In a game of precision, it is always nice to see the products marketed purely for distance. For Titleist, the Velocity golf ball has been a passionate pursuit of distance as an added advantage with all clubs in the bag. With a combination of the LSX core, new cover, and exciting color options, it is time to take a closer look at what we can expect from the Velocity golf ball, and what Titleist has innovated into their latest iteration for 2018.
While color options are generally relegated to the latter stages of a review, I felt it appropriate to bring it to the forefront with Velocity as it took a bit of education to appreciate one of the most important design elements of the 2018 Titleist Velocity. The “Visi-white” finish, which has an incredibly unique shimmer (we should avoid the term sparkly here) when drawing the ball close to the eyes in the sun, yet not enough to be obvious at address or while the ball is in play. It is a pretty fascinating variation from their standard white finish, and something that is surprisingly limited in detail on Titleist’s website. It complements the additional color options that include white, visi-white, orange, and pink. Both the white and visi-white finishes offer the number marking in orange.
Moving towards the technology built into the golf ball, it is important to establish what benefits the player can expect to have when gaming a Velocity. Titleist notes; longer distance, very low long game spin, high flight on every shot, and playable short game feel. Like many products in the golf industry, the execution of high launch with low spin is not a simple reality, yet something so many chase.
One of the biggest changes to the Velocity for this release is the softer core. Titleist refers to it as the “high speed LSX” core and it is designed to produce quick initial velocity (yes, that word is appropriately used) on the ball. While this type of construction is quite difficult to review in a brief collection of on course experiences, there was a very lively response off the driver and longer clubs in the bag with the Velocity in play. As a golfer who welcomes low or reduced spin at every opportunity, having a ball like the Titleist Velocity in the bag presented an advantage at long range. It may not be wildly different from some of the lower spin urethane balls available, but the results were well within expectations.
Some additional technology built into the Velocity golf ball includes the new NaZ+ cover, and the 328 tetrahedral dimple design. While the cover is designed to promote higher ball speed, it also served as a resilient material against the every swing wear of a golf course and clubs striking the ball. Unlike some of the softer covered premium golf balls, the Velocity’s resilience was well documented. It would be hard to expect much more out of a ball that also welcomes decent feedback off the face of a putter.
Speaking of short game, Velocity sits nicely in that middle tier of expectations when rolling the flatstick, providing golfers with a decent amount of feedback and soft audible cues (depending on the putter). Where it may fall below expectations is greenside, but even in the limited experiences proved effective in most styles of wedge play. It will not be the first ball to bite aggressively and spin, but it showed the ability to hop and stop or come in high and soft. Full swing wedges and short irons had plenty of stopping power in them.
On the product page over at Titleist, there is a great quote from Michael Mahoney who is the VP of Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. He states “Everything we do with Velocity is to generate speed and distance.” This quote will provide golfers with a very clear expectation heading into any experience with Velocity, but I would like to share that the ball did not disappoint throughout the full bag of shots and distances. It is much more balanced than that, and this reality comes from numerous golfers trying the Velocity for themselves, each with unique swings. For more information on Titleist Velocity, visit www.Titleist.com.
