In the Know with Titleist Golf Balls

How much do you know about golf balls? They are often an overlooked (yet key) piece of equipment. So, what kind of things should you be thinking about and looking for when buying them? We sent PGA Professional Paige Stubbs to question Titleist Golf Ball Product Manager, Jay Seater and find out more…

1. Which is your best-selling ball for women?

We do find that many women golfers that we speak to prefer a soft feeling golf ball. This golf ball choice is fine if feel is important to you however the trade-off of choosing a very soft feeling golf ball can be that it may not provide the best performance that leads to lower scores. Whilst the feel of the golf ball is important for a golfer in having confidence in the product they are using; our job is to educate the golfer on what factors are most important to consider in golf ball choice with the aim of shooting lower scores.

2. What should women be looking at in purchasing a ball? Less spin for more distance etc?

We certainly recommend that women should choose the highest-performing golf ball possible. A common saying at Titleist is ‘the golf ball doesn’t know who is hitting it’. For example, how old, how skilled, or what the golfer’s gender is. 

The Titleist golf ball line is designed to meet the complete range of performance needs and player preferences. When properly fit for your game, Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, or AVX golf balls provide the best possible performance to help you shoot lower scores. That’s why we recommend these models most often for golfers whose top priority, above all else, is performance. While all golfers want performance, you might also have individual preferences that can influence your golf ball selection process. Preferences can include feel, colour, price, and appearance (play numbers or markings). If preferences play an important role in your selection, we offer Tour Speed, Tour Soft, Velocity, and TruFeel golf balls which all deliver best-in-class performance and quality.

Fact: On the 2022-2023 LPGA Tour, 77% of Women Golfers played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x Golf Ball.

 We certainly recommend using the Titleist Golf Ball Selector tool (https://www.titleist.com.au/golf-ball-fitting-tool) as a great starting point to determine what may be the best golf ball to suit your game.

3. Please explain why it makes such a big difference when you are fitted for them.

At Titleist, we have found that the golf ball is the most overlooked piece of equipment in an amateur golfer’s bag. Because you use the golf ball on every shot, it's crucial to play the ball that best fits your game.

The majority of shots that we play in a round of golf are shots that are hit into and around the green (e.g. approach shots, pitches, chips, etc.), what we would refer to as ‘scoring shots’. By choosing a golf ball that performs best in this part of the game, we believe that every golfer can play better golf, enjoy the game more and shoot lower scores.

Golf balls differ in many areas – materials used, layers, dimple design are just a few that impact the way a ball will perform. Not all golf balls are designed to perform for all types of shots that we hit in a typical round of golf. For example: Some golf balls are only designed for distance through low spin. That is fine for a shot off the tee, however, when you are hitting that same golf ball into the green, you need the golf ball to stop through high spin. 

4. What is the biggest difference between 3,4,5-piece balls?

Different amounts of layers are used in golf ball design to achieve certain performance characteristics – namely spin and feel. For example, the Pro V1 is a three-piece ball and the Pro V1x is a four-piece ball. The way we use a four-piece construction in the Pro V1x is a key contributor to this golf ball being our highest-spinning golf ball for shots into and around the greens.

It’s important to note that the number of layers alone does not determine how well the golf ball will perform. It is a combination of all of the factors that go into designing and producing a golf ball that will determine how a particular golf ball will perform.

5. What’s the best ball for more spin on greens?

Pro V1 and Pro V1x are our highest-spinning golf balls for shots hit into and around the green. Pro V1x offers slightly higher greenside spin and higher flight than Pro V1.

6. What’s the best ball for more distance off the tee?

We have a dedicated R&D team that designs all Titleist Golf Balls to go as far as possible and there is minimal difference between our Golf Ball Product line for distance off the tee. A key mission of ours at Titleist is to educate golfers on what they should be looking for in golf ball performance. Gone are the days when a typical ‘distance’ golf ball is going to offer the golfer a large distance gain off the tee. Couple this with the fact that most golfers only hit around 14 drives per round, so choosing a golf ball based on distance is an approach that is not conducive to playing your best golf!