Taylormade Penta TP - Forum Review Thread

I managed to not put myself into position on Thursday, that I never did hit a full wedge shot from a tight lie. It was a couple of flops, a full swing from 2" rough and several greenside chips that controlled nicely. I will be sure to hit some full shots on Sunday.

I promised to take the girls out on a date tonight, and tomorrow I have to work.
 
Look forward to it GB.
 
Wasn't able to get on the course today.
Round 2 with launch monitor with wedge only.I took 6 swings and then removed the high and the low to get an average.

TM RED TP LDP 6353 RPM AVG SS 75.7
PROV1X 6653 RPM AVG SS 79.2
B330 5788 RPM AVG SS 80.4
Penta TP 6390 RPM AVG SS 81.4

I redid the TM RED cause I saw the SS was a touch lower to be fair.

RD 2 With TM RED 7002 RPM AVG SS 80.9

Just pulled up AVG Distance for those shots
TM RED 105
PROV1 101.5
B330 100
Penta 99.7

RD 2 with TM RED 99.9

I feel I was able to keep it consistent.
 
The Red having more RPM than the Penta makes me wonder if something is off. Taylormade has tested this over and over again and showed every time that the Penta was producing more spin. Their large media event is in a few weeks and they will have a robot video demonstrating it.

Hope things change for you, but those numbers are SOOO different than everything we have seen. Different strokes for different folks is what makes this game great.
 
How much might a person's swing speed explain the differences in the rpm variances? I still have that note in my head about the inner core, and only the faster swings being able to activate it. Just wondering...:confused2:
 
I thought it was odd on how the spin came down with the B330 today.Odd how much lower the B330 spun today
 
Ok... I managed to get in 6 holes with the new ball this afternoon after working and before family duties. While such a short outing hardly constitutes a test, I will draw a few preliminary conclusions. I was not at my best for this test, as I got very little sleep and was at the course at 5:30 AM for work, then went out immediately after work.

First a few stats:

Driver - Mizuno MX-560 9.5° with 65gm ProForce V2 shaft.
4W - Mizuno F-60 16.5°
Irons - Callaway X-22
Wedges - Titleist Vokey (52° - 54° - 58°)

1) When I hit it square with the woods, the ball is longer than most any premium ball I've tried. On miss hits, not so forgiving. The conclusion is that I have just a high enough swing speed to properly compress the ball on a flush hit, but I don't have enough power to be able to get away with anything less than my best swing. I experienced a noticeable loss of distance on hits toward the toe of every club (my commonest fault), more than I do with the Burner TP, which I've been using of late. The Penta also seemed to fly lower on solid hits than the Burner TP.

2) Love this ball around the green. Six holes isn't a conclusive trial, but chipping control seemed absolutely spot on. I primarily use my 52° Vokey for chipping, and I chipped up and tapped in on 3 of the 6 holes I played.

3) Putting was good with a nice soft feel, but otherwise the results were not much different from the Burner TP or Titleist Pro V1.

I will get out again early next week and play a full round for a more substantial test, and I will use my Titleist AP-2 irons for the next round and see if there is any difference with a "players" club over the GI cavities of the Callaways.
 
Have you been able to actually take these balls to the golf course as of yet?
 
OK, nobody else is saying it, so I will....

These balls must have magic pixie dust as a key ingredient!

I shot a super back 9 with a Penta ball today, on a course I've never played before.

I struggled on the front, really racking up the points. I couldn't connect to save my life, so I didn't even pull the Penta out of the bag. I started feeling a little better on the back nine, and boy did it show. I fired off 4 pars and a birdie (keep in mind, that I'm a 25 handicap) and totaled only 10 putts! (3 from the fringe, I count as a wedge shot) I wound up with a 94 for today's efforts, a 52 on the front and a 42 on the back.

I really have enjoyed playing the Penta so far, and it does fly really well, I lose absolutely NO distance with it, I had a drive of 260 this afternoon as well (I normally don't hit it quite that far), they also would stick very well with my wedges, full swings and chips (I had a 3 tap in putts with the Penta)
 
Awesome stuff GB. I agree completely.
 
Ok... round 2.

GB is right... there is some kind of pixie dust on these balls. I shot my lowest 9 holes ever, :banana: and my lowest 18 of the year today with the TM Penta TP. This ball is as long off the tee than anything I've used recently, and it's pure with all of my irons. Chipping is still precise, and putting is soft and velvety. Short irons will stop and zip back a couple of feet, even a 5 iron from the rough only rolled about 10 feet. That's better spin than I get from a Pro V1.

I made 3 birdies and 6 pars on the front 9 today for a 33 going out, then after parring 10 and 11, I started thinking too much and made a string of bogies coming in on the back. I still finished with a 76, my best this year by 3 strokes. It's true that the most difficult part of the course is the 5 inches between your ears. :angry:

But the ball is a real winner. I don't have the numbers to crunch like BigLefty, but this ball works for me, and my swing speed with the driver is generally around 90-95. The first ball started looking a bit tired after about 15 holes. I switched to a new one then, so there might be some question of durability, but it isn't significant.
 
Ok... round 2.

GB is right... there is some kind of pixie dust on these balls. I shot my lowest 9 holes ever, :banana: and my lowest 18 of the year today with the TM Penta TP. This ball is as long off the tee than anything I've used recently, and it's pure with all of my irons. Chipping is still precise, and putting is soft and velvety. Short irons will stop and zip back a couple of feet, even a 5 iron from the rough only rolled about 10 feet. That's better spin than I get from a Pro V1.

I made 3 birdies and 6 pars on the front 9 today for a 33 going out, then after parring 10 and 11, I started thinking too much and made a string of bogies coming in on the back. I still finished with a 76, my best this year by 3 strokes. It's true that the most difficult part of the course is the 5 inches between your ears. :angry:

But the ball is a real winner. I don't have the numbers to crunch like BigLefty, but this ball works for me, and my swing speed with the driver is generally around 90-95. The first ball started looking a bit tired after about 15 holes. I switched to a new one then, so there might be some question of durability, but it isn't significant.

Great review of those balls Fourputt....I wonder when they are available?
 
Awesome stuff Fourputt. We are having the same findings as you are.
 
Good review Fourputt, sounds like we have a winner coming up. Sure hope the price is in line, I get sick everytime I see a Pro-v roll into the creek bottom.
 
Played this morning. Ball definitely Softer upon impact.Wasn't able to adjust to it with the putter,took 31 putts . Ball seems to produce same amount of spin with the irons.Ball was always 1-2 feet away from pitch mark.With the Wedges,I felt it had a touch less except with the low pinched chips,Those spun more for me.Sometimes too much.

Bunker shots seemed same with both.

I also feel I lost a little distance with the long to mid irons with it.Maybe I had better contact with my ball? Wasn't much just 5 yards or less. Seemed to balloon a touch.

I let my playing partner play the ball on the final 3 holes,He liked the ball a lot.He was playing the Prov1X.He also noticed the softer impact feeling.The ball seemed to go farther for him with the driver then I did.He wants to know when he can buy them.

The ball is very durable and I could and would have played another 18 with it.But, he lost the ball on 18 so that wont happen.

I Still stand by the Launch monitor regarding this ball spins too much off the driver for me.

I need to get my vector up and running to verify the spin with the driver for me.

I'm hoping to get in a quick 9 with the ball again either tomorrow morning or Friday morning.
 
Ok - I don't understand a lot of things about the physics of golf, but isn't how a ball plays on the course more important than your machines? I understood Gummi and Fourputt's reports better than yours.
 
Lefty,
Its funny, we had no ballooning with any of the 4 players that tested it and significantly more spin on wedges. But different strokes for different folks. 2 of the four testers taht we used were Titleist staffers and they could not get over the increases they were seeing overall.
 
Must just be the difference on the way we strike the ball?Like I said,With my irons I have minimal issues with the ball.Nothing I couldn't adjust to.I can play it with the wedges,I just wasn't seeing an unexpected amout of spin with them.I would think this ball would spin the bejesus out of it.I get more spin with the Prov1,hence why I don't play that ball.I don't need spin with the wedges.I'm more concered about Driver spin.That's the most important factor for me with a ball.

It also could be the way I'm striking the driver right now,I just don't know.It's a good ball and I just would have to adjust to it by tweaking my driver shaft.
 
This is sounding initially like a ball that, like all the others balls marketed, will fit some swings, impact positions, but not others. While all handicappers will probably buy it, being it is 5 piece ball, it appears to be a ball that the lower handicappers will get the most bang for their buck. I won't know this to be 100% true till I try a sleeve sometime in November. :clapp:
 
Prov,
I think you should read our review on it. As well as the feedback both fourputt and gummi bear have provided in their findings. All different handicaps and just about everybody is loving it.
 
I have read all the reviews on this ball. I even went back to and re-read them to make sure of what I thought I had previously read. Ie even read reviews from other websites. All were great reviews. I just have this problem with slower swing speeds not activating the inner core, but the ball still adding distance for slower swing speeds. With no malice intended, I stand by what I posted. I will wait till November, buy a sleeve, and make up my own mind. I have read $36-$47 per dozen. Sound right?

Prov,
I think you should read our review on it. As well as the feedback both fourputt and gummi bear have provided in their findings. All different handicaps and just about everybody is loving it.
 
Street price will be around $44 a dozen.
 
Street price will be around $44 a dozen.

Sounds like the balls are sprinkled with something other than pixie dust. You mean "retail price?"

 
No, retail price is $58. Most manufactureres use
MSRP - Price that is issued and tagged.
Street Price or MAP - Price that it is sold at.
 
Nice review Lefty. I have a feeling these balls will impress most ProV1 users but will be hard to shake the B330 guys loose from what is a great ball.

I never got the retail price thing. Is that the manufacturers way of making us feel like were getting a deal or is that what courses charge?
 
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