Tag: 2024 best new golf balls

PXG Xtreme Tour, Xtreme Tour X golf balls

PXG’s newest golf balls were also made to be more durable and provide a better feel.

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Gear: PXG Xtreme Tour, Xtreme Tour X golf balls
Price: $49.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls. Both balls are available in white, Xtreme Tour also in yellow.

Who it’s for: Golfers who want a soft feel, low spin off the tee and high spin around the green (Xtreme Tour); Faster-swinging players who want a firmer feel, maximum ball speed and higher spin with irons.

What you should know: Both the Xtreme Tour and the Xtreme Tour X are designed to deliver maximum spin around the green, but PXG’s newest golf balls were also made to be more durable and provide a better feel.

The deep dive: Parsons Xtreme Golf released its first golf ball, the Xtreme, in February 2023. At a price of $39.99 per dozen, they were made for golfers who wanted loads of greenside spin with solid distance off the tee. Two years and thousands of test shots later, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based equipment maker has two new balls that it is touting as more durable, softer-feeling and still long off the tee.

The new Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X balls are both three-piece balls that have a large rubber, firm mantle layer and a soft urethane cover. However, the cover of the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X balls is thinner than the cover on the original Xtreme because, counterintuitively, it boosts durability. Balls that have a soft, thick cover can have the cover material compress against the grooves of wedges very easily, which can be great for spin but lead to ripping and sheering.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop PXG golf balls” link=”https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100287807-15629782?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pxg.com%2Fen-us%2Fgolf-gear%2Fgolf-balls%2F%3Fsrsltid%3DAfmBOooUmpztnUVD9ZluZYQKbWcGxQJdCJhhJhyKfIBh233o9FaHyYXf”]

PXG Extreme Tour X golf ball
PXG Extreme Tour X golf ball. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

According to PXG, the original Xtreme ball had a compression of 110, making it a very hard ball. By PXG’s measurement, the new Xtreme Tour is at 97, and the Xtreme Tour X is at 107, so both balls can still be thought of as firm, which is good for speed, but they are softer than PXG’s first ball.

Interestingly, the yellow version of the Xtreme Tour has a compression of 101, which puts it between the firmness levels of the white Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X. The difference in compression is due to the additive that gives the yellow version its color.

To test the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X balls, PXG tested them using a robot at three different speeds using a driver and a 7-iron, then full-swing wedges shots and partial-swing wedge shots. In those tests, the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X both created slightly more ball speed off the tee with lower spin rates. They also produced a slightly higher launch angle but a lower peak height.

PXG Extreme Tour golf ball
PXG Extreme Tour golf ball. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The same relationship held with 7-iron shots as well, while on 60-yard pitch shots with a 56-degree wedge, the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X both produced nearly the same spin as the original Xtreme ball.

Compared to each other, the Xtreme Tour should feel softer than the Xtreme Tour X, fly slightly lower and spin marginally less. In PXG’s tests, the Xtreme Tour X created 0.5 mph more ball speed off the tee and about 2.5 yards more total distance, with nearly identical launch angles. The Xtreme Tour X also generated about 200 rpm more spin on wedge shots than the standard Xtreme Tour.

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TaylorMade TP5 Stripe, TP5x Stripe golf balls

TaylorMade is bringing its 360 ClearPath Alignment Stripe to its most premium balls.

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Gear: TaylorMade TP5 Stripe, TP5x Stripe golf balls
Price: $57.99 per dozen
Specs: Five-piece, urethane-covered golf balls with a 360-degree, 22-millimeter stripe pattern
Available: NOW

Who it’s for: Golfers who want tour-level distance off the tee and spin around the green, along with a visual aid that helps with aim and putting performance.

What you should know: TaylorMade is bringing the 360 ClearPath Alignment Stripe, previously available only on Tour Response balls, to its most premium balls.

The deep dive: Golfers have been drawing a line on their ball and using it to aim putts for decades, and several manufacturers have printed thin lines on balls too. In early 2022, however, TaylorMade took things to another level with the introduction of the Tour Response Stripe. The ball features TaylorMade’s 360 ClearPath Alignment Stripe. At 22 millimeters in width, the bright yellow (TaylorMade calls it lime) stripe made it easy to aim down your intended target line. After you hit your putt, if the line rolled smoothly, you knew you had made a good stroke. If the line wobbled, it was a clear indication that you either pulled, blocked, or mis-hit your putt.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5 Stripe golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/XY612y”]

TaylorMade TP5 Stripe
The TaylorMade TP5 Stripe golf ball makes it easier to align and aim when you putt. (TaylorMade)

Now, TaylorMade is bringing a version of the 360 ClearPath Alignment Stripe to the balls that tour players like Rory McIlroy, Nelly Korda, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa play—the TP5 and TP5x.

While the Tour Response Stripe is now available with a blue, red, orange, and light blue stripe, the new TP5 Stripe and TP5x Stripe are more subtle and are being offered with black-dot borders and a black line in the center that goes all the way around the ball. So instead of a bright-colored stripe, golfers who use this ball will see a white stripe in the center of a white ball. While fans of bright golf balls may be disappointed, this subtle introduction of the technology in TaylorMade’s tour balls will likely make it something traditional golfers are more willing to try.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5X Stripe golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/B0jKR0″]

TaylorMade TP5x Stripe
The TaylorMade TP5x Stripe golf ball. (TaylorMade)

From a performance standpoint, the TP5 Stripe and TP5x Stripe are identical to their non-striped counterparts.

The TP5 Stripe and TP5x Stripe are both five-layer balls that feature a three-layer core infused with an additive the company calls SpeedWrap. Developed by Dow Chemical, SpeedWrap changes the way the balls sound, allowing TaylorMade to elevate the compression for more speed without making the balls sound and feel too hard.

The TP5 should still feel softer than the TP5x because it has a lower overall compression. The TP5x should provide players with more speed with woods and long irons because it is firmer, and it will generate a higher launch angle too. The TP5, however, is designed to create slightly more spin than the TP5x with wedges.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5 Stripe golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/XY612y”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5X Stripe golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/B0jKR0″]

Titleist launches new golf ball fitting app

Titleist has developed a new golf ball fitting app to quickly provide a data-driven, personalized golf ball recommendation.

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Justin Thomas could use a Titleist AVX in the upcoming 2024 British Open, but after carefully testing all of Titleist’s premium golf balls, the two-time major winner knows that the Pro V1x offers the ideal blend of speed and spin to help him play his best. However, Davis Thompson, the winner of last week’s John Deere Classic, uses a Pro V1 and 2024 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau opts for the Pro V1x Left Dash.

There are meaningful differences between premium golf balls, and to help players find the one that is most suited for their game, Titleist has developed a new golf ball fitting app to quickly provide a data-driven, personalized golf ball recommendation, regardless of your skill level.

After filling out a brief questionnaire that asks players about their style, the course conditions they tend to face and their golf ball preferences, golfers hit a series of three half-swing wedge shots, three full-swing pitching wedge shots, three 7-irons and three tee shots with a driver using a Titleist Pro V1 ball.

A fitter captures data on each shot using a TrackMan launch monitor, and that data, combined with the golfer’s initial responses, is then fed into a proprietary algorithm that Titleist developed using information from thousands of ball fittings. The system then reveals which Titleist ball — Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX — is ideal for the player.

Titleist Golf Ball Fitting App
The app requires players to hit three half-wedge, pitching wedge, 7-iron and driver shots using a TrackMan launch monitor. (Titleist)

The four balls are designed to have different playing attributes:

  • The Pro V1 is a three-piece ball designed to create a mid-trajectory launch off the tee with very high spin around the greens.
  • The Pro V1x is a four-piece ball that feels firmer, spins more off the tee and flies higher than the Pro V1.
  • The Pro V1x Left Dash is the firmest feeling Titleist ball and flies high like the Pro V1x, but with less spin.
  • The AVX is the softest of Titleist’s premium balls, creates the lowest launch off the tee and generates slightly-less greenside spin.

To be clear, the Titleist Golf Ball Fitting App is a tool for fitters and is not designed to be used by golfers themselves. It is designed to harness the power of big data, use information gathered during a 10-15 minute hitting session and rely on the experience of a trained fitter to determine the ideal golf ball for your game.

2024 Callaway Golf Balls: Which is right for your game and budget?

Find out which Callaway golf ball could help your golf game.

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Jason Finley is Callaway’s global director of brand and product management for golf balls, but even with that lofty title and decades of experience in the golf industry, he has no idea which ball you should play. However, when Finley talks with recreational golfers, which he does often, there are two things he hates to hear, and they might surprise you.

“The worst thing I can hear when I ask someone what golf ball they play is, ‘Oh, whatever I find,'” Finley said recently. “I don’t even care if it’s a Callaway ball or not, the best thing you can do for your game is to find a ball and play it every time.”

The other thing that drives Finley crazy is when golfers don’t pay attention to the ball being used during their club fitting. Even for tour pros, different balls react in different ways, even when you hit them using the same clubs.

“If I go in and you fit me for irons at some place today, and you fit me using a SuperSoft golf ball, and I walk in tomorrow, and you fit me with a Chrome Soft X golf ball, if you fit me into the same golf clubs, you’re a horrible fitter,” Finley said.

His advice is the get fit using the ball you play and do your best to practice with the same ball you play. Pros like Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Rose Zhang certainly do.

But what ball should you play? With pro shops and specialty stores loaded with different types of golf balls, how are you supposed to find the ball that can deliver the best performance for your game? In this article, we will take a deep dive into the Callaway offerings, including the new offerings for 2024, and explain what makes every ball a little different and help you better understand Callaway’s golf ball stable.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Callaway golf balls at PGA TOUR Superstore” link=”https://pga-tour-superstore.pxf.io/5goax2″]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Callaway golf balls at Worldwide Golf” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/5g4m7o”]

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.

TaylorMade TP5 Pix, TP5x Pix (2024)

Updated designs on the cover help golfers clearly see how the ball is rolling on the greens.

Gear: TaylorMade TP5 Pix, TP5x Pix (2024)
Price: $54.99 per dozen
Specs: Five-piece construction with cast urethane cover

Who it’s For: Golfers who want visual cues about the quality of their putting strokes and roll on the greens without sacrificing elite performance.

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The Skinny: The Pix golf balls perform identically to TaylorMade’s 2024 TP5 and TP5x balls, but updated designs added to the cover help golfers clearly see how the ball is rolling on the greens.

The Deep Dive: For decades, non-white golf balls were few and far between, with a handful of players opting to use high-visibility yellow or orange balls while playing partners snickered behind their backs. Tradition ruled, and golf doesn’t break from tradition easily.

Times have changed, and attitudes toward non-white golf balls have shifted dramatically. In 2024, TaylorMade anticipates selling more non-white golf balls than traditional all-white golf balls for the first time. While the MySymbol program allows for freedom of expression and personalization, the Pix balls are going to account for a significant percentage of TaylorMade’s non-white-ball increase.

The original TP5 and TP5x Pix balls were initially designed with the help of researchers at the University of Indiana in 2019. It was revealed at that time that we see a two-colored pattern more effectively and track it more easily than with a single color, so the X-shaped Pix markings were red and yellow. The Pix markings were updated in 2021 with the help of Rickie Fowler, who likes to draw a line on his golf ball. The new design allowed for that and created a clear path of white that made it easy to see if the roll a player created with his putting stroke was ideal.

SHOP: TaylorMade TP5 Pix & TP5X Pix golf balls

TaylorMade TP5 Pix
The TaylorMade TP5x Pix and TP5 Pix for 2024. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

For 2024, the TP5 Pix and TP5x Pix remain identical to their all-white (or all-yellow) counterparts, with each ball having a soft core that is encased in three mantle layers and a cast urethane cover for extra greenside spin. However, the triangular black and orange design has been replaced with a diamond shape that has the orange areas on the inside area and the black pieces on the outside. Now, when you make a high-quality putting stroke, a white path is created in the center, and black stripes are formed on the outside as the ball rolls. If you swing across the ball as you putt or make a non-solid strike, the orange and black diamonds will blur and immediately provide you with visual feedback.

TaylorMade also made the side stamp and the lines that extend off it longer, so if players want to use it as an alignment aid instead of drawing a line on the ball, it will be easier to use.

TaylorMade TP5x Pix, TP5 Pix
The TP5x Pix has orange numbers, while the TP5 Pix has black numbers. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

“Tommy Fleetwood is playing a Pix ball, not just because he likes the performance of the ball,” said Mike Fox, TaylorMade’s senior category director for golf balls. “He’s using it because it makes him a better putter.”

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5 Pix golf balls” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/QyrGBz”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM TP5x Pix golf balls” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/rQ30VB”]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]

TaylorMade TP5, TP5x balls (2024)

According to TaylorMade, this core additive has never been used in golf balls.

Gear: TaylorMade TP5, TP5x balls (2024)
Price: $54.99 per dozen
Specs: Five-piece, urethane-covered golf balls available in white, yellow and Pix patterns.
Available: February 15

Who It’s For: Golfers who want an elite combination of distance off the tee and with long irons, plus greenside spin and a softer feel.

The Skinny: Adding a new material to the core of the 2024 TP5 and TP5x balls allowed TaylorMade to decouple the relationship between speed and feel, so its most-premium balls could each be made faster but feel softer.

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The Deep Dive: Historically, the two things that golfers want the most from a golf ball — more speed and better feel — have worked against each other. Manufacturers have worked with different materials and different manufacturing techniques to create better golf balls, but to get more speed, they have traditionally increased compression and produced firmer-feeling balls. Softer, better-feeling balls with lower compressions were more satisfying to hit, but that softer feel typically came at the expense of speed.

After taking three years instead of the typical two years to release an update to the 2021 TP5 and TP5x balls, TaylorMade feels that it has decoupled the old relationship between speed and feel and developed a way to give players more of both. 

Working with Dow Chemical, TaylorMade has added a material it calls Speed Wrap to the rubber in the core of the TP5 and TP5x. According to TaylorMade, this core additive has never been used in golf balls before but changes the way the ball sounds when you hit it, producing a softer, deeper sound. 

Golfweek had a chance to tour TaylorMade’s golf ball factory in Liberty, South Carolina, in late 2023, where TP5 and TP5x cores are turned into balls. When a TaylorMade representative dropped an old core and a new core on the ground and bounced them, the difference in sound was immediately apparent. The 2021 core produced a higher-pitched, clicking sound, while the 2024 core with the Speed Wrap additive sounded quieter and almost muffled.

TaylorMade TP5 (2024)
The five-layer TaylorMade TP5 for 2024. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Speed Wrap additive makes the balls sound and feel softer, but it does not make the new TP5 and TP5x balls faster. However, TaylorMade golf ball designers were able to make the cores in the 2024 TP5 and TP5x balls firmer, which gives them more speed, while the Speed Wrap softens the sound and feel produced at impact. The result, for most golfers, is a faster ball that also feels and sounds better.

Beyond changing the composition of the core in the TP5 and TP5x balls, TaylorMade has also updated the three mantle layers that encase the core. Each of the mantles has a different level of firmness, with the firmness increasing as one layer is added over another. The change in the level of compression, referred to as the delta, in the TP5 is about 53. The compression delta of the TP5x is 71.

On full-swing shots like drivers and 3-woods off the tee, the blunt strike from the club sends energy into the ball, through the mantle layers and into the core, activating it to generate speed and reduce spin. Full-swing shots hit with your short irons and wedges, which have more loft, make the balls behave differently. In those cases, the soft urethane cover can easily be grabbed by the grooves. Along with the added loft, it helps to create more spin for added control. On delicate chips and pitch shots, the core may not be activated at all, but the softness of the urethane cover layer again helps players generate more spin and control.

While both the 2024 TP5 and TP5x have a softer feel than their predecessors, the TP5 should still feel softer than the TP5x because it has a lower overall compression. The TP5x should provide players with more speed with wood and long irons because it is firmer, and it will generate a higher launch angle, too. The TP5, however, is designed to create slightly more spin than the TP5x with wedges.

TaylorMade TP5x (2024)
The five-layer TaylorMade TP5x golf ball. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

TaylorMade’s tour staff has added the new balls to their bag quickly, with Rory McIlroy experimenting with the TP5 early in 2024 before opting to play the standard TP5x and winning his fourth Dubai Desert Classic on January 21. LPGA Tour star Brooke Henderson also added the 2024 TP5x to her bag earlier this season.

Bridgestone Tour B Mindset balls aim to improve your preparation and quiet your inner voice on the course

The system can help develop a routine to turn your brain off when overthinking can get in the way.

It’s incredible how many things you can think about in the time it takes between starting your downswing and making contact with the ball. In reality, it’s only a fraction of a second, but you can notice the stretching of a golf cart’s tires two holes away, see subtle movement of a shadow near your ball and suddenly remember a tip you overhead in the clubhouse about swinging up on drives to get more distance. Before you finish your follow-through and spot the ball, you know it’s gone, sliced into the woods like three other brain-dead shots you’ve hit off the tee that day.

With the release of the Mindset pattern on its new Tour B family of golf balls for 2024, Bridgestone is trying to help golfers — both recreational players and elite competitors — adopt a system that can help them develop a routine to turn their brain off when overthinking can get in the way of hitting good shots.

Developed with the help of Jason Day and his mental-game coach, Jason Goldsmith, the Mindset pattern is comprised of three circles and a series of three small arrows, with each part of the pattern representing a step in the pre-shot process.

The large red circle represents the time before the shot when you consider things like the hole location, hazards, the wind direction and where you want to hit your next shots. Inside that circle is a smaller yellow circle, which represents the time when you want to envision what that shot will look like. If you have ever seen Jason Day on television closing his eyes for a few seconds before hitting, this is what he’s doing, imagining what hitting his desired shot will feel like and how it will look.

Bridgestone Tour B Mindset
The Bridgestone Tour B Mindset ball is designed to help golfers improve their pre-shot process and quiet their thoughts as they play shots. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

After going through those steps, golfers should focus on the green dot in the pattern, the smallest circle, and stop thinking. The idea is you want to consider all of the analytical things that will go into an intelligent shot, allow your body and mind to think about what hitting that shot will be like, and then mentally get out of the way and let it happen.

“What Mindset is actually doing is trying to get the amateur prepared to hit the best possible shot they can hit,” Day said. “You’re setting up these steps for an amateur golfer to be able to perform from tee to green so much better.”

The arrows in the Mindset logo allow players to line up the ball on the greens before putts and use the logo as an alignment aid while also lining up the ball when they tee off.

Aside from the mindset side stamp, the Mindset golf balls are identical to the other just-released Bridgestone Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX and Tour B RXS balls, and if all of this feels a little too Kumbaya-inner-peace-zen for your taste, consider this: In testing with accomplished golfers, Bridgestone reports that golfers who were told about the Mindset process and used Mindset balls in a study averaged over 4 mph more ball speed and 12 yards more carry distance than when they used all-white golf balls. On the greens, golfers made five percent more putts using a Mindset ball than a black, all-white ball from 10 feet. The improved performance is attributed to golfers trusting the preparation process and then being more relaxed and free when they swing.

Bridgestone Tour B Mindset golf balls should be in stores starting February 16 for $49.99 per dozen.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451204192]

Bridgestone Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX and Tour B RXS golf balls

The 2024 Bridgestone Tou B balls provide distance off tee, spin around the green and come in four versions.

Gear: Bridgestone Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX and Tour B RXS golf balls
Price: $49.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls in white and yellow
Available: February 16 (White and Tour B X TW), March 15 (Yellow X and RX

Who It’s For: Golfers who want more distance off the tee and tour-level greenside spin.

The Skinny: Bridgestone has modified the casing layer of the Tour B balls to help them generate more speed while complementing the unique urethane cover that provides more spin around the greens.

The Deep Dive: For golfers who may not be aware, Bridgestone has been making solid-core, urethane-covered golf balls as long as any brand in the industry, and the Nike golf ball that Tiger Woods used to win four consecutive majors (the Tiger Slam) was manufactured by Bridgestone. Nick Price won the British Open and PGA Championships using a Bridgestone ball, Nick Faldo won at Augusta National with a Bridgestone, and, more recently, Tiger won the 2019 Masters, and Bryson DeChambeau won at Winged Foot in 2020 using a Bridgestone ball.

Since 2020, the Japanese brand has focused on contact science, studying how different combinations of materials can enhance speed and distance off the tee while also providing more greenside spin and control for different types of players. The addition of impact modifiers to create the Reactiv cover of the 2020 Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX and Tour B RXS four years ago was the first fruit of that labor, followed by the ReactivIQ covers that were uniquely created for each ball in the 2022 Toru B lineup. Now, for 2024, Bridgestone is claiming it has taken another step toward creating the Holy Grail of golf balls by developing the new ReactivX system.

The ReactivX system is comprised of two parts: an Xclrnt mid-layer (pronounced accelerant) and a ReactivIQ urethane cover.

Instead of using multiple cores inside each of the four Tour B balls, Bridgestone has designed a gradational core that is very soft in the center and gradually gets firmer toward the perimeter. A firm mid-layer (mantle) is then applied over the core, but in the 2024 Tour B balls, that casing layer does a better job of transferring energy into ball speed.

The new Xclrnt mid-layer is also more dense, so golfers like Tiger and Jason Day, who started testing and using the ball in 2023, reported it has a lower, deeper sound at impact.

A ReactivIQ urethane cover encases the Xclrnt mid-layer, with the exact cover-material blend for each ball being slightly different. By using different combinations of impact modifiers, Bridgestone designers can make the urethane behave differently under different conditions. The cover behaves and feels firmer when hit with your longer, faster-swinging clubs like your driver and long irons but feels softer when you hit it with wedges.

Here is a breakdown of the four Tour B balls for 2024 and who each has been made for:

Titleist AVX golf balls (2024)

The new AVX provides more greenside spin without sacrificing its low spin and soft feel.

Gear: Titleist AVX golf balls (2024)
Price: $49.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls. Available in White and Yellow.
Available: January 24

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Who It’s For: Golfers who want a softer feel, lower flight and less spin than a Pro V1 without sacrificing greenside spin. 

The Skinny: The updated AVX has a new gradational core and a softer, thicker urethane cover to give it enhanced greenside spin, a lower flight and less spin with long irons.

The Deep Dive: With several premium golf balls in its portfolio, including the top-selling Pro V1 and Pro V1x (which do not change for 2024), Titleist designers and engineers were given very clear instructions when it came to developing an update to the AVX ball. The new alternative to the X and V ball needed to be longer from tee to green, but the bigger task was to make it feel softer while giving it more greenside spin. 

To achieve those goals in the new 2024 AVX, Titleist started by making the gradational core – which is extremely soft in the center and gets progressively firmer toward the perimeter – slightly smaller. The 2022 AVX also had a gradational core, but the firmness change in the 2024 ball is more substantial, making it more like a multi-core construction in a single-core ball.

Titleist AVX 2024
The Titleist AVX ball for 2024. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

A firm casing layer (which is the dark ring around the purple core in the photo above) covers the core. That firm material over the soft core is the key to effective energy transfer on wood and long-iron shots. The casing layer also helps to reduce spin when the ball is hit with a less-lofted, more-vertically-faced club like a driver, fairway wood or long iron. The result is more distance with lower spin off the tee and from the fairway with long clubs.

However, on short-iron shots and wedge shots, when the clubhead speed is lower and the impact is made with a more lofted club, the updated AVX’s softer urethane and thicker cover, which is on top of the firm casing layer, can easily be grabbed by the grooves to generate spin. The softer, thicker urethane cover also helps to make the AVX feel softer at impact, even though the ball’s overall compression (80) has not changed.

Knowing that Titleist wanted to keep the AVX’s playing relationship with its other balls about the same, designers knew they needed to give the 2024 AVX a low-spin dimple pattern, but they wanted it to be better than the pattern on the 2022 ball. Ultimately, they chose a quadrilateral dipyramid catenary design (say that five times fast!) that had previously been used in the two-piece, distance-oriented Tour Soft balls. On the 2024 AVX, the cover pattern makes it more stable in the wind. 

So where does AVX fit into the Titleist golf ball stable?

  • AVX spins less off the tee than Pro V1 and Pro V1x
  • AVX should have a lower launch angle than Pro V1 and Pro V1x.
  • AVX will feel softer at impact than Pro V1 and Pro V1x.
  • While the new AVX should generate more greenside spin than its predecessor, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x will spin more around the green and with short irons.

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