From Tee 2 Green

I have been hitting the new Taylor Made Penta TP golf ball for about a month now.  I wasn’t unhappy with the ball I have been hitting for over a year, but I fell prey to the great marketing machine and had to try this new “five layer” ball.  I was neither disappointed or impressed with this ball. I did wonder how many layers is enough for a golf ball? Is five enough or will we get to a ten layer ball and then what would the first layer be?

Adding a fifth layer produced the same results as adding a fifth blade to my razor – sounds good but not really sure I noticed the difference.  I think the Penta TP is surely as good as the Titleist Pro V1, Callaway Touri or my ball of choice, the Srixon Z-Star.  The Penta TP is a little more expensive and I the performance did not warrant spending the extra $10.00 a dozen.

Innovation is hardly ever dramatic in the game of golf.  Seldom does a change come along that will truly affect your game.  I have come to the conclusion that the only reason that the golf companies come out with new products every year is the same reason we have so many toothpastes to choose from in the supermarket aisles – they need to keep “inventing” new products to try and steal market share from one another.  The products don’t change from year to year, just the hype.

One of my playing partners started playing the Taylor Made Burner ball and that ball performs just as well as any of the top balls and is priced at a significant discount.  I think that most amateurs fall for the marketing of these balls and do not take into account that we are not playing the hardest golf courses in the world, with the hardest greens and therefore we don’t need all that spin on our golf ball.  Most of the time the greens we play are more than receptive and I can get a Pinnacle to stop just as easily as a Pro V1.  Think about that the next time you are dropping $50.00 on a dozen golf balls.

I do think the ball you play is important to your game, however I think we choose a ball for all the wrong reasons. If you have never tried it, I would suggest going down to your local golf shop and ask them if they can do a ball fitting for you.  I have been through a few, which is one of the reasons I play the Srixon.  The ball fitting is designed to tell you which ball launches at the right angle off your driver, for your club head speed, with the least amount of spin.  You can maximize your carry and roll off the tee by finding the right ball.

I guess I will go back to playing the Srixon balls, at least until the next “new” ball comes out on the market.

Tags: Callaway, Product Review, Srixon, Taylor Made, Titleist // Add Comment »