November 3, 2009 – New York, NY. GolfBallSelector.com recently completed its initial testing on the TaylorMade Penta TP and provides this preview in advance of the complete testing of major new balls to be entered into the GolfBallSelector.com database in the next release.
The TaylorMade Penta TP, announced September 1st, is a 5-piece golf ball construction, comprised of what TaylorMade describes as a low compression core, three mantle layers and a soft urethane cover with 360-dimple pattern.
In our initial review, the Penta TP was subjected to bench testing for compression and cover hardness, and limited player testing using the driver, 6-iron and sand wedge. The testing was conducted by GolfBallTest.org.
The Penta TP will be included in our next scheduled GolfBallSelector.com site release after the complete human and robot ballistics and bench testing procedures are uniformly applied to this and other newer technology balls, so we do not make any application statements. As with any ball, player preferences and individual launch/spin conditions are paramount in choosing the right ball.
According to TaylorMade, the new Penta TP “is the first 5-layer Tour ball engineered to deliver optimum performance in five key areas: feel, spin, control, launch and distance.” TaylorMade states the benefit of each layer as follows:
The core promotes high launch/low spin off the driver for maximum carry and distance, as well as more ball speed for long-hitters.
The inner mantle delivers soft feel, high launch and low spin off the long-irons for exceptional distance plus a high, soft-landing flight.
The middle mantle gives you more control with mid-irons, and prevents up-shooting, ballooning and falling short of the green.
The outer mantle promotes optimum spin off short-irons, as well as higher ball speed and increased distance.
The urethane cover delivers a soft Tour feel plus a combination of higher spin-rate and lower launch angle on wedge shots.
Notable Observations
Initial player testing indicates that the Penta TP exhibited more spin off the 6-iron and sand wedge while slightly less spin off the driver when compared to the TaylorMade TP Red LDP at the relatively higher ball speeds in the range of 140-155 mph.
In 6-iron testing, the spin rate of the Penta TP was approximately 200 RPM’s more than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP. In comparison to other soft cover “Tour” balls the Penta TP performs in the same general spin range for a 6-iron as the Titleist Pro V1 and Nike One Tour. In sand wedge testing, the Penta TP generated approximately 500 RPM’s more of spin than the TP Red LDP. This finding indicates a spin rate similar to the Titleist Pro V1 and slightly less spin than the Nike One Tour, which places it in the group of the highest spinning balls we have tested to date.
Initial bench testing indicates that the Penta TP has a compression range of 98-100 compression points which is similar to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 compression as posted in the comprehensive compression and cover hardness schedules of GolfBallSelector.com. This is approximately 7% higher than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP and 4% lower than the Srixon Z-Star X, meaning it is an above average compression ball by comparison to most golf balls, and similar to other “Tour” balls. However, with the new 5-piece construction of the Penta TP, such comparative evaluations of compression using these few measurements are limited. Additional bench testing measuring cover hardness revealed that the Penta TP exhibited similar cover hardness to the 2009 Titleist Pro V1 but was 5% softer than the TaylorMade TP Red LDP.
GolfBallSelector.com believes that golfers interested in the TaylorMade Penta TP should consider its “best fit” potential for their own game in the context of their own preferences and the trade-offs they are prepared to take for distance, control and feel and according to their own unique ballistics measures of ball speed, launch angle and general spin rate. Learn more at GolfBallSelector.com.
About GolfBallSelector.com
Heralded by Golf Magazine as one of the best innovations in golf, GolfBallSelector.com is the independent resource for information and assistance in selecting the right golf ball for individual players. Through this online golf ball fitting system, golfers set their own game objectives and goals as well as their individual preferences for distance, control and feel attributes in a golf ball to derive individualized rankings of recommended balls, from a database of 60 leading golf balls. Annual Memberships are available for $29.95 and 30-Day Memberships are available for $19.95.
About GolfBallTest.org
GolfBallTest.org (GBT) is owned and operated by GBT Technologies LLC. GBT conducts continuous testing of leading golf balls sold primarily in the United States, utilizing swing robots and real golfers, and publishes its scientific findings at GolfBallTest.org.
Contact:
Gary Esayian
1+646-316-1956
gary.e@golfballselector.com
