With his win on Sunday, Billy Horschel jumped to #14 in the world golf rankings. His last 3 weeks have been spectacular with 2 victories and a 2nd place finish.
Billy uses Ping clubs throughout his bag and the Titleist Pro V1x golf ball. One could say that combo is working well for him as he won close to 15 million on course this year including his 10 million FedEx Cup bonus. Quite a windfall.
However, despite the popularity of the Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, 8
out of 12 of the top golfers in the world do not use either product. Here’s the rundown of the best and what they tee up:
- #1 – Rory McIIroy – Nike RZN Black
- Adam Scott – Titleist Pro V1
- Jason Day – TaylorMade Tour Preferred X
- Sergio Garcia – TaylorMade Tour Preferred X
- Matt Kuchar – Bridgestone Tour B330-S
- Henrik Stenson – Titleist Pro V1x
- Rickie Fowler – Titleist Pro V1x
- Jim Furyk – Callaway SR-3
- Phil Mickelson – Callaway SR-3
- Justin Rose – TaylorMade Tour Preferred
- #12 – Martin Kaymer – TaylorMade Lethal
So it is good to know there are a lot of brand options out there
for golfers of all abilities. Less expensive balls from top manufacturers (geared toward recreational golfers) also retain much of the “DNA” of theTour models above, so you can be sure you’re getting quality whether the product you use is $15 or $50 a dozen.
Now in a related matter, I happened to be in a major retail golf chain store last week and saw some “Prior Generation” Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls be offered at discount ($39.99 vs. $47.99/doz). You may have seen similar offers at retail or online so let me shed some light on these products.
These are New Old Stock (NOS) of the 2011-2012 model ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls. Titleist updates the ProV1 series every 2 years. Hence, the latest generation was introduced in 2013 and is current in 2014.
So how does the current model compare to the NOS generation. Like most manufacturer’s product, ball compressions continued to drop in newer models. So you can expect a slightly softer construction with the current generation, enhanced durability, and excellent spin control.
Important: To identify the new models from the older, check the alignment
arrows as they change with each generation:
Finally, I get asked a lot about golf ball durability/playability or how
long do golf balls last? Hence, will NOS prior generation golf
balls still have all the performance they had when they were
issued?
In this case, these balls are new and un-played so generally yes with
one caveat. Balls that are stored under extreme heat, say the
trunk of a car in AZ for a year, may lose a bit of velocity.
But this would not affect the games of most recreational players.
So are the NOS golf balls (from all manufacturers) a good deal and
who are they best suited for? For one, if you liked the prior
generation of a ball then stocking up with pristine
product presents a great opportunity.
Second, if you want to try a Tour ball like the ProV1 then the NOS presents
a chance to grab a dozen, and save $8 or more. And you’ll be
able to judge whether the distance and spin characteristics of
more expensive urethane covered Tour balls enhance your game.
It’s a jungle out there with all those different constructions, cover
materials, mantle layers, mind boggling dimple patterns, etc…
and the well-intended golfer can easily get confused.
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About Instant Golf: Robert Cotter is a US patent award winning golf ball design
engineer and fine player. His interaction with the top players in the game
led to his discovery of The Key to a pro caliber golf swing. He is the author of The
Key To A Repeating Golf Swing which has taught over 10,000 golfers
in 60+ countries.