TaylorMade TP5/TP5X Golf Balls! - 2024 Forum Review

[MissionMan]

Got out for the first torture test today. These balls were selected because I had them on hand (comp winning, free balls at demo days etc). I could have included more but I don't think my arms could handle that many hits.

• Taylormade TP5
• Callaway Chrome Soft
• Srixon Z Star
• Titleist Pro V1 (latest model)

Results were interesting. 20 shots with a 9 iron on each ball in the nets which would be fairly hard on them because it's close to a wedge. I hit my 9 iron around 135/140 yards on any given day. I plan to hit another 20 tomorrow with a 5 iron, and 20 the next day with a 7 iron.

The first photo looks bad, but this seems to be residue from our practice nets at golf course on the balls. This might not reflect normal play, but out on the course, the ball will be landing on hard ground, hitting trees etc so I felt given all the balls are experiencing this, it's fair for all of them.

Cleaned up, they look a little better. All the balls did well. 

My expectations were surprisingly wrong. I expected the order of damage to be (sequenced good to bad) Titleist ProV1, Callaway, Taylormade and Srixon. Keep in mind, this could well just be hitting sharp edge on the net so we could well see these results change in the next couple of sessions.

The actual results after 20 balls were a tie between Callaway, Srixon, Taylormade, then Titleist. The Titleist had the most damage with a number of larger wear patches. The other balls had minor spots, but nothing major. It will be interesting to see if that changes as the test goes on, because I suspect the thinner covers will show more wear over time.

The Taylormade TP5

Callaway Chrome Soft

The Srixon Z Star

The Titleist faired the worse with some noticeable damage to the ball. At first I thought these might be residue that didn't come off, but it wasn't.

 

 

Edited April 15 by MissionMan

[MissionMan]

Got some spin tests done today at a local pitch and putt. Not the greatest greens to work with but quiet enough that I could do this stuff without people around.

First off, a 20 yard high spin skip and stop. Spin is pretty good.

Here is a 30 yard high spin shot, open the face right up, full swing with a 60 to really try spin it up. 

Finally a 48 degree from about 110 yards. For these kinds of shots, if the pin is too far back, I found it easy to take a 3/4 swing with one club down and have it stop on the spot. 

 

[Rob Person]

2 hours ago, MissionMan said:

Got some spin tests done today at a local pitch and putt. Not the greatest greens to work with but quiet enough that I could do this stuff without people around.

First off, a 20 yard high spin skip and stop. Spin is pretty good.

Here is a 30 yard high spin shot, open the face right up, full swing with a 60 to really try spin it up. 

Finally a 48 degree from about 110 yards. For these kinds of shots, if the pin is too far back, I found it easy to take a 3/4 swing with one club down and have it stop on the spot. 

 

That's impressive!  I've never had a ball reverse like that!

[ronnieg]

I've decided this ball definitely has some durability issues with the wedges. I've mixed it up the last few rounds because I've been playing so poorly, I wanted to confirm it was my game and not the ball. As suspected, it was my game lol. However, I was going through notably fewer balls while using ProV1 and Chrome Tours. Chrome Tours in particular seemed to hold up well to my wedges. Went back to the TP5xs last round and immediately scuffed one to hell on my first good wedge shot. From only 30 yards as well. To be honest, I haven't been disappointed with anything about the TP5xs besides the durability. I'm also guessing someone who doesn't apply a lot of spin around the greens and compress wedges hard wouldn't have this issue.

Edited April 16 by ronnieg
TYPO

[Wib081]

Went to the range yesterday and while the range see ion wasn’t the best I spent an hour on the practice green here are the a few of the results. Ball really does perform well around the green. 

 

 

Edited April 16 by Wib081

[Wib081]

21 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

Went to the range yesterday and while the range see ion wasn’t the best I spent an hour on the practice green here are the a few of the results. Ball really does perform well around the green. 

 

 

 

Covers are holding up pretty well there are some scuffs from dirt on my wedge but nothing that I feel would mess with playability for me 

[MissionMan]

19 hours ago, ronnieg said:

I've decided this ball definitely has some durability issues with the wedges. I've mixed it up the last few rounds because I've been playing so poorly, I wanted to confirm it was my game and not the ball. As suspected, it was my game lol. However, I was going through notably fewer balls while using ProV1 and Chrome Tours. Chrome Tours in particular seemed to hold up well to my wedges. Went back to the TP5xs last round and immediately scuffed one to hell on my first good wedge shot. From only 30 yards as well. To be honest, I haven't been disappointed with anything about the TP5xs besides the durability. I'm also guessing someone who doesn't apply a lot of spin around the greens and compress wedges hard wouldn't have this issue.

I wonder if the TP5X has more durability issues than the TP5?

[ronnieg]

8 hours ago, Wib081 said:

Covers are holding up pretty well there are some scuffs from dirt on my wedge but nothing that I feel would mess with playability for me 

Could just be a difference of preference, because those are similar to the scuff I've been getting and I would prefer not to play them once I get a couple of those. Lots of studies now showing it affects flight, aerodynamics and particularly rolls on putts way more than you'd think. 

[ronnieg]

10 minutes ago, MissionMan said:

I wonder if the TP5X has more durability issues than the TP5?

I have a few new TP5 I'm gonna try out and see. I'd imagine not though considering it's the same cover. If anything I'd think that the TP5 would be worse since it's the softer, spinnier ball.

 

Like I said though, I'm not sure most golfers will have this issue. I'm putting 10000 rpm backspin on these shots with the lower spin TP5x. Really using the club face. Unless you are spinning them backwards from 50 yards it probably won't be too much of an issue. 

[MissionMan]

2 minutes ago, ronnieg said:

I have a few new TP5 I'm gonna try out and see. I'd imagine not though considering it's the same cover. If anything I'd think that the TP5 would be worse since it's the softer, spinnier ball.

 

Like I said though, I'm not sure most golfers will have this issue. I'm putting 10000 rpm backspin on these shots with the lower spin TP5x. Really using the club face. Unless you are spinning them backwards from 50 yards it probably won't be too much of an issue. 

In my experience, the harder balls have the durability issues. I had more issues with spin wear on the pro v1x than the pro v1, and the previous Tp5/tp5x were really hard and also had similar issues for me. I could be completely wrong though. 

[Wib081]

17 minutes ago, ronnieg said:

Could just be a difference of preference, because those are similar to the scuff I've been getting and I would prefer not to play them once I get a couple of those. Lots of studies now showing it affects flight, aerodynamics and particularly rolls on putts way more than you'd think. 

I’ll have to tee a scuffed ball up with a fresh one and see if there’s a difference between the 2

[MissionMan]

Okay, some torture tests with the wedge. 10 shots with a 48 degree in the nets. Mats at our club are a little hard so couldn't go to heavy on them or I'll break my wrists.

The Titleist and Srixon seemed to do better than the others. The TP5 and Callaway not as well.

In my view, it seems like a close race between the Titleist and the Sirxon, Callaway 3rd and Taylormade TP5 in 4th place. 

This supports Ronnie's view about the Taylormade's wedge performance. 

TP5

Callaway

Srixon Z Star

Titleist Pro V1

 

Edited April 17 by MissionMan

[ZackS]

13 hours ago, ronnieg said:

I have a few new TP5 I'm gonna try out and see. I'd imagine not though considering it's the same cover. If anything I'd think that the TP5 would be worse since it's the softer, spinnier ball.

 

Like I said though, I'm not sure most golfers will have this issue. I'm putting 10000 rpm backspin on these shots with the lower spin TP5x. Really using the club face. Unless you are spinning them backwards from 50 yards it probably won't be too much of an issue. 

 

12 hours ago, MissionMan said:

In my experience, the harder balls have the durability issues. I had more issues with spin wear on the pro v1x than the pro v1, and the previous Tp5/tp5x were really hard and also had similar issues for me. I could be completely wrong though. 

I could see how the firmer ball would have more durability issues on the cover with the harder back board behind the cover would cause a little more compression on the cover layer itself. I am not one of the testers but have been using the new TP5 and haven’t seen durability issues so far. I saw more issues with the Chrome Tour X when I tried it. Keep up the good work, I have enjoyed following along so far. 

[Wib081]

So upon further wedge testing I am in agreement with @ronnieg. My 56* Vokey was really chewing into the covers on the balls. This was another test from 20-30 yards out and chips from the fringe. The cover just doesn’t seem to hold up. 

[MissionMan]

Went out for a session today. The upside with miserable rainy days midweek is no one else is dumb enough to be out there. As a result, I had the opportunity to play 4 balls for 7 holes, before I had enough of the rain and decided to call it a day. The process was to drive with all balls, pick the best spot, and take the next shot with all four. I made a point of drying the balls between shots so the spin was closer to normal. It didn't help much with distances, as the fairways were soggy.

I played a TP5, TP5X (I bought some), Srixon Z star, and Pro V1. On some of the par 3s, I also played a Pro V1X. My par 3's were not great today, wind probably wasn't helping but I'd put it most on me.

Obviously it's hard to judge exact distances on the course, and I'm not good enough to get all ball strikes to be identical, but the TP5X was consistently longer than the rest of the balls by about 5-10 yards on the drive. I wasn't expecting it to be that big a difference but it was noticeable. I had holes where I struck 3 out of the four in perfect position where they should have been similar distances. The TP5 was marginally longer than the Z Star and Pro V1, but we're talking 5 yards. When it came to irons into par 3's, this reduced to a couple of yards. 

The spin on the Pro V1 with irons was slightly higher than the TP5 which I didn't expect. I TP5 felt a little spinnier for me most of the times I have had it out. I guess the launch monitor will confirm this in the next couple of days. I will say the short-game spin on the TP5 seemed to be higher than the Pro V1, as it seemed to check a little better on the greens, and I was consistently leaving it short of the hole. This is not hard to believe given brands can now get low spin off the drive and higher spin on short shots, but given the conditions, there are enough external factors to say this could also just have been course conditions. 

Will start my final launch monitor tests in the coming days so I should be able to deliver more accurate metrics.

[OdinSnipes414]

On 3/5/2024 at 2:20 AM, OdinSnipes414 said:

What’s up spy’s!

For those that don’t know me my name is Alex, but Odin works just fine!  I’m from the Bipolar weather state of Wisconsin and I’m totally addicted to golf here!

I have been golfing on and off since I was 2! The love for the game came from watching a guy named Tiger woods play golf on TV with my father. I love things local so the fact he made his rookie start here at the local Brown Deer golf course up the road from me made it more special!

For a long time I was a woods warrior, foraging any ball I could find in the trees! That was my local pro shop and cheep cheep prices lol! Then I found out some of my favorite players played TaylorMade - Tiger, Rickie, Fleet daddy, The Canadian bomb shell Brook, US gold medalist Nelly Korda, and Morikawa the newest favorite on my list! So I played TaylorMade for 7 years and then Odin walked in my life and charmed me!

Dont get me wrong I still have TaylorMade in the bag along side my X1s! Can’t wait to test these out so I can continue pretending to be like my Idols!

 

Claims to mythbust!

I chose to test the TP5x Pix for a few reasons! I like the look ORANGE for Rickie and I love the alignment set up for putts! More to come as the days roll on……

 

Unboxing!

After receiving my package I was impressed with the speed from when the package was shipped to reaching my front door! I love the look of the ball the pattern is much more vibrant than the older model! 
 

Front ball is new model and the orange line is more prominent than the older line!

 

Testing

its been snowing on and off for a week and the corses were closed! However this weekend it’s sunny and I  have some time set aside to get some work in! 
however I have been chipping around at home with my daughter and the balls are holding up surprisingly well due to my kiddo hitting into the rocks a and the wall! 

Aesthetics (19 out of 20) 

I love this ball the way it looks the way it feel everything! I went ahead and bought a dozen of the doughnut and the peach TP5X pix! Safe to say there will be some play in my bag!
Only reason for a point off is the cover of one of balls I was using scuffed up pretty bad to the point that it may have ended up in the bottom of a water hazard! So it didn’t effect the sinking ability!

The Numbers (19 out of 20)

After about 4 weeks I was able to hit the practice areas around 8 times and got in a round of golf once a week! I played early in the am as the sun was coming up to allow me to be the only one out there! I played several balls while testing TP5 and TP5X both pix and standard in this years model and the old model , Odin X and X1, and the Bridgestone mindset tour XS! The new TP5 balls did hold up it claim to be about half a club longer than the old models and with that I’m very pleased! Spin didn’t change much but the putting alignment with the new square pattern is substantially greater than before!

Driving data

For distance the TP5x and the Odin x1  came out almost dead nuts tied with a slight edge to the TaylorMade (1.5yards) 

spin rate was amazing! I was able to place the ball where ever I wanted and it would almost always stay there! Unfortunate as well because now I see why Tommy Fleetwood always has those long putts it hits where it lands and almost doesn’t roll out!

 

 

On The Course (20 out of 20)

There is something about orange on the course that is pleasing to the eye! Every shot, good or bad, was the perfect height in ball flight and distance was absolutely incredible! With all the talks of a roll back might as well make a ball now that makes up the difference!

The Good, the bad, the inbetween (19 out of 20)

The good?  The distance, alignment, the entire ball!

 

The bad? Slightly weak outer cover on one or 2 balls! Oh and price price price price! But you pay for a name! And I’ll always keep a few on hand!

 

The Inbetween: This really is the bees knees of premium golf balls! 

 

 

Play it or Trade it? (17 out of 20)

I’m going to game them for 2024 to really see how the covers hold up! But I feel like I’ll always have a few in the bag!

Conclusion

Outside of the price and the occasional Slice (Working on it) these balls definitely hold up their claims to be longer than their former self! If you got som jangle in your pocket don’t sleep on the TP5X pix!

 

 

 

 

Final Score (94 out of 100)

With the final day for me to get a little more testing doing today I have my final thoughts up early! Will be doing some editing and whatnot out on the course today! But man do these balls game hard!

[Lefty11]

I've been closely monitoring this discussion, and I was considering using the TP5 in an upcoming tournament. Your insights will definitely influence my decision. For those putting the TP5 and TP5x to the test, how do they measure up against the ProV1 and V1x?

Edited April 25 by Lefty11

[TJ Hall]

Someone gave me a couple TP5x to try since they didn’t work for him.

The good, driver and fairway woods were absolute rockers with this ball.  Hit some truly amazing shots.

The not so good, I did not like the results with the irons or chips.  The ball just seemed to roll out more than expected.  Saw a bit a damage to the cover after a full wedge approach as well.

[ronnieg]

4 hours ago, Lefty11 said:

I've been closely monitoring this discussion, and I was considering using the TP5 in an upcoming tournament. Your insights will definitely influence my decision. For those putting the TP5 and TP5x to the test, how do they measure up against the ProV1 and V1x?

So to generalize, the Prov1 is low spin low flight and the prov1x is high spin high flight. I would say the TP5x I've tested is right there with Prov1 and prov1x as far as performance. It has some of the good qualities of both, but mixed in a different way. High launch like the Prov1x but driver spin is low and comparable to the Prov1(possibly lower spinning), which is nice. Greenside spin is comparable to the V. Feel is between as well. Softer than the prov1x but not as soft as the V. I've decided it doesn't suit my game, but depending on the things you are looking for from a ball it could outperform the Titliest balls. 

3 minutes ago, ronnieg said:

So to generalize, the Prov1 is low spin low flight and the prov1x is high spin high flight. I would say the TP5x I've tested is right there with Prov1 and prov1x as far as performance. It has some of the good qualities of both, but mixed in a different way. High launch like the Prov1x but driver spin is low and comparable to the Prov1(possibly lower spinning), which is nice. Greenside spin is comparable to the V. Feel is between as well. Softer than the prov1x but not as soft as the V. I've decided it doesn't suit my game, but depending on the things you are looking for from a ball it could outperform the Titliest balls. 

The closest comp that comes to mind is a softer feeling left dash. My full review will be out later so keep an eye out for that!

Edited April 26 by ronnieg
Added info

[MissionMan]

Took out the TP5 and TP5X for a test and I can now confirm the TP5 durability is better than the TP5X. I hit a tree with a TP5X and if it wasn’t a practice round, I would have replaced the it immediately. I’ll post pictures but the damage was a lot heavier than I would have expected for a premium ball. I’ve had some arguments with trees and the TP5 definitely didn’t fair as badly.

[Rob Person]

I've only tried the previous versions of the tp series balls once, and didn't quite feel as though they were performing well for me. Not sure what it was either that gave me that feeling.   

Testers, do you feel this ball is more suited for a seasoned or skilled player?

[MissionMan]

I tried the previous and found them way too hard. These are actually really nice, soft feel, but firm and much better than the previous generation. 

I actually think the TP5 are slightly better performers than a Pro V1. 

[Wib081]

 

On 3/5/2024 at 3:20 AM, Wib081 said:

Hello From Ohio

Introducing myself to all of you Spy's, hi I'm Ian and you can probably guess from the title where I live. I have been given many nicknames and the 2 that have stuck the longest are WIB and Beandip. Any and all work for me so you all can chose whichever you like best! 

I started playing the game when I was 12 at Rolling Greens on my birthday and was hooked. The course was 3/4 of a mile from the house garage to range mats! Sadly it is now a housing development but the memories I have of that course are comforting. I still have the TM <Tour Preferred> 5 Wood that was in the bag back then!

These days I'm trying to get down below a 10 handicap I try to play at least twice a week in season. 1 weekday round and at then at least 1 weekend round with the best playing partners ever!

 

Testing Goals

I have mainly played Titleist lines for the last 20 years. I enjoyed the NXT Tour and Pro-V1 lines, and for a brief blip the DT So-Lo. Recently I have been gaming a Kirkland Signature based upon value and the quality/durability has seemed to be worth the cost. 

 

I am planning on running the TP5 Pix through its paces next to both of these ball lineups. Distance, stopping, green side control all the standard ideas. However, my father in law has a stock pile of older TM balls so I want to also run the TP5 next to some of those to see how far the TM line has come. 

The Pix ball has fascinated me since I saw it on a shelf when TM debuted it. I really like the idea of extra alignment assistance, but the 2 grey and black aid marks on the poles of the ball have me pretty intrigued. I have on occasion had issue focusing on one spot on the ball. This aid off the tee I'm hoping will help keep me focus and help in FIR's. I'm aware of the 5 layer progressive speed construction and I like this idea. Combine that with more spin help and a soft feel, sign me up. 

The things I'm really looking for in the ball are durability and alignment aid assistance. If the ball is equivalent to the Pro-V1 and Kirkland in durability and feel the tie breaker is how well the Pix system helps me to focus on the ball on all shots across the course. If that helps me play even 3-5 strokes better I'm willing to put the TP5 in the bag for the long haul!

 

The Review 

Is now live!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 29 by Wib081
Moved to main post

[GolferXY]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:20 AM, ronnieg said:

My name is Ronnie and I'm very excited to have my first testing opportunity with such a great product. I selected the TP5 pix as my test ball.

Final score:85/100

Good review with great media!  Thanks for the time, it was well spent.

[GolferXY]

On 4/15/2024 at 5:09 AM, Rob Person said:

That's impressive!  I've never had a ball reverse like that!

Rob-O, you need new wedges! 

[GolferXY]

On 4/16/2024 at 7:08 AM, Wib081 said:

Covers are holding up pretty well there are some scuffs from dirt on my wedge but nothing that I feel would mess with playability for me 

Dude, those look like my old Balata Titleists from the 80's!  They look veeery soft.  That's a lot of damage for minimal usage. I'm really disappointed given how much I liked the previous iterations of the TM Pix. Plus, there are a couple of gobs of paint in the dimples.  To me that is unacceptable in a premium ball.  How many of the balls had those gobs of paint out of the box?

[Wib081]

Just now, GolferXY said:

Dude, those look like my old Balata Titleists from the 80's!  They look veeery soft.  That's a lot of damage for minimal usage. I'm really disappointed given how much I liked the previous iterations of the TM Pix. Plus, there are a couple of gobs of paint in the dimples.  To me that is unacceptable in a premium ball.  How many of the balls had those gobs of paint out of the box?

The Pix had 3 like that and the standard had 4

[GolferXY]

20 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

The Pix had 3 like that and the standard had 4

I'm not a great ball striker so I doubt the effect would be obvious in my game, but at $55 a doz I expect better.  Shame.  I'm looking for a gamer.  Thought I could save some money and bought a bunch of Kirkland balls.  I retired them to the shag bag in a big hurry.  They are 15 yards shorter and roll around like a "weebles wobble but they don't fall down" toy when on the green.  Terrible for putting and short game IMO.  Thanks for the good review.  Pics are great!

Weebles wobble

Edited April 29 by GolferXY

[ronnieg]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:30 AM, Rob Person said:

I've only tried the previous versions of the tp series balls once, and didn't quite feel as though they were performing well for me. Not sure what it was either that gave me that feeling.   

Testers, do you feel this ball is more suited for a seasoned or skilled player?

I think it's the same as other premium balls. You will need a minimum skill level of entry to get any performance gains worth the price. I don't think I'd invest $55 a box just to lose half of them in a round and shoot 100+. But if you are a mid-level golfer, lets say 15 HCP or less with a moderate swing speed, it has enough gains over a non-premium ball to be worth it, if cost isn't so much of an issue.

[Lefty11]

I've played  the earlier versions of the TP5 and TP5x Pix golf balls. My only complaint with last year's model was their firmness. I'm eager to give this year's edition a spin, hopefully they’ll suit my game. I appreciate all your efforts testers!