Equipment
All-new Titleist Tour Speed golf ball builds on EXP•01 lineage
When you are the maker of the number 1 ball in golf, it could be easy to become complacent, but the engineers at Titleist aren’t known for resting on their laurels. Instead, they are constantly looking for ways to innovate and provide performance benefits to golfers across categories, and today Titleist introduces the all-new Titleist Tour Speed golf ball.
Titleist Tour Speed golf ball: The details
Although the Tour Speed is new, many golfers might be familiar with the prototype ball that lead to the Tour Speed becoming a full-blown release—the EXP•01. It was through that extensive testing process, conducted on a scale that Titleist had never done before, that the team—including designers and engineers—had the opportunity to get valuable feedback from golfers of all skill levels. It was that direct feedback, along with controlled player testing, conducted at Titleist’s Manchester Lane R&D facility that lead to the final product.
“Every new Titleist golf ball must exceed our stringent machine and player testing targets in order to advance from the R&D phase,” -Scott Cooper, Titleist Golf Ball R&D’s lead implementation engineer for Tour Speed.
Although the EXP•01 was released only 10 months ago, the Tour Speed has been years on the making as Titleist worked on producing a new proprietary thermoplastic urethane cover to produce the fastest ball in its market segment.
Not only is the cover material different, but the process to create the new ball involved a 4,300 square foot expansion of the Titleist Ball Plant 2, which demonstrates a huge commitment to the new Retractable Pin injection molding process and a belief in the product.
“Our golf ball scientists and engineers have gone to extraordinary lengths in the development of Tour Speed – testing numerous core formulations and aerodynamic patterns, while formulating and analyzing hundreds of TPU cover blends – to deliver on that promise. We have made every investment necessary in these new technologies, including a significant expansion of our manufacturing facility and process.” – Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing.
Let’s talk about that performance
The Titleist Tour Speed is a three-piece thermoplastic urethane (TPU) covered ball designed to deliver distance and greater green stopping power. Titleist still believes that a cast urethane cover like those found on the Pro-V1 series offers the absolute best short game control and performance, but TPU allows them to combine enhanced distance with precise scoring control. The TPU formula used in the cover is proprietary and was formulated by Titleist’s team of R&D chemists to enhance distance while still maintaining feel.
The last piece of the cover puzzle is the new 346 quadrilateral dipyramid dimple design that provides a lower, more penetrating flight, so the ball is less affected by the wind.
Underneath the TPU cover sits a what Titleist calls its fastest ionomer casing layer ever, designed to create maximum speed leading to more distance.
Availability and price
The Titleist Tour Speed will be available in the U.S. at Titleist accounts beginning Friday, August 7, and they will be priced at $39.99 a dozen.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Mike
Aug 8, 2020 at 9:38 am
With all the options out there, if you’re paying new-ball prices for the major OEM balls, you’re nuts. Everyone OEM has their own ball in different ‘categories; unless you’re a ‘player’ (single-digit index in my book) you probably can’t tell much difference between brands. Best thing is to test them out on the course.
Chuck
Aug 6, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Every time I see ball manufacturers market a new golf ball design to players with lower clubhead speeds, what I think is that there must be a way to design golf ball testing specs such that the highest swing speeds will see a distance rollback while lower clubhead speeds will be barely affected. I have little doubt that the design and engineering knowledge to accomplish that exists right now.
jgpl001
Aug 6, 2020 at 4:44 am
Every year I buy a few sleeves of the new balls form all the well known OEM’s out there and trial them through a round or two, but I keep coming back to the ProV1 or TP5.
The last time I switched was for TM’s LDP Red, and boy that was a good ball, I was devastated when they dropped it
I’ll add these to the list…
Rich
Aug 5, 2020 at 9:08 pm
Golf balls have been on a distance-spin continuum ever since the first 2-piece Surylyn balls were introduced. Yes, the gaps have been closed due to (a) solid cores and (b) multiple layers. But the basic dynamics haven’t changed at all.
And this ball doesn’t change it, either. It just slides a bit down the spin scale from the ProV1 and a bit up from those re-branded Pinnacles they sell for 20 bucks a box. In other words, it fills a gap, it’s a tweener.
So? Seriously, who cares? A ton of companies are doing it. Everyone’s got a distance ball, a tour ball (usually two) and a tweener ball. Ho-hum. Unless….
This is just a marketing ploy to get those distance ball players to fork over some extra bucks for a ball closer to the ProV1. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Bridgestoner
Aug 5, 2020 at 6:13 pm
So they came out with a Tour BX?
DukeOfChinoHills
Aug 5, 2020 at 11:12 am
I like the fact it has a urethane cover, for short game control. I would consider testing this ball to see how much of a difference there is from ProV1.
JT
Aug 5, 2020 at 9:40 am
So between tour soft and the new tour speed, it appears NXT and NXT S are back, at a higher price point. I’ll try it and will probable like it, Tour Soft is a quality ball, but the price points are high.