Titleist has updated the AVX to offer players more distance and enhanced greenside spin.
Gear: Titleist AVX golf ball (2020) Price: $47.99 per dozen Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball. Available in white and yellow.
The most-played balls in golf are the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x. The Pro V1x tends to fly higher off the tee, spins slightly more and feels firmer at impact while the Pro V1 flies slightly lower, spins a little less and feels softer. With cast urethane covers, both balls also produce great greenside control.
In 2018 Titleist started offering a softer-feeling, lower-spinning option, AVX, for golfers who tend to create excessive spin and players who want an even softer feel.
For 2020, Titleist updated the AVX to offer players more distance and enhanced greenside spin.
For 2020, the Titleist AVX has a larger core and firmer casing layer. (Titleist)
The AVX’s position within the Titleist premium ball lineup has not changed. It is still the lowest-spinning, lowest-flying of the three balls, and the updated AVX has a larger core to help it develop more speed off the tee. Titleist also tweaked the casing layer than surrounds the core, making it thinner. While the core of the new AVX is bigger than the original ball’s, the compression is still around 80, so it remains softer than the Pro V1 (90) and Pro V1x (100).
The 352-dimple tetrahedron pattern that covers the AVX ball has not changed, but the walls of the dimples were tweaked slightly to give the ball more lift. The 2020 AVX flies higher than the original ball but still lower than the Pro V1.
To create more shortgame control, Titleist made the cover 17 percent thinner so the grooves in wedges and short irons can grab the ball more effectively and generate more spin, which should give golfers more control.
Here’s a sampling of all the new equipment recently released from major manufacturers that should garner attention as golf season kicks off.
With the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando completed last week, most of the major equipment launches for early 2020 have been announced. From drivers to irons to golf balls, Golfweek has covered them all. Check out the following 10 products, a sampling of all the new equipment recently released from major manufacturers that should garner attention as golf season kicks off.
The Tour B balls have an updated cover that helps to produce more distance off the tee and greenside spin. (Bridgestone)
The key technology in the second generation of Tour B golf balls is a new type of urethane used in the cover. Bridgestone calls it Reactiv urethane, and it contains an impact modifier that helps the material do some unique things.
Off the tee, the urethane rebounds more quickly than other urethanes Bridgestone has used to help golfers generate more ball speed and distance. However, on softly hit pitches and chip shots around the green, it absorbs shock and helps the ball stay in contact with the face for a longer period of time. That should help the grooves in wedges generate more spin and greenside control.
The latest Vokey wedges aim to provide golfers with tighter dispersion, more spin and increased flexibility.
Gear: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 wedges Price: $159 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. Specs: Cast 8620 carbon steel with tungsten added to the toe. Available in 46 to 62 degrees Available: March 6
Aaron Dill is one of the busiest guys on the PGA Tour, responsible for building Titleist Vokey Design wedges for pros. It’s up to him to make sure the players have all the short game gear they need, and when you consider that 49.4 percent of all the wedges used at PGA Tour events last season were Vokey wedges, you can understand why Dill has to hustle.
The newest Vokey wedges, the SM8 line, debuted on the PGA Tour in November at the 2019 RSM Classic, and 37 players immediately switched, collectively putting 102 clubs into play.
The most significant difference between the new SM8 and its predecessors, the SM6 and SM7, is the position of the center of gravity. Titleist has kept the center of gravity low in the pitching wedges and gap wedges, but starting with the SM6 line, the center of gravity progressively rose as mass was added behind the topline in sand wedges and lob wedges. This aligned the center of gravity with the ideal impact position on the face, improving distance control and helping golfers flight shots lower.
The downside of adding a weight pad to the top of the SM6 and SM7 sand wedges and lob wedges was it not only shifted the center of gravity up, it moved it back, too. In the SM8 wedges, the center of gravity not only goes up and down based on the club’s loft, it also shifts forward.
Lengthening the hosel and adding tungsten to the toe of the sand wedges and lob wedges shifts the center of gravity forward. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
By lengthening the hosel and adding tungsten to the toe of the sand wedges and lob wedges, designers shifted the center of gravity forward – Titleist said it is actually in front of the face. (Don’t worry, you can’t strike a theoretical spot with a golf club.)
Titleist said shifting the center of gravity forward in the higher-lofted wedges helps golfers square the face more efficiently and increases the moment of inertia by 7 percent, making the clubs more stable at impact.
So, players now get the short/long forgiveness of a progressive center of gravity height, plus left-and-right forgiveness thanks to the boosted moment of inertia.
The Titleist Vokey Design SM8 at address (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The SM8 wedges are offered in six sole grinds to increase versatility around the greens: F: An all-purpose grind designed to make the full-swing transition from irons to wedges easier. S: With a small amount of heel and toe relief, this wedge is ideally suited for square-faced shots and simple techniques. M: For players who sweep the ball using a shallow swing and who like to open the face and expose extra bounce. K: This grind offers the most bounce and widest sole, making it a great option in soft conditions and from fluffy bunkers. L: This is a low-bounce option suited for firm conditions and tight lies. D: The crescent-shape grind gives players heel and toe relief plus lots of bounce, making it extremely versatile.
Every groove in each SM8 wedge is inspected for sharpness. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To ensure golfers get the maximum amount of spin, Titleist inspects every groove in every wedge. The grooves in the 46-degree to 54-degree clubs are deeper and narrower, like the grooves in an iron, because golfers will typically hit these clubs with a full swing from the fairway. The grooves in the 56-degree to 62-degree wedges are shallower and wider, so they remove water and debris from the hitting surface more effectively on greenside chips, pitches and bunker shots.
Between each groove, a series of microgrooves create more friction and roughness. And each wedge receives a heat treatment that makes the grooves more durable.
Titleist Vokey Design SM8 Jet Black wedge (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The Titleist Vokey Design SM8 wedges are available in four finishes: Tour Chrome, Brushed Steel, Jet Black and Raw finish. The Jet Black will rust as the dark finish wears, while the Raw wedges will rust more quickly with exposure to air and moisture.
Titleist is known for blades, but it made the new T400 irons to deliver loads of distance and forgiveness for slower-swinging players.
Gear: Titleist T400 irons Price: $185 per iron with True Temper AMT Red steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grips; $199.99 per club with Mitsubishi Fubuki MV IR graphite shafts Specs: Hollow-bodied irons with forged SUP-10 stainless steel face and internal tungsten weights Available: March 27
Titleist is known for making muscleback blades and cavity backs such as the 620 MB and 620 CB irons for elite ballstrikers like Justin Thomas, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth, but the company also has offered game-improvement clubs.
Last August, Titleist debuted the T300 for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more distance and forgiveness. Now the company is releasing the new T400, a super-game-improvement club that is bigger, more powerful and more forgiving than any other club in Titleist’s stable.
The thick topline and offset should boost confidence for slower-swinging golfers. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
At address, golfers looking down at the T400 irons will see thick toplines and plenty of offset because these clubs were not made for pros. They were designed to help moderate and slower swings produce more distance.
Each T400 iron is hollow, and the 5-iron through 7-iron feature a thin, forged SUP-10 stainless steel face that is shaped like an L, wrapping under the leading edge and extending into the sole. It flexes easily at impact to create more ball speed, especially on shots struck low in the hitting area.
An added benefit of making the T400 irons hollow is Titleist designers were able to add large, internal pieces of heavy tungsten to the heel and toe areas. The precise amount varies by the club but goes up to 100 grams, which creates extreme perimeter weighting to boost the stability on off-center hits.
Tungsten in the heel and toe boost stability. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The internal tungsten weights are in the back of the split sole on the bottom of the club, and by adding that weight so far back from the hitting area, Titleist was able to lower the center of gravity. That in turn helps the clubs produce higher-flying shots. At the same time, the split-sole design reduces turf interaction.
The split-sole design reduces turf interaction and allows the center of gravity to shift farther back. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To help golfers generate more clubhead speed, Titleist also reduced weight in other areas of the club. The stock Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grips are 9 grams lighter than the stock Tour Velvet 360, while the True Temper AMT Red steel shafts feature lighter long-iron shafts for extra speed and heavier short-iron shafts for more control.
Using feedback from PGA Tour players, Scotty Cameron’s newest putters feature thinner toplines, lower profiles and milled faces.
Gear: Scotty Cameron Special Select putters Price: $399 each Specs: Milled 303 stainless steel heads with 6061 aluminum, stainless steel and tungsten. Available: Jan. 24
Scotty Cameron’s official title at Titleist is not head of design or category manager. It’s master putter maker. For years he has focused on trying to make putters with which the game’s elite golfers fall in love, and many have. Some of the game’s best players collect Cameron putters, often those being prototype and customized clubs that aren’t available at retail.
With his latest update to the Select family of putters, Cameron is making the putters sold at retail simpler, cleaner and more like clubs used by the pros.
Each of the seven head models starts as a solid block of 303 stainless steel before a computer-guided milling tool shaves off ribbons of material until the final shape is achieved. In the Newport, Newport 2 and Newport 2.5 blades, the sole was given a soft, tri-sole design, with the toe and heel rising slightly so the center portion can easily rest flat on the ground at address.
Special Select blades have thinner toplines and slightly shorter blade lengths, so Cameron achieved the ideal swing weight by adding tungsten weight screw in the sole. (Titleist)
The blades also feature thinner toplines and slightly lower face heights, with more material being milled off the back flange areas. That may not seem like a big deal, but Cameron did it to make the retail putters have the same look at address preferred by many pros.
As a result, the overall weight of the heads decreased. In order to maintain the same swing weight, Cameron decided to use tungsten in the heel and toe sole weights of the blade putters. Heavier weights are added to shorter putters, while longer putters get lighter weights.
The Special Select Flowback 5 mallet has steel removed from the bottom and an aluminum sole plate added to cover the opening. (Titleist)
The four mid-size mallets have extra material in the sole milled out. Removing steel from the center of the sole, then covering the hole with 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, shifts more of the head’s weight to the heel and toe areas, which creates more stability without increasing the head size.
While the Fastback 1.5 and Squareback 2 are shapes Cameron has offered in the past, the Flowback 5 and Flowback 5.5 are new. They are semi-circular mallets based on the previously released GoLo putters
Scotty Cameron Special Select Del Mar putter (Titleist)
Cameron has brought back a compact mallet, the Del Mar, with the Special Select line. As with the blades, it has a solid sole.
Unlike the previous Select putters, none of the Special Select putters have an insert or vibration-dampening membrane. Again, this is a nod to the kind of insert-free putters that pros often ask Cameron to make.
Each Special Select putter has a glare-resistant, raw stainless steel finish with a single black alignment line.
The new Titleist T100•S irons have the same classic look and feel, but offer better players more distance.
Gear: Titleist T100•S irons Price: $137 per club with Project X LZ shafts Specs: Stainless steel and tungsten heads Available: March 27
Before the U.S. Open in June at Pebble Beach, Titleist made the T100 irons available to the game’s elite players for the first time. Designed to replace the AP2, the T100 was warmly received by pros who liked the compact blade length, thinner topline, cambered sole and touch of forgiveness the internal tungsten weights provided. Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith and several other golfers soon switched into the T100, but some players were hoping to get a little more distance. For those players, Titleist just announced the release of the T100•S irons.
You can think of the S as standing for “strong,” because the main difference between the standard T100 and the Titleist T100•S is the lofts in the T100•S irons are 2 degrees stronger (or lower). For example, the T100’s 5-iron has 27 degrees of loft while the T100•S 5-iron has 25 degrees.
Internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe boost stability in the Titleist T100•S irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
If a player wanted more distance from the T100, couldn’t he or she take the clubs to a fitter and have the lofts strengthened? Yes, but shifting the faces downward and de-lofting them also changes the bounce angles, lowers the leading edges and changes the way the T100 irons work through turf. Most elite golfers liked those features, so golfers might would have had to choose between getting more distance and having the T100 irons play and feel better. With the release of T100•S, Titleist eliminated the need to alter the clubs.
Like the standard clubs, the T100•S irons are forged and feature a dual-cavity construction with internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe. The precise amount of tungsten varies by club, but the average amount is 66 grams, and it let Titleist design the T100•S with more stability and forgiveness than a compact club typically offers.
The soles of the Titleist T100•S irons were designed to work through the turf easily. At address, the clubs look like classic, better-player irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The T100•S also has progressive blade lengths, meaning the long irons are slightly larger than the mid-irons, which is turn are a touch bigger than the short irons. This helps to shift the center of gravity lower in the long irons, which players usually want to help hit the ball higher, while the center of gravity is higher in the short irons, which better players often like to flight the ball lower for enhanced control.
