Category: Balls

Callaway HX Tour Golf Balls

Callaway’s HX Tour ball has been slightly redesigned for 2006, with changes to the cover and the production process.

Callaway HX Tour BallCallaway Golf’s HX Tour golf balls are among the best-selling balls at retail and also enjoy strong usage numbers on tour. While the HX Tour and HX Tour 56 still look longingly up at Titleist’s Pro V1x and Pro V1, Callaway’s flagship balls have actually outpaced Titleist in major championship wins on the PGA and LPGA tours over the last two years (thanks to Annika Sorenstam, Phil Mickelson, Michael Campbell, and even Nike-using Tiger Woods).

This year sees the introduction of a revamped HX Tour ball, known as the “Improved” HX Tour. Callaway claims the balls are more durable and more consistent than the original model. We put them to the test to see how they compare to last year’s model.

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Callaway HX Pearl Balls Review

The HX Pearl is Callaway Golf’s first ball designed for women, though it may end up being a favorite among distance-minded men as well.

Callaway Hx Pearl Ball“Strong enough for a man. But made for a woman.” The classic slogan for Secret deodorant may also apply to the new HX Pearl golf balls from Callaway Golf. The company has a long history of making clubs for women under the Ladies’ Gems umbrella, and recently marketed the ultra-game improvement GES set toward women.

Now Callaway is turning their design attention toward what women want in a golf ball. I’m certainly no expert on what women want (I still can’t believe my wife didn’t like the table saw I bought her for Mother’s Day), but I’m pretty sure they’re looking for more distance off the tee just like us fellas are. Is the HX Pearl going to be a gem for ladies who dig the longball?

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TaylorMade TP Red/TP Black Ball Review

A challenger to the throne that Titleist built? TaylorMade, surprisingly, has more than this: they have a potential successor.

Taylormade TP Ball SleevesTitleist has ruled the “premium ball” roost since, well, since there was a roost to be ruled. In the pre-Tiger era, I remember seeing advertisements that said “The last 47 U.S. Opens have been won with a Titleist ball” (or something like that). Eventually, Tiger and his Nike R&D chums managed to put a stop to that streak, but Titleist still owns darn near 85% of the premium ball market, leaving Callaway, Nike, Bridgestone, and others to pick up the scraps.

Today, a new player officially enters the market: TaylorMade. We covered the launch of TaylorMade’s “Tour Preferred” line of golf balls in several articles (here, here, here, and here), and since then we’ve been playing with both the TP Red and the TP Black.

Here, finally, are our exhaustive thoughts on the newest challenger to the throne the Pro V1 built.

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The Mythical ‘Ball Boost’

The USGA dips its toe into the ongoing debate over whether players with super-fast swing speeds gain an “extra boost” of distance.

Fred Funk, one of the shorter hitters on the PGA Tour (which, at 49 years of age and 5’8″, is not altogether shocking), is feeling left out these days. He believes that the modern golf ball gives players who swing 115 or 120 MPH a “boost.” More specifically, as he said in a recent interview, “You just get this huge gain hitting the ball a certain speed.”

Unfortunately, despite what Fred and others believe, the facts on this issue have recently been made quite clear. The USGA, on April 11, dispelled some commonly held beliefs in an article called “Myths About Golf Equipment and Performance.” The first myth was “Golfers with faster swing speeds get disproportionately greater distance benefits from new golf balls that have been introduced after 2000.”

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TaylorMade TP Ball Launch: On the Range Video

This video takes you onto the driving range with Dean Snell and Sergio Garcia for the introduction of the TaylorMade TP golf balls.

TaylorMadeWe’ve told you about the new TP Balls from TaylorMade. We’ve shown you the reveal video. We’ve told you what it’s like to be there and we even produced a special-edition podcast. Now it’s time for the final piece, the video from the driving range last Monday morning.

The video largely features Dean Snell talking about the development of the TP Red and the TP Black. He begins by talking about the TrackMan system TaylorMade uses to analyze launch and flight data. He talks about the problems they had to overcome in getting pros to switch to the TP balls. You’ll also see Sergio’s, uhh, “unique” ball stamp. In the end, Sergio hits two drives – one with his old ball and one with the TaylorMade TP Red.

Throughout the video you’ll catch a glimpse at some of the private jokes and the lighthearted nature of the whole event. Enjoy.

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Golf Talk Special Edition: The TaylorMade TP Golf Ball Launch

TaylorMade has a new golf ball, and we’ve got commentary, TaylorMade CEO Mark King, Sergio Garcia, our initial on-course impressions, and a whole lot more in this special edition podcast.

PodcastLast weekend, Donald MacKenzie and I had an opportunity to head to Greensboro, GA and the Reynolds Plantation to attend the TaylorMade‘s launch of their new TP golf balls.

We’ve covered this ball launch thoroughly this week, starting with a Sunday night edition of Donald’s The Bag Drop entitled TaylorMade Gets Back in the Ball Game. We followed that up yesterday with TaylorMade’s product “reveal” video as well as an inside look at a major golf product launch.

And we’re not done yet. As of today, subscribers to our podcast feed (see right-hand column for subscription links) will find a Special Edition Podcast that covers the TaylorMade ball launch from every angle. If you’ve not subscribed to the feed (and now is as good a time as any to do so!), you can also download the podcast (.m4a, 29:22, 7.33 MB) separately. Subscriptions are free.

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Inside the TaylorMade Golf Ball Launch

Here’s your insider’s look at TaylorMade’s golf ball launch event.

Taylormade Ball Launch Follow ArrowsThe Sand Trap was at Reynolds Plantation this week for the launch of TaylorMade’s new TP golf balls. We’ve given you the lowdown on the new TP Red and TP Black balls, and now we’d like to give you some insight into what it’s like to attend a major golf product launch. Read on and you’ll feel like you were there (minus the great food, cool presentations and range time with Sergio Garcia, of course).

TaylorMade doesn’t do anything small, and the brand’s splashy re-entry into the golf ball business was no exception. The event was held over a long weekend at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia – conveniently located between Atlanta and Augusta. Perfect for snaring tour professionals and media members on their way from the BellSouth to the Masters.

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TaylorMade TP Golf Ball Video

TaylorMade knows how to get the heart pumping with a fast-paced video that makes you want to go out and whack some golf balls really far.

TaylorMade TP BallsIn case you haven’t heard yet, TaylorMade now makes golf balls. Sunday’s introduction of the TP Red and TP Black golf balls was done by TaylorMade-Adidas Golf CEO Mark King, PGA Tour player Sergio Garcia, and others. Towards the end of the presentation, Garcia introduced a video.

This video (6:07, 31.3 MB .wmv), to be more precise.

Go ahead and grab the video. You’ll find it’s an aggressive, energy-packed video that makes some bold claims and statements, not the least of which is Senior Director of R&D Dean Snell saying “Holy Shit, this is awesome” (though Dean would later jokingly claim he never said “holy shit” and that the audio was dubbed in).

What follows are some screenshots of the presentation for those who don’t have time to watch the six-minute video.

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TaylorMade Gets Back in the Ball Game

TaylorMade’s new TP Red and TP Black golf balls are the latest premium balls to hit the market, and they feature some unique technology.

Bag DropTaylorMade Golf is using the eve of the Masters Tournament to make a major move back into the golf ball market. The company introduced the new TaylorMade TP Red and TP Black golf balls at an exclusive media event on Sunday at Reynolds Plantation in Georgia, and The Sand Trap was there to get you all the details.

While there have been rumblings for a few months that TaylorMade would bring golf balls to market, many people assumed the product would be a rebranded version of current Maxfli products like the BlackMax ball – an assumption based on the fact that TaylorMade owns the Maxfli brand. Those assumptions are wrong, as were rumors that the new balls would be called the “Tour Arrow.”

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