- Admin
- #101
I am referring to both in our findings. I prefer the X to the regular but both had ballooning issues this year for my game compared to the Penta, Srixon, and Bridgestone.
Taylormade Penta TP - Forum Review Thread
solidkjames
Loves drowning golf balls
I have played both. I would say the Penta's feel is more like the Pro V but it has even more distance than a well struck Pro Vx. I have only plaed the Pro Vx when I have found them so I'm more or less referring to the 2009 Pro V1's that I bought back in July for a trip to the beach. They seemed to get away from me a bit more than the Penta if I didn't hit them flush. The Penta will lose some distance like most premium balls but instead of missing your target by 20 yards you miss it by 10 yards. I was pleased all the way around with the ball on the distance end and it was pretty chilly the day I tested them. So on a warm humid day I can only figure these things are going to be really long.
thedue
Another Day in Paradise
I'm with you Biggsy, but sounds like they will be out next month. I've only played the Pro Vx a couple times and didn't think I had the swing speed to compress it well. The older Pro V1's worked great for me.
I do have to say that all things are not yet equal. The Pro V1's seemed to really shine for me in the warmer weather. I noticed a drop in distance with the cooler weather, which I expected, however the Penta was really long yesterday. So, I don't know if the 5 layers made the difference? Also, will everything equal out once it warms up? Lastly, are we going to see too much spin with the short irons in the warm weather?
My quess is that the distance will only get better and the spin will be something to get used to. My zip grooves may be way to much in the warm weather, althought the greens should be a bit harder, lol. Too many questions still!
I do have to say that all things are not yet equal. The Pro V1's seemed to really shine for me in the warmer weather. I noticed a drop in distance with the cooler weather, which I expected, however the Penta was really long yesterday. So, I don't know if the 5 layers made the difference? Also, will everything equal out once it warms up? Lastly, are we going to see too much spin with the short irons in the warm weather?
My quess is that the distance will only get better and the spin will be something to get used to. My zip grooves may be way to much in the warm weather, althought the greens should be a bit harder, lol. Too many questions still!
Fourputt
Head Rules Official
Absolutely. I played them until I finally lost the 5th one.... just playing cheapies until I can get some Pentas.... not worth paying for ProV's this late in the season. I hope that my employee discount will make the Penta affordable. Played today, splitting time between a found Pro V1 and a Nike PD soft.... still prefer the premium ball, but the Penta TP beats them all, in my humble opinion.
On a side note... we're supposed to get 8-14 inches of snow tomorrow.... don't know when I'll be playing again.
- Admin
- #106
Absolutely. I played them until I finally lost the 5th one.... just playing cheapies until I can get some Pentas.... not worth paying for ProV's this late in the season. I hope that my employee discount will make the Penta affordable. Played today, splitting time between a found Pro V1 and a Nike PD soft.... still prefer the premium ball, but the Penta TP beats them all, in my humble opinion.
On a side note... we're supposed to get 8-14 inches of snow tomorrow.... don't know when I'll be playing again.
Im with you. I do not have them anymore after I finally lost my last one. I cannot wait until they are stocked in our pro shop.
Hi all. I got out to play again today. Played with the ball that I played the last five holes with last week, so it's now lasted 23 holes and is still in reasonable shape. I played much better today, so will have some more to add, together with a picture. I have no time right now, but will put something up tomorrow.
- Admin
- #108
Looking forward to it Ty.
thedue
Another Day in Paradise
Made it out today down in SE Kansas, despite a horrible cold/flu bug. My head felt like a hugh balloon and I sneezed and coughed all day long, however it was 65 degrees out so I played golf.
Several times, while playing these Penta balls, I raised up and hit thin pitch shots into the green that should have ran across and off the back side, but to my surprise checked up for a nice putt. Off the driver these were money. Longer than the ProV1 I played and I wish someone could explain how this ball is able to hold it's line so well. Sometimes it will start to slice left, other times start to draw and then just holds the line and penetrates into the air.
I didn't feel good at all and played worst overall, but had some fantastic shots. My best was an 8 iron from way above the hole on a par 5. I had to miss the trees on one side carry a creek and hit a small green, but the flag was center. It stuck and backed up about 5 inches out of a hugh divot towards the flag about 2 feet away.
Great day to play with a great ball, very impressed with it.
Due
P.S. Happy Halloween!
Several times, while playing these Penta balls, I raised up and hit thin pitch shots into the green that should have ran across and off the back side, but to my surprise checked up for a nice putt. Off the driver these were money. Longer than the ProV1 I played and I wish someone could explain how this ball is able to hold it's line so well. Sometimes it will start to slice left, other times start to draw and then just holds the line and penetrates into the air.
I didn't feel good at all and played worst overall, but had some fantastic shots. My best was an 8 iron from way above the hole on a par 5. I had to miss the trees on one side carry a creek and hit a small green, but the flag was center. It stuck and backed up about 5 inches out of a hugh divot towards the flag about 2 feet away.
Great day to play with a great ball, very impressed with it.
Due
P.S. Happy Halloween!
- Admin
- #110
Very good followup. Thanks Due. Glad that they are still working for you. They seem to be working for just about everybody that has tried them.
A little more to add. I played yesterday and it was a pretty windy day, so a great opportunity to test out the ball again. There was one drive that stood out to me as worthy of mention. Into the wind and I made no attempt to hit it low, just hit it normally. The ball did the climb thing that the TP black did on me, so I think it does spin noticeably more than the TP red with the driver, but it didn't seem to lose any distance for it. It still went what I would consider a good distance into the wind.
I also managed to hit a few chips without yipping them, which was nice. The ball is really controllable and grabs very nicely. The greens were soft (it having been quite wet lately) and I had to hit the chips fairly hard to get them to the hole. This I like, because it makes me feel more in control.
Other than that, my thoughts from before still stand. I like this ball a lot and I'm pretty sure that I will be using it next season full time. Promised picture will follow later today.
I also managed to hit a few chips without yipping them, which was nice. The ball is really controllable and grabs very nicely. The greens were soft (it having been quite wet lately) and I had to hit the chips fairly hard to get them to the hole. This I like, because it makes me feel more in control.
Other than that, my thoughts from before still stand. I like this ball a lot and I'm pretty sure that I will be using it next season full time. Promised picture will follow later today.
- Admin
- #112
Awesome stuff Ty. Looking forward to more. I agree with the feel and spin around the green, it is simply as good or better than anything I have used before. As for the tee shots, I do notice spin like you mentioned, but do you feel you get any of the ballooning that the TP Black had?
Ed Settle
Small Batch, baby!
I am really looking forward to the retail release of the Penta. I have played the TP Red all year and if this ball is as advertised...TM has a winner.
- Admin
- #114
THP did a review of these and we also gave away Pentas to 8 different people to try out. Take a look through ours and their reviews and see if it is something that may work for you. We simply loved them.
Welcome to THP.
Ed Settle
Small Batch, baby!
That was the one thing I did notice this time round. I hit one drive that was straight into the wind yesterday and it did balloon, but it still went as long as I would expect to hit the red anyway. I saw it balloon and thought "oh dear", but was then surprised and impressed to see where it landed. I hit a couple of other ones that climbed quite a bit, but they were more on account of hitting it toward the bottom of the club and the red would have ballooned then as well. The drive I described earlier was hit flush, so I think would have stayed flatter with the red.
For me personally though, I prefer the control that I have with the Penta over the red around the greens and on approach. I am happy to forgo what might be 5 yards on drives hit straight into the wind in return for that. The black on the other hand really did balloon and lost a lot of distance into the wind. More like 20-25 yards or so. With a strong wind, that might be three more clubs.
I've hit quite a few balls in my time. The Pro v1 has been the benchmark since it was released and I've played several others and thought them worse and a couple and thought them the equal. I've been playing the red mainly because I wanted a change. The Penta is the first ball that I've hit and thought it was superior to the Pro v1. It does everything well.
- Admin
- #117
Taylormade Penta TP - Tester's Thread
Taylormade Penta TP - Tester's Thread
This is the master thread for all of the testers that took part in our Taylormade Penta TP golf ball testing. Now that all the reviews are up, we are merging them into one "master" thread with all of the information for our readers.
Taylormade Penta TP - Tester's Thread
This is the master thread for all of the testers that took part in our Taylormade Penta TP golf ball testing. Now that all the reviews are up, we are merging them into one "master" thread with all of the information for our readers.
- Admin
- #118
As people continue to try them, please update this thread. We want to keep hearing from each person as they use them.
provisional
Could Care Less
Since I am not suppose to have any of these balls yet, this is all hypothetical.:wink::wink:
Actually I acquired some at the recent tournament that was played in Vegas. I have played 36 holes with the Penta ball, against 36 holes of my favorite ball. I actually drove across town to buy a box of my favorites, even though I still have a bunch of e-5s to use up. All in all I scored the same with both balls. Distance off the tee as measured by my sky caddies averaged out the same. 242 for my ball, and 244 for the Penta ball. Fairway woods, and longer iron shots were pretty much the same, with the Penta about a yard longer. I only measure good clean hits. My short game handicap was almost the same, with my ball winning out by a few 10ths of a point. I am use to my own ball Putting, I averaged 29.8 with my own ball, against 30.1 with the Penta ball per round. I would play the front 9 holes with one ball then switch to the other for the back nine. I even played both balls at the same time (2 ball), and sometimes alternating holes with each ball. Of the 72 holes I played, I never lost a ball, which I attribute paying more attention to what I was doing, while comparing the two balls. My 4 scores ranged between 79, and 82. I am pretty sure when using the Penta ball, I was only using 4 of the 5 of it's design features. I have a slow swing speed. My ball did not show as much wear, and tear as the Penta, but the Penta ball still cleaned up nicely after play.
The Penta is a good ball, and I can play well with it. But the bottom line is my ball cost $1.75 each, vs the Penta for $4.00+/- each. Those players with deep pockets, and faster swing speeds pockets will enjoy the Penta.
All this said, yesterday while playing an older e-5 ball, I shot a 76.......with 27 putts. Some ball tester I am . Go figure.
Actually I acquired some at the recent tournament that was played in Vegas. I have played 36 holes with the Penta ball, against 36 holes of my favorite ball. I actually drove across town to buy a box of my favorites, even though I still have a bunch of e-5s to use up. All in all I scored the same with both balls. Distance off the tee as measured by my sky caddies averaged out the same. 242 for my ball, and 244 for the Penta ball. Fairway woods, and longer iron shots were pretty much the same, with the Penta about a yard longer. I only measure good clean hits. My short game handicap was almost the same, with my ball winning out by a few 10ths of a point. I am use to my own ball Putting, I averaged 29.8 with my own ball, against 30.1 with the Penta ball per round. I would play the front 9 holes with one ball then switch to the other for the back nine. I even played both balls at the same time (2 ball), and sometimes alternating holes with each ball. Of the 72 holes I played, I never lost a ball, which I attribute paying more attention to what I was doing, while comparing the two balls. My 4 scores ranged between 79, and 82. I am pretty sure when using the Penta ball, I was only using 4 of the 5 of it's design features. I have a slow swing speed. My ball did not show as much wear, and tear as the Penta, but the Penta ball still cleaned up nicely after play.
The Penta is a good ball, and I can play well with it. But the bottom line is my ball cost $1.75 each, vs the Penta for $4.00+/- each. Those players with deep pockets, and faster swing speeds pockets will enjoy the Penta.
All this said, yesterday while playing an older e-5 ball, I shot a 76.......with 27 putts. Some ball tester I am . Go figure.
thedue
Another Day in Paradise
Good review Provisional. Goes to show you that nothing is going to work the same for everyone. I saw a marked difference for my game and I have a slow swing, but that don't mean everyone will see the same results.
I get to try my last couple today, sure hope it works as well as in the past.
I get to try my last couple today, sure hope it works as well as in the past.
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- Admin
- #121
The biggest thing for me is spin around the green. I know the ball Provisional uses and it works quite well but for me, the spin just is not the same. Glad he can save the money though, that is always nice.
BigLeftyinAZ
Well-known member
GolfBallSelector.com tests TaylorMade Penta TP
Notable Observations
Initial player testing indicates that the Penta TP exhibited more spin off the 6-iron and sand wedge while slightly less spin off the driver when compared to the TaylorMade TP Red LDP at the relatively higher ball speeds in the range of 140-155 mph.
In 6-iron testing, the spin rate of the Penta TP was approximately 200 RPM’s more than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP. In comparison to other soft cover “Tour” balls the Penta TP performs in the same general spin range for a 6-iron as the Titleist Pro V1 and Nike One Tour. In sand wedge testing, the Penta TP generated approximately 500 RPM’s more of spin than the TP Red LDP. This finding indicates a spin rate similar to the Titleist Pro V1 and slightly less spin than the Nike One Tour, which places it in the group of the highest spinning balls we have tested to date.
Initial bench testing indicates that the Penta TP has a compression range of 98-100 compression points which is similar to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 compression as posted in the comprehensive compression and cover hardness schedules of GolfBallSelector.com. This is approximately 7% higher than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP and 4% lower than the Srixon Z-Star X, meaning it is an above average compression ball by comparison to most golf balls, and similar to other “Tour” balls. However, with the new 5-piece construction of the Penta TP, such comparative evaluations of compression using these few measurements are limited. Additional bench testing measuring cover hardness revealed that the Penta TP exhibited similar cover hardness to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 but was 5% softer than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP.
We found the durability to be similar to other premium golf balls. We subjected the Penta TP to approximately 60 strikes in our testing.
GolfBallSelector.com believes that golfers interested in the TaylorMade Penta TP should consider its “best fit” potential for their own game in the context of their own preferences and the trade-offs they are prepared to take for distance, control and feel and according to their own unique ballistics measures of ball speed, launch angle and general spin rate.
golfballtest
Notable Observations
Initial player testing indicates that the Penta TP exhibited more spin off the 6-iron and sand wedge while slightly less spin off the driver when compared to the TaylorMade TP Red LDP at the relatively higher ball speeds in the range of 140-155 mph.
In 6-iron testing, the spin rate of the Penta TP was approximately 200 RPM’s more than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP. In comparison to other soft cover “Tour” balls the Penta TP performs in the same general spin range for a 6-iron as the Titleist Pro V1 and Nike One Tour. In sand wedge testing, the Penta TP generated approximately 500 RPM’s more of spin than the TP Red LDP. This finding indicates a spin rate similar to the Titleist Pro V1 and slightly less spin than the Nike One Tour, which places it in the group of the highest spinning balls we have tested to date.
Initial bench testing indicates that the Penta TP has a compression range of 98-100 compression points which is similar to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 compression as posted in the comprehensive compression and cover hardness schedules of GolfBallSelector.com. This is approximately 7% higher than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP and 4% lower than the Srixon Z-Star X, meaning it is an above average compression ball by comparison to most golf balls, and similar to other “Tour” balls. However, with the new 5-piece construction of the Penta TP, such comparative evaluations of compression using these few measurements are limited. Additional bench testing measuring cover hardness revealed that the Penta TP exhibited similar cover hardness to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 but was 5% softer than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP.
We found the durability to be similar to other premium golf balls. We subjected the Penta TP to approximately 60 strikes in our testing.
GolfBallSelector.com believes that golfers interested in the TaylorMade Penta TP should consider its “best fit” potential for their own game in the context of their own preferences and the trade-offs they are prepared to take for distance, control and feel and according to their own unique ballistics measures of ball speed, launch angle and general spin rate.
golfballtest
I finally lost one of these yesterday. It was on a hole where I had 300 yards to the end of the fairway and hit a driver absolutely dead where I wanted to and never saw it again. Must have gone off the end into the hazard.
Still, Despite that, I've now played 72 holes with the Penta and still have 3 pristine ones left. One of them lasted for 38 holes and then went for a swim. The other has so far cracked 34 holes and is still in decent nick. I don't really have anything more to add about the playability of the ball, except to say that they last pretty well and I really got some zip on my pitch shots the last couple of days. Yesterday was firm and fast and bouncy and I got a couple to land and stick, which in the context of how others were doing was pretty good.
Still, Despite that, I've now played 72 holes with the Penta and still have 3 pristine ones left. One of them lasted for 38 holes and then went for a swim. The other has so far cracked 34 holes and is still in decent nick. I don't really have anything more to add about the playability of the ball, except to say that they last pretty well and I really got some zip on my pitch shots the last couple of days. Yesterday was firm and fast and bouncy and I got a couple to land and stick, which in the context of how others were doing was pretty good.
- Admin
- #124
I wanted to update this thread and say that just this week we gave out 2 pack samples of the Penta to 8 members at our club that played premium balls. 7 of the 8 came back and said it was the best ball that they had played. The last person still preferred his Srixon Z-star, but everybody loved this ball.
The ironic thing is that nobody was able to say anything negative at all about it. Distance was good, feel was good, putting was good, and spin was the best they have seen.
The ironic thing is that nobody was able to say anything negative at all about it. Distance was good, feel was good, putting was good, and spin was the best they have seen.
- Admin
- #125
Bumping this for people to update as they have a chance to try out the Penta.