TaylorMade has introduced the new 2021 TP5 and TP5x golf balls, with the new Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, designed to provide improved aerodynamics and carry distance.
The new dimple design has a dual-radius shape that decouples dimple volume from depth to enhance airflow around the golf ball during flight and reduce drag for increased distance.
TaylorMade first set out on this path in 2017, when TP5/TP5x debuted as the industry’s only five-layer tour ball. By utilizing a proprietary construction with four increasingly stiff layers wrapped in cast urethane, engineers effectively created the foundation for enhancing both distance and spin.
In 2019, the company wove High-Flex Material (HFM) into the construction of TP5/TP5x to more efficiently convert compression into ball speed.
Known as the Speed-Layer System, this design was used to inject a new level of speed into TP5/TP5x compared to the prior generation.
“Since 2017, we have blazed a path to distance and speed with TP5/TP5x, building upon a foundation of tour-proven performance with the patented five-layer system at its core,” said Michael Fox, TaylorMade’s category director for golf balls and accessories.
“With the development of HFM in 2019 and now the Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, we’ve examined every component of the golf ball to ensure that each layer is functioning at its highest possible level and working in unison to deliver unmatched performance on every shot,” said Fox.
While the new Tour Flight Dimple Pattern is used to enhance performance for both TP5 and TP5x, each product was individually improved based on Tour player feedback.
Analyzing insights from Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and others who have used both prior models in competition, engineers discovered that players switched from TP5x to TP5 for the enhanced greenside spin and control in the short game.
Conversely, players switched from TP5 to TP5x for the added distance and ball speed.
For those reasons, the new 2021 TP5x has a slightly softer cast urethane cover to better grip the grooves on a wedge for increased spin around the greens with lower launch, while remaining the fastest tour ball in the TaylorMade lineup.
The 2021 TP5 now has a larger, more reactive core for more ball speed, while retaining the same feel and spin properties of the prior generation.
TP5 still provides a softer feel, increased greenside spin and a lower launch in comparison to TP5x, which is faster, longer and higher launching.
TaylorMade’s top athletes have switched into the new TP5/TP5x faster than any product in the company’s recent history.
Major champions Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa both elected to play the new ball in their respective 2021 openers.
McIlroy took TP5x (21) to Abu Dhabi for the HSBC Championship, where he led after an opening round 64 before finishing the week in third at 13 under par.
Morikawa played the TP5 (21) at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, citing the ball’s wind stability in Maui’s tropical breezes. He finished the week T7 at 20 under.
Tommy Fleetwood, the latest addition by TaylorMade, started playing the new TP5x almost immediately after signing a new long-term contract. Before making the decision, he elicited feedback from fellow TaylorMade players who vouched for the ball’s distance, spin control and stability in the wind.
Those comments were quickly validated by Fleetwood’s strong play in Abu Dhabi, his first event with TP5x, where he finished in seventh at 10 under par.
“It’s one thing to test a new ball, it’s another to put it in play during competition with confidence and ease. The fact that Rory, Rickie, Wolff, Collin and Tommy all switched into the new ball for their first event of the year speaks volumes. The best players in the world have quickly embraced the performance of the new TP5/TP5x,” said Keith Sbarbaro, vice president of tour operations for TaylorMade.
TaylorMade staffers expected to play the TP5 are Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff (pix), while Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will expectedly gravitate toward the TP5x model.
TaylorMade released pix in 2020 to much fanfare. Being powered by the swagger and appeal of Rickie Fowler certainly helped, but so did its performance and functionality.
Co-developed in conjunction with Fowler, the ClearPath Alignment system delivered innovation that golfers could see.
The 12 evenly spaced graphics enhanced visibility while significantly aiding in alignment on the putting green and helping golfers immediately gauge the quality of their strokes.
This technology was further validated by the adoption of players like Matthew Wolff, who improved his putting inside six feet by nearly half a stroke after switching.
For 2021, the visual technology behind pix will not change. However, the performance has been upgraded to match the new design of the 2021 TP5/TP5x with the Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, larger/more reactive core (TP5) and softer urethane cover (TP5x).
The high-visibility TP5/TP5x Yellow will feature a new enriched yellow urethane that provides added durability, while maximizing visibility.
The 2021 TP5 and TP5x will be available at retail on March 5 at an MSRP of $64.99 Cdn. per dozen.
The new TP5/TP5x pix and TP5/TP5x Yellow will be available at retail on April 9 at an MSRP of $64.99 per dozen Cdn.
