Equipment

TaylorMade Tour Prototype Golf Ball — Project 5

Published

12 years ago

Sep 5, 2012

TaylorMade has started its prototype process for a new tour ball, calling it ‘Project 5’ for now.

This is the tour prototype golf ball that TaylorMade Golf Tour Staff Professional Justin Rose put into play at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Prior to the start of the tourney at TPC Boston, Dean Snell, TaylorMade VP of Research and Development was on-site to test the new prototype ball. Rose put the new ball in play for 9 holes and was longer that the current model he was using.

Rose said, “This is what I’m looking for. Balls are staying on line so much better and carrying out longer.”

He liked it so much, he asked if he could play that week in Boston. He played 18 holes in the Pro-Am with the ‘Project 5’ and came back to Dean and said “I don’t how you did it, but outstanding work.”

Dean says “This is the first time in 24 years on tour for me that a player wanted to play a new ball that same day as proto testing. I called the plant, had 4 dozen overnighted and brought them back to him Thursday for the start of the tourney.”

We’ll have to see what the ball is called when it comes to production. Of course the TaylorMade prototype ball can’y just be put into play without USGA approval first, so this has likely been in development for a while. Some screen grabs from the USGA’s approved list are attached.

What do you think, current Penta and Non-Penta users? Click here to discuss in the GolfWRX forums.

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11 Comments

mike

Dec 22, 2012 at 12:11 am

OK, I got up enough nerve to use the ball Darren Clarke’s caddie gave me. I didn’t pull it out my bag until the 16th hole because I was spraying my drives all day on a course that has a lot of trouble off the tee. I tee’d it up on a short par 4 with no water trouble. I usually hit my drives with around 230 yds of fly with little to no roll out. The tee shot flew out about 240 with no roll because of the terrain. Very soft coming off the club face. Hit a PW to 6 feet from the pin. Stuck like a dart to the green. Made my straight uphill putt for bird. Both the wedge and the putt very soft off the club face. Put the ball away for 17, because I usually block my drives into the jungle on that hole, which I did again. Took it out again on 18. long par 5. Ripped my drive about 270 with good roll out. Didin’t cautch my 3-wood clean and ending up in a bunker 110 from the green. Hit the green with a 9-iron on and sunk an 80-foot putt for bird. Used the ball on 2 holes and got my only 2 birdies that day. I wish I had a dozen of these balls so I could play a full round with them. Makes me wonder if what you hear is true that golf equipment manufacturers make one set of products for pros and another for us ameteurs.

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mike

Dec 10, 2012 at 12:49 am

Darren Clarke’s caddie gave me a Project 5 ball yesterday at the Thailand Golf Championship where I marshalled the 3-ball he was in. Darren was obviously playing this ball that day. He was just as long off the tee as Hunter Mahan and Chapchai Nirat at over 300 yds. These 2 guys are 10+ years his junior. I’m going to play a round with it soon and I’ll post my opinion of the ball. The dimpling pattern is almost identical to the Titleist ProV1x but the ridges around the dimples are a little crisper.

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Johnny

Oct 30, 2012 at 11:40 pm

Looks like Callaway Hex Golf Ball Pattern.

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Andrew

Oct 17, 2012 at 10:21 pm

I have this golf ball. Justin gave me one. Its pretty sick

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Elliott

Oct 9, 2012 at 10:40 pm

Looking forward to winning golf tournaments with it.

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Danny

Sep 14, 2012 at 11:38 am

cant wait to game this ball!!!

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Brody

Sep 11, 2012 at 10:15 am

This is to be the “Rocket Fuel”, right?

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mmontisano

Sep 6, 2012 at 1:12 am

finally a seamless ball from TM!

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Mike

Sep 5, 2012 at 7:42 pm

or maybe the Royal Plus 6 from eons ago!

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Homer

Sep 5, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Looks like Callaway’s Hex Black Tour

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Bryan

Sep 5, 2012 at 4:18 pm

Blah blah blah… 3 months repeat story.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

49 mins ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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