TaylorMade Project 5 Golf Ball Review Thread

[Nate]

Really interested in what you guys think about the distance numbers that come of these balls. I hope someone can find a way to compare this whether it's with the driver or a 150yd shot.

 

[War Eagle]

Really interested in what you guys think about the distance numbers that come of these balls. I hope someone can find a way to compare this whether it's with the driver or a 150yd shot.

I know my numbers quite well with my irons and current ball, should be able to gauge a distance increase / decrease for ya.

 

[Tadashi70]

I was a huge fan of the original Penta, but got away from them this year after going through a ball fitting. Will be interesting to see if it can live up to my memory of how much I enjoyed playing the Penta a year ago.

I really liked your post and your plan for testing. It sounds very complete and should yield a ton of feedback.

All the testers that have posted have started out well. Looking forward to the various results.

I was a huge fan of the old Penta not so much the Last model. So this ball will have all my attention. The Hex dimple pattern worked well for me a few years back on another ball.

 

[cpljohnst]

Really interested in what you guys think about the distance numbers that come of these balls. I hope someone can find a way to compare this whether it's with the driver or a 150yd shot.

I'm planning to do some. Will hit 3 balls of each type ('10 B330-RX, '12 B330-RX, & Project 5) take GPS measurements and average distance results over multiple series of attempts. Will track temps & wind as well.

Have 36 holes at my home club and one course typically gets less play than the other. I can get out there in late afternoon midweek and not have to worry about being in anyone's way. Won't be able to do this every time out but hope to get some good data this way occasionally during the testing period.

 

[War Eagle]

I really liked your post and your plan for testing. It sounds very complete and should yield a ton of feedback.

All the testers that have posted have started out well. Looking forward to the various results.

I was a huge fan of the old Penta not so much the Last model. So this ball will have all my attention. The Hex dimple pattern worked well for me a few years back on another ball.

Im with you there, Freddie. I liked the old Penta, but the TP3 and TP5 never really drew me in.

 

[TheDoctor]

I know some Tour Pros have put them in play, so I would imagine it's going to be their higher end ball.

Cheers War Eagle, completely missed your reply, sorry

 

[Colt]

Im with you there, Freddie. I liked the old Penta, but the TP3 and TP5 never really drew me in.

I really like the TP3. Interested in these for sure. I just noticed the thread. Sucks I haven't been perusing the golf threads as much lately as I've been trying to be minimal in my golfing for the past couple months to unwind myself.

Time to get back in it though and these are definitely on my radar when they come out. Not impressed by any of TMAG's equipment lately but I've always like their balls since the original Penta.

 

[StanTheCaddy]

Just caught up with this thread and am very interested to hear the tester's thoughts on these golf balls. I've been going back and forth between the Callaway Hex Black's and the Bridgestone B330 RX all season and will be curious to see how these compare.

 

[ATLGolfer]

I was able to play around with the Project 5 in the short game area of my local driving range. I'll add another post with my thoughts, but I wanted to start with the picture below. I had a Callaway Hex Black in my bag, and I wanted to show a side-by-side comparison of the two balls, since there is so much interest in the hex pattern on the Project 5:




Definitely a similar dimple pattern. The main difference is that the dimples in the Project 5 are much deeper than the Hex Black dimples. I also compared the dimples to a Bridgestone B330 (which I used for the short game testing), and the Project 5 has considerably deeper dimples.

Short game thoughts to follow...

 

[ATLGolfer]

I used the Project 5 balls for several different short game shots, including chips, pitches (40 yards, 35 yards and 25 yards), flop shots, low running pitches and putting. I used the Project 5 and Bridgestone B330s balls (my current regular ball) as a comparison ball.

Initial impression is that the Project 5 feels softer than the B330s. The feel is subtle on the putter, but it is definitely there. If you are not paying attention, though, I think you would have difficulty distinguishing between the Project 5 and the B330s on the green. Distance control was very similar, and (as you would expect with a new ball) the roll was true.

The soft feel of the Project 5 is really apparent on chips and pitches. Even on a simple chip shot with a wedge, I could easily tell the difference in feel between the Project 5 and the B330s. I am surprised how soft the ball feels. Mind you, it's not like the B330s has a "firm" feel to it. There are other balls that, in my opinion, feel firmer. (The Hex Black, for example, feels very firm to me.) The Project 5 just feels as soft as I can remember for a solid core ball.

The Project 5 also generates more spin than the B330s. Pitch shots definitely have more bite to them, and lower trajectory pitches have a little more stop to them. Balls out of the bunker were outstanding -- Lots of one-hop stop action. I also noticed that the Project 5 seems to get in the air quickly from the bunker, and the ball almost seemed to "soar" on those shots. I could have hit bunker shots with the Project 5 all afternoon -- it was really fun to play with.

As many of you know, the specific details for the Project 5 were not provided to the testers. We weren't told the price point or targeted player for this ball. However, based on my findings, I suspect that the Project 5 is TM's new tour-level ball. Very soft feel with lots of control around the green. It is an impressive golf ball.

The only performance issue I noticed with the Project 5 is its durability. While I did not hit any full shots with the ball, all of them had scuff marks when I was done with the testing session. I was pretty surprised by that. Certainly, I did not hit everything flush, but there were no significantly thin shots. In comparison, I did not see the same scuffing on the B330s that were used during the testing session. The scuffing is a little concerning, because I wonder how durable the ball will be in regular play. Perhaps this is the compromise in having a very soft feel; you lose some durability. I'm interested to see if the other testers had the same scuffing issues.


Here are some photos taken after the short game session. I hope they clearly show the scuff marks. I was pretty surprised how fragile the ball's cover is. No full swing shots. Several chips and pitches, and a few bunker shots. Everything was not perfectly on the sweet spot, but there were no significantly thin or skulled shots.

Weather and work schedule permitting, I am going to try to take the Project 5 ball onto the course this week. I'm interested to see how the ball performs on the driver and full shots.

My initial impression is that the soft cover and deeper dimples allow for more spin. The concern is whether the ball will fly too high on full swing shots. Excess side spin is also a concern.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if there are any particular shots/tests that you would like to see.

 

[biglee33]

Can't wait to hear how this ball perfoms off the driver for you ATLGolfer!

 

[cpljohnst]

I used the Project Five ball on five holes during today's round. I was +1 on those five holes. One bogey and four pars. I played two par 3's and three par 4's. I'll echo ATLGolfer, this is a VERY soft ball. It feels great around the greens and generates more spin than the B330-RX '10 model that I've been playing. I had two chips in particular that really checked up more than I've seen with the 330 in the past. I did miss all three fairways on the par fours but I'm not ready to put that on the ball just yet, none were good swings.

I also saw the durability issues that ATLGolfer mentioned. I'll get the ball and take a photo in a few to post.

Anxious to play more with the Project Five.


EDIT: correction on the holes played. It was four par 4's and one par 3. See below...

 

[SW]

Great post fellas. ATL, that doesn't look bad considering you had bunker practice mixed in as well.

 

[Ole Gray]

Strong performer around the greens with soft feel and good spin is definitely what I'm interested in.

 

[cpljohnst]

I checked my notes and I did error in the above post. I played four par 4's and one par 3 with the Project five. I did hit one fairway and missed three on the par fours. I was just a bit long on the par three.

Here is an image of the ball after five holes played. This mark came from one particular chip shot.

 

[Staples]

Nice thoughts so far guys. I don't like what I'm reading about the durability. Balls shouldn't scuff during short game practice.

 

[Ole Gray]

I checked my notes and I did error in the above post. I played four par 4's and one par 3 with the Project five. I did hit one fairway and missed three on the par fours. I was just a bit long on the par three.

Here is an image of the ball after five holes played. This mark came from one particular chip shot.

The ball on the left looks pretty dinged up. Did it hit a tree, cart path, or something around the practice area?

 

[afwcardinal]

Nice first day use write ups. I too am a little concerned about the wear issue. Still looking forward to how the ball performs with full shots with all the clubs.

 

[War Eagle]

Some good info so far guys.

ATLGolfer- I like hearing that these performed well on short pitch and chip shots around the green. Those shots and how the ball works for those shots are usually where I define if a ball works well for my game or not.

cpljohn- The ball looks like it was shredded, wow. That was after a full wedge shot? Reminds me of what a ball would look like after hitting a really flush shot with my Cally Jaws wedges a few years back.

 

[cpljohnst]

The ball on the left looks pretty dinged up. Did it hit a tree, cart path, or something around the practice area?

Nope, no cart path or trees. This was from a chip shot with a CG15 *54 that I've recently put in the bag. It did spin aggressively.

 

[ATLGolfer]

Great post fellas. ATL, that doesn't look bad considering you had bunker practice mixed in as well.

That's a fair point. I started noticing wear issues pretty early in the session when I just hit a few pitches. One ball that I did not catch perfectly (was not bladed, was barely thin) left a mark. I also did not notice similar markings on the other balls I was using after the session.

I have seen a lot of comments in the thread raising concerns about durability. I don't want to have this snowball into a deal breaker for someone interested in the Project 5 ball. Obviously, no ball is going to stay perfect after you start using it. It just seemed to me that the Project 5 picked up marks a little quicker than my other ball. I really think it is a factor of the cover being soft, and there is going to be some trade off in exchange for having a really soft and workable ball.

The performance has been impressive though. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the ball reacts to my woods and for approach shots.

 

[cpljohnst]

I agree with ATLGolfer. We are very early in the testing. Lets wait and see how things play out over weeks of testing before we pass judgement on durability. I did have 2 fairway bunker shots, and a very thin iron shot with the particular ball above before the chip shot. Just something to be watched for at this point. I will note that they ball performed well even with this mark.

 

[IceyShanks]

I checked my notes and I did error in the above post. I played four par 4's and one par 3 with the Project five. I did hit one fairway and missed three on the par fours. I was just a bit long on the par three.

Here is an image of the ball after five holes played. This mark came from one particular chip shot.

Interesting wear, can't believe it marked that quick!

 

[Tadashi70]

Atl you reference the B330s and having more spin. Do,you think it spins as much as the RX or RXS? The wear looks similar to other comparable brands

 

[Franklin51]

anybody compared these to the TP3s