35 replies to this topic

[Gxgolfer]

See the FAQ>>>Here

[arkstorm]

I got a two ball sleeve of these from a buddy who works at a golf shop and I played them for one round.  I wasn't blown away.  This ball doesn't really distinguish itself from any other top ball on the market.  Not that its a bad ball, similar to ProV1 in both distance and feel, but I was expecting it to seperate itself from the pack.  Unfortunately it merely joins the pack of other top end balls which are on the softer end of the spectrum.  Although a huge improvement over their  last attempt at a ball, after all of TM's hype about this ball being the new benchmark, I gotta admit I am dissapointed.

Distance comprable to ProV1

Feel comprable to HX Tour 56

Durability comprable to HX Tour (still managed to cheese-grate it with my SM58)

Conclusion: Not a bad ball, but nothing special.  I wouldn't pay a premium for it over ProV1/HX Tour price.

Edited by arkstorm, 03 May 2006 - 02:09 PM.

[tpariff]

I've played at least 3 rounds with this ball and prefer it over the HX Tour line, both regular and 56.  Durability is much better IMO than the Cally balls.  Distance and feel are comparable.  Interestingly, I hit the TP ball about 5 yards longer with my irons.

I hope TaylorMade doesn't think they can price these higher than the Pro V1 or other high end ball.  $40 to $45 is fine, but if they try to get $50 a dozen, they'll sell some early but lose steam in a month or so.  At $40 to $45 a dozen, I'll play the TP Red over the Cally ball or Titleist.

[RSchaffer29]

I hit this ball today and loved it.  

I hit 2 of the longest drives in my life, 320 yarders, (not asure it was the ball though)

I think this ball is more durable and longer than proV and it feels better

[the hawk]

How does this ball feel around the greens.....pitching, chipping and putting?

[arkstorm]

tpariff, on May 3 2006, 03:56 PM, said:

I've played at least 3 rounds with this ball and prefer it over the HX Tour line, both regular and 56.  Durability is much better IMO than the Cally balls.  Distance and feel are comparable.  Interestingly, I hit the TP ball about 5 yards longer with my irons.

I hope TaylorMade doesn't think they can price these higher than the Pro V1 or other high end ball.  $40 to $45 is fine, but if they try to get $50 a dozen, they'll sell some early but lose steam in a month or so.  At $40 to $45 a dozen, I'll play the TP Red over the Cally ball or Titleist.

RSchaffer29, on May 13 2006, 10:27 PM, said:

I hit this ball today and loved it.  

I hit 2 of the longest drives in my life, 320 yarders, (not asure it was the ball though)

I think this ball is more durable and longer than proV and it feels better

Were you guys playing the Reds or Blacks?  Just curious because my review was of the Reds, but I'm still pretty eager to try the Blacks since I tend to favor the firmer balls.

Edited by arkstorm, 15 May 2006 - 09:04 AM.

[Twiggy]

To this date, I have played 4  rounds with the TP Red and 2 with the TP Black. Here is what I have found:

RED:
Nice feel off the driver with good distance. Trajectory is lower than the TP Black and a bit shorter in distance, not much. This ball feels great off the irons, wedges, and putter. In my opinion, this is where this ball shines. Checks nicely on short irons and wedges, but does not spin off the green like a ProV1.

BLACK:
This ball is LONG and STRAIGHT off the driver with a feel that is a bit more firm than the TP Red. This ball is meant for driving. Iron play is a bit more firm than the TP Red, but the ball still checks nice. I didn't notice much difference at all with the wedges between the two balls, and the TP Red felt a little softer off the putter.

The perfect senario would be to drive with the TP Black and play the rest of the hole with the TP Red. Since most of the game is played with the irons, wedges, and putter, my choice will be the TP Red.

[Golf_Beauty]

I got a two sleeves of the reds and two sleeves of the blacks from gxgolfer to try out. (Thanks, by the way!) Here are the opinions of a female golfer:

RED:
Like the others on here, I was impressed with the distance I recieved off the tee. I average about 190-200 off the tee with my HX Hots when I hit it straight. With the TPs, I was averaging 210-215. Nice. The soft feel was also to my liking.  

With iron play, I was actually able to work the the ball better. Like IHFN, I don't have a high trajectory, so I need more spin control -- I got that with the Reds. Since I'm new to the game (almost 2 years now) I'm now learning to spin the ball: make it stop when I want it to or spin back towards the hole. Hasn't been very successful, but with the Reds I was able to make the ball spin or flop it up high and land softly. Sweet.

BLACK:
OHMIGOSH!!! Talk about distance. I have NEVER in my life hit a 235 yard drive. Baby, I was swinging like the pros with the Blacks. The group I was playing with, my husband and two other guys, were duly impressed. Yes, I must admit I was strutting for a while, until I came to my senses and realized it was the ball, not me. The Blacks, to me, are phenomenal for distance. Every drive off the tee was 220+ yards. The ball high and straight. It had a harder feel than the Reds, but that's okay...it wasn't like hitting the Nike Platinums or ProVs where I feel like I'm hitting a rock. Ouch.

I wasn't able to get spin control as much with the Blacks. A few times, I skulled it over the green (of course, that's me and has nothing to do with the ball ), but I couldn't get the ball to spin or stop like the Reds.

In conclusion, both are great balls: the Blacks off the tee and the Reds in the fairway. However, if I had to choose just one, it would be the Reds. I get the distance AND the great iron play.

[blmart67]

I usually play ProV1 (favorite ball), Hogan Tour Deep and Bridgestone B330S.  These are my top three.  So I tried out the TP red today and actually bought 2 dozen for my trip to Pinehurst in a few days.

I guess I was expecting the holy grail with this ball so my expectations were high.  Found it comparable to ProV1 in distance, good feel off irons but didn't really like how it chipped or putted compared to the ProV1.  Its a good ball but after my 2 dozen are gone, I will stick with the ProV1.

I have read that it has a very noticable seam, and I found this to be true, Very noticable but that may not bother some.

Wish i would have bought the TP blacks but wanted something comparable to my favorite three balls mentioned before.  

A good ball for Taylormade but not good enough to knock the Titleist out of the bag.  Knowing me I will buy a dozen TP blacks just to test!

[classick]

I played around of 9 with these today but I couldn't really tell much cause it was pouring out.  I was concentrating more on hanging on to my clubs than seeing what the ball was like.  It could have been the rain and slow fairways, but I though i lost a considerable amount of distance with the TP Reds.  Its to early to tell though so I'm going to go out with them again tomorrow.

[jswjr]

For those of you that have played the Maxfli Black Max,do you find the TP Red longer than the Black Max  ?

I really like the way the Black Max plays around the green(and especially like the low price off ebay)  but sometimes I feel it may be a little short off the tee with my driver

Edited by jswjr, 09 June 2006 - 06:56 PM.

[classick]

The BlackMax was the ONLY ball I would play last year.  But I'll have to wait til it stops raining to let you know what I think.

[pitchmaster1224]

jswjr, on Jun 9 2006, 07:55 PM, said:

For those of you that have played the Maxfli Black Max,do you find the TP Red longer than the Black Max  ?

I really like the way the Black Max plays around the green(and especially like the low price off ebay)  but sometimes I feel it may be a little short off the tee with my driver

miles1416, on Jun 9 2006, 07:59 PM, said:

The BlackMax was the ONLY ball I would play last year.  But I'll have to wait til it stops raining to let you know what I think.

Gentleman I am a 5 handicap and a consistent ball striker...i am pretty long off the tee, and I have done extensive testing with the red vs. blackmax...i have been play blackmax since before it came out to retail, and it is by far my favorite ball. The blackmax outdrove (not by a huge amt.) the red pretty much every time. I was a lot more consistent in my overall game as well with it, but the feel of it off my putter vs. the red was so much better. I can judge it and feel it better off my face vs. the red, of course i have been playing with it for awhile. I believe just stick with the blackmax, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE PRICE DIFFERENCE!

[jswjr]

pitchmaster,thanks for the info

At 16 handicap, I'll take your 5 handicap advice and be satisfied with the several dozen Black Max that I purchased off ebay a few weeks ago.

[tbowles411]

I played the red (and black).  They were just OK.  ProV1x is a bit longer.  I prefer my HX Tour 56s.  It's not a bad ball, but it's just not any different than what is out there.

Edited by tbowles411, 09 June 2006 - 08:28 PM.

[italianstallion]

Finally felt I had a decent enough swing to give these balls a fair trial, I had them sitting around for a while waiting, because I heard such great things about them. Anyway, hit a nice, tight private course for 9 holes to test them out, and here are my findings.

Distance
Might as well start out with what everyone wants to hear about. I've always played the course I played today with Pro-V1x's, because those were the nicest balls for me for a while. As I was making my way around the course, I noticed I was air-mailing the spots where my Pro-V1x balls used to stop. I was hitting shorter clubs into every green than I ever have before. Never had more than 100 yards in on the par 4s (longest was 415, the rest were in the 360-400 yard range), and, the shortest distance I had in on one of the par 5s was 150 yards (short par 5 of 475). The wind was calm, and there was minimal gradient from the tee boxes to landing areas. So basically, this ball is consistently the longest ball I've ever hit.

Accuracy
Those long drives from the distance category mean nothing without direction. I don't know if it was my swing today, or the ball, or whatever, but this ball is one straight ball. I was able to play all 9 with the same ball I teed off on 1 with. Hit 6 out of 7 fairways, which is just unheard of for me.

Spin
The TP red has a ton of spin from 100 yards and in. I was able to spin a 52* wedge back about 8 feet, something I rarely do. This gave me alot of control on those shots from 100 and in. On those delicate pitch shots from short of the green, I was able to land the ball, and have it check and stop near the hole. Longer shots I noticed the same spin I've seen from any other premium ball, not a ton, but enough to back up a 7 iron a foot or so.

Final thoughts
By far, the TP red is the most accurate, longest, and most controlable ball I've ever put into play. I saw soring drives that blew past where the Pro-V1x used to end up, and I was able to control my short game better than I've ever been able to. Anybody who plays golf needs to try this ball, and see the control I am getting and the lenght I'm getting. My guess is I'll be buying a few boxes of these once I get the funds to do so.

[JHR]

Pretty good ball, same type of distance and spin as the ProV.

A pretty good offering from TM .

[pitchmaster1224]

italianstallion, on Jul 9 2006, 09:56 PM, said:

Finally felt I had a decent enough swing to give these balls a fair trial, I had them sitting around for a while waiting, because I heard such great things about them. Anyway, hit a nice, tight private course for 9 holes to test them out, and here are my findings.

Distance
Might as well start out with what everyone wants to hear about. I've always played the course I played today with Pro-V1x's, because those were the nicest balls for me for a while. As I was making my way around the course, I noticed I was air-mailing the spots where my Pro-V1x balls used to stop. I was hitting shorter clubs into every green than I ever have before. Never had more than 100 yards in on the par 4s (longest was 415, the rest were in the 360-400 yard range), and, the shortest distance I had in on one of the par 5s was 150 yards (short par 5 of 475). The wind was calm, and there was minimal gradient from the tee boxes to landing areas. So basically, this ball is consistently the longest ball I've ever hit.

Accuracy
Those long drives from the distance category mean nothing without direction. I don't know if it was my swing today, or the ball, or whatever, but this ball is one straight ball. I was able to play all 9 with the same ball I teed off on 1 with. Hit 6 out of 7 fairways, which is just unheard of for me.

Spin
The TP red has a ton of spin from 100 yards and in. I was able to spin a 52* wedge back about 8 feet, something I rarely do. This gave me alot of control on those shots from 100 and in. On those delicate pitch shots from short of the green, I was able to land the ball, and have it check and stop near the hole. Longer shots I noticed the same spin I've seen from any other premium ball, not a ton, but enough to back up a 7 iron a foot or so.

Final thoughts
By far, the TP red is the most accurate, longest, and most controlable ball I've ever put into play. I saw soring drives that blew past where the Pro-V1x used to end up, and I was able to control my short game better than I've ever been able to. Anybody who plays golf needs to try this ball, and see the control I am getting and the lenght I'm getting. My guess is I'll be buying a few boxes of these once I get the funds to do so.

I think it was your swing today, and not the ball. I am surprised it lasted so long for you. Mine scuffed right away, and I tried a few of them. Also, I have heard the same thing from several others as well. As far as air-mailing the Pro-V1x, I am really shocked to hear this. TP Red went a little shorter than the Pro-V1x for me and again, I have heard this from several others. I agree about the spin part. Try the ball a few more times and update your review if you see any changes....

Edited by pitchmaster1224, 09 July 2006 - 10:05 PM.

[italianstallion]

Will do. Mine was a bit scuffed, but I like to use balls until the ends of rounds, or until I lose them, because I can't afford to change balls every 3 holes.

[pointcenter]

First a little background, I have a 110-112 SS with my driver and my old gamer is the Nike One Platinum.

I found the Red to be the ideal ball for me. The first time I played it I drove 3 greens (I live in Denver). It was at least 20-30 yards longer than the NOP for me. I also noticed it checked very hard for me on chips and around the greens. I also was able to play 27 holes with the same ball(until I lost it). Very durable. Distance like that with spin and feel.... it doesn't get much better than that.

As you can see from my bag, I am a Nike guy, but this ball blows the NOP out of the water

[Chris L The Golf Dude]

The Best Ball I've ever used.

[Huntingchris0000]

I really like these balls one of the better I have played it replaced the Pro V1 in my bag but I will play either not that much difference.

[DaveyH]

not worth changing from provs.The cover rips very easily.

[tariq]

did you 'seam' the ball on your drives? i just bought 2 sleeves of Reds but have yet to put them in play. Gamer ball B330s and i dont care if they do scuff a little more.

have been playing with pro v1s lately cos i got a dozen for my birthday and liking them for the first this time around...but i dont seam them when i drive...mind games...is the reason, i dont seem it

i'm getting to the question...does seaming the Reds make a difference cos i notice they have a very wide seam

[tkruse]

I tried the Red head to head w/ the ProV.  The Red truely impessed me.  This ball even held frozen greens with a half wedge.  The overall feel was as soft as a ProV and the distance also matched.  They didn't scuff!  The trajectory was the deciding factor.  The Red gave me the lower ball flight that I prefer.  Easy switch!

[tee2grn]

I played the TP Red last week for the first time.  I have to admit I was impressed with the trajectory, distance and feel of the ball.  I played the front nine with the same ball, then replaced with a new TP Red on the 10th due to some cover scuffing (definately more durable than the Callaway HX and Tour 56 which typically gets replaced after 3-4 holes of play).  IMO this ball plays very long and straight off the tee, is decent for shot workability into the greens and plays a bit more firm off the putter than a Pro V1.  

  Worth a try!

[threeputter]

I picked up some when the local place was giving a couple of free sleeves if you bought a dozen, and they were on sale to boot.  Well I know why.  I like the old maxfli's, etc...  And I thought I lost distance with ProV's, but I was easily 20+ yards shorter with these then my normal either Cally HX or Nike Black.  Hell even the new prov's are only a couple yards behind.  To top that these things feel like I am hitting the old top rocks.    I wanted to like them , but these are absolute garbage.  Okay spin, no feel off the putter, no feel off the clubs, and for whatever reason they didn't work on shots the way I am used to.  In fact I played 18 yesterday and played the first 9 with these and was very frustrated.  Switch to cheap laddie balls on the back and while they aren't one of the premium balls the response,putting, and distance were more in line with my norm.  

A big recommandation of look elsehwere from me.

And before someone accuses me of anti-TM, I have a R7 driver, and  R7 Xd's in the bag.   So I like TM equipment, but these balls suck.

Edited by threeputter, 08 May 2007 - 05:58 PM.

[ThreePuttPar]

For me this ball falls in nicely in terms of spin between the new prov1 and prov1x.  The wind can blow up here in the North West and the TP Red baloons less than the prov1 into a stiff wind.  I don't feel like I am sacrificing much greenside playability while picking up some distance and a lower trajectory compared to the prov1.  Durability is good for a premium ball and it feels a little firmer off the putter than a prov1.

[Jack from Canada]

I find that this ball provides a more stable flight in windy conditions than the pro v and one platinum. It provides greater greenside spin than the hx tour and greater durability than the hx 56. Distance is not any less than the other premium balls and maybe a bit longer for the average swing speed player.