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TaylorMade PROJECT (a) Golf Ball Preview

SuperStroke
mikeg_74 said:
How was it off the tee? Seeing any negative side spin that affected driver distance?
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Good question. I definitely sprayed a few (both left and right) but they really went straight that direction instead of seeing any real curve in the ball.

Distance wise they were right in line with what I saw from the others. Lost it in the water on 15 so I only played it for 6 holes. Still have 2 left so will get a chance for more thoughts soon.
 
#Cookie said:
Good question. I definitely sprayed a few (both left and right) but they really went straight that direction instead of seeing any real curve in the ball.

Distance wise they were right in line with what I saw from the others. Lost it in the water on 15 so I only played it for 6 holes. Still have 2 left so will get a chance for more thoughts soon.
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Thanks. What's your normal gamer?
 
mikeg_74 said:
Thanks. What's your normal gamer?
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Varies.

New q-star
Previous model b330-RX
Lady Precept

Also need to put the e5 into play soon.
 
I think there is a ton to like about this ball. Spin on the irons is great. With the short irons and wedges they drop and stop, seeing a lot of balls about a foot from where it first hits. On the longer irons for me they are stopping a couple yards past, holding the green very well. The only flaw I am seeing with this is it is just a little shorter off the tee than the Lethal I usually play.

Given the price point and how it performs against other premium balls I can see myself playing this. I think this will be a great ball for a lot of people.
 
I used these next to some DT Solos and 3up balls this weekend chipping in my back yard. They felt really good coming off the face and landed really softly. I hit them, at most, 20 yards so I can't speak about anything further than that.

I'm really interested to put these up against the Cally Supersofts.

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There's some good info in this thread. I was recommended these by the golf shop I ordered my clubs from. I'll have to pickup a sleeve and see how they play.
 
I got out for a quick 9. I like the ball plenty, though I did not see any extra spin into the greens. It was more like one bounce and stop for me. I really like the feel of this ball off the iron faces. They were really pure, almost like a ball was never there. I wasn't getting great results off the tee but I'm pretty sure that was the Indian, not the arrow. And although I couldn't putt to save my life today they did feel very nice off the putter face. At this price point I could see myself playing the ball.
 
TaylorMade PROJECT (a) Golf Ball Preview

Played my sleeve from TM's giveaway yesterday against the Hex Chrome and SR2. A few holes I hit all three or at least two of them for head-to-head comparisons.

Feel: The (a) feels fine, but a little light (?) compared to the Cally's at impact, especially with irons. The Cally's feel heavier at impact somehow. Soft, though, and certainly not a problem, just something I noticed for me.

Tee: Similar to the Chrome in flight and spin and distance. Well struck shots tended to stay straight but they will turn if you miss it a little. For me they seemed to come down a little steep and not roll out a ton, and perhaps had a little too much height to them off the driver. (I've been working to lower my ball flight and even with a new driver/shaft combo these were still a little higher than the other two balls overall.) Distance was on par or a little shorter than the Chrome. The SR2 is just money off the tee for me with perfect height, loves to go straight, and great combined carry and roll. On one hole I hit all three and the Chrome and (a) were within a few yards of each other with the SR2 another 10-15 yard up the fairway and all three swings felt good.

Irons: I could definitely see the drop-n-stop design here. A little higher flight than I wanted and they get to the end and drop from the sky. Even so, I did hit one 8 iron into a par 3 from 150 with a slight helping wind that hit and released almost 10 feet. On some 3/4 wedge shots it was more hit and stop within a foot or two. Very accurate. They did not seem to want to turn sideways as much with irons, especially mid or short irons, compared to off the tee.

Short game: I really didn't have many true pitch shots during the round. I hit a couple of bump-n-run 8 irons with them, but only had one pitch from the rough - worked fine and helped me save par - but I didn't have a chance to try to spin one with a short pitch from a fairway, etc. I did try some of those shots before the round on the practice short game green and they checked up a little, not quite as much as my usual Cally balls, but better than any lower price-point ball. It was controllable and that's what matters most. You could play for it once you get used to it.

Putter: they feel nice and soft and roll well. No complaints at all here.

Overall: A good ball for sure, and if I needed a little extra height in my game I'd probably love them. But for me, they are just not quite right for my game. Close. I would be able to play them, but at some drop off from peak performance. For the money, however, they are a great option.

Eta: this is a pic of a 3/4 sand wedge from around 75 yards

uby5eda8.jpg
 
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got 18 in today with this ball. I was satisfied with the performance but it probably wont replace my B330. I will post a full write up tomorrow, I am exhausted right now from my "honey do" list after golf today.
 
How do these balls compare to last years lethal? Sorry iv skimmed


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Clarkey said:
How do these balls compare to last years lethal? Sorry iv skimmed


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It is more similar to the Rocketballz Urethane.

As far as what is different than the Letahl, I have found it to have a little more spin. The ball drops and stops from 150 in. From 150-200 it stops for me within a couple yards. Seems to fly a little higher than the lethal, and not as good into the wind. With the driver the lethal is longer for me.
 
Great thanks for the info! I'm not after anymore spin do taylormade have another option to replace the lethal?


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Clarkey said:
Great thanks for the info! I'm not after anymore spin do taylormade have another option to replace the lethal?


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The Tour Preferred series. The X is very similar to the Lethal.
 
Kebel said:
How would you compare it to the RBZu? Longer? More spinny? Softer?
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If not for the name printed on the ball I think I would have a hard time telling them apart. I think you would need a launch monitor to tell the difference in spin the new ball stopped exactly as I was used to having played the RBZu.
 
I've had a chance to play these balls twice and have seen some of the pros and cons others have mentioned.

1) Last week winter broke for a few glorious days and I played on a calm perfect afternoon over 70 degrees. The fairways were dormant as they were snow covered three days earlier. I played every shot with a project (a). The project(a) felt incredible but maybe some of that is because I've never played a soft ball before? Super feel and roll off the putter. It spun great on the short irons, and I too had a couple of occasions where I hit it thin on short pitches or chips and the extra spin bailed me out like another member posted. I holed a bunker shot on #2 where I was sure I'd caught it too thin and would be well past (if not off the green) yet it hit about 18 inches left of the cup and spun softly to the right and in. The ball felt soft and lighter than anything I've ever experienced off my mid/long irons and hybrid. It also felt tremendous and appeared to launch ideally off the tee, flew incredibly straight too, but each and every time I got to my ball I was perplexed as to why it was shorter than I would've expected. Often it seemed like I was at least 10-15 yards back of where I would've guessed. Also every single tee ball had a spot of mud stuck on it, and while the course was a little damp, I rarely had mud on approaches that either hit or missed the green. Tee balls just seemed to come straight down with zero roll sans the one that landed on the cart path. (surprised me how minor the scuff was, I finished the round with that ball and could play it again despite the cart path).

2) Earlier today; 36* when I pulled into the course, 42* driving home, steady NW winds over 20 mph, windchills in the 20s. Brutal conditions but perfect for what I wanted to achieve (note: we had another significant ice/sleet/snowfall Sunday so this course still had snow on it until yesterday - similar to the other course for dampness). I knew the course would be absolutely empty as we are warming up significantly by tomorrow so I took that opportunity to brave the elements to investigate the perplexing short tee ball results I saw in the first round. My plan was to hit 6 balls off each of the 13 holes I could use a driver, 3 new project(a)s and 3 new NXT tours (my gamer). I pre-soaked the balls I planned to use in warm water for a couple hours so they'd at least start out responsive and warm and called the pro to insure he'd let me out to test the balls and to have him install windbreaks on a cart for me.
Method/Results:
Other than hitting a marked NXT first on each tee, (it was the ball I played out each hole with to record my official score), I hit the other 5 balls in whatever order they came out of my jacket pocket. My distance point for each ball type on each hole was the center of that ball's grouping. I really only wanted to use balls I hit similarly so if I hit a poor shot (or absolutely bombed one of just one type on a hole) I wouldn't use it. FWIW though, I was extremely fortunate to be driving the ball VERY consistently today. Several times all 6 balls would be inside an oval less than 10 yards across and maybe 15-18 yards deep. Maybe it was because I was hitting so many drivers but then again my FIRST 12 drives (holes 1 and 2) were all in the fairway and hit well - that's not like me at all.
My results pretty much verified what I saw the week before, project(a) goes shorter off the tee for me. There were only 2 of the 13 driver holes where the project(a) nipped the NXT, and then only by 4 and 3 yards. One other hole was dead even. NXT topped project (a) on the other 10 holes and sometimes by quite a bit (> 15 yards 3 times, once over 20). All in all the NXT grouping averaged +5.2 yards longer and was even more dominant if the hole played downwind or had a quartering wind helping. In those 7 instances the NXT beat out the project (a) by just over 9 yards on average. On the 6 holes where the wind was against to some degree both balls went almost the same distance which seemed strange at first but maybe neither ball had any real rollout in those instances? Flightwise I normally launch the ball a bit high, and was today, and both balls went similar heights all day and seemed to carry to the same spots. It's just the project (a) came down steeper and stopped. (they were picking up mud again like in the first round yet my NXT rarely did?). I didn't use project (a) anywhere but off the tee today so no more insight there.

Summary - I really like this ball, it feels and performs incredibly everywhere but off the tee for me AND I want to justify playing it BUT I'm not a long hitter (85-90 driver speed, +3.5 AoA and spin my 10.5 TM R5 about 3200 rpm). Logically I KNOW I'd likely save as many or more shots than I'd loose by adopting it's better scoring area performance but it's hard to justify that. My fear is the rollout gap will only increase as weather warms and courses get firmer. For my swing at least the soft landing that is soooo enticing with my irons and wedges seems to bleed into my tee shots with this ball too.:banghead:
 
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OK so I played course 1 from the post above again yesterday and I'm really conflicted on what to do. I played it with my regular gamer (NXT Tour) and not the (a). 65* 5-10 mph breeze, course about as damp as when I played it last week. As I would have expected my tee shots were ending up where they normally should and I was not seeing the perplexing distance loss I had with (a). But I'm pretty certain now, after playing the same course just a few days apart, that I would've scored better had I gamed the shorter ball yesterday. Right now lies are super thin as the grass hasn't really begun to grow and the ground is soft and damp. I could have used the extra confidence from witnessing the (a) save me on on some thin contact last week. I had zero confidence the NXT would provide the same magic spin on those mishits and being tentative all but ensured I'd catch some little pitch / chips thin and chunk others. I also wasn't getting the awesome (for me at least) results on fuller approaches like I did with (a) last week. One hole illuminated the approach shot advantage clearly to me but I saw similarities with other approaches too. Both days on this particular hole, I drove my ball up to the landing area on top of a hill with the green sitting well below. That particular green is tucked into a corner of the property and is not very large. There is less than 15 yards on the left before you are in someone's back yard. You almost have to draw the ball into this green as some big cedars line the chain link fence separating the course from the residents. It's hard to hold this green from up on the hill because the front right portion of it is banked to the left and toward the back due to the big bunker guarding the right. OK so I had the same angle in both days. The day I played (a) I had to step on a 7i hit a nice high draw that hit the banked area on the right and was surprised when it stopped in the center of the green. Yesterday I hit a soft 8i, drew it nice and high and it landed almost exactly where the 7i had and I thought this will be perfect as the pin was back left. Nope, despite the softer shot in the ball rolled over the back about 5 feet.
So I'm going to game (a) vs NXT tour at least for now with the thin fairways. Does anyone know of a ball for a reasonable price that spins like (a) but maybe wouldn't cost me 10 yards off the tee? That would be ideal. Thanks!
 
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Daddio said:
Does anyone know of a ball for a reasonable price that spins like (a) but maybe wouldn't cost me 10 yards off the tee? That would be ideal. Thanks!
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Have you tried the Cally Hex Chrome? The SR series is also great but more expensive. The chrome and project a are similarly priced. The Chrome is very long for me and a lot of spin.
 
Daddio said:
So I'm going to game (a) vs NXT tour at least for now with the thin fairways. Does anyone know of a ball for a reasonable price that spins like (a) but maybe wouldn't cost me 10 yards off the tee? That would be ideal. Thanks!
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I had great success with the Bridgestone e5 yesterday in a head to head comparison with the Project (a) and it is about $6 cheaper a dozen.

I am really starting to see the difference as to what a urethane cover can do around the greens. I just considered significant rolling was due only to my technique, but in head to head comparisons (lessons are starting to help now too) there is no comparison ... urethane is better.




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Thanks guys I will look into those balls. I've not tried the Cally Hex Chrome yet, or really many other balls. Was essentially away from golf for past 18 years so all the gear is so new and exciting. Read your excellent comp with e5 (and duo) in the official testers review thread last night deuce and will indeed be trying the e5. Our swing speeds are about the same so I feel ya. Sacrificing significant yardage off the tee is very tough to embrace. Gotta find a ball that provides distance along with the scoring benefits of (a)and e5 or Hex Chrome might be it? Interestingly duece, got to play a few holes with duo in the NXT round described immediately above. The guy I joined up with gamed duo and he was interested in (a) when I was describing it's performance in the round I had played there the past week. I gave him an (a) and he reciprocated with a duo and we each played two balls, scramble style, on the final 3 holes as play was slooooow ahead of us anyway. Small sample size for sure, but for me at least, the duo was closer to my NXT-tour off the tee than was (a) but still little shorter, and my NXT-tour outperformed it into the greens. He was an 8* driver guy who was holding off on playing his normal Pro-V1's until he shook the winter rust off his game and seemed to hit (a) about as far as duo, which is an ego soothing way of saying 'way past me'. He was impressed enough with the scoring performance of (a) to buy a dozen when we got to the pro shop.
 
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Great thoughts so far in here, I received my balls in HHI and kept them out of play there and glad I did or I might not have many left.

I am gonna get out later today and play temps will be mid 40's with mid teens wind, course is still dormant from winter.
 
Played with this ball yesterday and really enjoyed it. Distance was good for me when I hit it right and also loved hitting the ball into the green. Seem like where it landed it would stop pretty easy and wouldn't roll out. Also something that's pretty cool is I only used one ball on 18 holes and this was the ball. Haven't played a full 18 with one ball in a long time so this was awesome. Really like this ball so far and might pick up a dozen more of them.
 
Played again today without as much wind with these, it was a much better day. Distance on these is very good when struck correctly, and they will stop without a lot of roll out on the greens. So far, very impressed with these and look forward to playing them again when the weather and my schedule cooperate.
 
So I got out on the course today high of 42 winds 10-15 with gusts to 20 or so and windchill in the mid 30's. The course is still pretty much browned out from with and fairways, rough and greens pretty soft. The greens were a bit long and maybe a bit softer than normal and a little longer than normal but rolled well and were pretty fast.

I am impressed with the feel of the ball even with cold temps it felt extremely soft with no clicky-ness off of the clubs from driver to putter. This was a bit of a surprise even knowing the ball has a urethane cover, I just didn't expect it to play so soft.

Every strike, the ball seemed to jump of the club face with a nice soft feel and sound to it. The ball flew high and dropped out of the sky with just about every club in the bag. I did hit some nice flat trajectory hybrids, 3wds and a couple drives. I'm not sure if the height i was seeing is due to the extra spin the ball is designed to produce or if its the natural flight I have with my current irons or if the wind aided in the high flight.

Distance- seemed pretty good and what I'd expect with the wind and cold temps.

Side spin- you can still shape shots with these and they will not prevent a slice or hook but did seem to limit them a bit.

Green Spin- Iron shots and full wedges hopped and stopped dead or backed up a little, chips and pitches checked up really well and better than I expected on several occasions leaving me short. I stuck a drilled 5i into the green today, the ball was about 4ft from the pitch mark that was a crater on the green this isn't something that normally happens for me so I was quite shocked and it was nice to see.

Putter- the ball felt soft and rolled well off the M1

Durability- I played 7 holes with the first ball before it got put into a corn field, the second ball lasted the rest of the 18.

Seam- some have mentioned the seam and yes it's pretty visible, the only time I noticed it was when putting since I usually put the ball down with the blank area up since I have never liked using an alignment line well that's tough to do as the seam makes one big alignment line. These also don't float I was lucky enough to pull the second ball from the creek.
 
I am down to one ball from the three TaylorMade so kindly sent me.

I really like this ball sounds good of the putter and preforms the way I like. I played it after a RBZ urethane, and they are identical to me, both nice balls.

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