tour b x vs tp5x

Bridgestone Tour B RX Vs. Taylormade TP5X Golf Balls Comparison Overview

When comparing tour-grade golf balls, it pays to have all the facts. You don’t want to be left with buyers remorse after you’ve bought a $45 dozen of golf balls only to find that they do nothing to improve your game.

Just like with all the rest of your golf gear, you have to carefully take into account the needs and nuances of your game. Are you still working on distance? Are you ready to start sinking more eagles? Ask yourself these questions and then check out the following tour-grade ball comparison overview.

Bridgestone Tour BR X Golf Balls Overview

After our testing, we came to the conclusion that the Bridgestone Tour B RX balls would be great for any player who has just broken out of the mid handicap range.

The Bridgestone Tour B RX balls performed really well on the deck. On long approaches you get the distance you need; but more importantly, these balls spin like a dream even if your 120 yards out. The 3-piece construction really adds responsiveness when you use them with your long irons.

And these balls feel pretty soft for tour-grade balls. Off the driver face, they give you a bit of yield; but not too much. At a compression rating of 66, they keenly straddle the line between soft and unresponsive.

And you don’t need an absurd swing speed to get good distance with these balls. One of our testers with a 92 MPH swing speed was able to sail this ball 278 yards off the tee.

Taylormade TP5X Golf Balls Overview

Our testing with the Taylormade TP5X concluded that they are best for players who are already firmly seated in the low handicap territory.

Hands down, the Taylormade TP5X balls performed better within 120 yards from the pin than the Tour B RX balls. You get as much spin as you need on any kind of shot whether you are chipping one in or you need to butterfly a shot on a fast green.

Ball speed is a bit lacking off the tee so unlike the Tour B RX balls, you will need a fast swing speed to get good distance. These balls are firm on the club face and produce a mid launch trajectory.

If you’re looking to sink more eagles, the Taylormade TP5X balls are for you. If you need help with distance, go for the Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.

Bridgestone Tour B RX Quick Facts

Compression: 66

Cover material: urethane, how many pieces: 3, core material: gradient type, dimple type: 338 dimple within dimple pattern, spin level: low long-game spin, low short-game spin, best suited for: mid handicap players who are focusing more on distance from the tee, taylormade tp5x quick facts.

Compression: 90

How many pieces: 5-piece, core material: urethane, dimple type: 322, spin level: high, best suited for: low to mid handicappers, performance off the tee.

While our faster swing speed testers were getting better distance with the Srixon Z Stars, our slower swing speed testers were having a field day with the Bridgestone Tour B RX’s, yielding an average of 260 yards.

Performance from the Rough

The urethane cover of these balls makes it easier to grip them and swoop them out of the rough.

Performance from the Fairway

The Bridgestone Tour B RX balls keep a low spin rate pretty much across the board.

This was making it difficult for some of our better testers to work the ball the way they wanted to with their irons and hybrids.

The compression of these balls is significantly lower than the Titleist Pro V1X balls.

The core is also made of urethane which gives these balls a softer feel from the tee. This is good news for slower swing speed players but the faster swingers in our party were getting better distance with the Titleist Pro V1X balls.

The Taylormade TP5X balls yield excellent launch even from the rough.

The soft urethane cover makes it easy to scoop the ball up and work it as needed so that you land optimally on the fairway.

With the longer irons and hybrids we were getting a bit more spin than expected from a tour-grade ball – great for long par 5’s but not so great on shorter approaches.

Bridgestone Tour B RX Selling Points

• Low spin off the tee
• Low spin with long irons
• Urethane cover
• Great for mid handicappers
• Good rebound

Bridgestone Tour B RX Cons

• High bounce
• Not very workable
• Not great for lower handicap players
• More distance than tour-grade balls

Taylormade TP5X Selling Points

• More affordable
• Softer feel
• Excellent launch
• Urethane core

Taylormade TP5X Cons

• Not as long
• Sometimes uncontrollable launch
• HIgher fairway spin
• Lesser short-game feel

Who are the Bridgestone Tour B RX Balls for?

The player in need of help with distance off the tee.

If you are looking to start more holes off on the right foot and not so much focused on the finer aspects of your short game yet, we would recommend the Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.

How are they with Short Irons?

A bit difficult to work overall. Not as much responsiveness with wedges.

On the Green

You get good feel on the green thanks to the urethane cover. They feel good off the face though they play a bit slow.

Overall Rating: 94/100

Check out more reviews here:.

Who are the Taylormade TP5X Balls for?

If you want an overall softer feel with tour-grade performance, then the Taylormade TPX5 balls would be a better fit for you.

The Taylormade TPX5 balls have a compression that is more congenial to the rest of us mortals. If you are swinging around 92 MPH, then these balls will fit you better than the Titleist Pro V1X balls.

How are They With Short Irons?

If you can typically work the ball the way you want to with short irons, the Taylormade TPX5 balls should feel pretty good to you. They yield moderate side spin with the short irons and launch high so you can shape short approaches pretty much however you want.

The soft urethane gives you excellent control on fast, firm greens.

Overall Rating: 93/100

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• 2024 TaylorMade TP5 & TP5x Golf Ball Review

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50 Words or Less

The 2024 TaylorMade TP5 & TP5x golf balls are superb Tour-style golf balls.  Performance differences are fairly slim for players without elite speed or high spin.  TP5 is noticeably softer.

Introduction

The shelves are full of Tour-style golf balls, and each one claims to be unique.  The TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X can make that claim with more veracity as the only two 5-piece golf balls on the shelf.  TaylorMade claims that this allows them to make the most complete ball on Tour.  I tested the latest versions to see if it’s true.

Golf balls often feel the same on very short putts, but the TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X show their personalities even at very short distances.  The TP5 sits in that sweet spot between soft and responsive (TaylorMade hasn’t deviated much from the “damn near perfect” TP5 they made in 2018, review HERE ).  Switching to the TP5X , there’s a small but noticeable uptick in firmness .  On longer putts, the TP5X remains more firm and a sound difference appears.  The TP5X produces a “tock”; the TP5 stays a slightly quieter, lower pitched “thud.”

Moving to the wedges and irons, the TaylorMade TP5 remains one of my favorites.  The sound is deep and robust, and it’s soft in the hands.  The TP5X is similar, but it’s a bit louder and the feel is more crisp than soft.  Both of these feel excellent, in my opinion, it’s just a question of what you prefer: soft or responsive.

According to TaylorMade, both the 2024 TP5 and 2024 TP5X have more short game spin than their 2021 counterparts.  They rate the new TP5 to be higher spinning than the TP5X.

In my testing, both balls were above average in short game spin.  This held true from pitch shots through full wedges.  The TaylorMade TP5 does have a slight spin advantage over the TP5X , but, for me, it was only a few hundred RPM.  This is a measurable difference, but I don’t think it would be noticeable on the course.

Interestingly, I found the spin on the TP5X to be slightly more consistent than the TP5.  It’s always possible that this can be accounted for by strike quality or sample size, but I found it difficult to hit a shot with the TP5X that didn’t produce very strong spin.

The advantage passes from the TaylorMade TP5 to the TP5X as we move from the short game to the long game.  Per TaylorMade, the TP5X should have lower driver spin, driver trajectory, and iron spin compared to the TP5.  Additionally, both 2024 models are lower in spin than their 2021 versions .  TaylorMade also promotes the TP5X as being faster than the TP5.

My iron testing revealed a spin difference similar to what I saw with the wedges.  The TP5 produced spin that’s at what I consider average for a Tour-style golf ball.  With the TaylorMade TP5X, my spin was down a couple hundred RPM .  As always, I’ll note that I’m a low spin player.  High spin players may see a bigger difference between models.

Shifting to the driver, the difference in spin was again quite modest.  The TP5X was slightly lower spinning than the TP5, but the gap was under 200 RPM on average.  Similarly, I found slightly more ball speed in the TP5X, but the difference would be hard to notice on the course.  On average, but the TP5X was about 1 MPH faster for me .  Here I’ll note that I’m in that liminal space where my speed is above average but far from elite.  For Rory, I would suspect there’s a significant speed difference between the two models.  For we mortals, a launch monitor is required to find the difference.

TaylorMade TP5 & TP5X Graphic Options

The TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X are being offered with a range of graphics.  White is an option, of course, as is Hi-Vis Yellow.  The focus, however, is on TaylorMade’s pix graphics.  According to TM, these graphics improve visibility, meaning fewer lost balls.

The pix graphics are also a way for golfers to show their personality.  TM will be offering pix USA and pix Collegiate golf balls in 2024.  There will also be limited edition runs like pix Pickle and pix Poker.

Whether you opt for plain white or something visually bolder, the TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X are high performing golf balls that excel in every facet of the game.  For me, the TP5 is at the very top of my list for feel, but players who want something more crisp and responsive will gravitate to the TP5X.

Visit TaylorMade Golf HERE

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TaylorMade TP5, TP5x golf balls for 2024: What you need to know

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x tour-preferred multilayer urethane-cover balls use a new rubber formulation in the core to create more speed with a better sound and feel. The revised five-layer construction now creates a greater separation between the softness of the core and the firmness of the outer mantle. Designers say that difference is crucial to yielding a better combination of low driver spin with high wedge spin.

PRICE: $55 per dozen, in white and yellow. Also offered in an updated Pix visual graphic technology version for both TP5 and TP5x.

3 COOL THINGS

1. The feel of speed. There’s a reason you never hear long-drive guys talk about the feel of a golf ball. They’re only interested in golf ball designs that emphasize speed to the exclusion of all other aspects. That’s generally a problem when you’re designing a golf ball for real golfers because the more resilience (speed) you put into the rubber core of the golf ball, the more it feels like, well, a rock. That’s where the TP5 and TP5x are looking to do something different. The cores utilize a new formulation (in simple terms, it’s less dense but just as energetic) that the company is calling “Speed Wrap” and was developed with Dow Chemical. The result is the two designs can give the target players for each ball a new perception, what the company is calling “decoupling” speed and feel.

“We have a chemistry polymers group who's looking at new rubber compounds and mixing different compounds together, different ingredients, and sometimes you find something that comes out of it like, ‘Oh, wow, this is kind of interesting, something’s happening here,’” said Josh Dipert, TaylorMade’s director of golf ball research and development, who compared the Speed Wrap’s function to that of the Speed Foam in the company’s P•790 irons. Dipert said just as the fill in the hollow iron allowed the faster-flexing face to feel better, so too does the Speed Wrap layer on the new TP5 and TP5x golf balls.

“Typically the ‘5’ guy is always going to focus on feel first and the ‘X’ guy is always going to focus on speed first, but with this technology it gave us the opportunity to increase the speed for the ‘5’ guy and maintain the feel, while the ‘X’ guy is going to get better feel than we were able to get him in the past when we were just pushing for more speed.

“Ultimately, what we’re doing is getting closer and closer to a ball that, depending on what attribute you make a priority, doesn’t have to compromise.”

2. Separate ways. TaylorMade’s golf balls for the last 15 years have taken up a unique position with their five-layer construction. Those layers are designed to optimize performance throughout the bag, activating differently based on the degree of impact ranging from the extreme of a driver to that of a mid-iron to the way the cover reacts with the firmest outer mantle for short-game spin.

In the new TP5 and TP5x, those layers are distinctly different compared to past verssions and feature a new level of progressive firmnesses to create a larger gap, or separation, between the stiffness of the core and the stiffness of the outermost mantle layer. The greater that difference, the theory goes, the greater range can be created between lower spin off the driver and higher spin off the wedges.

“They go from a core compression of 5 to a firmness level in the 90s,” said Michael Fox, TaylorMade’s senior director of product creation for golf balls. “What happens when you have that large a speed gradient is these layers are now truly performing like completely different products.”

3. Dealer’s choice. While there are two primary offerings in the lineup, the TP5 and TP5x come in an array of visual offerings that is nearly limitless, including the company’s alignment format known as Pix, as well as yellow and personalized options through TaylorMade’s MySymbol program.

The TP5 is the softer of the two models, with the TP5x flying higher but with a flatter trajectory and spinning less on tee shots while offering the most ball speed off the driver and irons. The TP5 will offer less spin off the tee than in previous versions but remains the higher spinning around the green of the two models.

The Pix alignment graphic now features a diamond shape and a longer centerline to further facilitate aiming. TaylorMade’s groundbreaking customization options through MySymbol include a USA palette, 22 collegiate logos and 20 retail-exclusive designs.

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ROBOT TEST: Which Golf Ball Is Best For My Game? Our data reveals all about 28 leading models!

Published: 11 August 2023 Last updated: 15 March 2024

Whether you’re a hard-swinging low handicapper or a slow-swinging senior, this robot golf balls test will identify the best model for your game …

The Robot Golf Balls Test is brought to you in association with Ping

JUMP TO: Meet the robot | Meet the experts | How we did it | How do golf balls differ | Ball-by-ball analysis | The top performers | Data Analysis | What we learned

We all want to be playing the best golf balls for our game, whether an elite player, mid-handicapper, or just starting out, but how do you find out which is the right model with so much information out there? You turn to a robot.

Our first robot golf balls test was one of the most popular pieces of content we have ever produced – and we’ve been trying to do one again ever since.

The pandemic, plus the scarcity of golf robots (and most of those are owned by brands that make balls) has made it a huge challenge to pull off. But we’ve done it, thanks to Loughborough University , and Ping.

Loughborough has a world-renowned reputation for sports research. That’s the reason Ping established their state-of-the-art Performance Centre there, with the aim of advancing cutting-edge technology and innovation in the world of golf.

Ping have done masses of ball testing with their own robots at their Arizona HQ, and when they heard we were keen to set up our own test, they introduced us to Dr Jonathan Roberts, Senior Lecturer at Loughborough’s Sports Technology Institute.

Fast forward four months and it’s done; our second robot balls test is here and it is a super useful package of content for any golfer. So, whether you’re a hard-swinging low handicapper or a slow-swinging senior, this robot test will identify the best ball for your game.

Robot golf balls test: Meet the robot

We ran a robot golf ball test back in 2019, at PXG in Arizona, and it was one of the most popular equipment tests we’ve ever done, gaining millions of views across our website, YouTube and the magazine.

Since that success, we’ve been keen to do it again, but first Covid and then PXG’s own ball launch (we’ll only use a robot without any links to a ball manufacturer) meant we had to find another venue – and expensive golf robots don’t grow on trees!

There are just three in the UK; one at the R&A’s equipment test facility at Kingsbarns GC, and two at the Sports Technology Institute at Loughborough University, the leading sports science university in the world. Loughborough have a close relationship with Ping – it’s the home of the brand’s new Performance Research Centre, and Ping introduced us to the right people to ask: “Can we borrow your robot, please?”

Once they understood what we wanted to achieve, Loughborough said they could help. And thanks to their indoor test lab, we could create a controlled test environment without the interference of weather, which is a huge concern when hitting thousands of shots down a range over five days. It also meant we could easily retrieve any ball that presented abnormal flight behaviors and slice it open to see if there were any deficiencies in its construction.

No ordinary robot

Loughborough’s main research robot is the Miyamae Shot V (they also have an older ex-Dunlop Slazenger model that produces a repeatable, but much cruder swing). The Miyamae was made in Japan and cost $100,000 almost 20 years ago when the university bought it. Unlike the Golf Labs robot we used last time, which is pretty much standard in most major golf R&D labs, the Miyamae works on three axes so it can be set up to better replicate any swing.

Dr Jonathan Roberts, Senior Lecturer at the Sports Technology Institute, was keen to see whether a robot could better replicate golfers’ swings, rather than simply swinging a golf club consistently and repetitively like engineers usually need when comparing clubs. The Miyamae set-up, with some tinkering from his team, is a robot that has three independently controllable axes. It allows the tailoring of club delivery to match/mimic any golfer on the planet.

Robot V swings around a central hub, like the chest of a person, which allows cocking of the wrists and rotation around the shaft axis to replicate how your hands rotate and square the face coming into impact. All three axes can be controlled independently, and Dr Roberts is working with Ping to get the robot to replicate specific swings for a new analysis system.

Setting up the golf robot

With so much adjustability, it takes time to set the robot up to deliver the club in exactly the way you want, and additional time to check the machine is consistently hitting the defined parameters. Obviously for us, to best replicate how human golfers launch shots, we wanted balls to be hit with a neutral path, and neither up nor down onto the ball for driver shots.

For irons and wedges, a typical attack is down onto the back of the ball, all characteristics we dialed in through the robot’s set-up. Though the robot can hit a couple of shots per minute once set up, getting that set-up right can take an hour or more, particularly when switching from drivers to irons, or irons to wedges.

At Loughborough, Dr Roberts has worked on the biomechanical analysis of golfers, using motion capture, for the past four years. It’s next-generation stuff and it’s for a new analysis system Ping are creating to give a better understanding of how different swings are more suited to different types of equipment. This data was used to program the robot for our test, so real swing characteristics have influenced how every shot has been hit.

Dr Roberts told us: “The transition at the top of the backswing feels important, but most R&D robots start swinging from parallel to the ground (so not in the usual address position) and have a pause at the top of the backswing. Our robot can recreate how somebody loads the shaft in a certain way, we get a natural transition from backswing to downswing, and we can look at how the shaft deforms and so on.”

Robot golf balls test: Meet the experts

Dr jonathan roberts.

Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University, Sports Technology Institute

Dr Roberts (above, left)has worked at Loughborough University for 25 years. He’s completed a Callaway-sponsored PHD on the feel of golf shots, as well as completing golf ball consultancy work for Nike and most recently collaborating with Ping.

His knowledge isn’t just limited to golf, either; he works as part of a research group designing World Cup footballs for adidas, and is currently studying how real grass playing surfaces compare to 3G Astroturf pitches.

Rory England

PHD Researcher

More casual than a competitive golfer today, Rory was a Today’s Golfer reader in his youth. Gifted at maths and physics at school, he went on to complete a four-year undergraduate program at Loughborough University.

He’s since spent time working with adidas in Germany and TaylorMade in Basingstoke and is just coming to the end of a PHD where he’s focused on working with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) on head injury prevention.

Robot golf balls test: How we did it

Experience tells us the only true way to accurately reveal any difference between golf ball performance is via a repeatable swing and a consistently accurate impact location, something no human tester can ever reproduce. The likes of Rory McIlroy might get close, but we wanted to test 28 different balls across different swing speeds and with different clubs; so a robot was our only option.

When we did a similar test in 2019, we used the robot at PXG’s R&D facility in Arizona; this time, the robot was a bit closer to home at Loughborough University, one of the world’s leading sports research facilities.

Why different clubs and different speeds?

We’re all about the club golfer here at TG , so it was really important for us to test each golf ball at different swing speeds to reveal how each ball will perform for you. That means no matter what your swing speed, you’ll find plenty of useful information within this test tailored to your own game.

Our driver shots were hit at speeds of 85, 100, and 115mph (moderate, mid, and fast); for irons, we used a mid-80mph speed, with wedges coming in at 74mph.

To ensure our results are relevant to real-world golfers, we also used Ping clubs suited to these speeds; a 9° Ping G430 LST driver (with X flex Tour 2.0 Chrome shaft) at 115mph; a 10.5° Ping G430 Max driver (with S flex Tour 2.0 Chrome shaft) at 100mph; and a 10.5° Ping G430 Max (with R flex Alta CB Black) at 85mph – read our Ping G430 drivers review .

We took the same approach for irons and wedges using the Ping i230 7-iron and pitching wedge (with S flex Dynamic Gold 105 shafts).

Why we used Loughborough’s golf robot 

With the cost of buying an R&D golf robot running to $100,000-plus, there are not too many around. And the brands that have them also make balls, which obviously presents a conflict of interest should we use one to perform a golf ball test against competitor balls.

Loughborough University, though, is often referred to as the best sports science university in the world, and when Ping (who have also invested in an R&D lab on campus) mentioned the Uni has a robot on the site, we enquired about gaining access.

It’s taken months to set up, but with Senior Lecturer Jonathan Roberts being a golfer and understanding our cause, and Loughborough being an hour’s drive from our UK office, the partnership made perfect sense.

How we picked the golf balls 

Time on an R&D robot is costly. Every hour taken up hitting balls for our test means the machine can’t be used for other research. The robot also needs a qualified operator, to ensure the set-up is correct and test conditions don’t change, and people like that are not easy to find, either. With time on the robot being limited, we had to select the balls most relevant to most people, as testing every single ball on the market simply wasn’t an option. 

In order to test a good range of balls, from the most popular tour golf balls to lower-compression club golfer balls and the best budget balls , we drew up a shortlist of 28 models. We knew from our previous robot ball test (which featured 22 models) that this number could just about be tested within a single day from one of the five different situations (three driver speeds, one 7-iron speed, and one pitching wedge speed). That meant the whole test could be wrapped up in five days.

Our first big decision was to eliminate the direct-to-consumer golf balls that have sprung up over the last decade to get the list down to 28. There aren’t too many factories capable of producing golf balls that aren’t owned by the likes of Titleist, Srixon, Callaway or TaylorMade, so a lot of these DTC models are quite similar in terms of R&D, and most barely create a blip on the radar in terms of global ball sales. We will, however, be doing a thorough DTC balls test over the summer.

After that, we needed to include the leading tour balls from the game’s biggest brands (including PXG), along with the popular ‘club golfer’ balls (including Kirkland) and a number of value-for-money options (like Maxfli). Every decision we made was geared to giving you the best, most relevant information to help you establish which ball best suits your game, and pocket.

Why we tested indoors

It wasn’t too long ago the golf industry thought outdoor testing and fitting was the only way to go, as it gave the opportunity to see a shot’s entire flight. Since Foresight and their camera-based launch monitors have arrived on the scene, though, thinking has changed.

Foresight’s GCQuad is now recognized by players and brands as one of the best golf launch monitors , and it now features in many R&D test labs. And because it measures everything you need to know about a golf shot within 18 inches of the ball leaving the clubface, the Quad makes it possible to accurately test indoors.

The added benefit of testing indoors is that it’s possible to create a controlled lab environment, so weather conditions – temperatures, wind, or rain – have no effect on the data, which isn’t the case when testing outdoors. All the data came from a Foresight GCQuad for our last robot test in 2019, so it made sense to use the same system.

Each ball was hit only once

We wanted to create the cleanest, most accurate data possible, so we only hit each golf ball once.

Our thinking means that if there’s ever a ‘rogue’ ball among our samples, it only affects one of the five situations we test from, not all of them. It also means if any ball is damaged during the hitting process, it doesn’t get reused, so it can’t skew our data on subsequent shots.

We asked brands to send us five dozen of each ball selected for testing, which allowed 12 shots to be hit from each of the three driver swing speeds, as well as a dozen of each ball with the 7-iron and pitching wedge.

In total, that’s 1,680 robot shots during the week. Each of the five individual test orders was randomized and split into sets of three balls at a time. That ensured there wasn’t a four to five-hour gap between testing the first dozen and the final dozen, just in case there were any temperature swings inside the lab.

Thousands of pieces of data

By tracking head and ball data through the launch monitor, we created thousands of data points (looking just at basic ball and club data, there are 19 different metrics for every shot!), which gave us a mountain of data to analyze.

It took the best part of two weeks to sift through it, checking, double checking, and coming up with averages for the longest, fastest, and spinniest balls, and deciding on our recommendations within each product category.

Read more about how we test golf equipment.

Robot golf balls test: How do golf balls differ?

Two-piece golf balls

Two-piece balls are the least expensive. Typically they have a big core under a thick ionomer or surlyn cover. For many club golfers two-piece models represent an excellent blend of reasonable performance and value, particularly if they’re prone to losing a few.

Even though these are the least expensive balls on the market, it’s not uncommon to find a choice of a softer feel, longer distance, or a blend of both in a single ball. We’ll highlight the difference between this category and others so you can weigh up if it’s really worth paying for tour-level performance or urethane-cover club golfer balls.

Three-piece golf balls

More than half the balls in this test are three-piece, which means this is a very popular construction method for tour and club golfer balls. The core size is shrunk to allow a mantle layer to sit between the core and outer cover, which allows engineers to dial in different characteristics based on the wants of the target player.

Tour-level three-piece balls have urethane covers to maximize wedge spin and greenside control. Gone are the days when three-piece tour balls were just softer, higher spinning versions of firmer four-piece ‘X’ style balls; today, Srixon and Bridgestone only make three-piece tour balls. So, each model is dialed up or down to a swing speed the ball is aimed at, and/or the feel, distance, and wedge spin that particular golfer is likely to desire.

Four-piece golf balls

Traditionally, four-piece golf balls were firmer ‘X’ style, lower spin, higher flying models; but things have changed.

The most recent Pro V1x (four-piece) is said to have higher long-game spin than the Pro V1 (three-piece) and a higher ball flight. Callaway’s Chrome Soft X and X LS are both four-piece, with the X being more workable, and the X LS generating lower long-game spin.

Common thinking is firmer balls are faster and longer, irrespective of swing speed. We’ve also seen they don’t always spin lower with a wedge than their softer siblings. Use our test data to identify the models that are fast and long with the driver/iron and spin with a wedge.

Five-piece golf balls

TaylorMade are the only major brand to make five-piece balls, and the TP5 and TP5x are played by Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Brooke Henderson, Tommy Fleetwood, and Rickie Fowler.

With three layers between the core and cover, the brand have more knobs and levers to tweak to dial down driver spin, up launch or maximize wedge spin. The firmer feeling TP5x is faster, longer and launches higher, whereas the TP5 offers a little extra wedge spin and shot-shaping potential.

Robot golf ball test: The results

Jump to a brand: Bridgestone | Callaway | Kirkland | Maxfli | Pinnacle | PXG | Srixon | TaylorMade | Titleist | Wilson

Robot golf balls test: Bridgestone

Bridgestone tour b x golf ball.

For high-speed golfers who want more accuracy over distance

£3.75 per ball / 0.19p per yard (based on RRP)

Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball

Straight distance but less rounded than Z-Star Diamond

Callaway Chrome Soft X – RRP $39.99 / £50 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

To truly be tour level, a ball needs to be played by the world’s best, which means Maxfli’s strong performing Tour X couldn’t really be factored into this category.

We’ve picked the Chrome Soft X as, at 100 and 115mph with the driver, it was tied third and second for the fastest ball speed, and also only bettered by 0.2 yards of carry (by the Wilson Staff Model) as our longest tour ball. So, if leaving nothing behind off the tee is part of your strategy, the Chrome Soft X has you covered.

What really caught our eye, though, is an impressive blend of iron and wedge spin. Yes, the Pro V1x, TP5, and Z-Star Diamond are slightly higher spinning from both situations, but they’re fractionally shorter too. And when you throw in the Callaway’s tighter shot area than both the Titleists and TaylorMades, we reckon you’ve got yourself a winning model.

If your game puts more of a premium on iron and wedge spin, Srixon’s Z-Star Diamond is 1.4 yards shorter from the tee but offers 152rpm and 110rpm more iron and wedge spin respectively. And if you’re looking to slash your ball budget by using a Maxfli, the Tour X is a fraction longer but spins slightly less.

Wilson Staff Model – RRP $49.99 / £44.99 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

Wilson have come out of this test smelling of roses as not only are they keeping up with the big boys in terms of ball speed, spin and distance, but two of their models are also among our three most accurate balls.

It’s seriously impressive for a brand who aren’t currently renowned for making tour balls. In fact, if the Staff Model was a bit more widely played on tour it would be worthy of a shout for top honors in this category.

As far as ball speed goes, the Staff Model tied first at 100mph and second at 115mph, which meant it was our longest tour-level driver and iron ball.

Iron and wedge spin levels are very similar to a Pro V1x (and higher than a Pro V1), which is obviously a very good benchmark to hit. But the icing on the cake has to be an RRP that’s lower than the competition, and a tighter shot area.

Pound for pound, of the balls actually played on tour, this is the best-performing tour-level ball you can get your hands on – and you can currently pick it up for far less than the RRP.

TaylorMade TP5x – RRP $49.99 / £49.99 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

Cast an eye over our data and you’ll see the TaylorMade TP5x is very closely matched to the Srixon Z-Star Diamond, so we understand some players will feel the Srixon could be a better option.

However, our thinking goes along the lines that if you’ve got the clubhead speed, you’re likely to appreciate a fraction more distance with your woods and irons, rather than exchanging that yardage for a fraction more iron and wedge spin (spin naturally comes from more speed anyway).

The TaylorMade TP5x numbers also look very similar to the Pro V1x on our spreadsheets, so either ball would be a fantastic choice. We’ve plumped for the TP5x as it has a fractionally smaller shot area when averaged over all five test situations, but if you went for the Pro V1x, we’d understand why.

On tour, the TP5x is played by the majority of TaylorMade athletes and it’s easy to see exactly why. Those players, male and female, all have speed, so naturally create a lot of spin. Unless they’re targeting a slightly lower ball flight, most gravitate towards the slightly longer and lower spin TP5x (we’re talking 200-300rpm less iron and wedge spin).

Our best club golfer balls

Callaway ERC Soft – RRP $39.99 / £44 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

Club golfers are spoilt for choice when it comes to performance three-piece balls nowadays, which is incredible considering this category wasn’t a thing a little over five years ago. By racking up first and fourth longest at the 85 and 100mph driver speeds (the speeds the ERC was designed for), and ranking second for 7-iron distance – all without giving away tons of valuable control – we think the ERC deserves the full attention of club golfers in 2023.

Of the three-piece balls that specifically target club golfers (TaylorMade Tour Response, Wilson Staff Triad, Srixon Q-Star Tour, and Callaway Chrome Soft), the ERC Soft produced the least amount of iron spin (12.8% lower than our test average), but the most wedge spin, which at first read set a few alarm bells ringing. But thanks to a higher shot height and steeper descent angle than our test averages, we reckon the ERC can work well for all but very moderate-swing-speed players.

If we were spending our own money, we’d look for Callaway’s new 360 Fade alignment version, which gives a belt-and-braces approach to performance and maximum alignment help on the dancefloor.

Wilson Staff Triad – RRP $29.99 / £39 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

After decades of testing, we’re well aware the claims made by brands don’t always stack up in terms of test data. When they do, however, we have to take our hat off and applaud those that deliver on their promise. The Triad is one of those products.

Just like Wilson say, it will be a better fit for golfers who are already happy with how far they hit the ball, even though it was never more than 0.3 yards short of our test averages with driver or 7-iron. Where the Triad shines, though, is in delivering more iron spin than its competitors and just 102rpm less than the significantly more expensive Titleist Pro V1; a performance it reverses with the wedge, where the Pro V1 spins a fraction less.

But where the Triad truly excels is in its accuracy. That’s exactly what Wilson promised when they removed a tiny amount of mass from the core to boost MOI, and our data shows the theory works in practice. Across the board, the Triad was considerably and consistently inside our shot area averages (second place at 100mph driver speed), which gave an overall ranking as our most accurate ball across all five test situations.

A brilliant choice for reasonable speed club golfers who could benefit from doubling down on accuracy and consistency over adding more distance to their game.

Srixon Q-Star Tour – RRP $34.99 / £36.99 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

So many golf balls over recent years have dined out on lowering spin to add distance, which is great as long as you have enough swing speed to launch shots high enough to maximize carry distance. Golfers who don’t have that speed need more spin to keep the ball in the air for longer, which makes the game more playable with higher shot heights and steeper landing angles. So, while on paper the Q-Star Tour might not stand out as a headline grabber, as it isn’t the fastest or longest, the reality is that at more reasonable swing speeds (hovering 5mph either side an average of 92mph with a driver), this ball is a very solid choice.

We’re fans of how spin doesn’t duck below 5,000rpm with a 7-iron, which is different from the Callaway ERC Soft, TaylorMade Tour Response, and Callaway Chrome Soft. Yes, the Tour is 679rpm behind our test average for full-shot wedge spin, but shots fly higher and descend at a steeper rate, so stopping power isn’t unduly compromised.

Our data also shows the Q-Star Tour to be incredibly accurate with 7-iron and wedge (8.8 and 5.3yds² respectively versus test averages of 9.4 and 12.3yds²), a trait reasonable speed club golfers will really appreciate over the course of a season. So it’s a cracking golf ball for club golfers – exactly the audience Srixon intended to target.

Our best golf balls under $/£30

Srixon AD333 – RRP $29.99 / £27 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

Golf has become a launch monitor game, and it’s easy to simply identify the longest or fastest equipment when buying golf balls, drivers or irons. But to ensure you play equipment that helps rather than hinders your entire game, you really need to look for across-the-board performance to ensure you can play and score out on the course. Because being longest off the tee simply isn’t enough reason to warrant a purchase.

The popular AD333 was a top performer in our 2019 robot test, and we’d heartily recommend it again if you’re spending less than £30 on a dozen balls.

It’s neither the fastest nor the longest with a driver or iron. In fact, in the two-piece category, you’ll likely give up 1.9 yards with a driver and 2.9 yards with a 7-iron against the very longest. But the AD333 comes into its own with irons and wedges. Within the two-piece category, this was our highest spinning 7-iron model (5,243rpm) and second highest spinning wedge ball, which at 7,711rpm is higher than a Titleist Pro V1.

Factor in a higher-than-average shot height and steeper descent angle and you quickly build a picture of the AD333 being very playable on the course.

It isn’t the cheapest ball in the category, but our data suggests at swing speeds hovering around average (92mph with a driver) or below, this would be a better choice than the lower-spinning Wilson Duo Soft or Callaway Supersoft.

Wilson Duo Soft – RRP $22.99 / £25 per dozen VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

Based on where you want to put emphasis in your own game, it could easily be argued that four of the five balls within our two-piece category deserve top honors.

If you have an average or above swing speed (92mph+ with the driver), the Duo Soft is likely to be a preferable option, as you don’t need the additional spin and shot height appreciated by more moderate-speed players who’ll benefit from playing Srixon’s AD333.

At 100 mph with the driver, the Duo Soft span 13.4% less than our test average, and 6.8% less than the Srixon AD333 (it also span 12.9% less than the test average with 7-iron), which adds distance as long as you have enough speed to launch shots high enough to maximize carry.

Within the two-piece category, the Duo Soft was also our third highest spinning wedge ball and most accurate model, with a shot area 14.7% smaller than average. If £25 for a dozen balls is your limit, your game’s in safe hands with the Duo Soft.

Pinnacle Rush – RRP $25 / £20.99 per 15 balls VIEW US OFFER | VIEW UK OFFER

With Pinnacle’s reputation for being rock-hard distance balls, we were astonished to see the results the Rush produced with a pitching wedge. At 7,925rpm – 4.6% above our test average – the model was the highest spin two-piece wedge ball, and it outspan models such as the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Before you get too carried away with numbers, we’d recommend trying the joint least expensive ball on test (tied with the Kirkland Signature at 7p per yard) from the greenside to gauge feel and control, as neither formed part of this test.

If you like the feel from short range, then our data suggests that thanks to the Pinnacle being longest within the two-piece category (242.6 yards at 100mph), but a couple of yards back from the longest at 85mph with a driver, this ball is likely to give the best results for average and above swing speed players. If, however, you’re just looking for the cheapest balls you can get your hands on and your swing speed is below average (92mph with a driver), in exchange for three/four yards with the driver/7-iron, the three-piece urethane cover Kirkland Signature+ spins more than the Rush (with irons and wedges), and gives more control greenside.

Robot golf ball test data: The key numbers compared

Driver distance and shot area (averaged over three speeds).

Average distance: 241.7yds Average shot area: 71.8yds sq

We all want to play the longest, most accurate golf ball, but make sure you don’t just look at that data exclusively; it’s important to factor in iron and wedge performance to properly optimize a ball across all areas of your game.

Interestingly, our shot area grew from 41.85sq yds at 85mph, to 56.7 sq yds (35.5% bigger) at 100mph, and 117 sq yds (106.3 % bigger) at 115mph, which highlights brilliantly the impact speed has on accuracy and tolerances. Don’t instantly write off balls with a bigger shot area; some are specifically designed to be easier to shape, whereas lower spin balls often claim to improve accuracy by cutting spin.

Our data highlights Wilson being top performers for accuracy, with the higher MOI Triad (thanks to moving weight from the core to the outer) ranking as most accurate with a driver.

Our test averages of 241.7 yards and shot area of 71.8sq yds give a great indication of which balls are punching above their weight.

Cost per yard

Golfers often buy golf balls based on what they can afford, which isn’t the worst decision as long as you commit to playing one ball and don’t keep switching. Based on the average amount of yards racked up at our three driver speeds, this is a cost per yard for all 28 balls tested.

Balls that grabbed our attention include the Kirkland Signature+, the cheapest urethane ball tested. For golfers wanting tour-style balls from a recognized brand name, PXG Xtreme is great value, too.

And if your budget means you’re looking at less expensive models, the Pinnacle Rush blends an impressive 7p per yard cost with being our highest spinning two-piece ball with a wedge.

Lowest/Highest Driver Spin

We’d never recommend just buying the lowest spin driver ball you can get your hands on, as lower spin with the driver typically means low spin through the bag. That’s far from ideal for most golfers when hitting iron approach shots into greens, especially if you use strong-lofted irons.

However, it’s no secret low spin balls add distance where higher spin models rob you of it. If you’re looking to identify the lowest spinning driver ball in any category, this chart shows backspin averaged over our 100mph and 115mph driver speeds. Unsurprisingly, two-piece balls that target distance for average golfers rise to the top as brands know at this end of the market people buy predominantly on distance.

Our advice is to not just look at driver spin and distance. Factor in iron and wedge performance, too. Sometimes that might mean giving up driver spin and distance (this test has just five yards of carry distance between all 28 balls) to help the areas of your game you put most emphasis on.

Optimized Descent

Descent angle is set to play a bigger role in the fitting of irons going forward, and your choice of golf ball can help you achieve your optimal set-up.

At lower speeds be wary when backspin drops below 5,000rpm and the descent angle is less than 45°, as it’s going to be hard to bring shots to a stop quickly, which obviously affects your scoring potential. At higher speeds, it should be less of an issue unless you’re exploring stronger lofted irons.

Here’s how all 28 balls compare for peak height and descent angle with a 7-iron.

While we’d never recommend buying a golf ball based purely on wedge spin performance, we’ve heard tons of golfers over the years who say they do. With 1,565rpm between our highest and lowest spinning models, it’s worth knowing where your prospective purchase sits in relation to the competition.

Just remember – this ISN’T greenside spin, and some balls have very special covers to grab and grip a wedge’s grooves for the shortest, most delicate shots around the green. It’s imperative to use a ball you like the spin, feel, and feedback from in the short game.

Constructions compared

With a number of brands now only making three-piece tour balls, the debate over the best construction method is not going away. Here’s a breakdown across driver (averaged over all three speeds), iron and wedge.

If you’re anything like us, your eyes are likely to be drawn to the differences between two-piece and three-piece club golfer balls, asking if the performance difference is worth the extra dosh.

The chart’s also useful for seeing how closely slightly less expensive three-piece club golfer balls are matched to tour balls, too.

Robot golf ball test: What we learned

Some golfers believe it doesn’t matter what ball they use. “Whatever I find!” is a common response. But this test proves that finding the right ball for your game is just as important as finding the right driver or putter. We spend a lot of time testing and talking about balls with real golfers, yet the repetitive and reliable action of a robot throws up data you just can’t get from a human being – and some of it surprised us. We’ve already presented all that data, and chosen our favorite balls in each of the three categories – tour level, club golfer, and budget. Here, though, are some of the key findings and themes from the test.

Now is the time to look at club golfer-focused balls

Urethane cover club golfer balls have been on the scene for a few years now and based on our results, now is the time to give them your full attention, if you haven’t done so already. Compared to the market-leading tour ball, the Wilson Triad is virtually inseparable on all traditional metrics, yet the Wilson is 92p a ball cheaper and is more accurate. Name a club golfer who that equation doesn’t work for! 

It’s time to rethink which Pro V1 you use

If you’ve blindly played the Titleist Pro V1 for a decade or more, we don’t want to break the bad news, but you really should think about trying a Pro V1x. Both have changed dramatically over the last two iterations and today the Pro V1x is a higher flight, higher spinning ball with both the irons and wedges, traits which lots of decent club golfers will appreciate in terms of scoring. We hope we never hear another club golfer tell us they play the Pro V1 “for maximum spin and control” again…

What happened to Bridgestone?

Well, nothing too much, really. Bridgestone make great golf balls – Tiger wouldn’t use one if they didn’t – but none of the brand’s models appeared at the top of our data charts. We are of course talking minuscule differences between some of our top performers and the rest of the pack, and we were surprised the Tour B X (which regularly frequents Ping’s Ballnamic recommendations ) didn’t have more of an impact on this test.  

Two-piece golf balls can spin

Nobody would believe us if we said a budget two-piece Pinnacle Rush spins more with a full wedge shot than a four-piece tour ball. Or the two-piece Srixon AD333 spins more than a tour ball. But our data shows that two-piece golf balls can spin from 100 yards out. So, if you’ve ruled out two-piece balls before because they feel hard and don’t spin, it’s time to think again. Two-piece models could slash your ball budget while giving up very little in terms of discernible on-course performance for many average golfers.

Maxfli can seriously cut your ball budget

New golf ball brands have popped up everywhere recently, and while Maxfli isn’t a new name in the game, it does have a relatively new owner in US retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods .

We regularly hear golfers talking up random new golf ball models from completely unknown sources, and this test shows how two of the most talked about fare. Where the Kirkland Signature+ has many fans, our data says it’s a very high spin ball, one that at above-average speeds is much less attractive. Whereas the Maxfli Tour X – which costs more than the Kirkland – is a very credible alternative to a Titleist Pro V1x. So, it’s entirely possible (particularly in the USA) to slash your premium golf ball budget, as long as you’re happy playing a tour-level ball that isn’t actually played on tour. 

So why didn’t we make more of the Maxfli Tour X?

Many will spot how the Maxfli Tour X ball racked up six top three spots, more than any other single ball, for across-the-board performance, so you may well be asking why we haven’t made more of it. Maxfli is owned by giant sports goods company Dick’s Sporting Goods in America, and they’re tricky to get hold of in the UK (you can’t even view their website from here). You can get them on Amazon, but the cheapest we could find was £51.62 a dozen; not particularly budget. 

Soft golf balls aren’t short balls

You might have heard the phrase ‘soft is slow’ when it comes to golf balls, but when used by their intended audience, our data proves ‘soft is not short’. At our 85mph driver speed, all four of the longest balls have ‘soft’ in their name, and the same is true with a 7-iron. If you swing at less than 95mph with a driver, and you put a premium on soft-feeling balls, you’ve got little to lose in terms of carry distance by choosing a designated soft/lower compression golf ball. Just make sure you get enough wedge and iron spin to complement your game.

Data charts

85mph driver data, 100mph driver data, 115mph driver data, 7-iron data, pitching wedge data, most accurate ball data.

READ NEXT – Best Premium Golf Balls – Best Golf Ball for Beginners and High Handicappers – Best Ladies’ Golf Balls

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About the Author

Simon Daddow – Equipment Editor

Simon has tested and played more than 10,000 clubs in his life, so what he doesn’t know about golf clubs isn’t worth knowing.

He’s a specialist in all things metal having spent a large part of his career as a golf club maker and product development manager, and has worked in the golf industry for more than 30 years.

He joined EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) as Equipment Editor in 2006 and has worked for both  Today’s Golfer  and  Golf World.  Working alongside Digital Editor Rob Jerram and Test Pro Neil Wain, Simon has made todays-golfer.com the most reliable source for golf club testing.

You can contact Simon via  email  and follow him on  Twitter  for loads more golf equipment insight.

TaylorMade TP5 vs TP5x Golf Ball: Read Our Head-To-Head Verdict

Here we take a look at the primary differences between TaylorMade's TP5 and TP5x golf ball

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Ball Flight

Which one should you choose.

The new 2021 TaylorMade TP5 is a virtually faultless ball in every area of performance and should prove to be especially popular for those who play a lot of competitive golf. Most notably, the feel this golf ball delivers leaves a lasting impression.

• Superb short game control Excellent low-spin
• High launching ball flight
• Players with low spin may not see as much benefit

The 2021 TP5x golf ball does a good job of blending tour performance and feel in a low-spinning golf ball that offers a firmer feel. Made with a 322 dimple pattern, the ball aims to give a slightly lower launch, with less drag, to create more of a rainbow flight.

• Firmer feel
• Good stability in the wind
• Premium urethane cover
• Less spin around greens than TP5

TaylorMade is one of the most recognized brands in golf, with an array of Major winners putting their equipment in play. The company may be known for pushing the boundaries, producing some of the best golf drivers , best golf irons and best putters on the market, but its golf balls have become a name synonymous with quality as well.

Looking at the range, there are so many different golf balls to choose from. Whether you are after the cheaper Tour Response , or the premium TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x , there is something for everyone.

It's the latter that we are looking at in this piece, as the TP5 and TP5x rank among the best golf balls on the market. Favored by those on the professional tours, both have become a name synonymous in the golfing world and are on a par with the likes of the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x .

Although named similarly, there are significant differences between the two models, with one better suited to your game than the other. Here, we take a look at both the TP5 and TP5x to find out which one is better for you. 

As you can imagine, looks-wise, there isn't an awful lot to compare between the two, with both featuring a dimple pattern designed to improve aerodynamics and increase carry distance.

Both feature a new "Tour Flight" 322 dimple pattern. Essentially, they are shallower dimples with steeper sides that are aimed to give a slightly lower launch and with less drag to create more of a rainbow flight. By putting less spin on the ball, it has a steeper landing angle in order to provide the stop on the green.

Apart from one having an X on it, there really isn't much to separate the two in the looks department. However, it is a different story when it comes to feel, with the TP5 remaining noticeably softer than the TP5x.

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The most notable difference when it came to feel was around the greens. Testing the TP5x, it definitely does feel firmer than the TP5, which some may prefer as you get a louder sound at impact.

We were seriously impressed by the TP5's feel though and, arguably, it is the golf ball's strongest factor! A number of the  best premium golf balls on the market can boast a solid combination of distance and spin, but the feel of the TP5 would be hard to match. 

From driver through to putter, the soft cover felt great and meant that, even when using it for the first time, making the adjustment from another brand was seamless. 

When it comes to the ball flight portion, both perform well. However, we will start with a slight negative for the TP5 which, for golfers with lower swing speeds, or those who already launch it low and need something that helps them get it in the air more, may not be suitable.

This will only be a small minority though, especially as, in testing, the TP5 provided a superb flight off the tee, with distance never being an issue, while approach shots were very workable when you have an iron in hand. Flighting shots high and low has rarely been easier.

The TP5 scored five stars out of five in our testing

As previously mentioned, the aim of the TP5x is to give a slightly lower launch and with less drag to create more of a rainbow flight, which the TP5x certainly does. What's more, previous versions of the TP5 golf balls have also been excellent in the wind for stability and the 2021 TP5x is still one of the best for this.

Beginning with the TP5x, we see the distance performance coming from four increasingly stiffer layers underneath the cover. Using ‘High-Flex Material’, it increases speed and produces a consistent distance.

Like the TP5x, the TP5 also offers excellent distance off the tee, as the new dimple pattern really comes into its own when the struck with the driver. Both performed admirably and are well up there with the best distance golf balls on the market.

The TaylorMade TP5x offers a consistent distance all-round

The main difference between the TP5 and TP5x is in the feel and control department, as the TP5 performed just how you’d hope and expect it to, with maximum precision and control allowing us to be aggressive to our chosen landing spot in the knowledge it would react as we expected. 

On the green, it felt really nice off the putter face, too, which is a performance aspect that goes slightly under the radar. On foreign greens, this made it easy to gauge the pace from the get-go.

Being firmer than the TP5, the TP5x still stopped pretty quickly but, around the greens, it did not seem like a high-spinning ball with lots of check. However, the control was still pretty good thanks to the cast urethane cover which is a feature of balls like this in the premium golf ball sector.

One note of praise is that TaylorMade have done a good job of blending tour performance and feel in a low spinning golf ball with this firmer feel.

Both the TP5 and TP5x feature in a Pix version, which helps aid alignment 

Choose the TaylorMade TP5 if… - You are looking to lower your ball flight off the tee and fairway - You want more spin on shots around the green - You are wanting a consistent feel off the face for the full range of your golf bag

Choose the TaylorMade TP5x if… - You want a ball that performs superbly in windy conditions - You are looking for a golf ball that is easier to shape - You produce a lot of spin with your tee shots and irons and want to reduce it

If you are interested in buying then check out our helpful TaylorMade Coupon Codes .

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he has also presented many Golf Monthly videos looking at all areas of the game from Tour player interviews to the rules of golf. 

Throughout his time with the brand he has also covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points. 

Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons: PING Blueprint S (4&5), PING Blueprint T (6-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

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Golf content creators such as Grant Horvat and Dan Rapaport went up against eight professionals for one spot at the PGA Tour's upcoming Myrtle Beach Classic

By Jonny Leighfield Published 23 April 24

Can a par 4 be 200 yards or 550 yards if so desired? Are there actually any rules that say how long or short 'two-shotters' have to be?

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Taylormade Tp5x vs Bridgestone Tour B RX vs Prov1x – What’s The Best Ball in 2023

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a newbie to the game of golf, choosing the right gear is essential to your progression.

Being able to choose the right balls for your swing speed is crucial at the beginner and tournament pro level.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. There are all kinds of balls out there. From super-soft balls that were designed to help beginners get maximum distance off the tee to balls with advanced cover materials to provide the most spin for skilled players.

If your game has been stagnating and you don’t know why or you are simply looking to upgrade the current balls you use, pay extra close attention because we are going to be showcasing three very different yet popular golf balls in today’s review.

The Bridgestone Tour B RX Golf Balls

With the Bridgestone Tour B RX golf balls, Bridgestone attempts to improve an already wildly popular design: the Tour B330 RX.

But while the B330 RX balls were geared more toward beginners and intermediates, the new Tour B RX balls aim to help players of pretty much all calibers.

First of all, slower swing speed players will rejoice to hear that the Bridgestone Tour B RX balls have a very easy 66 compression rating.

They also sport a 3-piece design and a urethane cover. This “REACTIV” urethane cover is what makes these balls so versatile.

The seamless urethane cover reacts accordingly depending on what club you are using and the speed with which you strike the ball.

• Helpful for a number of different kinds of players
• Great distance off the tee
• Comes in white and yellow
• 338 seamless dimple pattern
• Energy gradient core
• Great for slower swing speeds
• Lacks workability
• Hard to feel on putts
• Not a lot of feedback
• Not the best balls for low handicappers

Check Out More Reviews Here:

The Taylormade TP5X Golf Balls

The original TP5 was a staple on the pro tour circuit. It was praised by the top names in golf for providing more speed off the tee and maximum spin around the green. Taylormade has doubled down on the design of the TP5.

By upgrading the cover material to a “high modulus” urethane and adding 4 layers of High Flex Material to the gradient core of the TP5X balls, Taylormade has designed a ball that flies fast off the tee, is a missile on the fairway and provides a stunning amount of feel around the green.

These balls are compression rated at 97 so they are definitely more for players with faster swing speeds. And as alluded to earlier, they sport 5-piece, layered construction.

• Great ball speed on drives
• Fairly soft feel for a 97 compression core
• Great accuracy
• 322 seamless dimple pattern
• Great distance with long irons
• Don’t hold their line in wind
• They don’t play as long as other premium balls
• They lack feel and feedback with putts
• Not very workable

The Titleist Pro V1X Golf Balls

The Titleist Pro V1 balls showed us that we no longer had to sacrifice short game spin for a softer feeling ball. But the Titleist Pro V1X golf balls take things a step further. These balls aren’t as soft as their predecessors even though they still have the same general compression rating of 90.

But the casing layer has been enlarged to enhance speed and reduce initial long game spin. The Titleist Pro V1X also feature an exceptionally thin thermoset elastomer urethane cover material which allows for pretty much as much spin as you want on approaches and short shots.

• Low long game spin
• High short game spin
• Comes in yellow and white
• Higher flight than their predecessors
• More iron spin than their predecessors
• Not as soft
• Not great with wedges
• Not the best for slow swing speeds
• Not the most durable cover

Driver Performance

Fairway and approach performance, putting performance, price comparison.

You can expect to pay about $40 for a sleeve of the Bridgestone balls, $48 for the Titleist Pro V1X’s and $45 for the Taylormade TP5X’s.

Which is Best?

This was a really tough choice between the Titleist Pro V1X and the Taylormade TP5X.

While the Titleist Pro V1X’s played longer off the tee, they lacked the feedback the Taylormade balls had on the green.

But if we had to actually play one of these balls, it would still be the Titleist Pro V1X.

They provided the best overall short and long game performance. We feel these balls would suit most kinds of players so try them out first.

***WINNER***

Titleist pro v1x.

Hi, I am Matthew, a mid handicap golfer who likes to play as much as possible. I love trying out new gear and this blog is where you can find all the gear I have tested over the years!

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tp5x vs bridgestone bxs

By mn44 July 27, 2018 in Golf Balls

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I've bounced back and forth between these two, played the tp5x all winter and have been playing the bxs lately as I like the feel and spin in firmer conditions. I hit it a mile too, so distance doesn't seem to be suffering.

That said, I have recently noticed how much lower my launch seems off the tee...there are a few corners that I typically cut without issue that I've been clipping a few trees on. Not sure how much of it I can credit to the golf ball or random swing changes though....

Does anyone have launch monitor data comparing these two? There is one review on youtube but the guy has some poor swings on the tp5x testing so its hard to give that video much credit.

I realize the tp5 is probably a better comparison to the bxs, so that is fine too....

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I play the BXS and I agree, it is definitely a lower flying ball (which I prefer). You could look at the Tour B for a better comparison with the TP5X while still retaining the benefits of the bridgestone.

I have not had issues adding height to my shots with it, but when I compared it to the TP5 it definitely starts out in a lower window.

In terms of numbers, it retains good spin with irons and wedges but definitely has less overall spin with my driver. I know the TP5X is branded as a lower spinning ball with the driver, but I bet the numbers would be closer than you think

I play the BXS and I agree, it is definitely a lower flying ball (which I prefer). You could look at the Tour B for a better comparison with the TP5X while still retaining the benefits of the bridgestone.   I have not had issues adding height to my shots with it, but when I compared it to the TP5 it definitely starts out in a lower window.   In terms of numbers, it retains good spin with irons and wedges but definitely has less overall spin with my driver. I know the TP5X is branded as a lower spinning ball with the driver, but I bet the numbers would be closer than you think

Yea I can flight it up fine with each club except I just wish my stock driver swing with it went about 20 - 30 ft higher. I remember when playing the tp5 it tends to launch higher, but wanted to see someone else's data comparing the two. Maybe I should try the tp5 instead of tp5x to compare to the bxs

Fairways_and_Greens

Any higher spin ball has to be lower launch or they balloon. A low spin ball that launches low won't carry...

I want to hit the B XS the next time I'm on a monitor. Here is some data from my last LM session:

TSR3 9° Tensei Black 65X TSi2 15° ATX Green 75TX 917F 18° ATX Green 85X ZX5 MkII 4-5 / ZX7 MkII 6-P  Modus 120X ZipCore 50° Modus 120X

Vokey SM9 54S/60M Modus 125 Wedge Nike Neo

Any higher spin ball has to be lower launch or they balloon. A low spin ball that launches low won't carry...   I want to hit the B XS the next time I'm on a monitor. Here is some data from my last LM session:

Thats why the tp5x is weird to me. Launches high, spins a lot...but flies a mile. Any idea how the tp5 compares to tp5x in your #'s

Gary Gutful

TP5x should spin less with irons if all other factors are similar.

Bridgestone better around green. Tp 5x better off tee.

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