MEMBER REVIEWS: The BIG TaylorMade TP5 / TP5x ball testing thread

[Gunslinger.]

Ball tested: TP5X

Player info: 6 handicap

Previous Ball: ProV1X

Driver: 2016 M2 10.5

Irons: Titleist AP2's

Wedge: Vokey SM6's

Putter: Cameron Fastback

 

Played at my home course, which is dormant and playing difficult due to the lack of grass. I probably had the most unlucky round ever as I opened up this box of balls. I ended up hitting the cart path multiple times, as well as tree limbs and even drowned a couple.

 

 

Driver: Ball flight seems higher than my normal ball, nice soft feel off of the club face. Distance is at least the same, maybe a few yards longer.

 

Irons: Ball definitely has a higher trajectory, seems to really stay airborne longer, leading to increased carry of +5 yards compared to what I'm used to. I found it most noticeable in my mid irons to AW. This allowed me to hit more full iron shots on tweener yardage par 3's versus trying to ease up on the next iron up in the bag.

 

Pitching/chipping: Loved the feel around the greens and out of the traps. I was able to hit the high soft shots as well as the lower one hope stop shots. I didn't see any noticeable change in run out or spin, it felt like you would expect it to I guess.

 

Putter: Same as the short game, the ball just feels right. Nice feel off the putter face.

 

Durability: I hit multiple cart paths and received the standard scuff mark. One particular ball, I hit a hard sand wedge on the same spot as a cart path scuff and actually ripped off a piece of the cover exposing the next layer of the ball. When this happened I was pretty shocked at how thin the cover layer really was.

 

I've already bought another dozen of these and plan on playing them for a couple of months as my course comes out of dormancy and seeing how they perform in good conditions. Odds are this will be my ball for the season though, I'm really pleased with the extra carry from my irons.

[JStang]

I'm pretty sure you guys forgot someone...

[enjen]

Ball Test: TP5x

Some context:

I'm about a 16 handicap.

Previous Ball: Vice Tour

Clubhead speed with Driver: 95-98mph

Driver: 2016 M1 10.5

Irons: Mizuno MP-H5

Wedge: Mizuno TP-5

Putter: Cameron 2.6

 

Tested on a fairly wet course because of rain the previous day.

 

Driver: Usual avg: 247. TP5x: 223 -- Did not like the feel. It was a little harsh and the flight was way too low. It was not soft as Ksigs, Project As or Vice. I did get decent roll but it was hard to tell with a wet course and my average driving distance was lower than normal. About 20yds lower -- again might be roll (used game golf) Overall, it was just okay and on a wet course with little roll, I saw little benefit. It did however seem to go a hold it's line better.

 

Irons: Again, ball was not soft, it didn't feel that great but the distance was just as long if not a little longer than previous balls. The feel again was a little harsh but it held it's line pretty well in the wind and distances were very solid. I would say maybe 5 yds longer on average.

 

Short Game: Got good results. It stuck pretty well which was as expected from the cover. I hit this really nice low chip from about 40 yards under a branch and it came out hot and landed and stuck near the pin which was nice. Overall, the roll out was less than what i usually expect so I assume it has a lot more stopping power than I'm use to.

 

Putter: Surprisingly, it felt pretty good. I liked it and as I was putting, it has some a feel of heft to it and really helped me control my putting. I ended up with 36 putts on the day but this was probably the one aspect where i did like the ball.

 

Overall: Not as soft, felt a little harsh at times. Ball flight was definitely lower and it was not the ball for me. I'll probably give it to my brother in law as he has a high ball flight. He liked it and he hit an absolute bomb with it. He swings about 100-105 so it's probably better suited for him anyway. This ball was not the ball for me.

 

Thank you GolfWRX!

[MRL1984]

Thanks to TM for getting so many of us involved in the review. We are on page two of place holders and I haven't saved min until now. Glad to say I finally got picked.

 

 

[llewol007]

I am ready to test. i play the lethals and some old pentas. I had the Tour preferred and the Tour preferred X in the past as well. I wonder where this falls in terms of feel and distance. Stay tuned.

[GreggM]

Was just speaking to the TM Rep the other day about these at the store. Looking forward to getting these on the course

 

Got the email notification on Thursday and they showed up on the doorstep on Friday afternoon.

 

 

First impression-Out of the box comparing to the Previous year Tour Preferred X they seem to be nearly identical relative to dimple patterns with the only discernible difference being the alignment marking on the seam (TP5x vs Tour Preferred X) Hard to judge cover softness indoors but they feel pretty close as well. In comparing to the new Titleist ProV1x (2017 Test) the cover does appear to be only slightly softer when doing the fingernail test.

Soggy/rainy conditions in DFW this weekend prevented me from getting these outside but I decided to roll putts indoors. I used both my Scotty Studio 1.5 and my Bettinardi BB1F and rolled all 3 balls for quite some time. They all seemed to roll well but there were definitely some feel and sound differences between the 3. The 2016 Tour Preferred X felt the firmest and had the loudest sound with both putters, almost a muted click when coming off the putter face. The ProV1x(2017) and the TP5x sounded pretty identical coming off both putters although the Titleist seemed to be just a touch louder. As for feel they were pretty close off both putters with the TP5x feeling just a tad softer. I like to roll putts with the balls on the same axis on the same line on a hardwood floor and listen for skid/bounce while watching how well they hold their line. I did notice that the ProV1x seemed to jump around a bit from side to side almost like rolling putts on poa annua grass, more so than the two TM balls which seemed to hold their lines a little better and rolled just a bit smoother.

 

Will try to get out this week for some short game work outside and will compare them head to head during my regular Sunday morning group outing

 

3/12/17 Update

Well made it out today with my group this morning temperature was 42 degrees at tee time. Considering the temp it was a little difficult to judge overall distance being that it was so cold but I must say this ball made a positive impression on me. It had a nice ball flight coming off the driver and even better off the irons. Spin was terrific as most iron shots into the green were definitely drop and stop. I did have a couple wedge chips that checked up a little prematurely but those were my fault I'm sure. Off the putter, as I mentioned from my indoor putting sessions this ball felt great coming off the putter head. If it performs like this in warmer weather I may just have a new gamer but more on that later. I'm going to try and get out this Wed/Thur hopefully it will be a little warmer out.

[SwooshLT]

TP5 dozen received. ......

[cz13X4]

No luck for me but I'm very interested to hear the reviews!

[Racerx63]

Placeholder also! I am really looking forward to trying them compared to the Lethals! Thank you Taylormade!

 

Update 3/8:

 

Received the golf balls today. I will get them on the course tomorrow get the first impressions.

 

Update 3/10:

 

I finally got to get out and played yesterday to prep for a tournament this coming Monday. So did not use the new TP5x on every hole yet but did try it on 3 holes and compared it to the Lethal's I play. I also compared the TP5x, Lethal’s and the B330S' on the putting and chipping green.

 

A little about me. My index right now is bouncing around 6.6-7. My strengths are shots inside 100 yards and putting. Swing speed is 105-108ish.

 

I have to start by saying the Lethal's have been my go golf ball for a few years. It just fits my swing really well. Love the ball flight and feel. Even had a fitter tell me that the Lethal was the best ball for me over the B330S he recommended as a replacement if I could not find the Lethal’s any longer.

 

Driving: Unfortunately I was not driving the ball very well today so I will reserve this part of the review until after the tournament and give it more time.

 

Irons: Here the TP5x surprised me. The ball just seemed to rocket off of the face of the club. Each shot I tried with an iron was a good 10 yards further that the Lethal. My go to shot at 100 yds out is a 9 o’clock pitching wedge swing. With it I can get the great low one hop and stop shot and be fairly accurate. I hit the TP5x and it went 115 yards just off the back fringe. The ball seemed very hot off the face. I will follow up more on this also when I can get out on the course late in the afternoon with no one behind to really test side by side and hit multiple same shots with both golf balls.

 

Chipping: This is where I did not notice any real difference between the TP5x and the Lethal’s. To me they both felt the same softness and roll out seemed to be the same. Both of them I could easily spin to stop quickly or hit a shot to have them release. Which is great for me as I really like the feel of the Lethal’s.

 

Putting: To me there was again no real difference between the TP5x and the Lethal in terms of feel. Both have a great soft feel but does not feel dead. I was using a 2 ball ProType that is a milled putter.

 

I will post more as I get out again next week on my local course and can hit multiple balls on each hole to compare.

 

Update 3/16:

 

I got to get out on the course this evening with no one behind me and was able to test the TP5x, Lethal and the B330S against each each other.

 

Driver - Distance wise the Lethal and the TP5x were very close and both were about 5 yards more than the B330S. I was able to try the three on drives three separate times and it was pretty consistent. There really was no wind so there was no variation to that. One thing I did notice is both the Lethal and the TP5x seem to be easier to work side to side than the B330S. Some shots they would draw or cut a lot more than I was trying to. The Bridgestone just wanted to go straight. Off the driver the Lethal felt the hardest then the TP5x and the B330S was the softest.

 

Irons - I need to correct what I put in my first review that the TP5x with the irons was longer. Possibly in the first review I just struck it really well but today I did not find any distance gain compared to the Lethal or the B330s. The strikes felt pretty consistent today. What I did find is the TP5x did stop better than the B330s by a couple of feet on a 170 yd par 3 and vs the Lethal it was about the same. The TP5x did feel softer than the Lethals again but not as soft as the B330s. I tried a couple of low cut 4 iron 140 yd shots out of the trees to see how they compared and the TP5x was much easier to work. So much so, that I would need to get use to it to not over work the ball.

 

Wedges - I was able to stay on one hole and chip from multiple locations around the green. Again, I found the Lethal and the TP5x stopped quicker than the B330s but it was not by a lot. The B330s might have about a foot more roll out on a 15 yard chip with a 54º wedge.

 

Putting - all three felt really well and this will just come down to preference of feel. The Lethal is definitely the hardest feeling one followed by the TP5x then the B330s.

 

I have been searching for replacement for the Lethal and this ball is it. The TP5x seems to be a slightly softer version of the Lethal.

 

Thank you to Taylormade and GOLFWRX for the opportunity to try the TP5x's out. It is a great ball and will be going in my bag to replace the Lethals.

 

Update 3/25:

 

Got to play a full 18 with the TP5x today. Like said above, it is durable. I unfortunately hit 5 trees with it today but luckily had the members bounces and still played from the fairway. There is only 1 small mark on it. Definitely playable for the next round.

 

Played in good 20-25 mph wind and it cut through it really well. Distance wise, it is still very comparable to the Lethal. Still not seeing the distance improvements others are seeing in the mid irons.

 

Short game was really good today. Chipping around the greens, spin and release was very predictable.

 

Loving this golf ball as a direct replacement for the Lethal's I have been using for years.

 

Thank you again Taylormade and GolfWRX for the opportunity to test the the TP5x.

 

Update 4/23:

 

I have been playing now for a month with this ball exclusively and I can say for certain this is my gamer going forward. The ball is very predictable and is REALLY good in the wind. I have found for me, that in 1 club wind there seems to be no need to adjust the distance. Yesterday it clicked with me that the ball cuts through the wind so well that I was hitting it long when compensating for the normal loss of distance into the wind.

 

I have a nice 100 yard one hop and stop PW shot that i love and is really consistent for me. Yesterday twice during my round I would have 87 and 90 yards into the green with what I would consider normally to be a club up 10 yard wind. Combine the yardage and the wind it should be the 97 -100 yard shots. Both times I went 10 yards past the hole. I am having to adjust to less compensation for the wind on my shots. Which is a great thing!

[DLaake]

Surely you meant 101 right??

[spartan6910]

I'm in! Will be looking to play a few weekend rounds over the coming weeks. Thanks for the opportunity and looking forward to sharing my thoughts/experience. Will be comparing to my current gamer, Vice Pro (Neon).

 

 

EDIT 3/4/17 - Received the dozen TP5 yesterday. Playing tomorrow morning, but I'll give a couple very brief intro thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Packaging/aesthetics - I know this is super minor, but I'm a big fan of this blue color TM is pushing with this line.

 

 

 

As for the ball itself, I'll have to see how it plays tomorrow, but I'm not really a fan of the alignment line. For me personally, I need a pretty solid line to suit my eye, like the one the Vice Pro has (see photo below). Sure, this is easily fixed with a marker, but I'm not sure how it's going to look with the larger 'TP5' text.

As you can tell, I normally play a neon/yellow ball. For me, they are easier to track in the air. I'll be interested to see how this performs visually, since it appears to be a bit whiter/brighter than a Titleist ProV1 I compared it to.

 

 

 

 

Feel - A bit of a contradiction here. In terms of in-hand feel, the Vice Pro feels softer/stickier than the TP5. I am going to be very interested to see how the TP5 wears, as the VP actually does a very good job in terms of durability compared to other balls I've used in the past.

However, after a number of in-home putts, the TP5 feels and sounds softer off the putter face than the VP. Soft feel is never a bad thing, and I look forward to seeing how this translates to the course.

 

I'll be back tomorrow or Monday to update with my thoughts on actual play, but wanted to get this going now.

 

EDIT 3/6/17 - First round impressions (anecdotal evidence)

 

A little background on myself: I am late 20s, played competitively through high school but 'hung it up' after that. Currently play ~twice a month, but trying to get to once a week. Driver SS in the 105-110 range, 8-iron carry is 155-160. I'm extremely high spin on full shots, including driver.

 

Yesterday's conditions: ~60 degrees, overcast, 10-15 mph winds. For this round, I played the front nine with the TP5 and the back nine with the VP.

 

Driver: This is one of two areas I was most concerned with coming into the test. I was very pleased with the TP5. In the windy conditions, I was able to play a lower ball flight with the driver with little to no ballooning, something that is hard for me to find. My normal ball flight is a ~5 yard fade and this played it perfectly. Conditions were pretty firm, and I was able to get some solid roll even off the fade. Very welcomed. I didn't notice much distance gain over the VP - my longest drive with the VP was measured at 306, longest with the TP5 was 311 (both on downwind holes). An extra 5 yards is certainly nice but it's not something I'm going to go crazy about.

 

Irons: This was the second area I was concerned with. As mentioned, I'm a very high spin player and tend to spin a lot of balls out of good spots. This was not the case with the TP5. I felt that I could play my distances and expect a drop and stop type of landing. Occasionally, I would get less spin than I wanted, but I believe that was a byproduct of the hard greens, as the same thing happened with my normally reliable VP. It took me a few holes to start trusting the TP5, but I came to like it.

 

Wedges/greenside: This is one area I was actually disappointed in the TP5. I didn't feel that the ball generated an adequate amount of spin on short wedges or greenside chips/pitches. On at least 4 occasions, I would look to land it in a certain spot and expect some check, but ultimately the ball would roll out significantly more than I had hoped. This is, of course, correctable with practice, but I was not prepared for a tour-level ball to not work for me around the green. I admit that I never hit the TP5 and VP side by side on chip shots, so this may be shades of apples to oranges, but I definitely felt that the VP gave me more greenside spin than the TP5.

 

Putter: I ended up adding an alignment line to the ball and had no problem with that visually. The 'TP5' text did stick out a bit (pic below) but it wasn't distracting. Feel and sound were quite good, although not discernibly different from the VP.

 

 

 

Aesthetics/feel: As I anticipated, I could definitely tell a difference in my ability to see the VP and TP5. I had a harder time tracking the TP5 against the cloudy skies of the day. I would love to try it again with clear skies, but I just feel better tracking the neon yellow VP. For feel, I didn't notice a significant difference. The TP5 may have felt a bit softer, but not much. No difference in sound, either. I expected a more significant difference, to be honest.

 

Durability: Prior to the round even starting, I was concerned with the durability of the TP5, as I accumulated a couple scuff marks following very simple practice chips. However, I was pleasantly surprised that those seemed anomalies, as I thought the TP5 wore extremely well. The wear was slightly better than the VP, although I do not believe this to be a surprise, as the VP feels softer/stickier than the TP5.

 

It's worth noting that I played one of my poorer rounds in the past 6 months or so. The wind definitely played a factor in my score, but I think I got a good feel for each ball. I'm looking to play at least once again next weekend, so I'll hopefully get a better day.

 

Overall, I thought that the TP5 performed well for me, but not good enough to take the VP out of the bag. Perhaps a few more rounds could convince me otherwise. Looking forward to another round with both.

 

-Adam

[Chomper]

I received the email and will post more when I get to test.

 

I have no idea when the balls are due to arrive, but I will be playing a good amount of golf over the next two weeks.

 

UPDATE:

 

I got home from work yesterday (3/2) and saw a box from TM. It was a dozen TP5 balls. I am not going to post pics of the boxes, or sleeves as others have (or will). Suffice to say, the packaging was quite nice. Not too fancy, but certainly not cheap looking. Info on the back of the box.

 

I got out to play this morning (Friday) - it was incredibly windy, therefore my feedback is limited.

 

I have two observations. 1) The ball feels great off of driver, 3w and irons. Putts well, the ball feels good off of putter. No issues getting dialed in on the green. 2) Durability is good - I lost a ball after 4 holes, played another ball the rest of the way in. No scuffs or cuts to speak of, even after the ball hit the desert on at least three occasions (one driver, one 3w, and one 4i). Two bunker shots, no siginificant marks.

 

It was too windy to determine approach spin or greenside spin.

[Medic]

Ok, so this weekend I am playing in a three day tourney. Played day 1 today and used my normal ball - shot a tidy little 77.

Came home and found a dozen brand new Taylormade TP5x's waiting for me. This is a course that I play often and know quite well - so it will be a really great comparison for me. (I know where my drives normally end up and so I can easily state distance comparisons) In addition this course is tough regarding holding the greens. On 4 greens today I landed short and still ended up rolling off the back or close to. So this will allow me to test the Taylormades for spin.

 

I am taking a chance here. For at least one day in real tournament conditions I will be putting these balls in play. After today's round I am right in the mix too so if these balls don't hold the green, don't give me decent distance off of my irons and woods, or don't have much durability it could take me out of the running. Honestly I like the idea of putting them to a test that includes some pressure. : )

 

I will be doing a solid comparison for feel off of my various clubs, spin, distances, durability, and overall performance. By tomorrow at this time I should be able to post a solid review that is sort of all-inclusive. Again thanks TM and GolfWrx for allowing me this opportunity.

[PapaJohick]

super excited to be selected. My wife called me and asked if I ordered golf balls..... um no haha. Then I saw the email. very happy. only wish they would have come yesterday as I left this morning and just played Tobacco Road this afternoon haha. Will be back home Sunday and should be able to get some rounds done with them in the next week or two.

[baylorlefty]

3/10 update

 

Thanks to TM and WRX for the opportunity. I've entered my fair share and was finally selected!

 

Balls arrived last week and it's been pretty wet the last few days. Finally able to get out yesterday and give them a run.

 

About me: lefty, 5 hdcp, ss 112 - 115

 

Last 2-3 years I've primarily played Pro-V1x.

 

TP5x info:

 

Looks - very pleasing to the eye, only complaint would be the putter line, but that could be fixed with a sharpie

 

Feel - Feels great off the driver and irons. Putting, still need a little more time, but it felt solid.

 

Performance - As many have said on here already, I was surprised at the extra distance coming from the irons. Not sure if it had anything to do with excitement of testing new balls and wanting to make a good swing, but most shots were a little longer and 2 flew the green trying to get to a back pin.

 

Looking forward to getting some more time in and may have found a new ball for 2017 if I can dial in the iron yardages.

 

 

 

[cbrwn425]

Wife called yesterday and said that something from taylormade came. Super excited to test these out after reading everything in the taylormade Tuesday thread.

[blev2]

Excited to get these in!

[bruinsPATSirish]

Got my sexy dozen of TP5X today!

 

Excited to test these out will report back soon

[ds19]

I got my box from taylormade yesterday before I was every notified! Talk about a pleasant surprise! Played today with them will get to results up soon!

 

Background

I am a 7 handicap who plays very regularly. Swing speed is 105mph with the driving. I I have played the callaway chrome soft basically since they were released. I have played around with some different balls including the obvious Pro V1 and the Bridgestone b330's. I always come back to the chrome soft for the soft feel and the decent price. Iron play is probably the strongest part of my game with my driving being the weakest. I play tight house/water lined fairways on your typical Florida golf courses.

 

My first thought when playing the TP5 was how nice and solid the ball felt when struck with an iron. Slightly more firm than the chromesoft but not firm by any stretch. I would say this was my favorite part of the ball. Feel from irons/wedges and specifically the putter was exceptional, superior to the chromesoft.

 

Distance wise I think was negligible difference between the two golf balls. There potentially could be a few yards here or there either way but nothing I noticed.

 

The spin of these balls is what you would expect. Very similar to the any tour urethane ball. Again in this respect seemed very similar to what I am currently playing. I think in this category I was slightly underwhelmed. I expected some discernible spin from other balls I played and at least at this point in time that it not the case.

 

Overall would I buy these golf balls? Maybe... If the price point is right yes I would play these. With chromesoft performing very similarly I find it hard to justify switching to a ball that likely has a higher price tag. If you are someone who plays other top level balls I think they would be worth a try. The feel is superior to anything I have played and maybe your results performance wise could be superior.

 

Will be playing and testing these again this weekend and will do more comparisons to Pro V1!

[Crashhays]

Got the email today! First time being selected and I'm excited! Can't wait to test these out and give you guys the low down! Thanks so much again!

[IHFN]

I've only been able to play 18 holes with them. I haven't been able to do any real side testing, but plan to this week since I can get out after work. But I figured I'd go ahead and give some details and first impressions. I plan on doing some launch monitor numbers as well so it'll be interesting to see whether my initial impressions match the numbers.

 

Some background on me... I usually try every ball that comes out each year to find the ball that works best for not just my game, but for the main course I play. For instance, two years ago I played a course with incredibly soft bent grass greens. For them, I played low spin balls a lot to keep from spinning everything back. The greens were so soft that I wasn't really hampered by no spin when chipping.

 

I've now moved to rock hard bermuda greens so I now want the ball that spins the most around the greens. Last year I played the ProV1x for most of the year as overall it fit what I was wanting.

 

As I said earlier I was able to play 18 holes with the TP5X ball. My comparisons here are to the 2016 ProV1x. I found that it is indeed long and less spinning on my drives. With my mid to long irons the TP5X seemed to launch higher, but spin a little less. With short irons the TP5X seemed to actually spin more. Around the greens, the TP5X seemed to spin a little less.

 

Again, this was only 18 holes, but this is what SEEMED to be happening. I really don't have any conclusions yet, but will update when I do more testing this week.

[oneputter]

Not a placeholder or free tester but I have played three rounds with the TP5 and it feels and plays great (pro gave me a proto). Irons are long, maybe a half club extra over the B330RX. I do seem to have an issue of the driver being a little short but after looking at some LM data that was published online from someone with similar swing speed to mine (mid 90's) it may be that i was getting too much spin. Will try the TP5x when it warms up again and see how that works out.

[amateur pro]

finally had a chance to get a few rounds in with the tp5x.

 

about me: 7-10 hcp, best parts of my game are driving and putting. around the greens and iron shots depend on the day. driver swingspeed is 112-116 not a terrible transition and working on my tempo. fairly aggressive swinger. current bag features an epic driver, RC 3w, mp25 irons, vokey wedges, scotty newport or monterrey or DLL+, TM tour preferred x ball

 

woods: feel is just as good as my tour preferred. honestly couldnt tell a difference. sound is very similar as well. i will say i was consistently a hair longer with the tp5x. there were a couple of spots that i hit where, unless i really put a good swing on it, i dont get to. tp5x surprised me on a couple of these locations. into the wind performance is good as well, although its really hard to judge against 20-25 mph gusts.

 

irons: i read some other reviews, and dont agree with this ball being harsh off irons. they felt great on good shots, and provided solid feedback on mishits. compared to the tour preferred, mishits were slightly more audible, which is fine to me, because its a mishit. distances and spin were again very consistent with what i have experienced out of TM balls, nothing crazy out of the ordinary.

 

wedges: is it just me, or do these spin fantastic off your wedges? hop and stop machine. again mishits are mishits, but on good shots this ball performs. feel is great as is sound, a nice solid thud, not too clicky. super consistent, which is what i am looking for.

 

putter: my only negative here. not on feel, distance control, etc etc etc...part of the reason i like my tour preferred is the font and length of the "tour preferred x" script. its a perfect alignment line. this tp5x is very in your face, and in my opinion - almost cheap looking...its very bridgestone e series-esque (no offense to e series guys, i just dont dig the graphics). ive always enjoyed the minimalist sleek modern look of TM graphics on their premium balls (i dont mark or sharpie my balls)

 

in summary, its a great premium ball, perfect evolution of the TP series, and worth the price of admission. i will continue to use my stash of TP's and when i dunk all those in water, forest, backyards and windows, the TP5x will be my next purchase. just have to figure out how to get over that giant TP5x!

[pdaero]

A little about me - 105ish SS with a smooth backswing/moderate tempo, and somewhere between a 0-1 handicap. Historically a ProV1x player for the last 10 years, and driving has mostly been a strength in my game.

 

3/15 update - played it on course, and flights beautifully through the wind. Compared it directly to the 2015 ProV1x which has been a wonderful ball for me, and to my game they play very similarly. I can imagine someone gaining more distance that spins it quite a bit with the irons, but I don't spin the cover off of the ball. The sound of putts and also off the driver is a beautiful deep sound, which reminds me of the Lethal from a few years ago. I had a 50 yard pitch, and it flew beautifully, checked, and rolled slightly on the firm greens. Every shot around the green I hit with it, it performed exactly how I would hope/expect.

 

3/23 update - played a round in significant wind, and it played slightly better into the wind than the 2015 ProV1x. I really enjoy the feel around the green and everywhere else, but I would hope for a little more practice on short shots where I need to spin it.

 

Recap: This ball has better spin-reducing characteristics than I can necessarily take advantage of, so the similar performance to the 2015 ProV1x makes sense to me. Taylormade has a real winner with the ball, and the durability is plus-plus.

[Fourpar18]

Placeholder, I am on cloud "5" right now! Very pleased to be selected and I cannot wait to see who wins between the following:

 

KSig

Bridgestone B330S

[timmy8151]

Placeholder!

[Macattack]

Looking forward to testing these out.

[jml4]

After seeing the review from the TM Kingdom WRX trip, I'm excited to test these out!

 

March 3, 2017

The beauty of working from my home..? I know the minute a wonderful golf delivery lands. Just got a dozen of the TP5 dropped off. Here's a few pics of the packaging, etc. I really like the overall simplicity of the TM golf ball, very minimal logo, etc. Not a huge deal, but just something I appreciate.

 

I am playing tomorrow, so will do a bit of on course testing, though I'm playing a new course, so not sure how extensive I want to get, as I'll be seeing everything for the first time. Am planning on getting out to the local course that I know inside and out for some strong on course feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 4, 2017 - Playing Round Update

I got out to play this weekend… split time on the course with the new ’17 Z Star and the TP5 sent to me by TM. I have to say, so far, they definitely live up to the expectations.

My game lacks consistency. One day, my driving is great, but it’s short game that’s awful. The next: I can’t find the fairway, and I’m three jacking all over.

I started the round not striking the ball particularly well, and had never played the course, so I used the Z Star to get a baseline. The course is a bit tricky, and it’s hard to go out there and pull driver without putting yourself in a bad spot for your second shot. From my 1 and only driver fitting, I swing 100 mph, and, when I’m not losing things right, can get it out there about 270, but can mix in some good roll out. Driver was performing pretty well (2017 M1 which has been A1 since I put that in play) but iron ball striking was not great.

Hit a drive that found the middle of the fairway on 7 with the Z Star, had a wedge in so I put the TP5 down. Caught it good, and it spun back off the front, which I didn’t expect as I hadn’t been spinning that much all day. Feel off the club is soft, but not too much.

The 8th is when I moved to the TP5 exclusively. Big par 5, and I put one out 361 with a huge roll out and some help from the generous landscaping. Knew I caught it good on the swing, but the amazing thing is how straight it wants to go. I typically have a tendency to get steep, and the driver can really punish me, getting crazy high launching, high spinning shots the go right and keep moving right. The TP5, even on my worse driver swings, wanted to stay straight - I wouldn’t lose them as far as I typically would have.

The crazy thing about that drive, is when I compared with my playing partners. I’m 5’10” on a good day, 165, and was paired with one guy 6’1” 180-190. Big, strong dude, good stick, and he had been crushing drives. On the same hole, he caught one good too, with a slight draw, and I ended up 50 yards past him. Huge ego boost there haha though it was most likely due to landing area of our respective shots. But the crazy thing is, the rest of the round, here I was keeping up with him distance-wise. I felt confident on the tee, knowing that I could pick my line, and this TP5 wanted to stay on it.

Since the iron striking day wasn’t great, I can’t really compare distances. I will get them back out and keep testing.

Last few thoughts - on the 5th and 6th I believe, while playing the Z-Star, which I REALLY like, I hit two bad blocks off the tee, and they just spun off line. Lost both of them. When I switched on 8 to the TP5, played with that ball the rest of the round. The bad shots I’d hit, still managed to be ok. Maybe it was getting into a groove, but I feel like I put a few swings on the back 9 “right in the lumber yard” and the Z-Star would have ended up there, but the TP didn’t.

Also, I gave my brother a sleeve, which he used on the round. Doesn’t like spending money on golf balls, for him, the benefits of a ProV don’t justify the cost. I’ve gotten him into the Snell MTB and the ’17 Z-Star, as we split between us when I find a deal. He likes both, plays both until he runs out. No loyalty to any one ball, just whatever’s cheap. Likes the ProV but would never spend the money to buy.

Before the round, I was talking to him about the TM WRX trip, and how impressed everyone was with the golf ball especially. His thoughts: “Sure, but they cost as much as a ProV, so who cares…”

On the course, with the TP5, he was getting great spin on all shots with the ball, driver was long and straight, feel was great. He had a 73 yard fairway bunker shot, that he caught so clean, it hit about 8 feet beyond hole, spun back and came 1 revolution short of eagle from the sand. He loves the feel, the spin… everything - fully sold, and is now upset because he’s gonna have to start paying more to play that ball, but he know’s it’s worth it.

[scottc25]

My dozen TP5X arrived on my doorstep just now and will be put into play Sunday. My usual gamer is the ProV1X.

[Willstuart2328]

Is the testing still going on? Any chance new members could be selected?