Equipment
TaylorMade launches new Tour Preferred, Project A golf balls
It’s easy to tell the difference between TaylorMade’s three premium new golf balls: just bounce them on your wedge. Each will make a different sound.
If that test was done with the previous version of TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X golf balls, however, the sound, which golfers equate to feel, would be nearly identical.
Both the Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X were previously 88-compression golf balls, but they had two different constructions. The four-piece Tour Preferred was designed to give golfers more iron spin to help them stop approach shots more quickly on the green, while the five-piece Tour Preferred offered less iron spin for more distance. Off the tee and around the greens, the performance of the two balls was relatively the same.
“We wanted to make the differences more noticeable,” said Eric Loper, TaylorMade’s director of golf ball R&D. “One way to do that is to make the golf balls feel different.”
Loper and his team conducted a study with TaylorMade’s PGA Tour Staff players and found that they were much less sensitive to the feel of a golf ball than its performance.
“[PGA Tour players] are more focused on, ‘How is that ball going to perform as it comes off the face and lands on the green?'” Loper said. “But as you go out and work with consumers, you find that they are much more focused on feel.”
Users of TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred X include four of the top 11-ranked golfers in the world: Jason Day (No. 1), Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, each of which said they’ve been happy with the performance of the Tour Preferred X from tee to green.
“The TaylorMade ball surprises people,” Justin Rose said. “The last two Ryder Cups, we’ve played my ball [in alternate shot].”
On each golfer’s wish list was more spin on shots around the greens, however, which TaylorMade achieved with a small tweak. The Soft Tech cast urethane cover of the ball was made slightly thicker — from 0.030 to 0.035 of an inch — and the adjacent layer was made thinner by the same amount. It sounds like a simple change, but it took more than 43 prototypes to perfect, according to Loper.
“YOU CAN HIT THAT LOW SHOT AROUND THE GREENS WAY EASIER NOW,” DUSTIN JOHNSON SAID. “IT TAKES TWO HOPS, AND THEN BOOP.”
TaylorMade made more substantial changes to the Tour Preferred. It’s still a four-piece golf ball, but the compression has been reduced — from 88 to 80. That’s thanks to a new inner mantle layer, which surrounds the core of the golf ball. It’s called Speed Mantle 2, and boasts 65 percent more flexibility.
“It offers the same speed of the original Speed Mantle, but is that much softer,” Loper said.
Like the previous Tour Preferred, the ball will appeal to golfers who need more spin from their iron shots, and now a much larger crowd — golfers who prefer a softer feel.
The Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X will sell for $47.99 per dozen when they arrive in stores on November 6.
Project A
Unlike the Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X golf balls, the Project A is designed for golfers with average clubhead speeds. A TaylorMade study revealed that from 150 yards, amateurs with handicaps of 10-24 missed the green by an average of 35 yards. For that reason, the Project A was given the same cast urethane cover as the Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X, which will give average golfers the maximum amount of greenside spin to enhance their chances of getting up and down.
“[All three balls] will have about the same spin off the tee,” Loper said. “Where you will see the difference between the three balls is with the irons,” Loper said. “The Project A has the highest iron spin, the Tour Preferred is in the middle and the Tour Preferred X has the least iron spin. Around the greens, the balls will perform about the same.”
Like the Tour Preferred, TaylorMade’s Project A golf ball will resonate with golfers who prefer a softer feel. TaylorMade developed a new, softer core for the ball, which uses special additives that allowed the compression to be dropped from 86 to 70 without compromising distance.
The Project A will be in stores on November 6 and sell for $34.99 per dozen.
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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cmyktaylor
Oct 30, 2015 at 5:28 pm
I play the current Project (a). Confession: I found a Pro V1 on the course two rounds ago and I’ve been playing it for the past few rounds. Very happy with it. Not interested in the price though.
Golfandpuff
Oct 30, 2015 at 7:40 am
Updates sound good, but I would much prefer picking up dozen(s) of current offering at half the price.
Al385
Oct 29, 2015 at 3:21 pm
TP and TPX are pretty good balls. It’s good that they kept the same brand for 2016, which is not the usual marketing strategy for TM.
Alan Jackson Jr
Oct 28, 2015 at 12:31 pm
They better not screw up the Project A’s or I will be ticked.
Mark
Oct 26, 2015 at 2:19 pm
Please ensure these balls feel firm. Too many new balls feel like a wet sponge.
Trab
Oct 27, 2015 at 2:42 am
The X definitely is firm. To make the other ones softer, wow, they must feel like nothing to hit with the irons.
Ian
Oct 26, 2015 at 2:09 pm
So are we (a) all suckers for “soft feel” instead of focusing on performance?
Trab
Oct 27, 2015 at 2:42 am
Yes, you’re all weaklings who are too soft
Joe
Oct 27, 2015 at 8:33 am
Hey! Look everyone! A real life troll!
Sam
Oct 26, 2015 at 11:37 am
I use the current version of the Project (a) ball and I love it. I’ll definitely be picking up some of these when my current stock runs out. I have been going back and forth between these and the Wilson SPIN Duos.
Charlie
Oct 28, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Sam, How do you rate the Wilson Spin Duos?
DeAngelo
Oct 31, 2015 at 9:18 pm
The spin duo’s are great balls. Especially when you factor in the “bang for buck” factor. 35 compression ball so it is soft. I really do love the project (a) ball. offers a lot of spin and not too spongy.