New Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls are “demonstrably better”

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New Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x – golf’s No.1 balls – use an improved core to make them longer and more consistent.

Introduced on Tour last September, the 2023 Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x – arguably the best golf balls in the game – have been in development since the end of 2021. They are already being used by 45 pros on the PGA Tour, including Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im, with Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas expected to follow.

Titleist‘s design brief was to lower long-game spin while maintaining spin levels around the greens and they say the new models are “demonstrably better” than the 2021 Pro V1 and Pro V1x thanks to a new high-gradient core design.

The new Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls have new cores.

Titleist’s core update

The reimagined core in the three-piece Titleist Pro V1 and the dual core in the four-piece Pro V1x are built to be firmer on the outside and progressively softer on the inside. This promotes fast speeds, low long-game spin and tighter dispersion while maintaining high levels of greenside spin.

The boxes for the new Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls.

The inner core of the Pro V1x’s dual-core has increased in volume by 44%, from 1” to 1.13”, which helps to drive down long game spin and increase stability through the air.

The new core designs are inspired by the brand’s custom Pro V1 Left Dot and Pro V1x Left Dash, which both use high gradient cores and are the choice of several players on tour.

The layers of the 2023 Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls.

If it ain’t broke

Several of the key innovations from Titleist’s 2021 iterations remain in the 2023 models, with the cast thermoset urethane cover, the tetrahedral dimple design, and the speed-amplifying high-flex casing layer,

The urethane covers on the Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls are created by mixing two components, with the liquid urethane cast into Titleist-manufactured cavities to form the appropriate dimple pattern into the cover. Titleist say the precise timing and temperature are integral to the consistency of golf’s No.1 ball.

The Pro V1 is available in white and yellow.

The 388-dimple design on the Titleist Pro V1 and 348-dimple design on Pro V1x create optimized aerodynamics to ensure a long and consistent flight. The Pro V1x’s dimple pattern sees the ball launch and fly slightly higher than the Pro V1.

The casing layers on both balls interact with the new high gradient cores to reduce excess spin, while combining with the cover to create greenside spin.

The Pro V1x is available in white and yellow.

As well as being one of the best tour golf balls, Pro V1s are among the favorite balls for club golfers. But are the 2023 models better than the previous generation?

What Titleist say about the Pro V1 and Pro V1x

“For a Titleist golf ball to be new, it must be better,” Frederick Waddell, Director of Golf Ball Product Management, said. 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.”

Zalatoris has been extremely impressed with what he’s seen from the new model so far.

“When I switched to the [2023 Titleist Pro V1x], it had the exact same reactions around the greens [as the 2021 model], I actually gained a little bit of distance with the driver and it was actually better through the wind. My dispersion also went from maybe a five, six-yard loss to a one, two, or three – the change was a no-brainer.”

Titleist's 2023 golf balls family.

How the Pro V1 and Pro V1 X differ

But which Titliest ball is right for your game? Pro V1 is the softer ball and offers the best combination of distance, spin, and feel with a penetrating flight. Pro V1x flies higher and spins more with irons and wedges, while still offering low spin on longer shots.

There are white and yellow options. The white balls are available in numbers 1-4, 5-8 and matching double digits from 00-99. The yellow ball is available in 1-4 only.

The 2023 Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x are available from February 3 at £50 / $54.99 per dozen.

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