The post The drivers used by every player at the Presidents Cup appeared first on Golf.

The post The drivers used by every player at the Presidents Cup appeared first on Golf.

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One of many interesting notes about Quail Hollow this week is that the routing has been changed to put the famous “Green Mile” — the traditional three closing holes — into the middle of the round to bring dramatics to any matches that might be close, and with the course topping out at 7,500 yards, driving is going to play a key factor.

Here’s a look at the drivers used by each member of the Internationals and Team USA.

Drivers used by Team USA

Sam Burns – Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Blue 7TX

Patrick Cantlay – Titleist TS3 (9.5 degrees), Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX

Tony Finau – Ping G425 LST (9 degrees), Mitsubishi Diamana Limited 70TX

Max Homa – Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Black 6X

Billy Horschel – Titleist TSi3 (8 degrees), Fujikura Ventus 6 Black X

Kevin Kisner – Callaway Great Big Bertha 2016 (8.5 degrees), Aldila Green ATX65 TX

Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees), Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX

Xander Schauffele – Callaway Rogus ST Triple Diamond S (10.5 degrees), Mitsubishi Kaili White 70 TX

Scottie Scheffler – TaylorMade Stealth (8 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Black 7X

All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

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Jordan Spieth – Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X

Justin Thomas – Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees), Mitsubishi Diamana ZF60 TX

Cameron Young – Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees), Mitsubishi Tensei 1K 70 TX

Drivers used by International Team

Christiaan Bezuidenhout – Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond DS -Draw Spec (9 degrees), Mitsubishi Dimana DF 60TX

Corey Conners – Ping G400LST (8.5 degrees), UST Elements Proto

Cameron Davis – Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Black 7X

Sunjae Im – Titleist TSi2 (8 degrees), Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7 X

Si Woo Kim – Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond S (8.5 degrees), Fujikura Ventus Black 6TX

Tom Kim – Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees), Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec 6X

K.H. Lee – Callaway Epic Max LS (9 degrees), Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6x

Hideki Matsuyama – Prototype Srizon ZX5 MKII LS (10.5 degrees), Graphite Design Tour AD DI-8TX (as per Fortinet Championship)

Sebastian Munoz – Ping G42 Max (9 degrees), ProjectX HZRDUS Yellow 6.5

Taylor Pendrith – Ping G410 LST (9 degrees), ProjectX HZRDUS Smoke Green “Hulk” 6.5

Mito Periera – Ping G425 MAX (10.5 degrees), Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X

Adam Scott – TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees), Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X

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Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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The post This piece of equipment could create short-game chaos at the Presidents Cup appeared first on Golf.

The post This piece of equipment could create short-game chaos at the Presidents Cup appeared first on Golf.

One of the most compelling elements of this event is watching the captains — in this case, Davis Love III and Trevor Immelman, pair their players for various formats. Although advanced stats have become a huge part of the equation, as both sides attempt to pair players to create super duos, there still is one piece of gear that should be accounted for in the alternate-shot format: the golf ball. 

News

The ball is the only piece of equipment used on every shot, from driver off the tee to high spinning pitches around the green — it’s a constant, and something many players are resistant to change.

Just like at the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup has opted to not put the PGA Tour local “one ball” rule into effect, so players can choose a model of ball to use for each hole.

With modern launch-monitor technology, it’s not too difficult to spend time fine-tuning on the range to nail down driver numbers, but it’s around the greens where a change in feel can mean everything.

When you consider just how dialed-in players are for their carry distances and the trajectory with their irons, most pairings will elect to use the preferred ball of the player hitting the approach shot rather than the drive off the tee, but this will still leave some players not using their normal ball for any shots that miss the green, and that’s where it could get interesting.

Here’s a look at the balls used by each member of the Internationals and Team USA.

Team USA

Sam Burns – Callaway Chrome Soft X

Patrick Cantaly – Titleist ProV1X

Tony Finau – Titleist ProV1 Left Dot

Max Homa – Titleist ProV1

Billy Horschel – Titleist ProV1

Kevin Kisner – Titleist ProV1X

Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade TP5

Xander Schauffele – Callaway Chrome Soft X

Scottie Scheffler – Titleist ProV1

Jordan Spieth – Titleist ProV1X

Justin Thomas – Titleist ProV1X

Cameron Young – Titleist ProV1 Left Dot

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International Team

Christiaan Bezuidenhout – Callaway Chrome Soft X

Corey Conners – Titleist ProV1

Cameron Davis – Titleist ProV1

Sunjae Im – Titleist Prov1X

Si Woo Kim – Callaway Chrome Soft X

Tom Kim – Titleist ProV1X

K.H Lee – Titleist ProV1X

Hideki Matsuyama – Srixon Z Star XV

Sebastian Munoz – Titleist ProV1

Taylor Pendrith – Srixon Z Star XV

Mito Periera – Titleist ProV1

Adam Scott – Titleist ProV1

Can you spot any potential pairings we might see during the alternate-shot matches?

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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The post Titleist adds Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX to RCT (Radar Capture Technology) golf ball line appeared first on Golf.

The post Titleist adds Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX to RCT (Radar Capture Technology) golf ball line appeared first on Golf.

These new additions to the RCT golf ball lineup now allow fitters using radar technology launch monitors to offer a complete golf ball fitting experience indoors for the first time.

What is RCT?

Traditionally when conducting a fitting indoors, small aluminum foil stickers are stuck to golf balls to help radar-based launch monitors estimate spin over the short indoor flight window. The problem with these stickers is they have to be aligned a specific way for each shot and they have a good chance of falling off if directly struck by either a club or the screen at impact.

When you have a problem, you find a solution, and after two years of testing Titleist figured out how to place the RCT under the cover to improve accuracy of spin measurement.

The RCT is a silver reflective spin marker printed directly onto the layer under the urethane cover to improve the ability of doppler radar-based launch monitors to calculate spin. This technology is especially helpful when working with high-speed golfers that can create low spin rates with the driver. It also helps increase the measured accuracy of spin axis, which has a substantial impact on golf ball curvature.

Gear

Just like the Pro V1 and Pro V1x (RCT) golf balls currently on the market, the -ProV1X and AVX RCT golf balls look and perform exactly like the standard versions found on your local retail shelves.

Speaking of retail, you won’t find any of the RCT golf balls stocked at your local pro shop but they are all available on Titleist.com, and to be ordered through select accounts in bulk quantities.

Titleist’s Pro V1X Left Dash and AVX Radar Capture Technology (RCT) golf balls are available now and priced at $64.99 per dozen.

Want to overhaul your bag? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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The post A premium ball for every player: Bridgestone’s Tour B Series  appeared first on Golf.

The post A premium ball for every player: Bridgestone’s Tour B Series  appeared first on Golf.

Take the latest edition of the tour caliber Tour B Series, for example. While most major golf ball manufacturers have one, maybe two, sometimes three flagship premium golf balls, Bridgestone offers a quartet: the Tour B X, XS, RX, and the RXS which includes a special edition version that mimics the exact ball Tiger uses. (They’re all number 1s and have a TIGER side stamp.)  

What’s the reason behind having four different models? It’s simple. Bridgestone has a massive amount of consumer data that warrants the need for four separate golf balls, which according to the company, is the exact number of balls necessary to cover the full spectrum of player types who want a premium ball. In case you’re wondering, the company has been at fitting for more than 15 years now and has accumulated data from more than 3 million swings.

And while it’s the differences that make each of the four balls special, let’s look at the similarities that bind them together as a family.

First, all Tour B Series golf balls come with Bridgestone’s newly reformulated REACTIV IQ urethane cover material that’s designed for added velocity off the tee with a driver and added stickiness when hitting short iron and wedge shots. Bridgestone does this by employing what it calls “impact modifiers” to the urethane cover. The first modifier is to increase ball speed with a driver, and the second modifier is to increase the time the ball spends on the face when hitting a shorter iron/wedge.

Bridgestone Tour B

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Each model also comes with a seamless 330-dimple cover that has Dual Dimple tech for improved wind control and reduced drag. Lastly, inside all B Series balls is a Gradation Core for faster speed and reduced spin off the driver.

Here’s where things get interesting. To cover the full spectrum of player types wanting a premium ball, each ball in the Tour B line placates a specific player demand. The first is the three-piece Tour B X, designed for players with swing speeds at 105-plus MPH who want maximum distance off the tee as his/her primary motivator. This means the ball spins less off the tee with a flatter launch. But since this remains a tour-caliber ball, it still satisfies the control demands that picky golfers have around the greens, too.

The next ball is the three-piece Tour B XS, which is also a ball suited for golfers with 105-plus MPH swing speeds. The difference here is this is the ball for players who place a greater premium on spin and distance control around the greens. It’s still long and still designed for a flatter launch with the driver, but it’s specially formulated to spin more and stick longer on the face for more bite and a softer feel with shorter clubs. As mentioned already, this is the ball that comes in a special Tiger Woods edition, which isn’t just a ball that looks like one he plays. The GOAT actually collaborated to make the RXS what it is from the inside out.

Third in line is the three-piece Tour B RX, and this is where Bridgestone really taps into that full spectrum of player types because this is a tour caliber distance golf ball for golfers with average swing speeds. The B RX is specially formulated to help golfers with sub 105 MPH swings tack on extra yards off the tee while still hanging onto the kind of softer feel and short shot performance one would expect from a premium golf ball.  

By now you can probably tell where we’re going with the last ball, the three-piece Tour B RXS. It too is a golf ball designed for players with less than 105 MPH swing speeds, only instead of being formulated for added distance, is a high spinning ball for added control.

We’ve tried all four golf balls ourselves and while the skeptic may think all four will play somewhat the same, we found each ball to represent true-to-the-label differences in how they feel and perform. In fact, these latest iterations (the 2022 models) are even more distinctive from one to the other than were previous generations of the same balls. For our fast swingers, the Tour B X delivered massive hits off the tee and the Tour B XS made it a breeze to hit high-spinning short shots.

For our average swing speeds, the RX and RXS performed equally well, and we found surprising distance in both balls (even though the RXS spun more on short shots.) Finally, we’ve found that all four balls have added durability and improved feel off the driver, when compared to previous iterations.

Does the Tour B Series line mean every player ought to use a tour-caliber ball? Not necessarily. But if you do want to give a premium, urethane-covered ball a shot, it’s all but assured one of these four balls will fit your game.  

The importance of ball fitting

We regularly stress the importance of golf ball fitting. Choosing a ball based on your swing parameters is important and dialing in the right ball can make a huge difference in how well the ball performs off the clubface.

Along with our staunch ball-fitting advocacy, we have to hand it to Bridgestone. The company has been touting the importance of golf ball fitting for more than 15 years now, helping golfers around the world find the right golf ball.

The company’s online fitting tool (that employs data from well over 320,000 launch monitor fittings) is simple and intuitive, and we especially like the two-pronged approach: you can either dial in your optimal ball recommendation based on your shot tendencies, scoring averages and your wants in terms of spin and distance with every club; or, you can base your fitting on specific launch conditions and enter things like your exact swing speed, launch angle and spin rates. There’s also Bridgestone’s VFIT, which enables golfers the option to upload a video of their swing (in slo-mo) that is then analyzed for a custom ball recommendation.

And that’s just the stuff online. The live-fitting experience from Bridgestone is top-notch too, with numerous live ball fitting events at various locations in the country. There’s even an autonomous robot called OTTO that has a built-in launch monitor that will watch you hit balls and audibly make recommendations based on your shot data. 

Learn more online at bridgestonegolf.com

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The post Robot testing: Which golf balls are best for controlling trajectory? appeared first on Golf.

The post Robot testing: Which golf balls are best for controlling trajectory? appeared first on Golf.

One way to make it easier is by selecting the right golf ball, and thanks to GOLF.com’s exclusive robot testing partnership with Golf Laboratories, we’re here to help you find the right ball for your game and the conditions you play in based on how high a golf ball peaks in the air. (All data was compiled using Foresight’s GCQuad launch monitor.)

Let’s talk about peak height

Peak height (height measured at the apex of trajectory) plays an important role in finding the right ball because it has a direct impact on dispersion depending on the types of conditions you play in. The higher the golf ball flies the more susceptible it is to being taken offline in windier conditions. Even a few extra yards of altitude can see a change in wind speed, and considering a golf ball only weighs 1.62oz, a few miles per hour can be the difference between hitting or missing your target.

Golf ball aerodynamics

A huge part of golf ball engineering is dimple patterns, and calling them a minor factor in performance is like saying the wings on an airplane are a minor factor in flying. Golf ball dimples play the most important role once a golf ball has left the club face because after impact the golf ball immediately faces wind resistance and starts to decelerate.

Once the core regains its shape after being compressed at impact, it’s up to the dimples and the elements to make sure it gets where it’s going. The only thing keeping the ball flying in a consistent and predictable trajectory through the air is the dimples and their aerodynamic properties.

“This may be hard to wrap your head around, but a ball’s spin rate is not the only factor that determines how it flies. As a golfer, what you really need to know is how high the ball is going to fly, what is the resultant landing angle, and how much is the ball going to curve and be impacted by wind.

With our Ballnamic testing, we have seen two golf balls with nearly identical launch conditions have over a 10-foot difference in their actual max height, which is huge. You would not be able to discern these differences with indoor testing or a device that only captures the initial part of the ball flight.“
– Marty Jertson, VP fitting and performance Ping Golf.

Matching Height to playing conditions

Whether you play in calm dome-like conditions or lots of wind, finding a ball that helps control trajectory will help improve your overall dispersion. We are in no way saying one way of flighting the ball is better than the other but what we are saying is there is a better golf ball for YOU to flight better. Below are the top 3 ( and ties ) for the highest and lowest peak heights for golf balls hit at 95 and 105mph with a driver.

95pmh Highest Peak height

Bridgestone Tour B X – 27.3 yards
Callaway Chrome Soft – 26.1 yards
Callaway Chrome Soft X / Titleist ProV1 X Left Dot – 25.9 yards

95mph Lowest Peak Height

Titleist AVX – 22.6 yards
Titleist ProV1X – 22.9 yards
Titleist True Feel / Bridgestone Tour B XS – 23 yards

105mph Highest peak height

Wilson Staff – 31.5 yards
TaylorMade TP5 – 31.2 yards
TaylorMade TP5X – 30.9 yards

105mph Lowest peak height

Callaway Chrome Soft – 27.9 yards
Titleist ProV1 / Titleist True Feel – 28.1 yards
Callaway Chrome Soft LS – 28.3 yards

You don’t have to be a robot to see a difference in your golf ball’s peak height, so whether you’re looking for more height or the ability to flight the ball lower, be sure to check these out.

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The post What are the differences between TaylorMade’s TP5 and TP5x balls? We put them to the test. appeared first on Golf.

The post What are the differences between TaylorMade’s TP5 and TP5x balls? We put them to the test. appeared first on Golf.

Both balls feature a redesigned Tour Flight dimple pattern that’s shallower in depth with steeper walls to reduce drag during ascent, and then maintain lift on the descent. The rest of the construction, however, is different when comparing the two models.

Balls

The TP5 now includes a larger reactive core for more speed while still maintaining the soft feel and high greenside spin from the previous iteration. The urethane cover on the five-piece TP5X was softened to improve groove interaction at impact and greenside feel. However, even with the cover modifications, TP5X still offers a firmer feel and launches higher with more speed when compared to its TP5 counterpart.

Depending on needs (feel, spin and launch), a golfer might be better off going with the TP5 over the TP5x, or vice versa.

As we’ve discussed plenty of times on this site, the only way to find out which ball is better for your game is to put them in a head-to-head test, preferably with a launch monitor in tow to capture the data.

In a recent edition of GOLF’s ClubTest Live from Tulsa, Oklahoma, site of the recent PGA Championship, GOLF’s managing editor of instruction, Luke Kerr-Dineen, put TP5 and TP5x to the test with Foresight’s GCQuad launch monitor.

What are the key differences between TP5 and TP5x when hitting a driver and a 50-yard wedge shot? Check out the video to see the testing results.

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Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

The post What are the differences between TaylorMade’s TP5 and TP5x balls? We put them to the test. appeared first on Golf.

The post ClubTest Live: Is TaylorMade’s TP5 or TP5x the better fit for you? appeared first on Golf.

The post ClubTest Live: Is TaylorMade’s TP5 or TP5x the better fit for you? appeared first on Golf.

The post ClubTest Live: Is TaylorMade’s TP5 or TP5x the better fit for you? appeared first on Golf.

The post From start to finish, watch how golf balls are made at Callaway’s facility here in the U.S. appeared first on Golf.

The post From start to finish, watch how golf balls are made at Callaway’s facility here in the U.S. appeared first on Golf.

The post From start to finish, watch how golf balls are made at Callaway’s facility here in the U.S. appeared first on Golf.

The post Robotest: Range balls vs. Premium balls appeared first on Golf.

The post Robotest: Range balls vs. Premium balls appeared first on Golf.

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