TaylorMade 2021 TP5x Golf Ball Review
Opting for more refinement as opposed to a full re-design, TaylorMade has developed the third generation of the TP5x golf ball to the point it is a serious contender as one of the best golf balls on the market. This ball offers a firmer feel compared to its sibling, the TaylorMade TP5 golf ball, but if you are after a more 'clicky' feel around the greens and powerful 'thud' from the tee, the TP5x golf ball is for you.
There is a new "Tour Flight" 322 dimple pattern on the 2021 TP5x that uses shallower dimples with steeper sides. This aims to give a slightly lower launch and with less drag to create more of a rainbow flight. With less spin the ball has a steeper landing angle in order to provide the stop on the green.
In on-course testing, the TP5x golf ball stopped pretty quickly, but around the greens it did not seem like a high spinning ball with lots of check. However the control was still pretty good though thanks to the cast urethane cover which is a feature of balls like this in the premium golf ball sector.
Previous versions of TaylorMade’s TP5 golf balls were excellent in the wind for stability and the 2021 TP5x is still one of the best for this. It maybe does not as stand out as much in this regard as it used to, so maybe other models have caught up with them in this respect.
The distance performance comes from four increasingly stiffer layers underneath the cover using ‘High-Flex Material’ to increase speed and the distance was pretty consistent with what I would expect from my clubs so any gain is marginal.
On the green the TP5x does feel firmer version than the TP5 which I preferred as you get a louder sound at impact. If you use an insert putter then this firmer ball might give you the audible feedback you need to judge the speed of putts. It’s certainly not too firm and TaylorMade has done a good job of blending tour performance and feel in a low spinning golf ball with this firmer feel.
The TaylorMade TP5x dozen boxes come in the usual 1, 2, 3, 5 numbers in white, yellow and also the Pix pattern. This uses strategically placed graphics to assist with alignment and to give feedback on ball roll. It doesn’t really do a lot for me, but if you like this sort of thing then I can see how it has its uses and in this respect the Pix pattern is as good as any out there.
