Balls

New Titleist AVX Ball Draws Raves

There’s a new Titleist golf ball in town, dubbed the AVX. According to Acushnet spokesmen, the Titleist AVX is “a new high performance golf ball providing remarkable distance and exceptionally soft feel through proprietary core, cover and aerodynamic technologies.”

The company conducted a comprehensive test market conducted in Arizona, California and Florida from October 2017 to January 2018 which “resulted in the resounding validation of AVX, particularly among golfers who prioritize distance and extremely soft feel.”

Titleist AVX is available in golf shops across the U.S. The precision manufacturing of AVX at Titleist Ball Plant 3 in New Bedford, Mass. – also home to the industry-leading Pro V1 and Pro V1x models – has been accelerated in order to meet golfer demand and the worldwide launch of AVX in the coming months.

“Golfers have spoken loud and clear about the performance of AVX,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. “While our R&D team is constantly exploring new golf ball technologies, only a limited number of prototypes ever make it past the initial machine and player testing phases. AVX stood out from the beginning. Ultimately, it was important to let golfers decide whether this golf ball had a place in our line and the results of our test market were emphatic. Many golfers were waiting for a product like AVX – our lowest flying, lowest spinning and softest feeling high performance golf ball – to help them play their best.”

Featuring a proprietary multi-component construction, AVX delivers remarkable distance and penetrating flight, very low long game and iron spin, exceptionally soft feel and premium scoring control through the following new technologies:

Innovative high speed, low compression core technology results in a powerful engine to drive remarkable distance with exceptionally soft feel.
The invention of a new high flex casing layer enhances speed and controls spin to promote even greater distance.
The proprietary GRN41 thermoset cast urethane elastomer cover has been specifically formulated by Titleist Golf Ball R&D to deliver premium scoring control with exceptionally soft feel and long lasting durability.
A unique catenary aerodynamic design delivers a piercing, low trajectory while providing a consistent ball flight on all shots.
“During the test market, we heard from a lot of golfers playing competitive models who realized they had been giving up performance in order to play a softer feeling golf ball,” Mahoney said. “With AVX, not only were they getting the feel that they love, they were also getting longer distance with great performance in the short game – and they were playing better. That’s the reason so many golfers are talking about this golf ball.”

The Titleist AVX is available in white and yellow.

www.titleist.com | Check the price on Amazon!

Bridgestone Launches Tiger Woods Edition Golf Balls

Bridgestone Golf has unveiled its new TOUR B XS Tiger Woods Edition golf balls, a collaboration with the 14-time major championship winner that benefits the TGR Foundation, which receives a portion of all proceeds.

The golf balls feature a custom “TIGER” logo that replicates how Woods marks his competition golf balls and distinct packaging to highlight the charitable benefits and limited, special-edition product. From a performance perspective, the Tiger Woods Edition ball is identical to the standard TOUR B XS model, which Woods currently uses on the PGA Tour. Retailing for $49.99 per dozen, the new line will be carried at participating national retailers beginning April 1.

“We worked closely with the Bridgestone team to come up with a concept that benefits both golfers and my TGR Foundation, which is very important to me,” says Woods. “The TOUR B XS easily outperforms any ball I’ve ever played. It is incredibly long, but offers excellent feel and spin around the green, which makes me confident in any situation.”

With a decorated career that includes 14 major wins and a record run of 683 weeks as the world’s top-ranked golfer, Woods transitioned to the TOUR B XS before the 2017 Hero World Challenge and has since recorded his best professional finishes since 2013. Beyond playing Bridgestone balls in competition, Woods appears prominently in the company’s marketing campaigns, including the new “You’re Back THERE!” video.

“Tiger is a rare athlete who transcends his sport and it’s been a treat for golf fans around the world to watch him compete this season,” says Angel Ilagan, President and CEO of Bridgestone Golf. “Working with both Tiger and the TGR Foundation has been a tremendous experience and we’re excited to build on the popularity of Bridgestone golf balls, while helping a great cause.”

The TOUR B XS Tiger Woods Edition is the newest member of the popular TOUR B Series, the most technologically advanced golf balls Bridgestone has ever produced. The X and XS lines provide low-handicap players with tremendous spin and greenside control due to a soft urethane cover formulation, while increased distance comes from enhanced aerodynamics and an improved 330 Dual Dimple design.

During development, company engineers used data from more than three million in-person and online ball fittings, combined with insights from leading third-party industry sources, to identify needs of specific player types. They then drew on more than 800 golf ball patents to determine which proprietary technologies would most benefit each golfer persona identified.

The line consists of the TOUR B X, XS, RX and RXS (each $44.99) – which provide unmatched feel, accuracy and distance. To help players find the perfect ball for their games, Bridgestone offers two quick, easy and comprehensive fitting options:

BFIT Golf Ball Fitting App – Free to download, the app turns the iPhone into a mobile launch monitor by utilizing the camera to analyze the user’s swing and recommend the best Bridgestone ball for his or her game.
New Online Fitting Tool – Available at bridgestonegolf.com, it accommodates the full spectrum of players. The “Quick Fit” option easily determines the best ball for novices while the in-depth “I Know My Game” presents detailed questions to assist experienced golfers to find the perfect fit. The “I’ve Been Measured” path allows users to input launch monitor data, ensuring the most accurate recommendation possible.

In addition to Woods, Bridgestone Golf’s professional staff includes FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker, Olympics bronze medalist Matt Kuchar, Masters winner Fred Couples, rising stars Bryson DeChambeau and LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Cheyenne Woods.

www.bridgestonegolf.com | Check the price on Amazon!

Bixtar Golf Ball Rolls To Market

Golf balls are a crowded and competitive field on the golf equipment landscape, but there’s always room for a new model, especially when it combines great performance with great value. That’s the Bixtar Golf Ball in a nutshell: You can take advantage of its up-to-date design technology for under twenty bucks.

The Bixtar SL’s newly designed modified ionomer cover is unlike any other ball on the market. Bixtar partnered with leading aerodynamics engineers and utilized cutting edge technology to create high quality golf balls for the everyday golfer. Bixtar SL’s new precision design provides optimal spin, distance, and control to improve the game of all-level golfers while conforming with the USGA and R&A’s official competitive specifications.

After trying every kind of golf ball out there, it became clear to Bixtar’s designers that affordable balls lacked quality, while quality balls cost too much for the average, casual player. Two-piece balls on the market provided distance but were known to have a harder feel using Surlyn covers. Most three-piece and four-piece balls on the market have a softer feel but don’t provide the distance that players with slower swings speeds seek. They sacrificed distance for a softer feel, but that is no longer the case. After countless hours in the R&D lab, Bixtar has managed to combine feel and distance golf ball using a unique formula and design that offers:

New modified ionomer cover using cutting edge technology
432 aerodynamic dimple design for in-flight stability
Two-piece construction for extraordinary distance
Optimal spin rate for excellent greenside control
Low/medium spin off the drive
Medium/high spin off the iron

The Bixtar Golf Ball debut includes a special limited-time offer: buy a dozen and send any friend a free sleeve as long as they live in the U.S. It’s the perfect gift for the upcoming holiday season and beyond.

$19.95 per dozen | www.bixtar.com

Titleist DT TruSoft Golf Ball Gets Makeover

The softest Titleist golf ball is now even longer with the introduction of the new Titleist DT TruSoft, now available in golf shops worldwide and on Amazon.

Reengineered with a larger, low compression core and proprietary soft cover technology, new DT TruSoft delivers longer distance with incredibly soft feel on all shots, plus increased short game spin for stopping power on the green.

For golfers who prefer a very soft compression feel, DT TruSoft is the best performing golf ball in its class – a result of Titleist’s rigorous research and development and industry-leading manufacturing technologies. Made at Titleist Ball Plant 2 in North Dartmouth, Mass., DT TruSoft provides a superior combination of soft feel, long distance and playability into and around the green, with the consistent performance and quality that golfers expect from a Titleist.

“We’re meeting more and more golfers who believe you have to sacrifice distance in order to play a softer-feeling ball. That’s certainly true for many of the lower compression products in the market right now – but not DT TruSoft,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. “When we launched DT TruSoft two years ago, it instantly became the longest ball in the category. Our R&D team has since discovered how to provide even more distance without impacting the remarkably soft feel that golfers tell us they love about this product. New DT TruSoft continues to prove that golfers who prioritize feel don’t have to give up everything else.”

The Titleist DT TruSoft is achieved through the game’s most advanced low-compression golf ball technology:

The larger, low compression TruTouch Core generates low spin for long distance
The new TruFlex cover utilizes proprietary Titleist technology to deliver very soft feel around the green and improved short game performance
Advanced aerodynamics are optimized to provide a consistent, piercing ball flight

www.titleist.com | Check the price on Amazon!

Bridgestone Tour B Series ‘Advances’ Brand

Bridgestone Golf calls its new Tour B series golf balls their most innovative and performance oriented offerings in company history.

The new series includes four models — Tour B X, XS, RX and RXS — which replace the company’s storied B330 lines and provide unmatched feel, accuracy and distance over competitors. As with all Bridgestone models, the company utilized data from more than three million in-person and online ball fittings in the R&D process to determine how specific characteristics would benefit different players. In addition, they used white label surveys to gauge and fulfill exact needs of customers.

Tour B X and XS are designed for low handicap golfers looking for exceptional feel. Compared to the B330 and B330-S predecessors, the X and XS provide more spin and greenside control due to softer urethane cover formulation, while increased distance comes from enhanced aerodynamics and improved 330 Dual Dimple design. The X is for those players looking for more accuracy off the tee while the XS provides extra length.

The RX and RXS are for mid-to-low handicappers, delivering explosive distance and optimized trajectory thanks to high repulsion construction and new 338 modified Dual Dimple design. The RX will help players hit more fairways while those looking for unmatched feel will gravitate toward the RXS.

“Unlike other manufacturers, we don’t try to shoe-horn golfers into a ball that doesn’t fit their game,” says Adam Rehberg, Bridgestone Golf Ball Fitting. “Plain and simple, our goal is to help golfers find the ball that will lower their scores by maximizing performance from tee to green.”

The Tour B series is a result of Bridgestone’s continued commitment to remaining on the forefront of innovation. Bridgestone owns over 1,000 golf ball patents and has more than 900 polymer engineers worldwide drawing on the company’s rubber expertise to design the industry’s leading golf balls.

Each new Tour B Series golf ball features the proven characteristics that have made Bridgestone Golf among the most respected names in the industry. They will be available at retailers nationwide beginning Oct. 2.

$44.99 per dozen | www.bridgestonegolf.com

Srixon Announces New Q-Star Golf Ball

holiday gift guide 2017 Srixon Q-Star Golf Ball

Srixon announces launch of the newly redesigned Q-Star golf ball for golfers who demand balanced performance from a more durable, two-piece ball offering. The ball is available for sale in North America on Aug. 18 in white and yellow.

The Q-Star golf ball utilizes the same premium technologies found in Srixon’s higher-priced tour balls but offers them in a 2-piece construction that is more durable and affordable. It features a lower-compression Energetic Gradient Growth Core, a new third generation Spin Skin coating, and a new, more efficient 338 Aerodynamic Speed Dimple Pattern. These three technologies combine to deliver balanced performance: longer, more accurate driving distance, better iron control, and improved greenside spin.

“The Q-Star’s built-in tour technologies should help golfers see great performance in every aspect of their golf game,” said Michael Ross, Senior Product Manager at Srixon. “This is the golf ball for players who seek maximum playability from a more durable, two-piece design.”

Based in Huntington Beach, California, Srixon is part of the Dunlop family and enjoys a strong presence on competitive tours worldwide. The professional staff includes players such as Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley, Inbee Park, as well as many others. Srixon, with more than 80 years of golf ball manufacturing experience, is committed to providing Tour-proven, premium golf equipment to passionate golfers seeking to improve their performance while enhancing their experience playing the game of golf.

$24.99 per dozen | www.srixon.com

Srixon Rolls Out New Q-Star Ball

Srixon’s new Q-Star Tour golf ball, available on April 14, delivers what the company is calling “tour distance for golfers with moderate swing speeds.”

Srixon focused on developing a tour-caliber golf ball in a lower-compression design that helps moderate swing speed golfers achieve more distance on full shots while maintaining the excellent feel and green side spin performance of its Z-Star Series balls. It was designed especially for skilled golfers with moderate speeds who demand the performance and feel of a tour ball; the lower compression allows these players to achieve optimal distance on full shots and tour-caliber greenside spin control.

Key Technologies include lower-compression Energetic Gradient Growth Core. The E.G.G. core is easier to compress with lower driver spin for impressive distance and accuracy on full shots; Urethane cover with Spin Skin coating to promote soft feel with enhanced greenside spin control and 324 speed dimple pattern. The low drag design improves flight performance for longer distance with more control.

“Q-Star Tour was designed primarily for good players with moderate swing speeds. The problem we identified is that these golfers aren’t optimizing their performance by playing a high-compression tour ball because they aren’t able to compress it, so they end up sacrificing distance off the tee and with their irons,” said Michael Ross, Senior Product Manager for Golf Balls. “These golfers don’t need to play a high-compression tour ball just so they have the excellent greenside spin performance that they’re used to. They would benefit greatly from playing a ball that offers the same great greenside performance but is easier to compress. That’s why we developed the lower-compression Srixon Q-Star Tour.”

Srixon worked with Golf Laboratories to conduct independent outdoor robot testing on the new Q-STAR TOUR golf ball against key competitors. The results proved it delivers exceptional tee-to-green performance at an incredible value.

$29.99 per dozen | srixon.com

Why New Titleist Pro V1 Is Their Best Ball Yet

If there’s one very clear and true trend in golf — and it’s been the same for decades now — it’s that Titleist golf balls dominate the professional tours. The year 2017 is no exception, as the Acushnet company reminds us at every turn. So do the PGA Tour guys who put the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x, which were introduced in October, in play each week.

More than 100 players are in that group, including Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Kevin Kisner, AngelCabrera, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffmann, Ian Poulter and Thongchai Jaidee . And they’re not afraid to sing their praises.

“I think the remarkable thing with the new Pro V1 is how far it goes now,” said Scott. “I’m hitting it longer than I ever have but I also have that soft feel like when I grew up playing a balata golf ball – it’s incredibly soft.” Added Spieth, “I put new Pro V1x in play in Australia and in the first week we won. What I noticed immediately was the improved flight. It held its line in the crosswinds better.”

So, after all these years and iterations of the Pro V line, what makes the 2017 models so different? According to Acushnet, they are “are the most advanced, best performing golf balls ever stamped with the Titleist script, providing total performance for every player and deliver unmatched quality and consistency.

Let’s go to the specifics:

The 2017 three-piece Pro V1 has been reengineered with a Next Generation 2.0 ZG Process Core that delivers longer distance on all shots through lower long game spin and faster ball speed, while maintaining the very soft feel and superior short-game performance that Pro V1 players demand. A new spherically tiled 352 tetrahedral dimple design produces a penetrating trajectory with even more consistent flight. The four-piece Pro V1x, features a ZG Process Dual Core, is enhanced by a new spherically tiled 328 tetrahedral dimple design that produces a high trajectory.

Both balls deliver superior short game scoring performance thanks to a soft Urethane Elastomer cover system formulated to deliver drop-and-stop greenside control with soft feel. Created by a chemical reaction that takes place during the casting process, the cover is also durable.
Choosing between the total performance of Pro V1 and Pro V1x, golfers will notice differences in flight, feel and spin. Pro V1 flies lower with a penetrating trajectory and feels softer. Pro V1x flies higher, has a slightly firmer feel, and spins more on iron shots.
Every Pro V1 and Pro V1x is manufactured by Titleist associates in the company’s state-of-the-art golf ball manufacturing facilities, to the highest performance and quality specifications in the industry. This investment in quality control ensures the most consistent performance from ball to ball, and dozen to dozen. This is critical to allowing golfers to consistently execute the same types of shots, round after round.
“Every time we set out to develop new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, our challenge is to set an even higher benchmark for golf ball performance,” said Michael Mahoney, vice president of Titleist golf ball marketing. “We are constantly in the field talking to golfers of all skill levels about what we can do to help them shoot lower scores. At the same time, the Titleist Golf Ball R&D and Operations teams are working together to develop new golf ball technologies that deliver performance golfers may not yet realize they need. It’s because of this ownership and commitment at every step of the process that we’re able to deliver meaningful performance improvements and make the best golf balls in the game even better.”

In total, the testing and validation process for 2017 Pro V1 and Pro V1x included more than 80,000 golfers of all skill levels who received numerous iterations of prototypes throughout the rigorous two-year development process. This included six different double-blind prototype tests during the summer and fall of 2015 that were instrumental in determining the final 2017 designs.

“If a golfer hits a number of golf balls, they will fly through a ‘window’ in the air. What we’ve done with 2017 Pro V1 and Pro V1x is make that window smaller, which is the result of a more consistent flight,” said Bill Morgan, vice president of golf ball R&D. “We go to great lengths to ensure that Pro V1 and Pro V1x are precision equipment. We know golfers depend on that consistency on every shot in their round.”

$47.99 per dozen | www.titleist.com

OnCore Adds ELIXR To Golf Ball Line

OnCore Golf has unveiled their first-ever Tour ball — the ELIXR. Their most advanced ball release yet, the ELIXR upholds OnCore’s commitment to innovation and technology while diversifying the company’s portfolio of golf balls to meet the needs of all player performance levels.

Bringing together a one-of-a-kind mix of advanced materials, the ELIXR’s tri-phase constructed technology features original chemistry blends with added advanced material elements to deliver a unique combination of distance, spin, control and feel off the face of the club.

“We entered into the market five years ago by literally making history with our hollow-metal core golf balls,” said OnCore Golf Co-Founder Bret Blakely. “However, we’ve never stopped innovating and exploring approaches to golf ball design and construction that would benefit golfers of all skill levels. By creating a top tier product and jumping into the professional golf scene head first with the ELIXR, we are staying true to our vision of being innovators — from Core to Cover — and offering golfers an alternative to the status quo that has dominated the golf industry for the past century. And we’re just getting started!”

To unveil the ELIXR to an international audience, OnCore teamed up with high-end production firm dPost to create a groundbreaking commercial highlighting the ball company’s origins of product innovation through three-dimensional animation.

“Over the past several years, the team has worked tirelessly to perfect the quality and performance of our products, while maintaining the integrity and attitude of our brand,” said OnCore Golf President John Koelmel. “We offer something unmatched on the market, and now is the time to go vertical. There’s not a more perfect stage than Masters season to introduce golfers around the world to OnCore’s dynamic new tour ball.”

With an 85-compression rating and a 318-dimple pattern, the three-piece ELIXR combines a polybutadiene rubber core’s unique cross-linked polymer additives for exceptional ball speed; increased perimeter weighting due to a proprietary polymer mantle infused with high density particles for enhanced accuracy and control; and a cast urethane cover to deliver a soft and pure feel off the club face for ultimate greenside handling and durability.

Initial reviews of the ELIXR are overwhelmingly positive – spanning industry professionals at the 2017 PGA Merchandise Show to nearly two-dozen Tour professionals across the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Web.com Tours who have played the product.

The technology behind the new ELIXR™ Tour ball, along with OnCore’s other highly-regarded golf balls, the AVANT and the CALIBER, can be seen at www.OnCoreGolf.com.

PGA Show Day 4: Gear Spotlight

It’s time for a new generation of Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, easily the most popular brand in the game. They made their debut here at the PGA Merchandise Show, which winds up Friday, Jan. 27 after a busy week at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The company says they are the “most advanced, best performing golf balls ever stamped with the Titleist script,’’ high praise considering the heritage of the Titleist brand and in particular, the Pro V1 franchise.

The 2017 Pro V1, according to Acushnet, is the longest Pro V1 ever and has been reengineered with what the company calls a “Next Generation’’ 2.0 ZG Process Core that delivers longer distance on all shots through lower long game spin and faster ball speed, while maintaining the feel and short-game performance.

The 2017 Pro V1x, Acushnet says, features a ZG Process Dual Core and is enhanced by a new spherically tiled 328 tetrahedral dimple design that produces a high trajectory with its most consistent flight ever.

Choosing between the total performance of Pro V1 and Pro V1x, the company says golfers will notice differences in flight, feel and spin. Pro V1 flies lower with a penetrating trajectory and feels softer. Pro V1x flies higher, has a slightly firmer feel, and spins more on iron shots.

The Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x ball each are available now and carry a suggested retail price of $62 per dozen.

Titleist has also added a new teardrop-shaped, heel-shafted mid-mallet to the Scotty Cameron Select line of putters – the Select Newport 3. The putter is making its debut here at the PGA Merchandise Show and will be available March 17. As with most Cameron putters, the Select Newport 3 carries a hefty suggested retail price tag — $410.

The Select Newport 3 is designed for players seeking a smaller round mallet with additional toe flow and forgiveness.

“When you look at the entire Select family, the Newport 3 is the perfect, curvy small mallet that just fits in conceptually between the Newport 2 Notchback and the mallets,’’ Cameron said. “We’ve extended the methodology of our proven multi-material technology to include the aircraft grade aluminum inlay, which allows me to design more of the weight into the sculpted back flange, as well as get the sweet feel the inlay produces. The result is an extension to the Select family that pulls together the entire line.”

Like every putter in the Select line, Cameron said the Newport 3 features advanced stability weighting with two removable, customizable stainless steel heel-toe weights, a stepless steel shaft engineered for optimal flex and performance, and a Red Matador Mid-size grip developed to offer the comfort of a larger grip while maintaining responsiveness and feel.

www.titleist.com