Titleist

When approximately one-third of the golf balls sold at retail fall under this model line, fundamental technological changes do not come on a whim. The rigorous testing and re-testing, recalibration and re-calculation from the company with the most US golf-ball patents yielded new cover designs that could only be optimised as more progress was made with the core components of each ball. That’s why development on the new aerodynamic dimple patterns on the Pro V1 and Pro V1x started more than 10 years ago. Everything­ – from the number of dimples to the sizes, shapes and depths – was configured to yield a slightly flatter flight on the Pro V1 and a more efficient higher trajectory on the Pro V1x. Both balls benefit from the higher-flexing mantle layer that was developed for the “Left Dash” Pro V1x. That model was limited to just elite players, but it has taken up a spot at retail for high-swing-speed golfers looking for a firmer feeling ball that combines higher launch and lower spin. Still, approximately 95 percent of players will be better suited for the Pro V1 and Pro V1x models, both of which feature a new urethane cover formulation that is the softest ever used on either ball.