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TaylorMade Project (a) Balls Review Thread

SuperStroke
Put this against the NXT today focus was on tee balls, the NXT was longer on similarly struck shots by 10-15yds off driver for me and that was all carry as the course was soupy!!! Irons I saw a solid club shorter its predictable and consistent but not sure I would really want to give up that kinda yardage around the course.

I also saw a higher trajectory and what appeared to higher peak height than the NXT. This is something I do not need as I hit the ball high enough with more than enough launch angle and any extra tends to really hurt me when the winds pick up.

Full swing both held the green well and were very near their respective pitch mark. Chips and pitches I had no problem getting the Project(a) to check up with great control or to release and use the greens slopes to get the ball to the hole.

Feel the Project(a) feels softer off the irons and woods than the NXT. This is neither good nor bad as everyone looks for something different, however for me when I get a certain feel off a club I know the ball will play shorter.
 
Took these onto the course for the first time on Saturday for approximately 6-7 holes for our scramble.

Off the tee, pretty much what I expected with my current swing. Wasnt the longest I've hit this year, but wasnt the shortest by any means either. Hit a few fairways at the distances I was expecting, was just hard to get a great feeling for the ball as we were dealing with 35 MPH wind gusts.

Loved the feel of this ball off the face of the irons. This was the first time Ive been able to take non wedge swings with them and it had a very distinct feel at impact for me. Not soft like an E-6 ive gamed in the past but not hard either, just kinda right in the middle which is a good spot for me. Didnt want to try and hit too many moon balls due to the weather so focused on keeping them lower and rolling the ball up from the front of the green in some cases, and this worked right off the bat on the first hole as the ball hit mid front 1/3 of green and released to pin high on the back 1/3. Will be able to shed some more light in the near future with iron shots in more "normal" conditions.

And last but not least, wedge shots is where this shined. Our 2nd hole, 83 yards away, I hit a 58* that hit 1.5 feet in front of the pin and stopped instantly. The ball nestled up to the immediate left of the mark on the green. This is HUGE for me as usually dont generate a ton of spin, and even end up with top spin on wedge shots sometimes which is hard to do with a darn 58* wedge. I really focused on temp and not decelerating through the ball and seeing results like these is huge for me. Greenside it was pretty much what I have seen through my previous short game sessions, I focused on getting the ball rolling to not mess around with the wind and the ball rolled out as I expected.

All in all happy with what I saw on the course from this ball, and Im looking forward to trying it out in more calmer conditions soon.
 
Prior Reviews:



I played the Project (a) ball in a 2-day tournament this past weekend. That, in itself, speaks to the confidence I have in the ball. Obviously, it was not a "test" round, and I wasn't taking notes or comparing the (a) to any other ball. But, some general observations are:

1 - The (a) definitely holds greens well on approach shots. This was primarily the reason I was playing it in the tournament. I'm impressed by how well it holds, and this results in the confidence to go after a pin aggressively when needed, because you just know if you hit it where you're trying to, it's going to hold.
2 - Durability. The only reason I didn't play the same ball both rounds is because my alignment line wore off. I wouldn't buy a ball just because it's more durable, but it's still impressive.
3 - Feel. I like the feel of this ball off both Driver and irons.

I still have most of my dozen, and want to do some head to head comparisons to some of my favorite balls in this price range. I should have that chance later this week.
 
I played the (a) for nine holes yesterday in awful wind. The ball held its line well and I'm still impressed by the green side spin and durability of this ball. Over the course of testing I still think it is a little shorter than the new B330 and after playing the back nine yesterday with the SR2 I believe that the (a) is also slightly shorter and has a little less green side spin than the SR2 as well.

Of course, there is a price gap for a reason. For the price I do like this ball.
 
Played the (a) for most of 18 holes this weekend in some wind. Left the e5s at home, but was able to compare it to the older B330 RX ball, which plays pretty similarly to as the 2014 RX, minus a little bit of spin.

Off the driver this ball is solid. Any misses I may have had were swing related. Still not sold on the distance though, as my first swing with the RX netted me another 10 yards on what felt like similar contact. Side spin wasn't too noticeable really, and other than one really bad swing I was in play with the driver all day.

Currently fighting with my fairways so no really good feedback here. Did hit a solid 3W after ducking two OB on a short par 4. Ball was what I expected. Nice mid-high flight that started right and drew back in. Unfortunately I aimed right after the hooks so I landed in a bunker. Hard to make any statements about distance based on that. :D

4H through my wedges, this ball seems to play similarly to the RX minus a touch of spin coming into the green. I honestly didn't hit enough approach shots with the RX to make a fair comparison. Distance wise, I'd say they're close. I'm still in the 'club-up' mind-frame from the winter, so I'm generally playing for the back of the green. I did overshoot one with the RX, but all on target approach shots with the (a) settled on the green or the fringe.

Wedges around the green I wasn't seeing a ton of spin, but I'm not a huge spin player. I will say that it seems the RX does spin a little bit more than the (a) on these shots. I experienced less rollout with it around the greens.

This may be the most durable urethane ball I've ever played. Stands up to everything I throw at it and I've only seen minimal scuffing, where I'll usually see some frays on other urethane golf balls.

Will have the e5s out to compare next round.
 
This is fun. The DSG in Green Bay has the Project A balls as their demo balls in the sim and launch monitor. Needless to day, they get beat up. I found one that was badly cracked and took it into the shop. I got it apart and it is mildly interesting



 
blugold said:
This is fun. The DSG in Green Bay has the Project A balls as their demo balls in the sim and launch monitor. Needless to day, they get beat up. I found one that was badly cracked and took it into the shop. I got it apart and it is mildly interesting



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Core looks similar to the RBZ and RBZU balls
 
I was finally able get out and do some chipping and putting on decent greens yesterday. I was overall pretty pleased with how the Project A performed on chips. I again was comparing the Project A to the e6 and the Q Star since those the balls I use most often. In my testing to this point I think that the Project A runs out a bit more than the e6 on similar struck chips. I would put it about the same as the Q Star in that regard. Again I am not a player that gets a lot of spin on the ball so that is harder for me to judge. As far as putting goes, I have to say that the Project A feels really nice coming of the face, but not as nice as the e6 and found that I was putting a good bit better with the e6 than the Project A. Could be that I am just more use to the performance of the e6 though. To this point the Project A ball is certainly a ball I would use, but it would not become my gamer. That may change once I really get to see how it performs on those shots 100 yards and in that land on nice greens. Since I am going to be volunteering this weekend I won't be able to tee it up until next week, but hopefully I will be able to give more insight into those critical approach shots that the Project A is designed for. I also hope to play at the UGA course in Athens with in the next 2 weeks and will use the Project A almost exclusively out there.

Just wanted to throw this out as well: I had my wife putt the Project A and the e6 (the white ball and the yellow ball is all that she knew so it was kind of blind testing) and she thought that they were similar, but liked the yellow ball (the e6) a little bit better. She thought that the e6 was softer and she could judge how hard to hit it better. It did appear that she putted better with the e6.
 
Got out for two rounds this weekend and played the Project (a) most of the time, but brought along some e5s for comparison.

Before that though, a quick note about durability. As many have said the durability of these balls is definitely above what I've seen from other urethane covered golf balls. This is the single worst mark I've been able to put on one of the eleven that I've played so far. This was from dropping a high 4H shot on a cart path.

Spoiler
063D547E-4BE3-4927-9B1A-9DA69C001CB3_zpsu9zwwynl.jpg


And this tiny little mark is the only one I have seen from any wedge in the eleven balls that I've been through so far. Usually with urethane balls I see at least some markings, especially on shots that require a fuller swing wedge. The J40s don't tear them up nearly as bad as my old X-Forged did, but this is still far less than I usually see. At first I thought it was just dirt, but it persisted after scratching at it and running it through the washer.

Spoiler
8BEC34FA-0987-46C0-B559-11422607E7EA_zpsfzj1kag0.jpg



So I put this up against the e5 a few times this weekend. I played the e5 the majority of last season so it's a known quantity to me. I'm going to try and break it down by performance metrics for this one, so bear with me. :D

Distance: I found the e5 to be a little longer off the tee for me with just about everything. Could I have just been hitting it better? Sure could have, but it was pretty consistent in the top half of the bag, with less noticeable loss as I got into the higher lofted clubs. I hit a six iron into a par three twice making pretty good contact both times and the e5 ended pin high (~170 yards) while the (a) was a couple of yards short. Certainly not machine testing but the best I can do with my low level of consistency.

Dispersion: While I can slice or hook any ball off the golf course when my swing is out of whack, I do feel like the (a) has some really good points here. When I make a reasonable swing, the ball goes where I want. When I make a just ok swing, the (a) always seems to be in play. Sure big mistakes lead to big misses, but the (a) seems to make slight misses a little more manageable. This is the primary reason I gamed the e5 for so long last season. Different construction ball, but I feel that my misses were less amplified with it. Being on even ground here is a good thing.

Approach Shots: I've posted pics in previous posts showing some of my approach shot results with the Project (a). In comparison to the e5, I saw more rollout on approach shots with the (a). Sure you can back them up a little here and there with your wedges, but I thought the holding spin was a little less than that of the e5. That said, I think this is kind of a subjective thing and different people like different things in this area.

Greenside: I'm not a huge spin player in close. I usually Try to run chips out to the hole. Other than the RX/RXS, I've never played a ball that I could check up a good amount before it rolls out. As such, these two seem very comparable here to me. Distance control with both was as good as I was. I had not issues switching these two in and out around the greens.

Putting: Not a whole lot to say here. Ball is round, ball rolls straight. Even if I don't always roll it in the right direction... Again, no issue swapping out the e5 and the Project (a) when I was on the green at all.

So which is better? The answer is to me is neither. They both have their points and I think different people have different needs. If you're in the market for a mid tier ball with a urethane cover, you'd be silly not to at least grab a sleeve of the Project (a) to try them for yourself.

As always thanks for reading and let me know if anyone has any questions.
 
I am due for another update on this ball ... It still isn't long off the tee for me, but I pull this ball at every par 3 I play. This ball stops on a dime.


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I need to find the sleeve I got in the mail.
 
I have done a lot of testing since saturday with the project (a) 9 sat, 18 sun, 9 last night and 18 today.

Saturday I gave a ball to my buddy to play and he really liked it. I noticed that he stuck more greens than normal, was a little longer than I remember and had a nice ball flight.

With the so much testing going on the last few days I got a great sample size between balls- Project(a), Qstar, NXT.

Length- Off the tee the (a) was shorter on average by 20 yards with driver and 10 with irons. The distance was consistent and I could always count on the distance being spot on. I also noted the Project(a) being shorter off the deck as well by a good club.

Wind- I played in varying degrees of wind over the last several rounds and all three balls seemed to cut through a crosswind similar, the Project(a) seemed to be impacted by a head wind a little more than the other two.

Launch/Flight- Project(a) appeared to get up and launch higher than the competition, for many this is a good thing but not for me as my LA is on the high side of acceptable to too high. With the Project(a) getting up quick for me it seemed hold it's line quite well for me. *Here is where I saw the biggest difference between me and my buddy who has a slower SS the ball flight for him was more ideal to the eye, he got more of that steady climb to an apex then a good decent angle throughout his bag. As to my flight where the ball appears to jump up and then ride at almost the same height till is descends.

Green Side- I had zero problem controlling what I wanted the ball to do- release, stop within a few feet

Feel- The Project(a) is definitely softer off the club face than what I put it up against, almost too soft for my liking, off of partial wedges the Project(a) feels good and doesn't feel like I am over compressing it(like full shots). Off the putter the ball feels good and similar to the others.

Durability- The Project(a) takes a beating and keeps on ticking, I have bounced them off gravel cart paths, chain link fence and trees with just barely a scuff on them. Which is quite incredible considering its a urethane ball.

Overall- I'm generally impressed with the ball and what it does at the price point, regardless of iron long or short wedges I always know the ball would hold the green. I would recommend that anyone who is looking for a little more green holding power and a softer playing ball give these a try, especially if you have a driver SS below 95.
 
I finally got out to play on a good course on Sunday (the University of Georgia course) so I was able to put the Project A through a better test. I didn't do a side by side comparison as the course was packed so it was just the test ball all day. As a reminder, I am a HIGH handicapper so I take a lot of shots and I am inconsistent more often than not. And for information purposes I play the Speedblades.

Off the box: Previously I thought that I was picking up some yardage with the Project A, but now I am thinking I am not. Before today I was playing on a course with some very hard fairways and the ball would really run out thus making my good drives really get out there. The UGA course has really nice fairways that are firm, but not hard. The run out on the test ball was was good, but not any longer than I usually get and if anything was a bit shorter than I expected. I should note that until the past 2 rounds I have really struggled getting of the tee, but I have worked on it and have had much better results. When I did miss fairways it wasn't way off line. I do think that it is possible that the Project A produces less side spin for me which if true is really big as I struggle with spraying the ball. I would be more than willing to sacrifice a few yards if the Project A keeps closer to or in the fairway.

Hybrids and mid irons: I was pleased with with the way the test ball performed on these cubs. The UGA course is pretty long even from the white tees and I have stated before I tend to be short of the tee by most standards so I got to use my hybrid, 5 and 6 irons a good bit. I was making better contact with the hybrid that I have been in previous rounds. I thought the distance was good, but not great and the same goes for the 5 and 6. Nice carry and good roll out as well. I was able to hit a few 5 and 6 irons where I actually hit the green instead of it landing left, right or short and was really pleased with how softly the Project A landed and held the greens. Sadly, most of my mid irons were either short or left and right of the green so not a whole lot to report there.

Short irons: I got a lot of use out of my 7-9 irons today and I think this is where the Project A starts to make it's mark. Hitting the short irons into par 3's I found that the ball landed very softly and didn't have a lot roll out. The ball seems to really jump and carry really well.

Wedges: This is where I love this ball and think that it performs as advertised. My wedge game from 120 in was really strong. I do love the way the Project A feels off the face of my wedges. I didn't hit a poor wedge shot all day (by my standards that is). I was playing with my brother, my nephew and a friend of his and they all commented on how well my wedge game was all day. I credit the Project A for a lot of that. The ball really checked up nicely and only ran out when I played a type shot where I wanted it to run out. I had several chips around the green area that checked up very nicely and left me very makeable putts. I don't put a lot of spin in the ball so to see it check up was pretty nice.

Putter: I really like the way the Project A feels of the face of the club. I didn't putt great yesterday, but a lot of that is knowing the greens. The greens unjulate a great deal and a lot of it is very subtle so that if you miss your line by just a few inches you may miss the putt by a large margin. Course knowledge is a must here and that hurt me a lot. With that said I thought the ball performed well.

Durability: For a ball that is pretty soft I was very happy with the durability. I hit a few trees and a cart path or two yesterday, but I thought that the Project A held up well. I only used 2 Project A balls for the entire round (hit the 1st one into the junk on the 12th hole and couldn't get to it). For someone that has been known to lose quite a few balls in a round I have to give credit to the Project A for being a loyal companion yesterday.

Summary: The Project A really is a great ball with short irons and with the putter. With the Driver and long irons I am not disappointed, but I don't think that they are that long. That tends to contradict my earlier thoughts, but the hard course I had played prior to yesterday influenced that opinion. If I could get more distance out out of this ball then I it would have a better chance of becoming my everyday ball (that and a lower price point). The reduced side spin (if that is indeed the case) would be really big for me, but I know that I am swinging the driver / mid irons better as well so that may have had more of an impact than the ball. I need to really do more side by side comparison to determine if the Project A does indeed reduce side-spin. I still would rank this ball behind the e6 over all, but just a head of the Srixon Q star. I hope to do some more comparison with the e6 and the Callaway SuperSoft on my next round.
 
Thanks for the great review Just_Hacking! I play an e6, so this is really useful. Thanks for being so complete. I look forward to your continued comparison with the e6.
 
Wal-mart has these for a couple dollars ($29) cheaper than you'll find them elsewhere. Would have bought more but they put the orange e6's on a deeper discount ($21) so I grabbed the last box of those instead.
 
It’s bee awhile since I’ve posted a review of the Project (a). A golf trip and some tournaments have made testing difficult. The funny thing is, I’ve been playing the ball a lot. But, it’s difficult enough to stay focused in tournaments without another thing to concentrate on, and I didn’t take them to Florida because I knew I’d be facing a lot of water. I didn’t want to lose any of my “testers”.

But, last Monday afternoon, I played a round with a good friend, just the two of us, and the course was pretty empty. So, I had the chance to do some testing of distances compared to, in this case, a Callaway Hex Chrome. In an earlier review, I stated that I felt that the (a) was a little shorter for me off the tee, but couldn’t be sure until I actually compared it to other balls in a round. Now I have, and here is what I found:

On specific holes where I could just try to put the same swing on both without having to worry about hazards, OB and such, I hit both balls, alternating which one I hit first. If I didn’t hit them equally well, I threw that hole out.

Hole 2 - Chrome hit well down the right side of the downhill fairway with decent roll out. Hit the (a) with an almost identical swing, maybe 10 feet right of the Chrome, but caught the hill on that side of the fairway killing most of the roll out. I thought the Chrome would have been longer, but they were almost side by side with the (a) maybe 2 yards longer.

Hole 5 - Hit the (a) down the left side of the fairway really well. Hit the Chrome down the right center of the fairway equally well. The (a) was 25 yards further, but there’s a speed slot down the left center that I caught, so, I’m discounting that some.

Hole 10 – Hit the Chrome right down the middle. Put the same swing on the (a) and the balls are lying right next to each other.

Hole 12 – Hit the (a) to right center of fairway. Hit the Chrome to left center, about 5 yards shorter.

Hole 14 – Hit the (a) a little off the toe, it drew back to center with some nice roll out. Hit the Chrome straight down the middle, again 5 yards shorter, but the difference was roll out I got with the draw.

Hole 16 – Hit the Chrome down the left side pretty flush. Hit the (a) on the same line, maybe not as flush, but not poorly. Chrome 10 yards ahead.

Hole 17 – Hit the (a) really good with a nice tight draw to left center. Hit the Chrome straight down the middle about 8 yards shorter.

My takeaway from this test is simple. My supposition that the Project (a) ball is shorter for me than other balls may not be valid. I say may because this was one test, with one competitive ball that really isn’t even my normal gamer. But, on this day, the (a) did not take a back seat to the Hex Chrome. Next test will probably be against the Bridgestone E6.

One last thing, below is one of the reasons I’ve been playing the ball a lot, even in tournaments. It was a 7-1ron shot from about 140 yards. It might be hard to tell from the pic, but, the ball is less than 3 feet from it’s pitch mark. The ball really likes to hold greens.

photo1_zpsab6ed165.jpg
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v.man like you I have been playing the P (a) a lot. I pull it out especially for the par 3's because I know it will stick to the greens.


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I practiced with this ball on the course last night. I was actually quite impressed by it. I thought it was good around the greens, on iron shots it held greens nicely as well. I was using a different putter last night so I'm not going to comment on feel with that one. Normal putter was Method 003, this was a TM putter with an insert so feel was different right of the bat. Honestly in way it reminded me of the e5, which I like quite a bit. Will have them in play tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of that round.
 
ddec said:
I practiced with this ball on the course last night. I was actually quite impressed by it. I thought it was good around the greens, on iron shots it held greens nicely as well. I was using a different putter last night so I'm not going to comment on feel with that one. Normal putter was Method 003, this was a TM putter with an insert so feel was different right of the bat. Honestly in way it reminded me of the e5, which I like quite a bit. Will have them in play tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of that round.
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I've seen it's very comparable to the e5, especially on wedges and around the green. Just didn't work with the driver for me. Looking forward to seeing what you think.
 
Miller Time said:
I've seen it's very comparable to the e5, especially on wedges and around the green. Just didn't work with the driver for me. Looking forward to seeing what you think.
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you know I've never really been picky about my ball off the driver. Perhaps I just don't pay close enough attention to them. As long as the ball feels solid and not like a rock I'm happy. The shots in to the green is what really stood out to me last night. Oh and I hit one that bounced off a cart path twice and there wasn't a mark on it.
 
ddec said:
you know I've never really been picky about my ball off the driver. Perhaps I just don't pay close enough attention to them. As long as the ball feels solid and not like a rock I'm happy. The shots in to the green is what really stood out to me last night. Oh and I hit one that bounced off a cart path twice and there wasn't a mark on it.
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You must be very straight off the tee then haha.. it seemed like my misses were even bigger with this ball. It was great everywhere else. And yeah, I found it to be pretty durable as well.
 
Miller Time said:
You must be very straight off the tee then haha.. it seemed like my misses were even bigger with this ball. It was great everywhere else. And yeah, I found it to be pretty durable as well.
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good to know. I'll keep an eye out for that.
 
ddec said:
you know I've never really been picky about my ball off the driver. Perhaps I just don't pay close enough attention to them. As long as the ball feels solid and not like a rock I'm happy. The shots in to the green is what really stood out to me last night. Oh and I hit one that bounced off a cart path twice and there wasn't a mark on it.
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The cover is the same as the TP series which are very soft yet hold up better than most other balls
 
I just ordered another dozen of these yesterday. I'm not a high spin guy with wedges and irons, but these balls seemed to dance around on the green more than I am use to with other balls. I still can't back them up, but they definitely check a lot faster than what I'm use to.
 
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