It has been a long time since I switched golf balls as I have been playing mostly Bridgestone Tour BXS golf balls since 2015. I thought it was time to see if I might benefit from a change.
For the past several months, I have switched between two TaylorMade golf balls the TP5 Pix, and TP5x, Bridgestone Tour BX, and the Bridgestone Tour B RXS as well as my normal Bridgestone Tour BXS. I played a minimum of 4 rounds with each golf ball to properly gauge the performance of each. After 20 Rounds I got a real good idea of how each ball performs for my game. There are two main things I want in a golf ball. A good feel and consistent spin.
Although I played well with each golf ball some performed better than others. Here is a chart of the main categories I tracked for each ball. To better understand how I track this I take 2 drives from each round, 1 into the wind and one downwind for an average. For the 7-iron and 56° Wedge, it is only the carry distance of each shot. Spin is determined by how much the ball spun around the greens on pitch and chip shots inside 50-yards on a scale of 1 through 5.
Bridgestone Tour BXS - I started playing this ball after experiencing a Bridgestone ball fitting. I hit just about every brand of ball and the Bridgestone has the best spin rates, trajectory, and distance based on my then 108MPH Swing speed. I have played it ever since. Bridgestone has an online VFit Ball Selector you can try as well.
Bridgestone Tour BX - The main reason I tried this golf ball was to give up a little spin for a bit of extra distance. Even though I hit it a few yards farther I did not like the less spin around the greens. I like a 1-hop stop with a medium-high trajectory and the BX just comes in just a bit low with two hops and a bit of roll before stopping.
Bridgestone B RXS - This is the same Tour ball as the BXS designed for swings under 105MPH and since it had been a long time since I've checked my swing speed I was not sure if it was still over 105MPH. There are times I feel like I'm only swinging at 100MPH but trying this ball only confirmed my swing speed is high enough for the upper BXS golf ball. The performance was still good but due to my swing speed and the compression of the golf ball the trajectory was too high and had too much spin for me. This is a great golf ball for those that swing less than 105MPH.
TaylorMade TP5 PIx - I have always loved TaylorMade and played their golf ball for a long time. I will always be loyal to TaylorMade for how they treated me when I was on staff with them and my clubs were stolen. So I figured I would give their new TP5 and TP5x a shot and see how they are. As part of the TP5, I went ahead and tried the Pix version at the same time. Even though the ball performed well and has a great feel I just could never get over the busyness going on with the designs on the golf ball. For me, it is very distracting and when putting there is no way to line up a put without the design being in your visual.
TaylorMade TP5x - The TP5 is very similar to the Bridgestone BX golf ball. It has just a slightly harder feel and less spin than the regular TP5. The performance is pretty good and so is the distance but for me where it matters around the greens, the ball just didn't stop as quick as I'd like. TaylorMade also has a Golf Ball Selector you can try to find the right TaylorMade golf ball for your game.
To sum it all up I will be sticking with the Bridgestone BXS with the TaylorMade TP5 as a second choice. The performance of every golf ball was well enough to play tournament golf with if I needed to, except the Bridgestone B RXS. However where I make my decision is around the greens and putting. The Bridgestone golf balls putt better, the feel is slightly softer like I like it, and it stays straighter online, which I think is due to their patented seamless cover allowing the core of the golf ball to be perfectly centered every time.
Bridgestone golf balls currently have a 3-dozen deal at Worldwide Golf Shops. Normally $44.99 a dozen you can purchase 3 dozen for $109 and save just over $25. TaylorMade TP5 and TP5X are currently on sale on the TaylorMade Golf website.