Equipment
All-new Titleist Tour Speed golf ball builds on EXP•01 lineage
When you are the maker of the number 1 ball in golf, it could be easy to become complacent, but the engineers at Titleist aren’t known for resting on their laurels. Instead, they are constantly looking for ways to innovate and provide performance benefits to golfers across categories, and today Titleist introduces the all-new Titleist Tour Speed golf ball.
Titleist Tour Speed golf ball: The details
Although the Tour Speed is new, many golfers might be familiar with the prototype ball that lead to the Tour Speed becoming a full-blown release—the EXP•01. It was through that extensive testing process, conducted on a scale that Titleist had never done before, that the team—including designers and engineers—had the opportunity to get valuable feedback from golfers of all skill levels. It was that direct feedback, along with controlled player testing, conducted at Titleist’s Manchester Lane R&D facility that lead to the final product.
“Every new Titleist golf ball must exceed our stringent machine and player testing targets in order to advance from the R&D phase,” -Scott Cooper, Titleist Golf Ball R&D’s lead implementation engineer for Tour Speed.
Although the EXP•01 was released only 10 months ago, the Tour Speed has been years on the making as Titleist worked on producing a new proprietary thermoplastic urethane cover to produce the fastest ball in its market segment.
Not only is the cover material different, but the process to create the new ball involved a 4,300 square foot expansion of the Titleist Ball Plant 2, which demonstrates a huge commitment to the new Retractable Pin injection molding process and a belief in the product.
“Our golf ball scientists and engineers have gone to extraordinary lengths in the development of Tour Speed – testing numerous core formulations and aerodynamic patterns, while formulating and analyzing hundreds of TPU cover blends – to deliver on that promise. We have made every investment necessary in these new technologies, including a significant expansion of our manufacturing facility and process.” – Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing.
Let’s talk about that performance
The Titleist Tour Speed is a three-piece thermoplastic urethane (TPU) covered ball designed to deliver distance and greater green stopping power. Titleist still believes that a cast urethane cover like those found on the Pro-V1 series offers the absolute best short game control and performance, but TPU allows them to combine enhanced distance with precise scoring control. The TPU formula used in the cover is proprietary and was formulated by Titleist’s team of R&D chemists to enhance distance while still maintaining feel.
The last piece of the cover puzzle is the new 346 quadrilateral dipyramid dimple design that provides a lower, more penetrating flight, so the ball is less affected by the wind.
Underneath the TPU cover sits a what Titleist calls its fastest ionomer casing layer ever, designed to create maximum speed leading to more distance.
Availability and price
The Titleist Tour Speed will be available in the U.S. at Titleist accounts beginning Friday, August 7, and they will be priced at $39.99 a dozen.
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Equipment
Jason Day on his recent switch into Srixon ZX5 and ZX7 MK II irons
Over the past year, equipment free agent Jason Day has played a number of different iron sets looking for his right match.
In May 2023, he was using a TaylorMade P770 4-iron to go along with a set of P7MC irons (5-PW).
In August 2023, he had switched to a set of TaylorMade P7TW irons (5-PW) to go with his P770 4-iron.
Then, in February 2024, he was into a full set of P760 irons (4-PW).
Now, Day has switched it all the way up, and he’s currently using a new set of Srixon ZX5 MK II long irons (3 and 4), and Srixon ZX7 MK II mid-to-short irons (5-PW).
On Tuesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Day told GolfWRX.com that he made the switch before the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, because he was looking to reduce spin.
“For me, they spin a little bit less,” Day said. “They’re very good out of fairway bunkers, too. I haven’t played too much in the rough yet, so I still need to get an understanding of how the come out of the rough, but for me, it was all about spin control.”
“I had tested the previous model to these [Srixon ZX7’s], but I only had one club. And I was getting some inconsistent spinny with my previous irons, so I just decided to at least give them another shot. My biggest thing was to take spin off, because I was spinning it like crazy.”
The Srixon ZX7 MK II irons are known for producing low spin numbers, and pairing them with Day’s typical ultra-stiff True Temper X7 shafts make them certified spin killers.
If it’s spin he wanted to reduce, then Day may have found his match with the new Srixon irons.
See what else Day has in the bag at the 2024 RBC Heritage here
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Whats in the Bag
Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)
- Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: TPT Driver 15 Lo
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3, 4), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-10S, 60-04T), Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (56-10 MID, 52-10 MID)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Putter: TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Limited
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (with Mindset)
Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.
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Whats in the Bag
Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)
- Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X
Irons: Titleist 718 TMB (2), Titleist T200 (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour Hybrid 105 X (2), KBS Tour 130 X
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-08M, 60-04T), WedgeWorks Proto (60-10V)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.
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Mike
Aug 8, 2020 at 9:38 am
With all the options out there, if you’re paying new-ball prices for the major OEM balls, you’re nuts. Everyone OEM has their own ball in different ‘categories; unless you’re a ‘player’ (single-digit index in my book) you probably can’t tell much difference between brands. Best thing is to test them out on the course.
Chuck
Aug 6, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Every time I see ball manufacturers market a new golf ball design to players with lower clubhead speeds, what I think is that there must be a way to design golf ball testing specs such that the highest swing speeds will see a distance rollback while lower clubhead speeds will be barely affected. I have little doubt that the design and engineering knowledge to accomplish that exists right now.
jgpl001
Aug 6, 2020 at 4:44 am
Every year I buy a few sleeves of the new balls form all the well known OEM’s out there and trial them through a round or two, but I keep coming back to the ProV1 or TP5.
The last time I switched was for TM’s LDP Red, and boy that was a good ball, I was devastated when they dropped it
I’ll add these to the list…
Rich
Aug 5, 2020 at 9:08 pm
Golf balls have been on a distance-spin continuum ever since the first 2-piece Surylyn balls were introduced. Yes, the gaps have been closed due to (a) solid cores and (b) multiple layers. But the basic dynamics haven’t changed at all.
And this ball doesn’t change it, either. It just slides a bit down the spin scale from the ProV1 and a bit up from those re-branded Pinnacles they sell for 20 bucks a box. In other words, it fills a gap, it’s a tweener.
So? Seriously, who cares? A ton of companies are doing it. Everyone’s got a distance ball, a tour ball (usually two) and a tweener ball. Ho-hum. Unless….
This is just a marketing ploy to get those distance ball players to fork over some extra bucks for a ball closer to the ProV1. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Bridgestoner
Aug 5, 2020 at 6:13 pm
So they came out with a Tour BX?
DukeOfChinoHills
Aug 5, 2020 at 11:12 am
I like the fact it has a urethane cover, for short game control. I would consider testing this ball to see how much of a difference there is from ProV1.
JT
Aug 5, 2020 at 9:40 am
So between tour soft and the new tour speed, it appears NXT and NXT S are back, at a higher price point. I’ll try it and will probable like it, Tour Soft is a quality ball, but the price points are high.