By ED TRAVIS
The 2023 version of Titleist’s bestselling Pro V1/Pro V1x golf balls retain the urethane cover for short game control and both received a redone core with progressive response construction.
Fast Facts
Titleist Pro V1
Three-piece premium category
Cast thermoset urethane cover
388 dimples, spherically-tiled tetrahedral
Progressive gradient core
White or optic yellow
At retail Jan. 25
$55 per dozen
Titleist Pro V1x
Four-piece premium category
Cast thermoset urethane cover
348 dimples, spherically-tiled tetrahedral
Progressive gradient core
White or optic yellow
At retail Jan. 25
$55 per dozen
WYNTK
As the most played ball on every professional tour and the most popular with recreational golfers the Pro V1/Pro V1x brand has a lot to live up to so Titleist is always positive in their biannual updates to actually provide performance improvements not just cosmetics.
“For a Titleist golf ball to be new, it must be better,” said Frederick Waddell, Director of Golf Ball Product Management. “For us to call it a new Pro V1, it needs to be demonstrably better than the prior generation. We go through a rigorous testing and validation process to ensure the performance improvements developed by our world-class R&D team are recognized by the golfer when they put it in play and experience the product.”
Both the Pro V1 and Pro V1x have new core designs that are firmer on the outside and progressively softer towards the center. This gives more ball speed the faster the swing speed as with a driver versus an iron and less spin for added carry distance. Those familiar with Titleist’s Custom Performance Options of the Pro V1 Left Dot and Pro V1x Left Dash which are being used by several PGA Tour players will recognize the idea of gradient cores.
The Pro V1x, having two cores, got an increase in diameter for the inner one from 1” to 1.13” and that upped the volume by 44%. Titleist explained this with the firmer to soft gradient further reduces spin off the driver.
Long game spin is lowered on both by the mantle or casing layer working with the soft urethane cover for spin control on short irons and around the greens. Speaking of the cover the dimples, though different in number on the two balls, are in a Spherically-tiled Tetrahedral pattern and that’s way beyond an math course I ever took.
There’s always some question as to whether the Pro V1 or Pro V1x is appropriate for us weekend warriors and purchasing a sleeve of each for comparative testing is the solution. Pro V1 has a slightly softer feel, lower driver spin with a flatter trajectory making it somewhat longer while the Pro V1x is a little firmer with more driver spin and a noticeably higher trajectory.