in your opinion pro-v vs penta

from a durability standpoint do you have a preference ? from a performance perspective how do they differ  ?

I usually do some pretty extensive ball tests and, for my game, the Penta came out as the best ball for me, even over the 2009 Pro V1/V1x. I have not yet had time to put the 2011 Pro V1/V1x through the paces though so I can't comment on that specific version or how it compares to the Penta. Versus the 2009 version though. I hit the Penta a few yards further than both the V1 and V1x. Spin into the green was very similar but the Penta spun slightly less than the V1 and slightly more than the V1x. Not a lot of difference though. I was still hitting the drop and stop type of shots that I prefer. Durability was roughly the same for me as well. I tend to shred covers pretty bad, always have, and neither of the Pro V offerings or the Penta changed that (making the change to CC grooves helped this a bit though). The biggest difference for me was performance in the wind. The Penta was quite a bit more steady in heavy winds, especially off the tee. The Penta had a better feel as well. I like soft and the Penta delivers. It's not quite as soft as the old Tour Balata but it's as close as a modern ball has ever been. I'm looking forward to giving the 2011 Pro V1/V1x a try though. Who knows, maybe it will replace the Penta as my daily gamer? Then again, I did just stock up on the Penta due to their "buy 2, get 1 free" promotion.

I love the feel of the Penta but I've found it be pretty short for me. It spins well, puts well, but I hit the Callaway Tour I and the Srixon XV a solid 10 yards further. Don't know how much of that was the ball and how much was me, but that's my 2 cents

I tried out the Penta last year and loved it. I have a slower swing speed so off the tee and for my longer game I just don't like the ProV's. With the wedges and putter the ProV's feel great but outside of that I just don't like the feel due to my slower swing speed. I tried out the Penta and it just seems to explode of the club for me, much, much different feel. Up close it plays to me exactly the same as the ProV but off the tee and for my long game I was hitting it quite a bit further as it seems to fit my swing much better. As far as the durability, seemed to be just as good but I think you will find all the high end balls are about the same in those regards. I would just suggest buying a sleeve of each and really trying them out to see what you like best. You will get a great ball no matter which way you go, the ProV's or the Penta's.

Due to cost I usually use Srixon Z-Stars though just cause they are a bit cheaper for me and I only use them in tournament play, otherwise I use lower end balls, just not worth it to me. If money was no object I would be always playing the Penta.

I havent tried the Penta but I saw that it has a pretty pronounced seam on the ball which kind of turned me away from it (even though it probably would of never effected my ballflight or performance). The original ProV1 way back when had a seam as well, reason is, the guy who helped create the original ProV1 is the same guy that created the Penta. ProV1 shortly after the original wanted to release a seamless ball and thats what they did and have been since. - the seam is the space in between where the dimples dont interlock around the ball

I bought a dozen pentas a while back, and well I hated them. I spun them too much off the driver and as a result it just ballooned and didn't run out. They are really cheap now at the moment though, selling for 49 bucks in one store whereas the Pro V1x's were selling for 62....

yea I dont really think it would affect the performance but I do prefer a ball that wants to eleminate the seam as much as possible. Heres a review of when Titleist went this route

Changes Common to Both Balls
The biggest change has to be what Titleist calls a "Staggered Wave" parting line (previously called the "seam"). As the illustration here shows, what that means is that the seam is no longer a straight line. Now it weaves around dimples. As a result, Titleist has effectively removed any visible seam and was able to slightly modify the dimple pattern to produce better aerodynamic performance.

Bill Morgan, senior vice president of Titleist Golf Balls Worldwide, says, "It creates the highest surface coverage ever on a Titleist golf ball… the Staggered Wave parting line, improved surface coverage, and dimple dimension changes will provide golfers greater distance off the tee."

Maybe even more interesting is that Morgan asserts every golf ball must have a parting line as part of the manufacturing process. So I wonder what Bridgestone really means when they tout their "seamless" technology?

That was taken from this review .

For my game its just personal preference. I mean tons of Pros play the Penta just fine

I'll play either the Penta or ProV1X. Both play similarly for me although I do think the titleist feels a touch better off the driver. Honestly though, it depends on the day...since I tend to have both in my bag I'll play whichever one feels luckiest. Generally, two or three bad holes and I'll change over to satisfy my superstitious side. All else equal, I'll default to the penta. Fewer people play tm balls and it reduces the chance that some schmuck will mistake mine for his.

I played the ProV almost exclusively for about 5 years.  Last year I switched to the Penta and barring some dramatic change in Titleist's balls I won't be going back.   Both balls were equal for me off the tee.  The ProV feels softer off the driver and the Penta has more "click" but both performed equally well.   I didn't notice a big change in distance or ball flight with the driver.

Off the irons I found the Pro V had a tendency to balloon a bit more but it didn't lose much distance despite the climb.   My concern is that I don't like a higher ball flight because I tend to hit the ball high anyway.  I've never tried the ProV1x which may have fixed that.

What made me switch to the Penta though is the short game.   Both balls perform very well off the full wedge but where I find the Penta blows away the ProV is in the low speed, short range chips and flops.  On a quarter to half swing out of the rough it is absolutely insane how much spin you can put on the Penta.   When hit properly the ball is a hop and stop machine.

This week during league play I missed my approach to the 9th just short and right of the green.   The ball was in medium rough with an ok lie with about 20 yards to the pin. I only had about 10 feet of green to work with so I decided to take my LW and just throw it way up in the air.   I don't normally like doing that because it's easy to slide a LW under the ball in the rough and it's not usually a high percentage shot for me.   I hit the shot, flew the ball about 3 feet short of the pin and thought I'd hit a perfect shot.   I wound up about eight feet away because the ball BACKED UP.  I didn't know it was even possible to back a ball up with a 20 yard shot.  The other three guys in my group looked at me like I'd just performed some kind of voodoo.   One of them asked me "how in the hell did you do that".    I was dumbfounded but damn I love that golfball!

I've just changed over to the Penta this year. I like the feel off the club, like someone said earlier it's a bit like the old balatas.

A friend of mine played the Penta last year and converted to the ProV1x this year. Said it was a bit more durable for him. Personally, I've yet to play a Penta - it would take a lot for me to switch from the ProV1.

A Tilteist representative (I know, bad source) said that the Penta was not good because it was inconsistent. The reason was that the different cores were shifting inside the ball.

I didn't believe this, coming from someone who wanted me to buy V1x, but thought I'd ask if anyone has heard about anything similar.

So you're saying a new Penta isn't like an old Titleist?