Your Golf Ball Questions Answered

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By Rick V., Team Titleist Staff

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  1. Team Titleist Staff

    Hello, Team Titleist!

    It's June and Titleist fitting events are in full swing. This week I attended a Titleist golf ball fitting event and there were a number of questions that different golfers raised again and again. It occurred to me that many of you may also have similar uncertainties when it comes to your golf ball. So, with a big assist from Mike Rich, Titleist Director of Golf Ball Fitting & Education, we thought it would be helpful to provide answers to some of the more common questions that golfers ask our golf ball fitting and education experts.

    Click on the FAQ links below to get the real facts about golf ball performance. And If you'd like to know which model is right for you game, visit our Golf Ball Fitting & Education Resources, where you can schedule a live, one-on-one virtual golf ball consultation with a member of the Titleist Golf Ball Fitting team and access the Titleist Golf Ball Selection Tool.

     At Titleist, why do you talk about golf balls in terms flight, spin and feel?

    Why shouldn't I choose a golf ball based on distance?

    Why doesn't Titleist use a player's swing speed to make golf ball recommendations?

    Why doesn't Titleist make golf balls based on a player's gender?

    Don't highly skilled players need a higher performing golf ball than less skilled golfers?

    What does Titleist mean by "Performance".  Is it simply the scores that golfers shoot?

    How much difference can a golf ball really make in someone's game?

    What advantages will I experience by playing a Titleist golf ball vs. other competitor products I see out in the market?

    If price is an important consideration for me, can I still find a high-performing Titleist golf ball within my budget?

    •••

    At Titleist, why do you talk about golf balls in terms flight, spin and feel?

    Selecting the correct golf ball begins with understanding golf ball performance. Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX are the best performing, highest quality golf balls in the game. While Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX are each designed to give golfers the best opportunity to shoot lower scores, they are differentiated based on flight, spin and feel.

    Pro V1 provides optimal flight and spin for most golfers with very soft feel.

    Compared to Pro V1, Pro V1x flies higher, spins more, and feels firmer.

    Pro V1x Left Dash will have a similar flight to Pro V1x with significantly lower full swing spin than Pro V1x and a firmer feel.

    Compared to Pro V1, AVX flies lower, spins less, and feels softer.

    Every golfer's game is different and selecting the model that meets their unique flight, spin, and feel needs is key to helping them play their best.

    •••

    Why shouldn't I choose a ball based on distance?

    All Titleist golf balls are designed and manufactured to be exceptionally long and provide golfers with distance. Simply put, there is no significant distance advantage to be gained when selecting one Titleist model over another. When we fit a golfer into a golf ball, we start at the green and work back to the tee, as optimizing a golfer’s performance on the scoring shots (approach shots and short game shots) is the key to playing better and shooting lower scores.

    •••

    Why doesn't Titleist use a player's swing speed to make golf ball recommendations?

    Many golfers are mistakenly led to believe they should be fit for a golf ball based solely on their driver swing speed. This is a flawed approach. Golfers need a golf ball fit to their game that delivers total performance on ALL shots. Every golfer uses many different swing speeds to execute the array of shots played during a round. Titleist golf balls provide outstanding performance at every swing speed and on every type of shot.

    •••

    Why doesn't Titleist make golf balls based on a player's gender?

    The golf ball doesn’t know who is hitting it. It doesn’t know the golfer’s age, skill level, or gender. The majority of golf balls labeled “Women’s” or “Lady” are two-piece, ionomer covered golf balls that are low spinning on all shots and do not deliver the high performance for any golfer. Women golfers, just like every male golfer, can benefit from playing high-performance golf balls like Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash or AVX.

    •••

    Don't highly skilled players need a higher performing golf ball than less skilled golfers?

    Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX are not golf balls designed just for highly skilled players. In fact, a less skilled golfer can benefit even more than a highly skilled golfer when using a Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash or AVX. Why? A lesser skilled player is going to have far more “scoring shot” opportunities throughout their round, and playing a high-performance golf ball is essential to executing these shots.

    Additionally, while Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX provide the very best performance for any golfer when they hit a shot well, what is often overlooked is the impact that the advanced technology that goes into designing and manufacturing these golf balls has in terms of delivering performance to golfers when they may not hit a shot just as they envisioned.

    •••

    What does Titleist mean by "Performance". Is it simply the scores that golfers shoot?

    For a golfer to play their best and shoot their lowest scores, the golf ball must perform on every shot that the golfer needs to execute during a round. A golfer’s score is certainly one indicator of how well the golf ball is performing for a player. But, being fit for the right golf ball is critically important for every player. Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX are total performance golf balls with unique flight, spin, and feel characteristics. During a golf ball fitting, we take a deep dive into a player’s game and ill analyze launch condition data points like launch angle, spin rate, peak height, and angle of descent on a variety of different shots. Also, whenever possible, we work with the player on the golf course, evaluating the performance of the golf ball from green-to-tee in real life playing conditions.  At the end of the day our goal is simple: fit every golfer into a golf ball that will provide the optimal flight, spin, and feel combination to help them perform their best and shoot their lowest scores.

    •••

    How much difference can a golf ball really make in someone's game?

    The golf ball is the only piece of equipment a golfer will use on every shot of every round. So, if being the best player you can be matters to you, then the golf ball you play matters a great deal. When we help a golfer select the best ball for their game, and they commit to playing that golf ball consistently, not only will they experience better performance, but they will also build confidence and consistency into their game which will ultimately lead to them shooting lower scores.

    •••

    What advantages will I experience by playing a Titleist golf ball vs. other competitor products I see out in the market?

    There are a couple of key advantages to choosing to play a Titleist golf ball. The first is performance. Titleist has the best performing golf balls in the game, and with Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX we have unique flight, spin, and feel characteristics to meet the needs of every golfer.

    The other key advantage is quality and consistency. At Titleist, we control every step of our design and manufacturing process, which allows golfers to trust that the performance of our golf balls from ball to ball, sleeve to sleeve, and dozen to dozen will be exactly the same, delivering the performance that every golfer that trusts Titleist relies on to play their best.

    •••

    If price is an important consideration for me, can I still find a high-performing Titleist golf ball within my budget?

    While Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX provide total performance to golfers of every skill level, individual preferences can also influence the golf ball selection process for some golfers. Feel, color, price, appearance (play number or markings), and durability are all examples of player preferences. If preferences factor into a golfer’s selection process, Tour Speed, Tour Soft, Velocity, and TruFeel are Titleist golf balls designed to meet the complete range of player preferences, with an offering that delivers performance and quality at a multitude of price points. With Tour Speed, Tour Soft, Velocity, and TruFeel golfers can select a golf ball that meets their various preferences and trust that each of these models is the best performing and highest quality ball in each segment of the market.

    •••

    Do you have additional questions about golf ball performance? Please share them by replying to this post and we'll get you the right answers – straight from the Titleist Golf Ball Fitting and Education experts. 

    #Team Titleist

  2. When playing at a high altitude ( 5200 feet above sea level) should I change from a Pro V1 to a Pro V1x to maintain the proper trajectory? While altitude does not apparently affect spin, it appears to flatten a ball's overall trajectory. Can a simple golf ball swap help regain some of the lost trajectory?
  3. With the ever growing cost of Golf, Do you ever anticipate offering Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX at a more reasonable price?
  4. Dan S

    Dan S
    Westchester, IL

    Great topics Rick V, this will answer a lot of new TT members "which ball should I get questions", and point them in the right direction.
  5. Will left dash ever come in additional colors? Love the ball but I need that additional visibility
  6. Eric H

    Eric H
    Ridgway, PA

    Lots of great stuff here, thanks for putting this together!
  7. TDial

    TDial
    Weldon Spring, MO

    Additionally, you can find the ProV1 and ProV1x sold as a dozen in the "Practice" box, if price is a factor for you. These are sold around $29.99 and are new (not used nor refinished) balls directly from Titleist Ball Plant III, which did not pass final inspection due to minor exterior cosmetic defects. This is a stamp not being perfect, tiny bit of the cover not molded perfectly, etc. These will perform exactly as the $55 version, Titleist just holds themselves to an extremely high standard for those balls, so they offer a discount to us for the imperfections.

    Titleist, I would LOVE if the "Practice" lineup kept the ProV1 separate from the ProV1x (package and label each) but more so if AVX and AVX Yellow would be included in a "Practice" lineup! I do not mind the minor imperfection's but LOVE the $30 price point for my current game level. So for now, I use the ProV1/ProV1x (whichever is in the box) knowing the AVX fits me better, but I can't pass up the $25 savings.
  8. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    My guess is the Pro-V white balls are made in such larger numbers than the AVX that there is enough stock to furnish that niche. Correlates to having the custom numbers 1-99 and the AVX and yellow Pro-V’s only in numbers 1-4.
  9. ABickers

    ABickers
    Colorado

    I have been practicing a lot at a local indoor range that uses the Pro V1X RCT balls. If I am collecting all of my data using that model would it be wise for me to play rounds with the Pro V1X as well?
  10. Andrew I

    Andrew I
    White Plains, NY

    I am concerned about the future with golf balls. Apparently a different ball is going to be used in some tournaments to cut driving distance.

    To me this is a major mistakes on several levels.

    If someone is earning their living on the tour, then they have to perform on all skills at that level of play. We all know hitting shots is all about feel and control of distance. If the pros play different balls from the rest of us then some times they will play the regular ball and sometime the short ball, how do they maintain their feel and touch. Their performance is certainly going to be harder to maintain and I think that hurts the sport.

    Those of us who play the game for recreation want to be able to compare our performance to what a pro did on the same course. That will not be possible if the balls are different. Also I have some friends who really hit the ball long, how will they compare their length to the pros if the balls are different?

    If a pro hits a golf ball further than another pro, then that is just part of the game. Is it being suggested if a pro is missing a lot of putts he will be given a bigger hole to aim at?

    I have always thought the pros are an integral part of testing balls before they are released to the public. Pros put stresses on balls that the rest of us do not. But if the pros play a different ball, how will testing be done in the future? Separating the normal golfers ball from the pros will make the technical improvements in balls more difficult. I know that apparently technical improvements are not wanted in the ball because luck should be more of a factor in golf!

    I am a senior player and the improvements in golf equipment over the years has certainly increased my enjoyment of the game. If I used my original equipment today my distances on shots would be a lot less.

    When I purchase equipment, the stuff i use is designed for my game and is not the same as the pros use. I use my equipment on a steady basis so that I know how to best use them. Do I use the same ball as the pros, no. But my ball is certainly the result of the work done to meet the demands of the pros. Because I am using the same ball all the time my game includes knowing how the ball functions. I am already playing forward tees, is the concept in the future going to be that we all use the short ball?

    Now the pros will need to learn to use two balls....but what about the amateurs who qualify to play in an Open or Masters, how will they have a chance if they are forced to use the short hitting ball that they are not familiar with? It certainly will make the game less exciting.

    Some of my firends hit the ball a long way. They score well when they are not in the woods, but that is not so often. If a pro can hit the ball 400 yards and actually control it, wow, and that is an unbelivable skill.

    I would think any course can be made more difficult so that the penalties for really long drives will out weigh the advantages. If on shorter courses, for pro events, they brought in temporary penalty areas, that would solve that situation better. So if one brought in bunkers on wheels and planted them in places to prevent long drives from being very successful that would certainly solve the ball complaint issue. For example many course do not have significant rough next to the fairways so the pros do not care if they are in it. Put some portable pot bunkers in the rough and narrow the approach and maybe the driver will just stay in the bag!. Courses do not need to be longer, they just need to be adapted to really penalize professional shots that are off target.

    I noticed the pros were really concerned about the in course out of bounds that was set up in the British Open. Maybe shorter courses should add those for holes that are heavily impacted by distance shots.

    One last thing. If a course the pros are playing on are short and the winning score is 30 below par, it is the winning score and it is not worth less because it is so low. The concept of par is also something that should be looked at. Perhaps for the pros any hole under 350 yards is a par 3? Actually who cares? Par is a concept that is not relevant when the lowest score wins. If the winning score is over or below par is not how the winner is determined. Par for us amatuers is something we use to meansure our performance. I doubt the pros look at it that way. A par 5 hole that a pro does not get a 4 or better on is probably going to upset the pro.














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