Grouchy Golf Blog

Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 8:23 PM

Titleist Pro V1 and V1x Differences?

Introduced in the Fall of 2000, the Titleist Pro V1/V1x was one of the most revolutionary golf balls of all time by incorporating a multi-layer construction with a soft urethane-covering to virtually eliminate the traditional trade-offs between distance, spin, feel, and durability. Since then the Pro V1/V1x has been the dominant ball in golf. Dominant among pros and amateurs alike.

Not wanting to be left behind, I adopted the Pro V1 as my primary ball from the get-go. I'm always open to trying the competitor's new offerings, but I just haven't found anything that's materially better yet. Part of the reason is that Titleist isn't content to rest on its laurels. There has been at least 2 major revisions to the original Pro V1/V1x. The newest adds the A.I.M. (Alignment Integrated Marking) sidestamp so that you don't even have to manually line up your golf ball anymore!

I've always used the Pro V1 rather than its X-rated sibling because I've always thought that the former was softer, spun more and produced a higher ball flight; all qualities that I prefer. According to the Titleist website, here are the differences between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x:

• Distance: For most players, Pro V1x will be longer off the tee.
• Feel: Pro V1 is softer than the Pro V1x.
• Durability: Pro V1 is the most durable Titleist tour played golf ball.

However, results from the cover story, "The Best Ball For You" of the February 2008 issue of Golf Magazine seem to contradict some of these claims. According to this exhaustive robot golf ball test, the Pro V1x is indeed slightly longer than the Pro V1 by about 1.4 yds in total distance (carry plus roll) off a driver (90 mph swing speed, 137 mph ball speed, 13.75-degree launch angle, 2,900 rpm). However, additional tests indicate that the Pro V1x also spins more (the printed article lists the spin rate of the Pro V1x at vs. the Pro V1 at ) and is softer! Based on these new test results, here's a revised summary of the differences between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x:

• Distance: For most players, Pro V1x will be longer off the tee. (According to Titleist and Golf Magazine)
• Feel: Pro V1x is softer than the Pro V1. (According to Golf Magazine)
• Spin: Pro V1x spins more than the Pro V1. (According to Golf Magazine)
• Durability: Pro V1 is the most durable Titleist tour played golf ball. (According to Titleist)
• Ball Flight: Pro V1 has a slightly higher flight. (According to Titleist)

As a longtime Pro V1 user, I found the new evidence that the Pro V1x is actually softer and spinier than the Pro V1 to be downright shocking. Maybe even more shocking is that it took almost 8 years to come to light. Durability and ball flight be damned, any ball that flies farther and spins more is a better ball in my book. I'll be switching to the Pro V1x right after I go through my current stash of 3 dozen Pro V1s! How about you?

Labels: Equipment

 Terry Lane said...

At what stage can you really tell the difference between say a Titleist Pro V1, a Nike One and say top of the range Callaway or Srixon golf balls?

Do you not think it is just a matter of what 'designer ball' best suits your personality?  

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 Bobbio said...

V1x has always felt harder to me. Maybe it's implanted in my pea brain, but that's how I see it. V1 feels the best from 100 yds. than any other ball I've played, which is most of them.  

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 Mizuno Jim said...

Mmmmm, I feel kinda stupid now... I play pretty much every bal that is available, wether I buy them, win them or get them for free in a tournament... I like them new though! My assumption is that an 18 hcp cannot tell the difference anyway, what do ou guys think?  

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 Dave said...

I can't imagine a softer ball than the Pro V1. It took me atleast two years of playing to even consider using the Pro V. Even now, if I ever shank one and lose it, I need atleast 2 days to recover from the loss! :) I do think an 18 hcp would notice a difference.  

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 Wedgehead said...

I always felt that the V1x spun more, and that on the occasional "bad" shots, that wasn't what I wanted at all.

I have been playing the V1 for some time now, but I have tried the Callway HX Tour and allthough I liked the feel of the ball, it didn't seem nearly as durable as the ProV. At those kind of prices, I prefer a ball that will survive an occasional tree or cartpath!  

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 Mike E. said...

I have a tough time telling the difference between the V1 and the V1x. Honestly, I have a tough time telling any of the tour balls apart. I'm no touring pro, but I'm a little better than the average golfer (8.9 index right now).

I'm not a big fan of too much spin either. I don't mind an iron shot rolling three feet forward instead of sucking back if it keeps me out of the trees.

If I'm playing really badly, I'll drop back to a soft, no spin ball like the Noodle just to stay on the golf course. It's amazing how quickly your confidence returns when your duck hook turns back into a gentle draw.  

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 Anonymous said...

When considering golf balls, a couple yards difference off the tee has never seemed to me nearly as important as a ball that feels soft and friendly around the greens where the real scoring is done.

I'm surprised there wasn't any comments on how much safer most feel on very fast greens with a softer feeling ball - I know I do.  

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 Westy said...

Golf balls in some sense are like tires. You pay more for the "feel", but it seems that the softer the feel, the faster they wear out.

I watched Greg Norman at a tournament in CA where he hit a "line drive" (at the Riviera CC), on a par three...We were standing at the green...the ball came in almost level with the horizon, skipped twice on the green, then backed up about 12 feet from the cup. VERY Impressive!!

His ball back then, I believe by Max-Fli, was a Tour Balata.

This was in the mid 1990's and I read that he used to play a ball in the 1980's that spun even more!  

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