TaylorMade Project 5 Golf Ball Reviews

[Lambo]

Guys,

 

I'm hear at the in laws for the holiday, so I will get the review up after Christmas.

 

I did play a second round with the ball on Friday, and still have nothing but good things to say about this ball. Even in 46* and 15 mph wind, the ball felt extrmeley soft and very long off the tee.

 

More to come in the next day or two.

 

Hope Santa is good to all the great people on the site!!

[dru_]

Having finally gotten a chance to get some real golf in with the Project5's, I should be able to write my review up in the next couple of days (today hopefully).

 

Sneak peak on my overall assessment. outside of the durability issues that face every urethane ball, well, I'll let you fill in the rest until I can do the full write up :-).

[Damon]

Introduction

 

This review is for the TaylorMade Project 5 pre-release golf ball. Based on some information on the box and its performance, I am speculating this is a replacement for their current TP5 Urethane golf ball.

 

Some background on me, I play to an 8 – 10 handicap. My driver SS is about 105. I am a decent chipper and pitcher of the golf ball, and spent lots of time around the greens practicing with the Project 5 ball. My drives carry around 250, 24* 4 hybrid about 200, 7 iron about 155, PW about 125. Over the past year I have mostly been playing various Urethane covered balls including the TaylorMade TP3, Callaway Hex Black, and Wilson FG Tour.

 

Feel

If you've read some of my earlier posts, you can clearly tell I enjoy the feel of the Project 5. I've described it as solid with a please low resonating thwack off the putter face. The ball is just as satisfying off of the chip, pitch, and full iron shots. Off of the driver the feel is once again solid. Some of the Urethane balls I have played over the past year are sometimes clicky – I never once found this to be the case with the Project 5.

 

Durability

I must have hit 500 chips/short pitches with 2 of the balls over the past 2 weeks. Yesterday I cleaned them up and they looked brand new. Maybe my grooves need sharpening, but I didn't shred the cover off of the ball on any shot. I have done this a few times with the other balls, especially the Wilson FG Tour.

 

Based on my experience, I don't see any issues with Durability.

 

Performance

Driver

This is where the review will take the turn for the worse. The good: the trajectory for the driver is mid-high and penetrating. The distance is right up there with the other balls I play. I hit several drives in the 265 – 275 range on a pretty cold (for Florida anyway…) day. The not so good: I hit 4 drives that just sliced off of the planet. While I occasionally hit a push fade, I don't normally slice badly. Each swing that resulted in the slice, I simply did not expect the poor result. I don't know if it is a compression issue, but the ball just kept going right. Interestingly, the distance on those shots was much further than expected. Normally a slice off to the right goes shorter, but not these drives. It seemed to me like this ball magnifies side spin. Is this phyisically possible – I don't know.

 

I had a love/hate relationship with the driver performance of this ball. The good drives were fantastic – beautiful trajectory, satisfying distance, fantastic feel. The bad drives simply spun off the planet.

 

I need to spend a couple more rounds with the ball and see if it was my swing.

 

Irons

My go to iron is my 7 or 8 iron. During my round I hit full and half/knock down shots with these irons to gauge performance. In a word – stellar. Distance was very predictable, and stock shot trajectory was high but penetrating. At the green you could see where the ball landed and then settled a few feet forward of its pitch mark. On punch shots I saw a much lower trajectory and was able to control the distance into and under the wind.

 

On hybrids and fairway woods I saw a fairly high trajectory but no ballooning. Distance was on par with expectations.

 

Wedges (Full)

Like the irons, I saw impressive performance with the wedges. Full shots were high and dropped down onto the green without excessive spin. I did not (nor do I normally) have the wedges hit and suck back 10 feet. Instead they hit and rolled a couple of feet forwards. This to me is very predictable and something I like to see from my golf balls.

 

Full shot distance with the 58*, 54*, 50* was maybe 5 yards greater than with my other Urethane balls.

 

Around the Green

As I mentioned earlier, I spent tons of time around the green with this ball. I hit everything from partial 40 – 75 yard wedge shots to chips, flops, bump and runs. I made sure I hit from tight lies, fluffy lies, into raised greens, etc.

 

In short, this Project 5 ball is a pleasure to play around the greens. What I liked best was the consistent trajectory and predictable response once the ball landed on the green. I compared it head to head with a Pro V1, and I saw just a slight performance difference. To me, the Project 5 had a lower trajectory on the partial shots, and it spun just a little bit more. I would not say the difference was tremendous, but it was noticeable.

 

Here is a pic I took after hitting four partial wedge 80 yard shots. For me this is a great result. I attribute some of this due to the lower trajectory.

 

Putter

I discussed this in my earlier posts, and in a “blind test” between the Project 5 and Callaway Hex Black (my current ball of choice), I chose the Project 5 75% of the time. The sound and feel off of the putter is solid and deep resonating. I have really been able to dial in distance with this ball. Yesterday I played some fast and true greens. I made a 25 footer for Par, a fifteen and ten footer for Par, and a 35 footer for birdie. I attribute a lot of this to the sound and feel off of the putter face – I had lots of confidence standing over these putts knowing I would be able to putt them close to the hole.

 

Value

Since this is a pre-release ball without a price, I can't say at this time.

 

Player Profile

This Project 5 golf ball is for the low to mid handicap golfer.

 

Final Thoughts

Right now until I get more time with the ball to hit drivers on the course, I need to slightly reserve judgment. The only negative is the driver spin when the face is open – it appears to be magnified compared to my expectations of the swing and contact. Outside of this, the ball meets the high performance expectations one would expect of a premium Urethane golf ball. I especially like its performance around the greens and off of the putter.

 

Here are a couple of close shots so you can see the dimple differences between the Project 5 and the Callaway Hex Black and the Titleist Pro V1.

 

 

[BK in TEXAS]

Excellent, and very thorough review dd

[fsav]

Great write up! interesting that in a state of decreasing side spin and maximizing distance these balls seemed to perform bad on the left to right range. Also interesting, from the pics, is the resemblance to the hex pattern

[The Dansome]

excellent review and some great photos.

[Damon]

Great write up! interesting that in a state of decreasing side spin and maximizing distance these balls seemed to perform bad on the left to right range. Also interesting, from the pics, is the resemblance to the hex pattern

 

My feeling's exactly - I can't really understand why I saw the increased side spin. I'm wondering if with the open face I didn't compress the ball enough? I'm not a great golfer by any stretch of the imagination, but I can normally equate swing and contact to ball flight. And those 4 slices just went way more right than my minds eye told me they should have.

 

And great point on the Hex pattern - that is why I took that pic. I meant to point it out in the review but forgot - thanks for pointing that out.

[Damon]

Excellent, and very thorough review dd

 

 

excellent review and some great photos.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. Let me know if any additional info or pics you would like to see.

[GolfSpy WD]

Very well written DD, thanks!

[Lambo]

Introduction

 

This is my review for the TM Project 5 Ball. I'm not a golfer that plays the tour caliber ball that this is so I really can't compare it to the other tour balls on the market. I generally play Bridgestone E6 or the Titleist Velocity. Let me tell you there is a huge difference, and this ball could go in my bag full time if the price was right. But we know that they will be on the high end side.

 

I play to a 12 - 15 handicap, depending on the time of year. Not the longest hitter of the ball, about 215 off the tee, but don't have a problem keeping it in the fairway. I'm also a certified club ho, so the clubs I tested the balls with probably want be in my bag after the first off the year!

 

One quick thing to say...THIS BALL IS A BEAST!!!!!!

 

Feel

 

Soft, Soft, Soft. Did I say this ball is soft. Even playing in the cold weather, 46* and 15 mph plus winds.

 

Durability

 

No problems with the cover on the ball, except when I sprayed a couple and hit the cart paths. I play the Callaway Jaws wedges non CC, which chew up most of the other balls I played.

 

Performance

 

DRIVER

 

The longest ball I've ever hit off the tee. The course I play has the first hole as a 5 par with a creek about 225 out. I said what the hell on the first day out wit the ball, and cleared the creek. Not but much, but was over on the drive.

 

IRONS

 

Great flight that never seemed to go off the intended line, with a good swing. Seems to get a lot of height but not ballooning, so it performs great off the irons for me.

 

WEDGES

 

Man was it neat to have the ball stop on a dime! Even had a couple of the back up, which amazed myself and playing partners.

 

PUTTER

 

Great muted sound and felt like butter off the carbon steel putter. I use a TP Mills Huey, so it's a soft putter to begin with.

 

Value

 

This is a tough call at the moment, since the pricing is not out.

 

Player Profile

 

This is a better players ball, but I think most anybody would benefit from the performance.

 

Final Thoughts

 

I would switch to the ball in an instant, and might just do it if I know that this is the exact ball coming onto the market.

[fsav]

My feeling's exactly - I can't really understand why I saw the increased side spin. I'm wondering if with the open face I didn't compress the ball enough? I'm not a great golfer by any stretch of the imagination, but I can normally equate swing and contact to ball flight. And those 4 slices just went way more right than my minds eye told me they should have.

 

And great point on the Hex pattern - that is why I took that pic. I meant to point it out in the review but forgot - thanks for pointing that out.

The higher end balls aren't like the Bridgestone fix or 5/6/7 series where they are dedicated to less side spin and therefore end up losing feel so maybe tmag was looking for distance and bck spin instead of side spin considering the target group. No problem about the hex comment the pictures were great and everything well done I am interested to see if the hex design callaway plays the same with side spin? do you play this ball? I neve have

[Damon]

The higher end balls aren't like the Bridgestone fix or 5/6/7 series where they are dedicated to less side spin and therefore end up losing feel so maybe tmag was looking for distance and bck spin instead of side spin considering the target group. No problem about the hex comment the pictures were great and everything well done I am interested to see if the hex design callaway plays the same with side spin? do you play this ball? I neve have

 

I have played the Hex Black a good amount this year. I've always been a Callaway ball fan, with the exception of the feel. The Hex Black is a huge step forward to me compared to the Tour i(s) or i(x), but still falls short of this Project 5 ball with respect to feel. However, I have not experienced the driver spin issue with the Hex Black. All things considered, right now, I would most likely play the Callaway over the Project 5. But... I need to take the Project 5 to the course a couple more times to ensure the issues weren't simply swing related.

[Walkerjames]

Introduction

 

Hey Everone I was chosen to test the project 5 ball

My first impression was that it was very soft and for sure a premium ball.

I play the penta tp5 and have loved it but felt that the original penta tp was a better

Ball at lest for me. So I was worried that this my be an other step in the wrong direction.

Boy was I wrong....

 

Feel

 

This ball felt extremely soft of the putter face and if I had one compliant about the original Penta

It would be the cover was to soft and marked very easy, this is not true of the Project 5 felt soft like the original but the cover was more durable like the Tp5. And the ball felt great off al the clubs but the putter was money.

 

 

 

 

Durability

Ok so if you stay off the cart path and out of the trees this ball is very durable. I hit one on the cart path and it did mark but for a urethane ball it was minimal I give it a big thumbs up in this category because the way it felt off the clubs it should shred.

I have MD grooves on my wedges and only small marks but nothing to affect playability.

 

 

 

 

Performance

 

All and all it plays very similar to the Penta like the best from both generations.

 

 

Driver

 

Ball jumped off the face and held a line very well,with my driver I have a pretty good flice( fade/slice) but this ball seamed to stop turning before it got to the trees.

So I'd say less driver spin than Penta. I have no data to back this just I know my driver and I play the same course every week and I found new parts of the course I'd never seem before( fairways)LOL.

 

Irons

 

Unlike my driver I draw my irons maybe 5-10 yards and I found this ball very easy to move even when I had to fade it( around a tree) ball felt great coming off the face. And also held th line very well. Distance seamed about par with original Pentas.

 

 

Wedges (Full)

 

Wedges felt great as well this is where I started to feel how soft the ball is full wedges felt crisp but soft it that makes sense ball held a line and distance was predictable.

 

Around the Green

 

Ball checked up nice not a lot of back spin but hop and stop but greens were firm and most balls were running out.

Very soft feeling and rolled nice on bump and runs.

 

Putter

SOFT! I love the feel of the Project 5 on the greens I use a SC montery and the ball felt like butter off the putter

The roll was nice a true.

 

Value

 

Since I play the Penta for me the Value is par I will be switching to this ball when it comes out I just wish they kept the name, Project 5 it way better than Lethel.

 

Player Profile

 

It is a premium ball but I think that it would fit a lot of player

The decreased side spin that I found makes this ball more versatile than the Penta and TP5.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

 

Well done TM I think you nailed it on this one. Just bring back the buy two get one and we've got a deal.

 

Thank you MGS for this chance to test this ball. Ill post some pictures when I get home

[Walkerjames]

The pictures did work wow the ball on the left is a pro v1 just so you cal see the dimple pattern

[The Dansome]

Excellent review Walkerjames. Did you play the original Penta and how would you compare if so?

[Walkerjames]

Excellent review Walkerjames. Did you play the original Penta and how would you compare if so?

Ya I did play the original Penta and I think this ball is very similar but with a more durable cover.

[The Dansome]

Ya I did play the original Penta and I think this ball is very similar but with a more durable cover.

 

THIS, is a good thing. Now I wants.

[Walkerjames]

THIS, is a good thing. Now I wants.

Ya I loved the original Penta and liked the Tp5 this ball is the best of both worlds.

[GolfSpy WD]

Ya I loved the original Penta and liked the Tp5 this ball is the best of both worlds.

 

That's high praise. I really like the Penta and never tried the Tp5 mainly because it isn't out on the recycled ball market yet and I have a ton of ProV1x.

[Walkerjames]

That's high praise. I really like the Penta and never tried the Tp5 mainly because it isn't out on the recycled ball market yet and I have a ton of ProV1x.

I just loved the original Penta but the cover scuffed so easy and the Tp5 did not scuff as easy but I felt it lost some of the things that I loved about the original. The only compliant I have about the Project 5 is that they only sent 5 Balls.. And they don't Float so now I only have 4 Booo.

[Damon]

Looks like TaylorMade released the details today around this Project 5 ball, introducing the "Lethal" golf ball. From reading the marketing material, I'd say I experienced what they described - lower, more penetrating ball flight that continues to carry a bit more than expected when it reaches its apex (LDP dimples).

 

I played two rounds since my initial review. I hit the Project 5, the Hex Black, the FG Tour, and the Pro V1 X. My worst sidespin drives were with the TaylorMade, no way around it. For me, I would game the Hex Black ahead of the Project 5/Lethal. Don't get me wrong, the Project 5 is a great ball - especially within 100 yards. I'm just not consistent enough to get sufficient compression (my pure speculation as to why the increased slice spin compared to the other balls) when I hit the tee-shots with an open faced driver.

[GolfSpy WD]

Looks like TaylorMade released the details today around this Project 5 ball, introducing the "Lethal" golf ball. From reading the marketing material, I'd say I experienced what they described - lower, more penetrating ball flight that continues to carry a bit more than expected when it reaches its apex (LDP dimples).

 

I played two rounds since my initial review. I hit the Project 5, the Hex Black, the FG Tour, and the Pro V1 X. My worst sidespin drives were with the TaylorMade, no way around it. For me, I would game the Hex Black ahead of the Project 5/Lethal. Don't get me wrong, the Project 5 is a great ball - especially within 100 yards. I'm just not consistent enough to get sufficient compression (my pure speculation as to why the increased slice spin compared to the other balls) when I hit the tee-shots with an open faced driver.

 

This is exactly why I play the ProV1X..you say the Black spins even less?

[The Dansome]

If I'm sticking with the RocketBladez in the coming season this may be a really good ball. Soft, lower trajectory and a little more workable could tick all the boxes.

[Damon]

This is exactly why I play the ProV1X..you say the Black spins even less?

 

I never was on a launch monitor, so I can't say for sure. Based on eyeballing the trajectory and distances, I would say the Hex Black and Project 5 are very comparable spin wise on full driver and iron shots. Around the greens and with partial wedge shots I would give the advantage to the Project 5.

 

Where I saw the extra spin with the Project 5 was on driver shots hit with an open face. I hit a couple today with the Hex Black that ended in the right rough. Then, just like a week or two back, I hit one with the Project 5 that went a good 20 yards right of where I expected it to go. Maybe I am simply hitting the really bad ones coincidentally when I am using the Project 5, but that would be difficult to imagine.

 

I think this Project 5 is a great ball for a excellent long driver of the ball, or someone who plays a controlled game. If you keep the ball in play even without hitting it long, you will appreciate the high level sense of control around the greens as well as the solid putting feel/sound.

 

However, if you are like me a typical 8-10 handicap with Drive 1 that goes 275 straight down the fairway, then Drive 2 that is a push cut 235 into the right rough, this might not be the ball for you.

[dru_]

No I think we are all seeing much the same thing. If you fail to maximize the compression on the driver face, the ball is prone to sidespin that will affects it's performance off the driver.

[fsav]

Great analysis all! really digging the attention to detail on the compression factor relevant to side spin. thanks for the insight. by looks of it I will be staying put with my PRO V1x