TaylorMade 2021 TP5 Golf Ball Review
The TP5 golf ball from TaylorMade has gone from strength to strength since its initial release in 2017. It’s truly one of the best golf balls on the market, offering all-round performance to rival the very best in each category. But that’s not to say the company has been resting on its laurels.
The 2021 version has a new dimple pattern designed to improve aerodynamics and increase carry distance. Additionally, it remains softer than the TP5x, ensuring an excellent balance of distance and spin. In our testing, it was found to offer exactly that. Distance off the tee was never an issue, while approaching greens the ball was very workable with an iron in hand. Controlling trajectory was pleasingly easy and the spin levels facilitated fades and draws at will.
Around the greens, the TP5 performed just how you’d hope and expect it to, with maximum precision and control allowing us to be aggressive to our chosen landing spot in the knowledge it would react as we expected. On the green, it felt really nice off the putter face, too, which is a performance aspect that goes slightly under the radar. On foreign greens, this made it easy to gauge the pace from the get-go.
To find a comparison in short game performance, we would probably most liken the TP5 to the Titleist Pro V1 which is high praise indeed.
However, it’s the feel provided which is the lasting memory of the 2021 TaylorMade TP5. Most balls nowadays - in the premium golf ball market, anyway - can boast a solid combination of distance and spin but the feel of the TP5 would be hard to match, so much so that even Rory McIlroy has put this ball into play.
From driver through to the putter, the soft cover felt great and meant that, even when using it for the first time, making the adjustment from another brand was seamless (and could be permanent).
Thinking objectively, the only drawback to the TP5 would be that for golfers with lower swing speeds, or those who already launch it low and need something that helps them get it in the air more, they might be better suited to some of the best golf balls for slow swing speeds.
The TaylorMade TP5 is unique in that it will prove to be a great option for just about anyone. It offers tee-to-green performance that is tour-caliber, and is also one of the best soft feel golf balls on the market today. For those who like a firmer golf ball or need help in creating higher launch conditions, the TP5x from TaylorMade would certainly be worth consideration as well, but the TP5 will suit the needs of the vast majority of golfers very well, assuming of course that it also meets their budget requirements.
