Taylormade Penta TP Golf ball..... IS AWESOME!

**CrazyXGolfer** · August 17, 2010

So the other day I went in to buy some golf balls, just the usuall I buy everything off the same guy and he knows im really in titelist.

He said why don't you try and a new ball, we discussed it a little bit trying to figure out what ball would best suit me, I get ALOT of spin and would not mind a little bit less when hitting a wedge into the green and it spining around 8-10meters back :P

He convinced me to get some of the new taylormade Penta's.

I got to play them today....

All I have to say is WOW.....

I love this ball! It seems to be right inbetween ProV1 and the ProV1x It's just the right amount of spin! It adds around 5 meters to my tee shots aswell. Had a fairly decent round that could have been better if I did not putt terriblely :P Maybe it's the little buy harder feeling ball, but I just keept smashing it past the whole and leaving like 5-7 foot putts for par. I ended up even par at the end.

+ ONE BIG PLUS TO THIS BALL. IT'S SO DURBALE! I played the same ball the whole round and hit some perfect wedge shots and hardly touched the ball.

One funny this, I really hated taylormade golf balls, the Tp red and blacks were horrible I thought :P

Anybody who has not tryed it I sugest you give it ago! anybody else love this ball?

**clg82** · August 17, 2010

I absolutly love this ball as well, but I find the opposite as you as far as durability goes. Mine don't last as long as some of the other premium balls that I have played, but I absolutly love this ball otherwise!

**enis750** · August 17, 2010

i liked it
also found it to be very long off the driver

but if im spending $50 ion balls (which i rarely do) ill get the goods

playing the old LDP's now and like the black best
also trying out the old Callaway Tour ix's too
nice ball, had a great "click" off the irons and putter that i really like - and low spin off the driver too

**Deryck Griffith** · August 17, 2010

I absolutely love this ball as well. It performs exactly as advertised; checks up beautifully and rewards good contact on tee shots. The only thing that I noticed when I first started playing the ball was a VERY soft feel while putting...well, after trying to figure out why this was the case (besides the ball being soft), I realized that the insert on my Odyssey White Hot Tour didn't match the feel of the ball. SO, I pulled out my Scotty and the problem was solved :)

**BigMikey** · August 17, 2010

Did you notice the seam on the ball? I played a full box of them earlier this year, and found it as good as the Titleist balls I play. However a friend showed me the seam and I went out to my local muni at about 6 PM on a long par 4 and pounded 3 sleeves of them several times setting the seam horizontal / vertical an 45 degrees so that my club would almost always impact the seam as it hit the ball. I noticed the ball flight was very scattered when I hit the seam, but if I set it up so that the seam was not in the impact zone the shots were more consistent. After testing first hand and seeing the ball would only be consistent for me when hit not on the seam was the only reason I went back to Titleist.

Note: I focused my drives by hitting them at 75 -85% of my normal swing speed so that I had consistent contact and my ball flight would do what I wanted. I can carry my drives this way 230 - 240 yards with a nice controllable baby fade. With my standard balls I can hit 6 - 9 balls within 20 yards of each other. I could not get the same performance out of the Penta ball.

Image of my ball:

Notice the seam where PENTA is located

**Zeph** · August 17, 2010

Did you notice the seam on the ball? I played a full box of them earlier this year, and found it as good as the Titleist balls I play. However a friend showed me the seam and I went out to my local muni at about 6 PM on a long par 4 and pounded 3 sleeves of them several times setting the seam horizontal / vertical an 45 degrees so that my club would almost always impact the seam as it hit the ball. I noticed the ball flight was very scattered when I hit the seam, but if I set it up so that the seam was not in the impact zone the shots were more consistent. After testing first hand and seeing the ball would only be consistent for me when hit not on the seam was the only reason I went back to Titleist.

If you put scientific research on the table I might even consider believing it. Next time, bring someone with you and have him set up the ball, without you knowing if it is lined up to the seam or not.

**Deryck Griffith** · August 17, 2010

Did you notice the seam on the ball? I played a full box of them earlier this year, and found it as good as the Titleist balls I play. However a friend showed me the seam and I went out to my local muni at about 6 PM on a long par 4 and pounded 3 sleeves of them several times setting the seam horizontal / vertical an 45 degrees so that my club would almost always impact the seam as it hit the ball. I noticed the ball flight was very scattered when I hit the seam, but if I set it up so that the seam was not in the impact zone the shots were more consistent. After testing first hand and seeing the ball would only be consistent for me when hit not on the seam was the only reason I went back to Titleist.

The Penta isn't the only ball that has a seam; in fact, the Pro V1 used to have a seam...

**BigMikey** · August 17, 2010

If you put scientific research on the table I might even consider believing it. Next time, bring someone with you and have him set up the ball, without you knowing if it is lined up to the seam or not.

Zeph... Not saying it's not a great ball or my testing is perfect... (which it's not) but have a look yourself... the seam is there and I honestly gave the set a try. My scores were no worse with the Penta than with my standard V1 ball, so I'll back the ball up and say it's great and at least equal to what I play. I just choose not to because the seam now bugs me... and will even admit it might just be in my head because I actually don't have the mechnaics of a robot driving machine but then neither do you.

It would be nice to send out a set for robotic testing and see what the effect of the seam has versus other non-seamed balls.

**BigMikey** · August 17, 2010

The Penta isn't the only ball that has a seam; in fact, the Pro V1 used to have a seam...

Yea, I'm familiar with that but never had a set with the seam. I believe those were the 07 or 08 versions and did not play good balls until last year when my HDCP justified it. I think someone in this forum was quoted saying that if you hit the seam on those the ball would go even farther... but can't recall.

You are also correct that the old V1 'used to' have a seam. Does anyone know why it was removed.... possibly they discovered similar problems with accuracy.

**rebby** · August 17, 2010

Did you notice the seam on the ball? I played a full box of them earlier this year, and found it as good as the Titleist balls I play. However a friend showed me the seam and I went out to my local muni at about 6 PM on a long par 4 and pounded 3 sleeves of them several times setting the seam horizontal / vertical an 45 degrees so that my club would almost always impact the seam as it hit the ball. I noticed the ball flight was very scattered when I hit the seam, but if I set it up so that the seam was not in the impact zone the shots were more consistent. After testing first hand and seeing the ball would only be consistent for me when hit not on the seam was the only reason I went back to Titleist

The USGA symmetry rule, as it pertains to conforming golf balls (the Penta does conform btw), allows an average variance of three yards or 0.2 seconds hang time regardless of where on the ball's surface it is struck or how it is oriented. If you noticed a variance greater than this in your testing, it's all between your ears. If this is the variance that you're speaking of... Wow! You have some impressive control.

All of this seam nonsense is nothing more than FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt)! Let's not forget that the original Pro-V1 (long noted as one of the best golf balls ever made) also had a seam.

**golfro** · August 17, 2010

the seam has never bothered me. the Taylormade TP Red has a noticable seam, but after using them extensively for a couple months, I never noticed variance large enough for me to think of it as inconsistency in any way.
I played one round this year with the Penta and I will agree, it's a great ball!

I'm on a kick right now with playing Nike One Tour's and I'm finding it to be a very nice ball for $30 a dozen. May become my main stay ball and put the E6 on the sideline.

**BigMikey** · August 17, 2010

Dude... how was it FUD... It's a simple fact that the ball has a noticeable seam on it. I said it was a great ball and played not different than my other balls from a score perspective. But YES there is a seam... And YES when I hit the seam intentionally... I see different results than expected only when I intentionally tested them by specifically hitting the seam. I never stated they didn't conform to USGA specs, but would invite anyone here who has a set as do I to test them yourself if you have the ability and see if you notice a difference.

If the seam doesn't matter then why do you suspect it's no longer on the V1? Also how many other balls for $45 / dozen have seams.... regardless of who 'used too' in the past.

**golfro** · August 17, 2010

Dude... how was it FUD... It's a simple fact that the ball has a noticeable seam on it. I said it was a great ball and played not different than my other balls from a score perspective. But YES there is a seam... And YES when I hit the seam intentionally... I see different results than expected only when I intentionally tested them by specifically hitting the seam. I never stated they didn't conform to USGA specs, but would invite anyone here who has a set as do I to test them yourself if you have the ability and see if you notice a difference.

rebby is saying that for USGA to not notice a significant variance from their tests...but for some amateur to have noticable difference in results is a bit odd don't you think?

Regardless, a seam can be visually distracting (which is why most companies stay away from having seams) but to say it adds variance and produces noticable different results is a bit far fetched.

**rebby** · August 17, 2010

Yep, the lack of a seam is more for aesthetics than anything else. The seam does not affect the performance of the golf ball (as I stated above, in accordance with the rules). The FUD factor comes from a belief that performance is affected. Perception is reality in a "test" such as the one that you conducted. I have done the same "test" myself and, consistent with USGA tests, did not experience the inconsistencies that you spoke of. Unless the aesthetics of the seam bother you, it's really a non-factor.

http://www.usga.org/workarea/linkit....d&itemid;=10573 See section 7.3 for symmetry information (4 yards or 0.4 second delta from one axis to the next).

**BigMikey** · August 17, 2010

rebby is saying that for USGA to not notice a significant variance from their tests...but for some amateur to have noticable difference in results is a bit odd don't you think?

Why would they...

From the USGA: Indoor Ball Distance Testing Posted: 5/27/2009 In its efforts to continually improve its testing methods, the USGA has developed an Indoor Test Range to test golf balls for the “overall distance” limit. A mechanical golfer with a 120 mph swing speed hits balls with a titanium driver, and a launch monitor measures each ball’s speed, launch angle, and spin. This is the first ingredient to measuring ball distance. The USGA system then uses an array of sensors that accurately measure the flight of a golf ball during a short, indoor trajectory from a ball launcher. From this flight data, a computer calculates the lift and drag forces that are generated by the speed, spin, and dimple pattern of the ball. Balls are tested at high speeds, like a ball is hit off the tee, at lower speeds, like a ball during flight, down to the speeds a ball might encounter at the top of a drive. The computer puts all of this aerodynamic and launch information together to create an accurate simulation of the golf ball trajectory. This test is repeatable to within 3 yards (better than 99 percent), more repeatable than outdoor testing could ever be. The distance limit is 317 yards. There data is all calculated by computer simulation . I hit balls with a launch monitor at the PGA SS.... which is a simulation of ball flight... but hey thats not what my balls do when I'm out on the course. No matter how good a golf simulator is it can't calculate with 100% accuracy what that ball will do out on the course with real conditions. Also since the USGA is not looking at where the ball actually lands because 20 yards after it's off a tee it's caught by a NET, how they hell could they know what the seam does to ball flight?

**golfro** · August 17, 2010

i'll take the controlled computer simulation over a an amateur's assessment. sorry to say but the computer simulation is done in a controlled setting and is calculated with numbers extracted from the tests. you on the other hand..is just another guy who played a ball and got "different results".

just out of curiosity, what kind of different results were you seeing? big difference in distance? amount of spin?

**drglew** · August 17, 2010

At least for the original ProV1's which had a seam, i remember an old Golf Digest article and test -- lining up driver with the seam increased distance by a few yards. They didn't measure whether shots struck not along the seam had higher dispersion though. I'm unaware of more recent testing esp in relation to the TM's though. (I do "seam" my tee shots with my TP Black LDP's though!)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...g=content;col1

**golfro** · August 17, 2010

At least for the original ProV1's which had a seam, i remember an old Golf Digest article and test -- lining up driver with the seam increased distance by a few yards. They didn't measure whether shots struck not along the seam had higher dispersion though. I'm unaware of more recent testing esp in relation to the TM's though. (I do "seam" my tee shots with my TP Black LDP's though!)

Interesting article...but a 6 yard variance in a controlled setting? Such an irrelevant number for most amateurs who have MUCH bigger variance than 6 yards between each swing...moot at best.

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