Golfers with slow swing speeds can gain 8 yards just by switching to this golf ball

Suffering short drives due to your slow swing speed? Discover how switching to the right golf ball could add up to eight yards to your tee shots – and improve your approach shots too.

Golf can feel a lot tougher when your swing speed is on the slow side. You might struggle to reach greens in regulation, forced carries over water can wreck your card, and on long par 3s you could be pulling driver while your mates are hitting irons.

But here’s the good news: our latest golf ball test shows you could gain as much as eight yards of carry distance with your driver – without swinging any faster or spending a fortune on a new driver – just by switching balls.

Does the golf ball make that much difference?

Eight yards might not sound huge, but at slower swing speeds it’s often the difference between clubs. That could mean hitting a 7-iron instead of a 6-iron into a green, or an 8-iron instead of a 7-iron. Over 18 holes, those shorter approaches add up to shots saved.

There’s also the fact that a better-performing ball will carry further on your approach shots as well as your drives. If you gain eight yards on your drives and five yards on your iron shots, you’ve effectively just made every hole 13 yards shorter.

How we tested the golf balls

The 2025 Today’s Golfer Robot Golf Ball Test measured 62 leading golf balls across every conceivable performance metric – distance, spin, launch, and more.

To see how balls perform at different swing speeds, we tested them with driver at 78mph, 93mph, and 114mph. Here, we’re focusing on the 78mph speed – to see which ball slower swingers should be looking at.

TaylorMade TP5x

Maximum distance for golfers with slow swing speeds.

Longest golf ball for slow swing speeds

Rrp: $54.99

Price: $47.50

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Rrp: $54.99

Price: $47.50

View Offer

Alternative Retailers

Golf Galaxy

$54.99

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PGA TOUR Superstore

$54.99

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DICK'S Sporting Goods

$47.50

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DICK'S Sporting Goods

$54.99

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Read our full TaylorMade TP5x golf ball review.

Pros & Cons Specs Features

Pros

• High feedback and response
• Quality performance from tee to green
• Widely played on Tour 

Cons

• Not as much short-game spin as the TP5

Carry distance (yds)	Driver 114mph - 272.5 | Driver 93mph - 210.3 | Driver 78mph - 163.6 | 7-iron - 157.2
Ball speed (mph)	Driver 114mph - 163.7 | Driver 93mph - 134.9 | Driver 78mph - 114.3 | 7-iron - 109.4
Backspin (rpm)	Driver 114mph - 2,700 | Driver 93mph - 2,777 | Driver 78mph - 2,548 | 7-iron - 4,609 | Pitch - 6,042
Launch angle (°)	Driver 114mph - 11 | Driver 93mph - 12.5 | Driver 78mph - 13.7 | 7-iron - 21.1 | Pitch - 29.9
Descent angle (°)	Driver 114mph - 37.1 | Driver 93mph - 32.5 | Driver 78mph - 27.7 | 7-iron - 45.2 | Pitch - 35.1
Peak height (yds)	Driver 114mph - 32.1 | Driver 93mph - 22.6 | Driver 78mph - 15.8 | 7-iron - 29.9 | Pitch - 6.6
Compression (psi)	117

• Speed-wrapped core
• Progressive 5-layer construction
• Seamless Tour flight dimple pattern
• 322 dimples
• 5-Piece construction
• Available in white only
• Alternative models include Pix, Stripe, and Limited Edition patterns

Gain driver distance by switching golf ball

At an 78mph clubhead speed, the TaylorMade TP5x generated the longest carry distance of all the balls in the test, averaging 163.6 yards. That’s 7.9 yards (5%) longer than the Pinnacle Soft, which was the shortest ball at this swing speed, averaging 155.7 yards.

Close behind the TP5x were the TaylorMade TP5 (162.6 yards) and Seed SD-02 (162.4 yards).

Why this is such a surprise

It’s interesting that none of the balls delivering the most distance at 78mph are those typically aimed at golfers with this type of swing speed. The TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x are five-piece, premium balls, used by many of the best players in the world, and typically seen as made for good golfers with fast swing speeds

Seed’s own website, meanwhile, says the SD-02 is “geared for higher swing speeds”.

On the other hand, the Pinnacle Soft’s compression of 35 makes it the softest ball of the 62 models we tested. Old thinking said that slower swings need softer balls because they can’t compress firmer ones. But the results are clear: that just doesn’t stack up in performance.

It just goes to show: if you want to find the best golf ball for your game, rely on data-led testing, not marketing.

But… I’m not a robot

We hear it all the time: “Use real golfers, not robots!” We do on-course testing too, but here’s why robots matter. A robot can strike every ball in exactly the same way, controlling lie, swing path, face angle, attack angle, impact location, hip rotation, wrist action – everything – at speeds from 5-130mph. Even the world’s best golfers can’t repeat swings with that level of consistency.

That’s why manufacturers use robots for development, and why we rely on them for pure data. Human testing still plays a role – for feel, sound, and on-course impressions – but if you want comparable data you can rely on, the robot is king.

Not all golfers are created equal

Two golfers swinging at 78mph can still produce different launch conditions. Spin, launch angle, and impact location all affect carry distance, so the “best” ball might differ slightly from player to player. That said, a ball that ranks near the bottom in our test is very unlikely to suddenly deliver the most distance for you.

The bottom line

Don’t automatically reach for the softest ball thinking it’s right for slower swings. Pick a ball backed by data, and you could see extra yards on every shot, turning once-daunting carries and approaches into manageable scoring opportunities.

Eight yards here, five yards there, and suddenly the course feels a lot shorter and more gettable. In golf, small gains really add up.

• Best golf balls for slow swing speeds 2025: Tested by a robot and on the course

• Best golf balls for distance 2025: Robot tested to help add yards to your golf game