OUR FAVOURITES

‘Our numbers back up why DJ, Rory, Rahm and Fowler play a Taylormade TP5’

Taylormade’s TP5S have secured a strong foothold on Tour since being introduced in 2016. DJ, Rory, Fowler, Jon Rahm and Jason Day all get paid to use one, while two other Major champions are using it unpaid. None of that influenced our results, but our numbers completely back up why these superstars play it. The TP5X would be our choice, too. It featured among our fastest three balls for all driver speeds and was our longest at both 100 and 115mph speeds. It was also among our three most accurate balls at our fastest driver speed and when hit with an iron. And if you break down performance to two, three, four or five-piece constructions, the five-piece TP5/TPX has a distinct advantage. For all that speed and distance performance our data shows you sacrifice 660rpm of wedge spin against the highest spinning ball (Titleist Pro V1). But for above average swing speed players who generate extra spin, that’s likely to be of little concern. This is a brilliant golf ball.

Iclubf we had to pick one ball from our test that performed really well for everyday

golfers – at a price that doesn’t make you wince when you knife one into the water – Callaway’s new ERC Soft would be it. It racked up a T2 longest carry distance at 85mph (with a driver), along with a T3 longest carry at 100mph (with a driver) and a second longest iron carry distance… you see a trend emerging. Yes, you drop 874rpm of wedge spin for that distance against the very highest spinning wedge ball (Pro V1x), but you gain two yards with your driver and irons . Throw in the Triple Track Technology – the clever alignment lines that have won on the PGA Tour this year on the Chrome Soft X – and it’s a complete club golfer’s ball for a huge range of handicap players. Anyone who keeps an eye on the internet for golf equipment news will have seen recently how Callaway has taken a hit because the cores in some of their balls were not properly centred. The issue even forced CEO Chip Brewer to promise the brand will do better. We hit 180 Callaway balls during testing – and cut several in half to see if the cores were centred. While ERC Soft wasn’t the most accurate ball, it was spot-on our test average dispersion, for the two driver speeds (85 and 100mph) it was designed for.