The Big Review: Taylormade Penta TP5 vs Callaway Hex Black Tour vs Srixon Z Star XV

[G-Bone]

It's a long read... but there's a Red LDP twist at the end

It's not quite golf season here in Michigan yet (though we've been lucky enough to get in a few rounds during this soft winter), however I've made a few trips down to Florida and have spent some time testing the three balls I'm considering for 2012; Srixon Z Star XV, Taylormade Penta TP5 and Callaway Hex Black Tour. So, if you don't mind a long winded review, here are my results!




First, a couple quick notes about me: 10 Index, 102 mph driver swing speed, high launch/high spin swing, and I played original Penta for the better part of the last two seasons (Switched to Pro V1x due to better driver performance). I'm always looking for a ball that I won't over spin, not only off the tee, but more importantly, into the green. That quest is what has lead me to these three balls.




Being that most of us here are familiar with Titleist Pro V1x characteristics, I will use V1x as the control for my comparisons. Also, my wedges are CC groves, so non conforming grooves certainly would garner different results. Finally, everything to follow is MY OPINION and is based on MY GAME, I'm confident many of you will find different results when comparing these golf balls.







Hex Black:

First let me say that I have not liked a Callaway ball since the original Tour i series, I played that ball for two years, it fit my game very well. Sense then however, Callaway balls have felt much to firm and have had almost a glassy sound to them, not to mention their performance characteristics have not fit my game. All that being said, the new Hex Black has corrected most of those issues.




Driver -

Great feel, similar to V1x. Distance was solid, as long or slightly longer than V1x. It performed very well in the wind, but didn't stand out from the pack, better than V1x. Very straight, it took a bit more effort to turn the Hex over, therefore making it better on mishits. I'd say ball flight was a touch lower than V1x, and right in the middle of TP5 and XV.




Woods / Hybrids -

Virtually identical to my driver results.




Long / Mid Irons -

The feel for me here is firmer than I prefer, I'd assume that's do to my slower swing speed, perhaps bigger hitters will compress this ball better. I often "felt" that I wasn't getting all the distance I should because of the firm feel, but in reality that was not the case, the distance was fine, and again on par with V1x. Ball flight was mid to slightly high.




Short irons / Wedges -

This is where things started going down hill for me in the feel department, Hex has a hard and dead for me, I didn't like it at all. Spin into the greens is acceptable, the lowest of the bunch and definitely less than V1x, which for my game, is a good thing. Full shots would hit the green and release slightly, most often the ball would come to rest 5 to 10 feet from pitch mark. However, if you attack the ball hard with sand/lob wedge the ball would hit, dance and basically stay where it landed. With the 40 to 50 yard low sizzler the ball would check a bite then release, more so than V1x and similar to TP5.




Green-side and bunkers -

I didn't spend as much time here with this ball as the others, but I can say less all around spin for me than V1x.




Putter -

Great feel and feedback. In the past I've enjoyed the feel of soft feeling balls off the putter (V1, original Penta), recently I've found myself preferring a slightly firmer feel (V1x, Z Star XV), I find it gives me better feed back and somehow assists me with lag putting. The Hex is perfect here, feels good, sounds good, and flat out blows previous Callaway offerings out of the water.



Durability -


Hex is the most durable Callaway ball to date. More so than V1x, second best of the three. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well this ball held up. It would show minor "gills" after hard wedge shots, but not shredding. Again the damage was minor, and rarely made the ball unplayable for me. The cover appears to be very soft, which I believe allows it to flex more so than tear when struck solid with a wedge. The Hex was a close second place in durability, and miles ahead of the third place ball.







Penta TP5:

As I mentioned previously, I played the original Penta for almost two seasons. I finally switched to V1x late last year do to my frustration with Pentas poor driver performance. I found that I was giving up distance and getting more spin than I prefer off the tee. Ironically, TaylorMade's claims of the TP5 are that they have improved the very things I disliked about the original Penta, so needless to say, I was excited to give the TP5 a run!




Driver -

To me this ball feels great. Soft, yet responsive, and against TM's claims that the ball is softer, somehow it felt slightly firmer. Much softer than V1x, as well as the other two balls. However, TM is correct about another claim, this thing has distance, and the spin off the tee is definitely less. Yet, I still felt V1x has less spin and is still a touch longer. But I would no longer pass on the TP5 do to distance loss or over spin, it's been fixed! The TP5 performs well in the wind, better than V1x, but I'd say the weakest of the three tested. To do higher spin, I found it easy to turn the ball over, but miss-hits were exaggerated as well. Like the original, ball flight is high, higher than V1x and the highest in the group.




Woods / Hybrids -

TP5 does well here, slightly stronger flight than with driver, similar to V1x. Good feel and distance.




Long / Mid irons -

The feel here is perfect for me, just like the original (part of what sucked my in two years ago). Distance is equal to V1x, as well as the other two balls. No ballooning, yet still a fair amount of spin. My miss is a hook, so the additional spin will exaggerate this balls movement making my misses worse. As with the original Penta, it seems as you get to the shorter clubs the ball flight continues to get stronger and more piercing, this is a feature I like.




Short irons / Wedges -

Again, outstanding feel with these clubs, just perfect. Distance is on par with V1x and perhaps slightly longer for me than Hex. Control and spin is solid, it comes in strong, bites and releases just a few feet. Yet, if you want to get it to spin back, with the right technique it can be done. Now here is the shocker, TP5 doesn't handle the 50 yard zipper well at all. The ball comes in hot, bites slightly, but rolls out much more than I prefer, this for my is different from the original, V1x and XV win here.




Green-side and bunkers -

As mentioned above, the TP5 doesn't seem to have spin here that I prefer, simply to much release for me. Out of the bunkers it just wouldn't bite enough, odd. But once again, two thumbs up for feel with chipping and bumps. V1X wins hands down here, with the exception of feel.




Putter -

Just like the original, the TP5 has a buttery soft feel off the flat stick. Sadly enough, I'm currently using an insert putter, so I didn't get to enjoy this as much as when I was using a stainless head. As mentioned above, I've come to like firmer balls here, I'm sure do to my insert putter, but I wouldn't have an issue with the TP5 feedback at all.



Durability -


I'd say TP5 is on par with the original Penta. For me, about equal to V1x, but without exception the worst of the three balls tested, a distant third place against Hex and XV. What I find interesting about Penta is that is never really shreds our gills for me, however it does show excessive scuffing. The good news is I feel the damage is more cosmetic and rarely effects the playability of the ball.







Z Star XV:

Interesting story here; this ball was never on my radar, not anywhere close to my short list of balls to try out. Also, as most of you know, this ball came out last year, so it's not even a new model. So why am I testing it you ask, because of all of you here on GolfWRX! Everything I've read here about the XV has made it sound like the exact ball I've been hunting for, so my expectations were high... and here are my results.




Driver -

Nice... Feel is different from everything else for me, slightly softer than V1x and Hex, firmer than TP5, yet more "lively" than all of them. Hot, that's the feeling I get with XV, and as you can imagine, I like it! For me, this is the distance is a winner, into the wind, down wind, no wind, it didn't matter, XV was longer than all of them. It's very low spin off the tee, on par with Hex and lower than V1x. This makes it more difficult to turn over, but it can certainly be done. Not to mention the lower spin seems to help me when I occasionally "over cook" my draw. At times, into the wind, I found this ball 10+ yards longer than V1x. Ball flight is strong, and to me, reminiscent of the beloved Red LDP. I'd say it was the lowest launching of the bunch by far, including V1x.




Woods / Hybrids -

Virtually identical to my driver results.




Long / Mid irons -

What can I say, I like the XV here as well. Something about this ball just gives me confidence, I believe a lot of this is me knowing I won't over spin this ball, therefore bad shots simply don't seem to get away from me. Feel and ball flight are similar to V1x here, but less spin and more control for me.




Short irons / Wedges -

This is where this ball gets interesting... Somehow, the spin seems to be perfect across all my shots with shorter clubs. Short irons and full wedges don't over spin; drop, stop, and ever so slightly roll out. You'll find XV just a few feet from the pitch mark. 50 yard sizzler you ask, perfect! The XV hits, bites hard, and quickly stops moving; attacking the pin with this ball is fun. There is no over-spin or under-spin with any shot with XV for me, however, there is one little gripe... Feel. The feel isn't terrible, but it's not as nice as TP5 either, similar to V1x, but I think V1x is slightly better here. For me, the XV beats them all on performance hands down in this department, it's sweet!




Green-side and bunkers -

Spin performance is a winner here also. Sadly, I spent more time in the Blue Monsters bunkers than I'd like, and both me and my playing partners were continually impressed at how well the XV fired out of the bunkers with just enough bite to make me look good almost every time. Chips worked well also, it was easy for me to get the ball to check or roll out depending on the shot. I found the XV performance to be very V1x like here, perhaps slightly closer to V1 if you can imagine that. What shocks me the most is the outstanding green side performance without the overspin on full shots... Dare I say.. Holy Grail... I'd better not. ;)




Putter -

Simple... It's just right. Slightly softer than V1X, similar to Hex with slightly less click, and nowhere near as soft as TP5.



Durability -


Without exception the most durable ball of the three; slightly better than Hex and much more durable than TP5, and of course more durable than V1x. Honestly, I was simply amazed at how well this ball held up, seeing that it has the thinnest cover of them all, this was very unexpected. Now, this ball didn't really scuff our get "wedge gills," however, when it did get damaged it was more of a hole or a tear in the cover. So, unlike the other balls that you could continue to play with some damage, I felt the XV had to come out of play once the damage occurred. The good news is, I think I only took one out of play through out the six or so rounds I used them for.







That's it! So, if you made it this far, I'm sure you've guessed what ball is on the 2012 roster, right? Not so fast... I'm a WRX'er, so it's never that easy!




Yes, the Z Star XV is a great ball, and though my review may not convey it, the Penta TP5 put up a solid fight. Based on feel alone, I thought about dealing with TP5's short comings. But after lots of comparing, I've ruled the new Penta out. So what's left you ask, well the Hex Black of course!




Early on I kind of put the Hex to the side, I was really turned off with the feel, and therefore I didn't spend as much time testing it as the other two. I'd played the Hex a few weeks earlier, before the TP5 was out and I hadn't yet decided to try out the XV. When playing the Hex up against the V1x exclusively, the Hex did rather well. So, in all fairness to myself, I've decided to put the Hex head to head with the XV next week while I'm in Tampa. Part of me feels that the extremely soft feel of the TP5 prematurely turned me off the the firmer Hex, and now that the TP5 is out, comparing the performance of the two firmer balls may give me more accurate results.




In closing, I believe the XV will be my ball, but the 'HO' in me is forcing me to give the Hex one last shot. Anyhow, not that anyone really cares, but next week I'll report back on my final decision, as well as add any additional information I may have found about the performance of these two balls.




Sorry for being long winded... Thanks for reading!




PS - For those of you searching for a replacement to TaylorMades Red LDP, I'd say the TP5 is very similar in every aspect, with the one exception of TP5 having higher launch and flight. You can also make a case that the Z Star is a solid Red LDP replacement as well; I feel they share similar launch and flight characteristics, but the XV is slightly less spin with driver through long irons.




Steve



UPDATED TO ADD DURABILITY 02/24/12

[SDL]

Steve,

Great review! Thanks for putting this together.

I'm very interested in the 3 balls you tested, so this is the kind of info I'm looking for. My h'cap is about the same as yours, but my swingspeed has been dropping as I get older so it's now only about 85-90 mph with driver. I used to play the TM Red LDP, so I know what that cult following is all about. Maybe a few of my comments can help some of the lower swingspeed players think about which of these balls might work for them. Having said that, I have not yet been able to get my hands on the Hex Black Tour and thus can't compare that ball to the others.

After the Red LDP was discontinued, I was really looking forward to the first generation Penta. A TM rep assured me that it had the distance of the Red LDP but with softer feel and better performance around the green. I tried the Penta and liked the feel because I always thought the Red LDP was a bit too firm for putting/chipping. However, the Penta was shorter for me with driver and fairway woods and it also had too much spin off the driver, so I stopped playing it. After trying several other balls, I finally settled on the Bridgestone B-330 RX and the Srixon Z-Star XV.

For my swingspeed, the RX is supposed to be perfect -- and it's close. The only thing I don't like about it is that it rolls out too much on shots around the green. I checked out the RXS to get more spin, but it doesn't perform as well off the driver as the RX for me. So I kept looking. That's how I found the XV. I've heard lots of people say that the XV is only for high-speed swingers, but it still works for me. It's at least as long as the RX off the driver, though a bit spinnier off the longer clubs. It has better short-game spin than the RX, but the RX feels a little softer (which I like). If the XV had softer feel and was a bit straighter off the tee for me, it would be perfect. Despite my lower swingspeed, the XV is very long for me. And by the way, at the risk of being accused of heresy, both the XV and the RX are longer and straighter off the tee for me than the Red LDP.

In 2012, I'll be comparing the latest version of the Bridgestone RX, the Srixon XV from last year (no new model) and the new SL (softer compression), the Penta TP5, and the Hex Black Tour. If the Srixon SL can give me the distance of the XV with softer short-game feel and less spin on the longer clubs, it'll be a strong contender for me. If the TP5 gives me enough low-spin distance off the tee once it warms up enough that I can hit balls outside, it will also be in the mix. I did pick up a sleeve of the TP5 to putt and chip with indoors, and I really like the soft feel. Based on your comments, the Hex Black may be too firm for my taste, but I might give it a try anyway to see if it has any magic.

Thanks again for your detailed review! Be sure to let us know how the XV vs. Hex dual turns out.

SDL

[DFinch]

Great review. Thanks!

[asong77]

Very comprehensive, detailed, and well-written review. Thanks for taking the time.

[ShowMe]

[quote name='SDL' timestamp='1329960748' post='4354467']
Steve,

Great review! Thanks for putting this together.

I'm very interested in the 3 balls you tested, so this is the kind of info I'm looking for. My h'cap is about the same as yours, but my swingspeed has been dropping as I get older so it's now only about 85-90 mph with driver. I used to play the TM Red LDP, so I know what that cult following is all about. Maybe a few of my comments can help some of the lower swingspeed players think about which of these balls might work for them. Having said that, I have not yet been able to get my hands on the Hex Black Tour and thus can't compare that ball to the others.

After the Red LDP was discontinued, I was really looking forward to the first generation Penta. A TM rep assured me that it had the distance of the Red LDP but with softer feel and better performance around the green. I tried the Penta and liked the feel because I always thought the Red LDP was a bit too firm for putting/chipping. However, the Penta was shorter for me with driver and fairway woods and it also had too much spin off the driver, so I stopped playing it. After trying several other balls, I finally settled on the Bridgestone B-330 RX and the Srixon Z-Star XV.

For my swingspeed, the RX is supposed to be perfect -- and it's close. The only thing I don't like about it is that it rolls out too much on shots around the green. I checked out the RXS to get more spin, but it doesn't perform as well off the driver as the RX for me. So I kept looking. That's how I found the XV. I've heard lots of people say that the XV is only for high-speed swingers, but it still works for me. It's at least as long as the RX off the driver, though a bit spinnier off the longer clubs. It has better short-game spin than the RX, but the RX feels a little softer (which I like). If the XV had softer feel and was a bit straighter off the tee for me, it would be perfect. Despite my lower swingspeed, the XV is very long for me. And by the way, at the risk of being accused of heresy, both the XV and the RX are longer and straighter off the tee for me than the Red LDP.

In 2012, I'll be comparing the latest version of the Bridgestone RX, the Srixon XV from last year (no new model) and the new SL (softer compression), the Penta TP5, and the Hex Black Tour. If the Srixon SL can give me the distance of the XV with softer short-game feel and less spin on the longer clubs, it'll be a strong contender for me. If the TP5 gives me enough low-spin distance off the tee once it warms up enough that I can hit balls outside, it will also be in the mix. I did pick up a sleeve of the TP5 to putt and chip with indoors, and I really like the soft feel. Based on your comments, the Hex Black may be too firm for my taste, but I might give it a try anyway to see if it has any magic.

Thanks again for your detailed review! Be sure to let us know how the XV vs. Hex dual turns out.

SDL
[/quote]

Based on your swing speed, you might want to try something like an NXT or NXT Tour. Those two and the RX are more likely to compress better for swing speeds < 100mph, resulting in more distance.

[SDL]

[quote name='ShowMe' timestamp='1330033374' post='4361191']
Based on your swing speed, you might want to try something like an NXT or NXT Tour. Those two and the RX are more likely to compress better for swing speeds < 100mph, resulting in more distance.
[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried the earlier version of the NXT Tour, and I didn't like its lack of "bite" around the green. I probably should try the new version, but my short game is typically better with a ball with a urethane cover (which the NXT doesn't have). I really like the short-game performance of the Pro V1 or Z-Star, but they're both shorter and not as straight off the tee for me compared to the Bridgestone RX or Srixon XV.

I do want to comment on the swingspeed vs. distance issue. As I'm sure you know, Bridgestone has really pushed the need to match the ball to the swingspeed while Titleist has claimed that even their "pro" level balls can work well at any swingspeed. The Titleist argument is that their balls couldn't work well with the lower swingspeeds needed for irons and wedges if they only worked well at high speeds. I mostly agree with that statement, and my experience has been that each player's launch conditions are unique and may work better with some balls than with others so it's worth trying several different balls even if they aren't an official match for your swingspeed. When Golf Digest did a robot test of a lot of different balls a couple years back, they looked at ball performance at 90 mph and 105 mph off the driver. The longest ball tested at 90 mph was the TM Black, which was a firm high-compression ball that a 90 mph speed theoretically shouldn't be able to compress adequately. I didn't like the hard feel of the TM Black, but it got me to try the TM Red, which had a softer feel and was almost as long as the TM Black at 90 mph.

So I'm at the point where I'll try any urethane covered ball out there -- and use whatever feels and performs the best for my swing.

SDL

[TMBob]

Great reviews...did I miss durability? Brightness?

Reason why I ask is that I found the XV's to actually be quite poor when compared to Pro V and other balls. I have been messing with the XV this winter and I love the ball, the bright white is a must, but man do they look bad after one round IMHO.

[SwingBlues]

Thanks for the detailed review, very interesting indeed. Yeah, durability would have been nice to add, see how all the balls look like after a couple of rounds. I use the XV predominantly and for me, this ball is tough - tougher than the Z-Star, V1 and V1x and even my much vaughted Red LDP which I still have. By the way, the Red LDP is the BETTER ball for into the wind, the XV is close but the Red just bores better and flatter into the wind - at least for my swing.

I'll throw another ball in here which should interest those who are looking for a distance ball with durability and XV like performance without the premium price - Trispeed Tour. I bounce between this and the XV, both are as long as each other and I swing 105+ with bombs out there. The TT will release a wee bit though but not much, pretty much drop and stop and a little firmer than the XV off the putter. At 1/2 the price of the XV or less, I'll take that all day long. Sadly, Srixon is discountinuing this ball also...bah!

[G-Bone]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1330058073' post='4364517']
Great reviews...did I miss durability? Brightness?

Reason why I ask is that I found the XV's to actually be quite poor when compared to Pro V and other balls. I have been messing with the XV this winter and I love the ball, the bright white is a must, but man do they look bad after one round IMHO.
[/quote]

Great point... Sorry for the omission. I've now updated the review to include DURABILITY. It wasn't top of mind for me, I was a lot more excited about how each of them play!

As far as brightness goes, XV is slightly whiter than all of them. However, nothing that I noticed on the course. I always felt Pro V was the whitest ball and Callaway was on the opposite end of the scale. However, it seems with this years offering they all seem to be the same "shade of white"... The only exclusion being the Z Star, definitely the brightest white of the bunch.

[cantill2]

I appreciate the detailed review here Steve. My driver swing speed is around 115 MPH and i've found the balls you have reviewed to be very similar in driver distance. I play the Pro V1x because i feel like it gives me the best opportunity to score from 100 yards and in.

I do like the Srixon ZStar XV but it feels too firm on pitches, chip shots, and putts. Also, I don't feel like i get enough greenside spin on full wedge shots with this ball. This is a big reason why i stopped playing the Callaway Tour IZ. The Penta TP5 is probably the only golf ball out there that is as good if not better than the Pro V1 or Pro V1x. I think it cuts through the wind better and is comparable off the tee. But the Penta TP5 works wonderful into the greens with long irons, short irons, wedges. It has a great feel off the putter and it's durability is very average.

I know Srixon has the slogan, "Play a better ball don't just play what the pros play" or whatever. But I don't see that many good amateurs at my country club playing with Srixon balls. That's not to say it's not a good golf ball for people who are a 10 handicap and swing in the low 100's. But i play to an index of 0.6 and i've never really trusted Srixons lineup of balls. For a good amount of time I played with the Bridgestone B330-S and I still think it's an awesome golf ball. I have also played with the Penta quite a bit... But I don't think the Srixon Z-Star XV is one of the better offerings on the premium urethane covered balls. To be honest, I like their previous model Z Star a lot better. I felt like it played more similar to the Pro V1. Does anyone else agree with me or am i way out in left field to say this? Again, i'm not slamming the XV i just don't consider it to be anywhere near the caliber of a ball as the TP Red LDP or the Pro V's.

[G-Bone]

[quote name='cantill2' timestamp='1330096050' post='4366133']
I appreciate the detailed review here Steve. My driver swing speed is around 115 MPH and i've found the balls you have reviewed to be very similar in driver distance. I play the Pro V1x because i feel like it gives me the best opportunity to score from 100 yards and in.

I do like the Srixon ZStar XV but it feels too firm on pitches, chip shots, and putts. Also, I don't feel like i get enough greenside spin on full wedge shots with this ball. This is a big reason why i stopped playing the Callaway Tour IZ. The Penta TP5 is probably the only golf ball out there that is as good if not better than the Pro V1 or Pro V1x. I think it cuts through the wind better and is comparable off the tee. But the Penta TP5 works wonderful into the greens with long irons, short irons, wedges. It has a great feel off the putter and it's durability is very average.

I know Srixon has the slogan, "Play a better ball don't just play what the pros play" or whatever. But I don't see that many good amateurs at my country club playing with Srixon balls. That's not to say it's not a good golf ball for people who are a 10 handicap and swing in the low 100's. But i play to an index of 0.6 and i've never really trusted Srixons lineup of balls. For a good amount of time I played with the Bridgestone B330-S and I still think it's an awesome golf ball. I have also played with the Penta quite a bit... But I don't think the Srixon Z-Star XV is one of the better offerings on the premium urethane covered balls. To be honest, I like their previous model Z Star a lot better. I felt like it played more similar to the Pro V1. Does anyone else agree with me or am i way out in left field to say this? Again, i'm not slamming the XV i just don't consider it to be anywhere near the caliber of a ball as the TP Red LDP or the Pro V's.



[/quote]

Great perspective. Please keep one thing in mind when it comes to MY ball selection; my swing generates excessive spin on full wedge and short iron shots, and as a 10 index, I'm simply not good enough to control it. Therefore, I'm always on the hunt for a premium ball that I can get good green side control (spin/bite) but that doesn't over spin off the tee or into the green. (haven't found a non urethane ball yet that offers this feature)

Because of my situation I find both Pro V's to be to spinny for me, V1x of course being the better of the two. I could certainly play V1x or Penta TP5 and be very happy, but it appears that for my game, the XV is a slightly better fit overall, probably due to the exact reason you don't like it... Lower spin into the green.

I agree that you rarely see good amateurs playing Srixon balls, which is probably why previously I've never considered them. But I must admit, at this point, I'm very happy I finally did!

[cantill2]

Steve,

Just a thought maybe if you switched to irons with conforming grooves you would generate less spin - if you are trying to reduce spin on your approach shots then you might want to look at changing your irons to a set that has conforming grooves. Just my 2 cents. Good luck. By the way I am from Michigan and played college golf for Michigan State a long time ago.

[G-Bone]

[quote name='cantill2' timestamp='1330121129' post='4369423']
Steve,

Just a thought maybe if you switched to irons with conforming grooves you would generate less spin - if you are trying to reduce spin on your approach shots then you might want to look at changing your irons to a set that has conforming grooves. Just my 2 cents. Good luck. By the way I am from Michigan and played college golf for Michigan State a long time ago.
[/quote]

All input is greatly appreciated, specially from a fellow Michigander! But just so you know, as I mentioned in my review, we wedges are conforming groves. I did not mention this, but actually all my irons are CC groves, it did help me when I switched over.

[moonshine]

I liked the tour i & x but no way would I call the i(s) hard...thought it had a nice feel to it. Not as nice as the stone, but I bought two dozen for $17 a box around Christmas. Thanks for the review....great read!

[jtmagic]

Excellent review. I tried the Hex today for the first time and was very pleased with the results. It was very windy and the Hex performed very well especially into the wind.

[Shooter_McGavin]

awesome review. been reading about the XV, but decided to pick some up because of your post. will have to see how they hold up compared to the v1x's i normally use.

[LONG&STR8]

Great review. I've been playing nothing but XVs and Penta TPs (not TP5s) and also come from playing TP Red LDPs. The XV in Tour Yellow is the ball I played today for 18 holes and it's still in good condition for next round.

[caseboy87]

Thanks for the detailed review! I can't wait to try out all the new Callaway stuff this year... sounds like some great new things

[mcgrath22]

The Penta TP5 has me curious but it would be difficult for me to go away from the Pro V1x. It is just a perfect ball for my game. Relatively low spin off the driver and high spin on wedge shots. I love playing a low trajectory/ high spin wedge shot and no ball bites like the Pro Vs.

[Toddo64]

I have used the Penta TP5 a couple of times now and am really impressed with the ballflight and how it handles in the wind. It is also more durable I think than the original Penta, as I had one hit a tree and couldn't even tell it had been scuffed. I also want to try the new Bridgestone B 330 RX and the Titleist NXT Tour S this spring too...but right now, I really like the new TP5.

[Chucksteak77]

Used the Hex Black for the first time today and played well enough to use a single ball the whole round. I have played many rounds with both the pro-v 1x and the z star xv and i would say that the hex black is very comparable to the z star xv. The ball is very firm contributing to shattering glass sound it makes when crushed. This ball really helps my game as it has very low spin off the driver and a noticeable piercing ball flight. the prov-1x i normally launches high, stays high and drops straight down. The hex black drilled itself to my normal carry distance and then rolled out another 20 yards, maybe the fairways at bethpage were a little firm but it didn't seem like my Korean playing partners where experiencing the same generosity. The differences between the HB and the Prov where unnoticeable off the long irons, but the HB was much more piercing off the shorties and spun about the same which i liked alot. I was also unable to hit my bump and run shots because the ball would come to a complete stop as soon as it hit the fairway, maybe my ball striking has improved but i have never had that happen to me. Pitch shots had ton of spin and i was able to zip it back slightly. Off the putter the ball felt perfect, period. The ball was extremely scuffed after the round but never tore, shredded or chipped. I was extremely impressed by the durability, especially because i hit a number of trees. In summary, if your a high ball hitter and would like a more piercing flight, looking to lower spin off the tee, great feel off the putter, good short game spin, if you are capable of compressing a 5 piece tour ball and are sick of giving titleist all your cash; I would highly recommend this gem of a ball. BTW - Hit my new i20 3wood (which is f****** awesome) to 3 feet from 245 on the par five and made eagle, which made me love the ball even more.

After your birdie, do the dirty bird - Chuck

[Egan101]

Great review! Just the right material I need for assessing the new balls that have similar characteristics as my favored balls. Nice read indeed!