TITLEIST’S SECRET GOLF BALLS
Equipment nerds and equipment novices alike will likely recognise Titleist’s Pro V1 and Pro V1x as the gold standard in golf balls. While Taylormade’s TP5 series and Callaway’s Chrome Tour take a decent share at the top end of the ball market, the Pro V1 still reigns supreme.
During the Golf Monthly team’s trip to The Open in July, we were treated to a sneak peek inside the Titleist tour van and got to see a selection of ‘secret’ golf balls that have been slowly dropped into the bags of its tour players over recent months. While the vast majority of Titleist staffers, and non-contracted players who choose to use Titleist balls, were playing Pro V1 and Pro V1x during Open week, there were also some lesser-known models in play at Royal Troon.
Some players, like Cameron Young and Tony Finau, were in the Left Dot version, essentially the lowestlaunching, lowest-spinning Pro V1 available. Note this is different to Left Dash, which did make its way to market a few years ago having previously been tour only. We also had a glimpse of Pro V1 Star. This ball is a softer, spinnier Pro V1 that is made for players who don’t like the feel of Pro V1x, but still want the same spin characteristics that it offers.
Finally, we saw the Pro V1x Plus, which sits in between the current Pro V1x and the Left Dash ball, acting as a soft Pro V1 with spin. Justin Rose, who finished in an impressive 2nd place, was in the Plus model during Open week. I hope you’ve kept up with this as I can appreciate how confusing ball matrices are, which is probably a reason why these subspecies of Pro V1 balls never appear for general sale to you and me.
These ‘secret’ balls fill a very niche gap in the Titleist range that its tour players require or ask for. Giving these balls to its tour players also allows Titleist to gather important feedback, which could lead to the development team bringing them to market, as we saw with Left Dash, or utilising the technologies in them in the upcoming generations of Pro V1 and Pro V1x.
If the normal cycle remains, we would expect to see the next generation of Titleist’s premier balls at some point in 2025. Whether any elements of the Star, Left Dot or Plus models make it to market remains to be seen, but it was a fascinating insight into the world of golf ball development.