylorMade is even controlling the atomization of the paint as it dries.

“We’re controlling paint at a level that no one’s ever controlled before,” Fox said.

Unlocking more speed

Part of TaylorMade’s massive investment in golf balls also led to a breakthrough. The company now has the data and the software to prototype different golf ball constructions digitally and simulate how they will perform.

Instead of producing a few hundred prototype iterations in the past, TaylorMade created over 100,000 prototypes for the new TP5 and TP5x to find the best combination of materials for each ball.

“This isn’t AI,” Fox said. “This is three years of proven data being fed into finite element analysis, and it’s telling us what we’ve already proven out as fact.”

For the TP5, that meant increasing the core size, which decreases the time the ball spends on the face, increasing energy retention while keeping the soft feel the ball is known for. Basically, TaylorMade is tightening the spring so it can be faster.

Fox said they’ve seen about 1 mph ball speed gains in testing.

The dimple pattern of the TP5 was also optmized the dimple pattern for a lower, more penetrating trajectory.

With the TP5x, TaylorMade engineers focused on fine-tuning the mantle layers around a firmer core to boost ball speed beyond the 2024 model.

The TaylorMade 2026 TP5 and TP5x lineup

Both TP5 and TP5x will be available in white, yellow, pix, 360˚ stripe and officially licensed NFL and collegiate designs. The TP5 and TP5x Stripe has been redesigned this year with tighter feedback lines and a new sight dot for players to focus on during the stroke.

TaylorMade is also bringing back the TRKR launch monitor-enabled balls for increased accuracy on indoor, radar-based launch monitors.

TP5

What is it: The softer and higher-spinning ball with a new, larger core to drive speed gains. A new dimple pattern also optimizes the lift-to-drag ratio for a lower flight and minimizes turbulence.

Who it’s for: Players looking for a lower flight, higher spin and softer feel.

TP5x

What is it: The lowest-spinning and fastest TaylorMade ball.

Who it’s for: Players looking for the most speed and to scrub excess spin.

My take: Solving an unknown problem

It’s not really hard to fathom how much of a difference a drop of paint can make when it comes to the flight of a golf ball.

Golf balls are a very complex aerodynamic creation, and if there is a subtle variation with the outermost layer — the one interacting with the air — it makes sense that that would be enough to send it offline.

If I were to give you the option between a ball that had 20 yards of variation in distance versus one that did the same thing every time, you’d take the consistent one without seeing evidence. Just the sheer confidence boost alone should be enough to impact your performance.

What’s disguised here is the speed gains with the TP5, a ball that I’ve previously played for its soft feel and need to do more testing with because I saw pretty instant upticks in ball speed when I tried it for the first time at the Kingdom.

I always sacrifice a little speed to play softer golf balls, but with the new TP5, I might not have that problem anymore.

Price, Specs and Availability

TaylorMade’s new TP5 and TP5x golf balls are available for pre-order starting Feb. 2 and will arrive at retail locations on Feb. 12.

White, Stripe, Yellow and pix balls will cost $57.99 per dozen. TP5 and TP5x TRKR, officially licensed NFL and collegiate dozens, will sell for $64.99, while the MySymbol customization program returns, with each dozen costing $62.99.

Want to find the best golf ball for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post TaylorMade’s 2026 TP5, TP5x golf balls show why paint matters appeared first on Golf.

The post Callaway’s 2026 Chrome Tour golf balls debut industry-first speed material appeared first on Golf.

The post Callaway’s 2026 Chrome Tour golf balls debut industry-first speed material appeared first on Golf.

Callaway found a way to make its fastest Chrome Tour golf ball ever, without taking the usual shortcut of making it firmer.

The company announced its new 2026 family of Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X and Chrome Soft golf balls, all featuring a new Tour Fast Mantle, which they say is the fastest they’ve ever used in a golf ball before.

“Over the last four years, we’ve worked closely with a material supplier to generate something completely new to the industry,” Callaway Senior Director of Golf Ball R&D Eric Loper told GOLF. “It’s a new material used in the outer mantle layer, just underneath the soft urethane cover.

“Not only are we adding speed through the higher-modulus material, but we’re also slightly reducing driver and iron spin.”

The golf balls also feature the second generation of Callaway’s Seamless Tour Aero technology, creating a more uniform cover of the golf ball and leading to more consistent flight.

Keep reading below for more on the Callaway 2026 Chrome Tour golf balls, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with 2026 Callaway Chrome Tour family — and why you should care

A new Tour Flex Mantle

The core of the new 2026 Chrome Tour design is really not the core at all; it’s in the mid-layer of the golf balls, known as the mantle.

The mantle is where Callaway is using a new 16 percent higher flex modulus material, which stiffens this layer of the golf ball.

“That doesn’t sound good for a golf ball, right?” Loper said. “But when you think about the golf ball being struck with a driver and you think about the golf ball being a spring, using a stiffer material really results in a stiffer spring. And so when you compress that golf ball, it’s going to come off the face with more velocity.”

The Tour Flex Mantle allowed both balls to gain speed off the tee, and in the case of the Chrome Tour X, drop a little bit of driver and iron spin, giving it better performance in the wind.

A consistent golf ball leads to consistent golf shots

To improve the aerodynamic consistency of the golf ball, Callaway got down to the nitty-gritty.

When the cover of the golf ball is manufactured, there is excess material, called flash, where the two sides of the cover are joined. The typical industry practice is to buff that flash out, but that can distort the dimples around that seam line.

Instead of buffing the excess out at just the seam, Loper said the company is now grinding the cover more globally, across the entire surface to ensure a uniform cover thickness.

“If you take that industry-wide problem and you hit a shot into the green in-seam, the ball is going to have a tendency to want to fly lower and longer, and cross-seam it’s going to fly higher and shorter, which leads to inconsistency,” he said. “Whereas our product, no matter the orientation, will be consistent into the green.”

Even if the difference is just 5-10 feet on an approach shots, Loeper said that can translate into a huge change in make percentage.

The 2026 Callaway Chrome Tour lineup

As in the previous generation, the Chrome Tour family has three different golf balls to choose from.

2026 Callaway Chrome Tour

What is it: The Chrome Tour is the softer of the two four-piece, Tour-level golf balls and is going to have lower spin throughout the bag. Additionally, the Chrome Tour is going to launch slightly higher than Chrome Tour X and will have a more parabolic flight.

Who it’s for: For someone who is looking to keep spin down and prefers a softer feel around the greens, the Chrome Tour is your answer.

2026 Callaway Chrome Tour X

What is it: Chrome Tour X is the fastest and firmest ball in the lineup and spins the most throughout the bag. The new Tour Flex Mantle reduces some of that driver and iron spin compared to the previous generation. This leads to better wind performance. Chrome Tour X also launches slightly lower, but has more of an upward shooting trajectory that can give the appearance of a higher flight.

Who it’s for: Those looking to get the most speed and have a firmer feel as well as players who need a lower launch and more spin with their irons.

2026 Callaway Chrome Soft

What is it: A three-piece construction, the Chrome Soft is a more amateur-friendly Tour-level option with a softer feel. The Chrome Soft will launch the highest and have the softest feel of the three golf balls.

Who it’s for: The Chrome Soft is for lower speed players who need a higher launch and lower spin for max distance.

My take: More speed with more consistency

The biggest takeaways from my testing with the new Chrome Tour golf balls were both the speed and consistency through the wind with the new golf ball.

As someone who doesn’t need any more spin, I fit into the Chrome Tour golf ball and was pleasantly surprised with how easily the ball got to my target, even when we were hitting hybrids from 230 yards away from the green.

Where I thought the golf ball really stood out, however, was in the wind. We were hitting shots into roughly 10 mph cross breeze from the left, yet I was still consistently able to draw my ball back into the wind to go for the left pin.

That’s usually something that can be challenging for me, but even balls I blocked slightly felt like they would still draw back for me. Now that isn’t because the ball is spinning less, but more so owing to the new aerodynamics package and updated Seamless Tour Aero, Loeper told me.

I got the long game performance I wanted while still checking all the boxes I liked to see around the green, including how I could make the ball skip, check and release. Not to mention a softer feel I prefer.

If I were going for pure speed, however, Chrome Tour X was about 1-2 mph faster with the driver for me, but a better spin and launch window for Chrome Tour actually went farther for me, proving the value of a good fitting.

Whatever you’re fit for, the new Chrome Tour family is going to be an improvement over the previous generation.

Price, Specs and Availability

The new Callaway Chrome Tour family of golf balls is available for pre-orders starting Jan. 6 and will arrive at retail locations on Jan. 30.

A dozen golf balls will cost $57.99.

Chrome Tour golf balls come in both white and yellow with the options of both the Triple Track and TruTrack alignment aids. Chrome Tour X has the same options, but only in white. Chrome Soft golf balls are available with all of the options of Chrome Tour, plus a 360 Triple Track option.

Want to find the best golf balls for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Callaway’s 2026 Chrome Tour golf balls debut industry-first speed material appeared first on Golf.

The post The 6 winningest golf balls on the PGA Tour in 2025 appeared first on Golf.

The post The 6 winningest golf balls on the PGA Tour in 2025 appeared first on Golf.

This should come as a surprise to no one, but the winningest golf ball brand on the PGA Tour was once again the “No. 1 ball in golf.”

Titleist golf balls took the cake again this year by winning a whopping 26 of the 46 PGA Tour events played last season, which is more than triple the next closest competitor, which had eight victories.

Why is that unsurprising? Because Titleist has long been the most dominant player in the golf ball space on the PGA Tour and this past season, 73 percent of all golf balls played on the PGA Tour were Titleist, according to Darrell Survey, compared to nine percent for their closest competitor.

Balls

What’s interesting about Titleist’s winning ball count is that many of the victories come with previous model golf balls, which the company gladly continues to produce for specific Tour players. Golf ball tech certainly has improved year to year, but pros aren’t always looking to max out spin or speed. They usually like to keep whatever they are most comfortable with over their careers

For example, Scottie Scheffler’s six wins this season came with the 2021 model Titleist Pro V1. Viktor Hovland also won with the same ball at the Valspar. Altogether, the Pro V1 won 14 times, with the ’21 model accounting for half of that total. The current generation 2025 Pro V1 had four wins while the even older 2017 Pro V1 had three wins, being used by Harris English, Brian Harman and Adam Schenk.

The Pro V1’s spinnier sibling, the Pro V1x, accounted for the other 12 wins, with half of those coming from either the 2025 or 2023 models. Interestingly, two of those victories came with CPO prototypes in the 2023 Pro V1x+ for Aldrich Potgieter and the 2025 Pro V1x Double Dot for Cam Young.

Either way, it was another dominant year for Titleist golf balls on the PGA Tour. Keep reading below to see the winningest golf balls on the PGA Tour in 2025.

No. 1 Titleist Pro V1 (14 wins, 9 different players)

Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls

The Greatest Combination of Speed, Spin and Feel Pro V1 golf balls are the optimal premium performance choice for most players and the most played model in golf. Why Play Pro V1? Pro V1 is recommended to players who are looking for mid-trajectory flight, very low long game spin and maximum short game spin, with softer feel. Comparison to Pro V1x Due to its unique dimple pattern, Pro V1 has a lower flight than Pro V1x. A softer gradient core produces a softer feel and slightly less spin than Pro V1x.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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The Pro V1 is the softer, lower-spinning and lower-flying of the two retail Titleist Pro V1 golf balls. Scottie Scheffler’s six wins with the 2021 model make up the bulk of the victories here. Other winners this year include Harris English, Joe Highsmith, Viktor Hovland, Brian Harman, Garrick Higgo, Ryan Gerard, Michael Brennan and Adam Schenk. Young up-and-comers Highsmith, Higgo, Gerard and Brennan won with the latest ’25 V1.

No. 2 Titleist Pro V1x (12 wins, 12 players)

Titleist Pro V1x Golf Balls

Total Performance With Higher Flight And More Spin Pro V1x golf balls are the optimal premium performance choice for players looking for maximum distance, higher flight and more stopping power. Why Play Pro V1x? Pro V1x is recommended to players who are looking for high-trajectory flight, low long game spin with maximum short game spin, and firmer feel. Comparison to Pro V1 Due to its unique dimple pattern, Pro V1x has a higher flight than Pro V1. A high-gradient dual core produces slightly more iron and wedge spin than Pro V1.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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The Pro V1x was the winningest golf ball last season when considering individual players who won with the model. Ten of the 12 winners used retail versions of the ball, but Cam Young and Aldrich Potgieter used more elusive CPO versions of the Pro V1x. Potgieter won in his first week since switching to the even higher-spinning 2023 Pro V1x+. Likewise, Young won in his first start with the Pro V1x Double Dot, which we don’t have a ton of information on yet, but we believe to be a lower-flying Pro V1x variant. Ludvig Aberg, Justin Rose and Sami Valimaki won with the 2025 model.

No. 3 Srixon Z-Star XV (5 wins, 3 players)

Srixon Z-STAR XV Golf Balls

Z-STAR SeriesWhether you’re chasing major championships or your next personal best, the all-new Z-STAR series is the choice for serious players everywhere. Featuring reformulated cores and covers across the line, this generation of Z-STAR golf balls delivers greater distance, optimized spin, and tour-level stopping power around the green. It’s a formula designed to give you one thing: pure performance when it matters most. Z-STAR XV provides maximum ball speed for unmatched Driver and Iron distance. Its premium 3-piece construction gives skilled players complete tour performance, tee to green.

$49.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Hideki Matsuyama, Sepp Straka and Ryan Fox all use the latest version of the Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball.

T4. Maxfli Tour X (3 wins, 1 player)

Maxfli Tour X Golf Balls

Best for golfers seeking more spin and speed with a higher launch, from every club in their bag.

$39.99 from Golf Galaxy

While Titleist beat everyone in the win count, perhaps no golf ball brand had a more important year for its brand than Maxfli. Ben Griffin used the new 2025 Maxfli Tour X golf ball to win three times on the PGA Tour this season, the first three wins for the brand since 2002.

T4. TaylorMade TP5 (3 wins, 1 player)

TaylorMade TP5 Golf Balls

The all-new 2024 TaylorMade TP5 Golf Balls are the softest 5-layer Tour ball, delivering a notably softer feel and enhanced spin around the green with lower driver spin than previous generations. TOUR SPIN WITH NEW SPEED WRAPPED CORE The TP5, the softest 5-layer Tour ball, delivers a notably softer feel and enhanced spin around the green with lower driver spin than previous generations. It is engineered with a new Speed Wrapped Core that delivers a softer sound while promoting a faster, more responsive overall design. For golfers who prioritize touch and feel in their short game, the TP5 provides precision greenside performance. TP5 YELLOW WITH ENHANCED VISIBILITY & DURABILITY While many high-visibility golf balls rely solely on a painted finish, we doubled down for added durability. An enriched yellow urethane cover means that your golf ball stays brighter for longer with no chipped paint and better color retention.

$54.99 $44.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Rory McIlroy’s switch to the higher-spinning, lower-launching 2024 TP5 golf ball from his previous TP5x golf ball was the catalyst to the hot start to his season that ultimately ended with his career grand slam-clinching Masters win. McIlroy found the added control from the softer golf ball allowed him to add more 3/4 swings to his game, which helped his awesome ball-striking at the beginning of the year.

T4. Srixon Z-Star Diamond (3 wins, 3 players)

Srixon Z-STAR DIAMOND Golf Balls

Z-STAR SeriesWhether you’re chasing major championships or your next personal best, the all-new Z-STAR series is the choice for serious players everywhere. Featuring reformulated cores and covers across the line, this generation of Z-STAR golf balls delivers greater distance, optimized spin, and tour-level stopping power around the green. It’s a formula designed to give you one thing: pure performance when it matters most. With a blend of greenside control and long-game distance, the new Z-STAR ♦ DIAMOND also delivers the unique benefit of increased spin on long and mid Iron shots.

$49.99 from Fairway Jockey

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J.J. Spaun, Keegan Bradley and Andrew Novak each used the latest 2025 Srixon Z-Star Diamond for their 2025 wins.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post The 6 winningest golf balls on the PGA Tour in 2025 appeared first on Golf.

The post Sami Valimaki switched to this popular golf ball before his first win appeared first on Golf.

The post Sami Valimaki switched to this popular golf ball before his first win appeared first on Golf.

Sami Valimaki has undergone a season of change when it comes to his equipment, and all that tinkering culminated in his first PGA Tour win at the RSM Classic on Sunday.

After becoming a gear free agent earlier this year, Valimaki, in one of his first moves, switched to a Titleist golf ball.

At the Texas Children’s Houston Open in March, he settled on the new 2025 Titleist Pro V1x, and he’s seen a huge transformation in his game ever since.

Last season on Tour, Valimaki barely held onto his status with a 123rd-place finish in the FedEx Cup Fall. His shaky form was largely due to approach play, where he lost .036 strokes to the field and was 112th in the category.

This year, Valimaki has been one of the best approach players on Tour, gaining more than half a stroke on his peers and ranking 18th. He was also 39th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Total, which, after his win last week, boosted him to 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings, earning him a place in the year’s first two Signature Events.

The 2025 Pro V1x Valimaki used this week is the 25th anniversary edition of the ball that’s become overwhelmingly the most popular in the professional game. The ball uses a new formula for the core that created a faster high-gradient core, something Titleist engineers first used in the popular Pro V1x Left Dash and Pro V1 Left Dot Custom Performance Option golf balls.

Titleist Pro V1x Golf Balls

Total Performance With Higher Flight And More Spin Pro V1x golf balls are the optimal premium performance choice for players looking for maximum distance, higher flight and more stopping power. Why Play Pro V1x? Pro V1x is recommended to players who are looking for high-trajectory flight, low long game spin with maximum short game spin, and firmer feel. Comparison to Pro V1 Due to its unique dimple pattern, Pro V1x has a higher flight than Pro V1. A high-gradient dual core produces slightly more iron and wedge spin than Pro V1.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Titleist Pro V1x Aim Enhanced Golf Balls

Along with all the same performance benefits as 2025 Pro V1x, Pro V1x AIM Enhanced golf balls feature a premium, extended alignment sidestamp for more precise aim and accuracy. The elongated sidestamp provides a built-in visual aid measuring over 65% longer than the Titleist standard sidestamp. Why Play Pro V1x? Pro V1x is recommended to players who are looking for high-trajectory flight, low long game spin with maximum short game spin, and firmer feel. Comparison to Pro V1 Due to its unique dimple pattern, Pro V1x has a higher flight than Pro V1. A high-gradient dual core produces slightly more iron and wedge spin than Pro V1.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Titleist Pro V1x Aim Performance Golf Balls

Along with all the same performance benefits as 2025 Pro V1x, Pro V1x AIM Performance golf balls feature a premium tour-inspired, 105-degree precision alignment marking for improved aim and accuracy, offering a visual aid measuring over 65% longer than the Titleist standard sidestamp.  Why Play Pro V1x? Pro V1x is recommended to players who are looking for high-trajectory flight, low long game spin with maximum short game spin, and firmer feel. Comparison to Pro V1 Due to its unique dimple pattern, Pro V1x has a higher flight than Pro V1. A high-gradient dual core produces slightly more iron and wedge spin than Pro V1.

$57.99 from Fairway Jockey

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The Pro V1x should be slightly faster, launch higher, spin more and feel firmer than its Pro V1 sibling. After factoring in feel, the choice of which ball to play can come down to whether you’re looking for more peak height and spin with your irons or trying to bring those down.

The Pro V1x also comes in a number of alignment options, including the Enchance Alignment or Performance Alignment markings.

Want to find the best stuff for your bag in 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Sami Valimaki switched to this popular golf ball before his first win appeared first on Golf.

The post Why your preferred golf ball should be part of every club fitting appeared first on Golf.

The post Why your preferred golf ball should be part of every club fitting appeared first on Golf.

During the 2025 Ryder Cup, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley made an interesting observation about how the golf ball influences pairing strategy for the team event. Golfers know how their ball feels, performs in different conditions, and even how it looks standing over a putt.

As Bradley noted to Golf Channel early in the week, the ball is the one piece of equipment a player uses on every single shot. You can’t say that about anything else in the bag.

At True Spec Golf, when customers step into our fitting bays, we focus on clubheads, shafts and grips. But a truly great fitting should also include a conversation about which golf ball characteristics will help maximize a player’s potential. I see examples of this all the time in my role as a Master Fitter.

Most of my iron, hybrid and fairway wood fittings center around achieving higher peak heights and steeper land angles. One of the first questions I ask is, “Are you specific about the golf ball you play?”

I’m often surprised by how many avid golfers either don’t commit to a particular ball or have never really thought about it. And even those who are loyal to one ball often made that choice based on driver performance (more on that later).

A good rule of thumb in fitting is that your peak height should roughly match or slightly exceed your clubhead speed with a given club. As a fitter, I can adjust loft, offset, center of gravity, shaft profile and length to help achieve that. But often, we reach a limit with the clubs themselves. That’s where the golf ball can make the difference. A higher-launching, higher-spinning ball can help a player get those extra few yards of height. On the flip side, a lower-launch, lower-spin ball can help bring flight and spin down for those who need it.

You might be wondering: “If I switch to a higher-launch ball, am I giving up distance off the tee?”

That’s where the fitting process comes full circle. With today’s adjustable driver technology — from movable weights to hosel settings — we can fine-tune your driver setup to match your ball.

If we’ve optimized your irons, hybrids and fairways for the right height and spin, we can then dial in your driver to recover any distance lost by adjusting loft, moving weight forward, or changing to a lower-spinning head. The same logic applies in reverse for those seeking more launch and spin throughout the bag.

True Spec Golf Club Fitting

With 70,000+ clubhead and shaft combos, True Spec Golf will custom fit and build you a precise set of clubs.

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Bottom Line

Bradley is absolutely right — the golf ball is the only piece of gear you use on every shot. Instead of choosing it based solely on driver performance, start with how it performs in your approach play and shots from the ground. Professional fitters like us at True Spec Golf can always optimize your driver around that choice.

The golf ball isn’t an afterthought — it’s a key ingredient in unlocking your full potential. Treat it like the essential fitting component it is. Come into your local True Spec Golf today and see if a golf ball change is the missing piece to your game.

Want to find the best golf ball for your game in 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Why your preferred golf ball should be part of every club fitting appeared first on Golf.

The post Which Ryder Cup team is better suited to switch golf balls? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The post Which Ryder Cup team is better suited to switch golf balls? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

After the Europeans dominated the Americans in the opening foursomes session of the 45th Ryder Cup, it’s easy to wonder what went wrong for Team USA.

While it’s certainly not as big a deal as it used to be with the elimination of the “one ball” rule two decades ago, a possible explanation could be golf ball choice and pairings.

While teams in foursomes commonly switch balls every hole, using the player’s ball who will hit the approach, there are still teams who play one ball throughout a match. On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Johnny Wunder explained why that might be easier for the Europeans.

“For the Europe team, I don’t think it matters all that much. Now, the United States, it could get interesting because of the fact that some of these guys play [specific golf balls].”

Balls

What Wunder was referring to is that many U.S. players either play a CPO (Custom Performance Option) golf ball or an older model ball with specific characteristics. In comparison, most of the European players play recent model golf balls.

For example, Xander Schauffele plays Callaway’s Chrome Tour Dot golf ball, which is a custom version of the Callaway Chrome Tour golf ball.

“Not everybody on this squad could theoretically want to play Xander’s ball because specifically how it flies from 5-iron to wedge,” Wunder said. “He plays the dot. So it’s kind of a flatter ball.”

Cameron Young also plays Titleist’s new Pro V1x Double Dot prototype, which might be most similar to the Chrome Tour Dot, but they are still different golf balls.

Including Young, seven players use a Titleist golf ball, but none of them play the same model. In fact, no player on Team USA plays the same golf ball model.

Patrick Cantlay – ’19 Pro V1x
Bryson DeChambeau – ’25 Pro V1x
Harris English – ’17 Pro V1
Russell Henley – ’21 Pro V1x
Scottie Scheffler – ’21 Pro V1
Justin Thomas – ’23 Pro V1x
Cameron Young – ’25 Pro V1x Double Dot

Sam Burns also uses a customized version of his golf ball, the Callaway Chrome Tour+, which is a spinny version of the retail ball.

While that might not seem like a huge issue, the nuance differences between the golf balls can have effects when it comes to approach shots, given the different launch and spin characteristics.

Gear

Here are the other golf balls being used by Team USA.

Sam Burns – Chrome Tour X+
Ben Griffin – ’25 Maxfli Tour X
Xander Schuaffele – Callaway Chrome Tour X
Collin Morikawa – ’24 TaylorMade TP5
J.J. Spaun – ’25 Srixon Z-Star Diamond

By comparison, Team Europe has a lot more players playing the same or similar golf balls.

For example, Ludvig Aberg and Justin Rose both play the 2025 Titleist Pro V1x, Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry both play the 2025 Srixon Z-Star XV and Jon Rahm and Rasmus Hojgaard play the 2024 Callaway Chrome Tour X.

Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy play the latest versions of the TaylorMade TP5x and TP5, respectively, but McIlroy played the TP5x last season and that’s the ball they have been using for foursomes.

For more from Wunder and fellow Fully Equipped co-host Jake Morrow, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Which Ryder Cup team is better suited to switch golf balls? | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The post This cult-favorite Titleist Pro V1 is coming back to market (act fast!) appeared first on Golf.

The post This cult-favorite Titleist Pro V1 is coming back to market (act fast!) appeared first on Golf.

One of Titleist’s cult-favorite golf balls is coming back to the retail market, albeit in limited fashion.

The company is releasing the elusive Pro V1 Left Dot, one of its Custom Performance Option (CPO) balls, in a limited run starting later this month.

This will be the second time Titleist has put out a limited release of the Pro V1 Left Dot, after a small batch four years ago sold out almost immediately and quickly started showing up on the secondary market at incredible markups.

A check of eBay on Tuesday morning showed prices for one singular Pro V1 Left Dot golf ball as high as $46 (even used!) and asking prices for a dozen ranging from $200 to $370.

Why such demand for this special Pro V1? Hard to say, but the ball does offer a unique set of characteristics.

The model first showed up in 2013 with professional golfers seeking the same soft feel as the Pro V1, but wanting even lower launch and spin. With Titleist’s CPO program, it is able to create prototype versions of their balls to test what characteristics different players might benefit from that can be later used in the retail versions of Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Titleist says 3 percent of its Tour-level fittings result in a Pro V1 Left Dot recommendation.

The ball offers a unique set of attributes with a lower flight and spin than Pro V1 while retaining the same soft feel and short-game control.

Balls

Perhaps the best-known CPO is the Pro V1x Left Dash, which is now available as part of Titleist’s regular retail lineup — with a second-generation version now being played on Tour.

Pro V1 Left Dot directly contributed to eventual retail releases through the use of a high gradient core construction, which helped players “steepen the spin slope,” or, in other words, generate less spin in the long game and more around the greens. High gradient core constructions were first used in the 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x releases and again in this past year’s models.

But the original Pro V1 Left Dot remains a staple on the PGA Tour with Titleist saying it makes up 6 percent of its usage. It has been in play for 30 PGA Tour wins, including at the 2018 Masters, won by Patrick Reed. Tony Finau is perhaps the most notable Left Dot user and has won five times with the ball since 2021.

“I’ve always put a lot of spin on the golf ball,” Finau said. “Right away, [Pro V1 Left Dot] caught my eye because of the ball flight. I think if you can control your ball flight, you can control the distance. And it’s been such a reliable ball flight for me from the first time that I hit it… I can count on the golf ball in crosswinds, into the wind, downwind. I know how far the golf ball is going to go.” 

Price and Availability

If you’re lucky enough to score some of the limited batch of Pro V1 Left Dots on release day, you won’t have to pay the markup.

The Pro V1 Left Dot will be available at Titleist.com and select online retailers in the U.S. and Canada starting on Sept. 23.

A dozen golf balls will cost $55 (the same as the retail Pro V1 and Pro V1x) and customers will be limited to two dozen golf balls each.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post This cult-favorite Titleist Pro V1 is coming back to market (act fast!) appeared first on Golf.

The post How your golf ball choice is a huge part of fitting | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The post How your golf ball choice is a huge part of fitting | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

What golf ball did you use in your last fitting? It better be the golf ball you’re playing most often.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, Bryan LaRoche, owner of Fleming Island, FL’s BryanGolf, explains where golf ball comes into his fitting process.

While he stated that players don’t normally show up to his shop looking to get fit into a new golf ball, LaRoche starts with the ball they are currently using and makes changes when he needs to.

For example, if he sees that a player needs more spin across the board, he may suggest playing a different golf ball.

Gear

“That X ball from Callaway [Chrome Tour X], if somebody needs two or three hundred RPMs of extra spin throughout the bag, I’m just putting it in their bag immediately and saying, ‘This is the ball you need to buy, whether you do it or not. Like, that’s on you. But I’m telling you, this is perfect,’” LaRoche said.

That’s why it’s crucial to start with the ball you’ve been playing and planned on playing, because what ball you should play can depend on what your clubs are set up to do. Fully Equipped co-host Jake Morrow made this point later on in the discussion.

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“I think everybody has a golf ball that works best for them, but I also think it’s based on the equipment that you’re playing,” Morrow said. “So you kind of have to make the decision of like, for example, the best thing to do if you’re going into Bryan’s bay is to bring in a sleeve of the ball that you use and then test with Bryan with your golf ball.

“And then if Bryan sees something wrong, he can’t get a number that he wants out of the fitting because of that golf ball, then he can make the opportunity to change.”

But there’s also a flipside to that when someone is committed to a certain golf ball based on feel, greenside performance or other factors.

“If you walk in there and somebody’s like, ‘Hey, I live and die by this golf ball,'” he added. “Well, that’s good to know. That’s amazing for your fitter to know so that you can build around the ball.”

For more from LaRoche and Fully Equipped co-hosts Johnny Wunder and Jake Morrow, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post How your golf ball choice is a huge part of fitting | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.