TaylorMade’s Performance Decision Kit could be a great golf ball fitting option, but you can’t buy it

This is exactly what many golfers need.

With its namesake mountain looming in the background, twilight descending, and the empty, emerald-green fairway laid out in front of me, the 18th hole at Superstition Mountain Golf Club in Golf Canyon, Arizona, was the perfect place to have a little fun.

No one else was around that evening, so I dropped five or six three-ball sleeves of the newest golf balls on the ground and started hitting approach shots, pitch shots and chip shots until darkness made it too hard to see. I made little notes on a pad about how each ball felt and flew, how much it appeared to spin (I didn’t have a launch monitor), checked-up on the green and which balls seemed to end up closest to the hole.

It was the first time I’d really tested golf balls, and it has become a yearly ritual that starts my season every year, although, sadly, Central Connecticut is not as pretty as the Arizona desert in late March.

I have encouraged Golfweek readers to buy three-ball packs of newly released balls at the start of every season and test them against the ball they currently play on several occasions, so when I recently received TaylorMade’s Performance Decision Kit, I thought a brand had finally made the job of ball testing a little easier. Inside the box were six two-ball packs of each urethane-covered ball in the 2024 TaylorMade stable: TP5, TP5 Pix, TP5x, TP5x Pix, Tour Response and Tour Response Stripe.

One box, three different balls in both white and in each ball’s visual-technology version.

TaylorMade Performance Decision Kit
The TaylorMade Performance Decision Kit includes six two-ball packs of TaylorMade balls. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

But when I reached out to TaylorMade to find out when the Performance Decision Kit was going on sale to the public, I got the bad news: This unique box will not go on sale to consumers. It was created for select members of the media and influencers to make them aware of TaylorMade’s new offerings for 2024.

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I recently went to TaylorMade’s golf ball manufacturing plant in Liberty, South Carolina. I have also visited Callaway’s facility in Chicopee, Massachusetts, along with Titleist’s golf ball plant in New Bedford, Massachusetts, several times. These state-of-the-art facilities turn out millions of dozen boxes of golf balls every year thanks to lots of proprietary systems, customized machines and other automated processes. The assembly lines are built to make thousands of the same ball at a time, paint them, number them, add them to sleeves and then get those sleeves into dozen-ball boxes.

I assume creating something like the TaylorMade Performance Decision Kit involves a level of small-batch work that would be difficult to do at scale. In fact, it would likely fall to the custom golf ball department that handles corporate orders and other small-batch projects. Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t want TaylorMade and other brands to make dozens of boxes like this available to everyone.

For the last 20 years, the percentage of golfers who buy their clubs after going through a custom fitting season has dramatically increased because while a good-quality custom fitting session can take time, the result is a club that is ideally suited for the player. Once players go through a fitting for a driver or irons, they never buy “off the rack” again. Custom fitting for putters and wedges still lag behind woods and irons, but those numbers are going to climb.

Golf ball fittings? Almost no recreational golfers get fit for the ball they use, which is why a multi-ball pack sold as a fitting tool is something we need. It would make the process easier if you could buy a dozen box and get a sleeve of:

Any time I talk with a brand about helping golfers find the right clubs, they all say custom fitting is the key. If you don’t get custom fit for your woods, irons, wedges or putter, you are almost certainly leaving some performance behind. The same thing holds true with golf balls.

Unfortunately, TaylorMade’s Performance Decision Kit may be an example of a great idea that is not ready to become a reality for most golfers.

Winner’s Bag: Scottie Scheffler, 2024 Players Championship

A complete list of the equipment Scheffler used at TPC Sawgrass.

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A complete list of the golf equipment Scottie Scheffler used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Players Champiionship:

DRIVER: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft

Shop Scottie Scheffler’s driver

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

Shop Scottie Scheffler’s fairway wood

IRONS: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), with Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X shaft, TaylorMade P-7TW (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts.

Shop Scottie Scheffler’s wedges

PUTTER: TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-Neck prototype

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

Shop Scottie Scheffler’s golf ball

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet (full swing) / Golf Pride Pistol (putter)

Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway woods

These are built for consistency and distance.

Gear: Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway woods
Price: $249.99 each with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip
Spec: Stainless steel head and face. Available as 3- (15 degrees), 5- (18 degrees), 7- (21 degrees) and 9-wood (24 degrees)

Who It’s For: Mid- and high-handicap golfers who want a forgiving fairway wood that also helps to provide more distance.

The Skinny: The Launcher Halo XL fairway woods are bigger than most fairway woods and have a lower profile to make them easy to hit, while the railed sole helps golfers increase consistency and avoid digging.

The Deep Dive: The Cleveland Launcher XL2 drivers are designed to be forgiving and help golfers generate more ball speed and distance off the tee, and the players who like that type of club are precisely who Cleveland is targeting with the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/baJE5x”]

Cleveland Halo XL fairway woods
The Halo XL fairways have a large, reassuring look. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Golfers who routinely shoot in the high 80s, 90s or low 100s tend to lack consistency with their long clubs, which is a problem because they often need fairway woods on long par 4s and nearly all par 5s. So, Cleveland made the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods bigger, with larger hitting areas from heel to toe while maintaining a lower profile. Standing over the ball, it’s a confidence-inspiring look.

Like the Launcher XL2 drivers, the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods have been designed with Rebound Frame, which adds a flexible region behind the rigid topline and seam where the face meets the chassis. The result is the whole hitting area flexes back at the moment of impact, broadening the sweet spot on the variable-thickness face and helping to protect ball speed on off-center hits.

Cleveland Halo XL fairway woods
Rails on the sole of the Halo XL fairways help them glide through and over the turf more easily. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Cleveland designers added a pair of rails on the bottom of each Launcher Halo XL fairway wood. They help the club slide through the turf more efficiently and maintain speed through the hitting zone, reducing the effects of ground-first contact and helping players get more distance.

The Launcher Halo XL fairway woods do not have an adjustable hosel system, but they are offered in four lofts ranging from a 15-degree 3-wood up to a 24-degree 9-wood, so players and fitters should be able to find the combination of clubs that logically fills distance gaps.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/baJE5x”]

Winner’s Bag: Scottie Scheffler, 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

The list of the golf equipment Scottie Scheffler used to win for the seventh time on the PGA Tour.

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A complete list of the golf equipment Scottie Scheffler used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational:

DRIVER: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Scottie Scheffler’s driver” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/R5q9k7″]

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Scottie Scheffler’s fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/3eWNGv”]

IRONS: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), with Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X shaft, TaylorMade P-7TW (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Scottie Scheffler’s wedges” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/21zNAD”]

PUTTER: TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-Neck prototype

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Scottie Scheffler’s golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/vNka7A”]

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet (full swing) / Golf Pride Pistol (putter)

TaylorMade SpeedSoft golf balls

A option for budget-minded golfers who want more distance off the tee.

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Gear: TaylorMade SpeedSoft golf balls
Price: $24.99 per dozen
Specs: Two-piece, ionomer-covered ball available in white, yellow and Ink pattern (green, blue, orange, pink and red)

Who It’s For: Budget-minded golfers who want more distance off the tee.

The Skinny: TaylorMade designed a new, ultra-soft core for the SpeedSoft for more distance, then developed a new visual pattern to make it stand out.

The Deep Dive: TaylorMade is trying to make significant inroads in the golf ball category in 2024, and the balls that you will hear the most about are the TP5 and TP5x, along with their TP5 and TP5x Pix counterparts. Those are the balls that Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Nelly Korda and Rickie Fowler are playing, and those are the balls that will put the most considerable dent in your wallet. For many players, $54.99 for a dozen balls is just not going to happen, and the $42.99 per dozen Tour Response may be out of reach, too.

For budget-minded golfers who still want a ball that delivers solid performance and doesn’t feel like a rock when you hit it, TaylorMade is releasing the SpeedSoft. This two-piece, ionomer-covered ball was designed to provide soft feel, more distance and possibly add some pizazz to your game.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM SpeedSoft golf balls” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/5gErRL”]

TaylorMade SpeedSoft golf balls
The Ink version of the SpeedSoft ball is eye-catching. (TaylorMade)

At the heart of the SpeedSoft is the newly developed PWRCore. It is an exceptionally soft core, so every golfer should be able to activate it off the tee for more distance. However, because the SpeedSoft has a 50 compression, it holds the distinction of being the softest-feeling ball in the TaylorMade lineup.

The SpeedSoft does not create the same level of greenside spin that the urethane-covered TP5 and TP5x can. Still, its ionomer cover is designed to generate a mid- to high-launch trajectory with wedges, so golfers should be able to create stopping power by bringing shots in more vertically.

In addition to traditional white and yellow color options, TaylorMade is offering the SpeedSoft in a new Ink pattern that features splashes of green, blue, red or pink, along with a complimenting black. The pattern, which looks like splattered paint, is eye-catching, but there is still an arrowed side stamp for golfers who like to use a line on their ball when they putt.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM SpeedSoft golf balls” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/5gErRL”]

7 new golf equipment products to check out at Golf Galaxy

Check out these 7 new golf equipment products at Golf Galaxy.

Once the calendar flipped to 2024, brands across golf began to release their newest gear. Whether it was drivers, irons sets, wedges, balls or something in between, it seemed like every equipment manufacturer had new offerings.

Well, thanks to our friends at Golf Galaxy, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite recent releases including drivers, irons and golf balls.

Some of the brands on the list below include Callaway, Cobra, Ping and more.

Most of the equipment below can be found on David Dusek’s best golf equipment lists for 2024 including best drivers, best irons, best golf balls and more.

Ping i730 irons

The G730 is for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want a big, easy-to-hit iron that delivers more distance and forgiveness.

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Gear: Ping i730 irons
Price: $185 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips. $200 each with Ping Alta CB Black graphite shafts
Specs: Cast and heat-treated 17-4 stainless steel with high-density toe and heel weights.

Who It’s For: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want a big, easy-to-hit iron that delivers more distance and forgiveness.

The Skinny: This powerful iron is the most forgiving in the Ping lineup for 2024, and golfers who typically shoot in the 90s and 100s should find it delivers more distance thanks to a thin face with enhanced feel.

The Deep Dive: From its start in 1959, Ping has been synonymous with golf equipment that is designed to make the game easier to play. Sure, the Phoenix-based brand has always offered irons for elite ballstrikers, like the just-released Blueprint T and Blueprint S, but this is the company that created the most-copied putter in golf, the Anser, which was designed to be forgiving. Ping also deserves credit for jumping on the stability train earlier than just about any equipment maker and leading the trend in high-MOI drivers that help golfers overcome mis-hits.

Now, for 2024, Ping is releasing the G730, a game-improvement iron that replaces the G710.

While many irons designed to be forgiving and increase ball speed feature a hollow-body construction, the G730 has a cavity-back design. It has a slightly shorter blade length than the G710 but slightly more offset and a wider sole from the leading edge to the back to help golfers square the face more efficiently and make solid contact more often.

Knowing that the G730 was not going to appeal to fast-swinging, low-handicap players, Ping’s designers were freed to make the face especially thin and not worry about durability and excessive stress. As a result, the face of the G730 is 7 percent thinner than the G430’s face, so it flexes more efficiently. The center of gravity has also been positioned very low in the head, which should promote a higher ball flight.

Ping G730 irons
The PuFlex badge flexes at impact to soak up vibrations without decreasing ball speed. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Enhanced feel is a trait commonly associated with better-player irons, but a PreFlex badge on the back of the G730 – which is made using 10 different pieces and bends in five different areas – improves the sensation of impact because two different molded plastic pieces soak up excessive vibrations.

Golfers who routinely shoot in the 90s and 100s should not be playing a 3-iron or a 4-iron, and Ping is not making those clubs in the G730. The strongest-lofted iron available is a 23-degree 5-iron. While the lofts of all the clubs are strong, Ping is making four G730 wedges (44, 49, 54 and 56 degrees), so working with a custom fitter, players should be able to create a set configuration that gives them the yardages and the gaps they need. A stronger-lofted PWR Spec version and a weaker-lofted Retro Spec version are also available.

Finally, to normalize spin and improve performance in wet conditions, Ping gave the G730 a Hydropearl 2.0 finish that repels water and helps to reduce its presence between the ball and the hitting area.

Ping i530 irons

Ping i530 irons are better-player distance clubs made to enhanced distance and forgiveness.

Gear: Ping i530 irons
Price: $205 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 steel shafts and Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet grips. $220 each with Ping Alta CB Black graphite shafts
Specs: Forged C300 maraging steel face with 17-4 stainless steel chassis

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Who It’s For: Golfers who want the look of a better-player’s iron combined with the distance of a game-improvement club.

The Skinny: These hollow-bodied, better-player distance irons look like blades but were made to generate more ball speed and distance while also offering enhanced forgiveness and feel.

The Deep Dive: Ping recently released the Blueprint T and Blueprint S, the new irons that comprise the “precision” offerings in Ping’s stable designed for pros and accomplished players. With its machined back and classic looks, the just-released i530 appears like it fits into that category too. However, several hidden design features and technologies set it apart and position it as a better-player’s distance iron.

The i530 replaces the i525 iron that was released in 2022, and it has a hollow-body design that is similar to the design of Ping’s metalwoods. The thin, forged C300 maraging steel face is welded to the 17-7 stainless steel body, which creates a hollow chamber inside the head. This hollow-body design allows the hitting area to flex more efficiently at the moment of impact, so golfers can generate more ball speed and distance.

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Ping i530 irons
A toe screw and heel weight create more stability without making the i530 bigger. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

To improve the sound and feel of impact, engineers added a polymer to the back of the face. It soaks up excessive vibrations without restricting the bending of the hitting area at impact, so it does not reduce ball speed.

When golfers see the back of the i530, they might think the milled area is there for show, but each machined line represents an area where steel was removed from a high location in the head. Machining the back and making it thinner created discretionary weight that designers were able to reposition in the form of an internal mass pad that is 10 grams heavier than the pad found in the i525. Consequently, the i530 has a lower the center of gravity (CG) location, which should help golfers create a higher launch angle and more stopping power on the greens. A bonus of positioning extra mass low in the head is it puts more steel directly behind the area where golfers tend to hit the ball, which results in extra ball speed.

To make the i530 more forgiving without making the clubs larger, Ping designed each head to house a high-density toe weight that compliments a weight added to the hosel area. The added mass increases the perimeter weighting of the heads, making them more stable on off-center hits.

In addition to a Hydropearl 2.0 finish that improves performance in wet conditions, Ping gave the i530 MicroMax grooves. Introduced on the i59 and the i230 irons, MicroMax grooves are packed more tightly together in the hitting area to enhance performance in all types of moisture conditions and reduce the effect of flier lies.

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Below are several close-up images of the i530 irons.

Best golf gloves for 2024

Check out the best golf gloves on the market in 2024.

Golf season is right around the corner and you need to make sure you have everything you need to have a great year on the course.

Amateur golfers underestimate how often you need to switch to a new glove to make sure the feel and grip stay fresh.

We’ve searched the internet for some of the best golf gloves on the market from brands like FootJoy, Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, TravisMathew and G/FORE.

If you’re interested in our other apparel, equipment and accessories lists, these are worth a look: Best apparel items for 2024 | Modern apparel items including hoodies, quarter zips | RSVLTS’ new Happy Gilmore collection

Winner’s Bag: Austin Eckroat, 2024 Cognizant Classic

A complete list of the golf equipment that Austin Eckroat used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Cognizant Classic.

A complete list of the golf equipment that Austin Eckroat used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Cognizant Classic:

DRIVER: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees adjusted to 9.25), with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 6.5 70 X shaft

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FAIRWAY WOOD: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees), with Graphite Design DI-8 X shaft

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IRONS: Ping Blueprint S (3), Blueprint T (4-PW), with Project X 6.5 shafts

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WEDGES: Ping Glide Forged Pro (50, 54, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Austin Eckroat’s wedges” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/GmJVM9″]

PUTTER: Ping Redwood D66

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

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