TaylorMade Golf makes the only five-piece Tour-caliber ball on the market. It's why their Tour-caliber ball is called TP5 (Tour Preferred 5). However, with this generation of the company's flagship golf balls, TaylorMade isn't focusing on all five pieces. Rather, they're highlighting one -- and, specifically, one facet of it.
With the new TP5 and TP5x golf balls, TaylorMade is introducing a new Tour Flight dimple pattern that the company says helps further reduce drag while helping the ball to fly higher and come down at a steeper trajectory. The Tour Flight dimple pattern features dimples that are shallower, meant to reduce drag in the ball's ascent, but have steeper walls to keep the ball in the air longer as it descends. Taken in total, the cast-urethane cover pattern decouples the relationship between dimple volume and depth, which the company says is the secret sauce.
The new dimple pattern looks to build on the first two generations of the ball. A unique twist with the third-gen TP5 balls, though, is that TaylorMade has tried to make them more similar in 2021. They found their staffers were switching from TP5x to TP5 for more greenside spin, while TP5 players were going to TP5x for more distance. TaylorMade sought to strengthen both balls in their relative slack-off spots.
The new TP5x has a softer cover for more greenside spin with a lower launch profile than its predecessor, while the TP5 has a bigger, more reactive core for more distance without sacrificing the spin characteristics players like about it. The balls are still fundamentally different, just less so.
TaylorMade has also used TP5 as a platform for their visual-aid Pix prints, and those are retained for 2021 after getting introduced in 2020. As for the yellow versions of the TP5 balls, they've been made more durable by using a yellow urethane along with a UV-resistant paint.
The 2021 TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x will be available starting March 5 for $48 per dozen. The new TP5/TP5x pix ($50 per dozen) and TP5/TP5x Yellow ($48 per dozen) will be available starting April 9.
