Equipment Review: TaylorMade Tour Preferred Red, Black Balls by Jeffrey Reed

You knew it was a matter of time before golf industry giant TaylorMade re-entered the elite-player ball market. After almost three years of research and development, TaylorMade has come up with a winner: the Tour Preferred (TP) Red and Black balls.

In fact, TaylorMade says thanks to their special design, the new TP balls can even benefit mid- and high-handicap golfers, thanks to their soft feel, plus provision of greater ball speed and carry. Some other premium three- and four-piece balls, like the Titleist Pro V1x and Wilson Tx4 can be a little hard covered for higher handicap players, especially when hitting irons off the tee. According to TaylorMade, not the TP balls.

TaylorMade isn’t new to the golf ball market. Remember the Inergel ball, which came in plastic sleeves? Not too many people do, but that was seven years ago – a lifetime ago in the golf world. The TP Red and TP Black balls, with three-piece, multilayer thermoset urethane covers are nothing like the Inergel. Quite simply, these new balls are now competing against all elite-player balls, including the Pro V1 and Pro V1x, Callaway HX Tour 56 and HX Tour, and other Tour-accepted pills.

Sergio Garcia has switched from the Pro V1 to the new TaylorMade ball, and he had some input during the development of the TP balls, especially in the areas of ball flight and greenside performance. Justin Rose, and Hale Irwin have also jumped on the TP bandwagon. But as TaylorMade says, the TP balls can even benefit weekend warriors. Here’s why.

Both the TP Red and TP Black boast a low-compression core, yet provide maximum ball speed. The Red ball has a slightly larger core for a lower trajectory and softer feel, while the firmer Black ball is designed to launch higher. And each ball has a 322 pentangular dimple pattern with 10 spherical shapes for consistent performance from driver to wedge.

I tested the TP Red and found it to perform very well off the tee and around the greens, just like TaylorMade advertises. Distance-wise the TP Red didn’t outperform the Pro V1, but it didn’t come up short, either. Overall, it was a solid performer from tee to green, with great spin off the wedge.

Expect the TP Red and Black to gain plenty of fans amongst the TaylorMade camp, and even amongst supporters of other leading balls. It’s game on, then, in the golf ball war which now includes TaylorMade.

The TP Red and TP Black retail for $55 per dozen and are now available at local pro shops. For more on these innovative balls, visit www.taylormadegolf.com.