“White, round, and sits on the ground” isn’t where the premium ball market is headed, at least not according to Mike Fox, Category Director for TaylorMade’s golf ball division. Instead, the future of the golf ball will be built around added visual technology to improve feedback and theoretically, performance.
TaylorMade collaborated with Indiana University to best determine how to implement visual technology in a golf ball, and the TP5 Pix (short for pixelated) is the result. Fundamentally, the TP5 Pix offers the same 5-piece construction as the current retail TP5, but it features 12 evenly spaced red and yellow, X-shaped logos. Neither here nor there, but I think TP5 Ninja Star would have been apropos.
The chief benefit of Pix technology, according to TaylorMade, is immediate feedback related to how much and in which direction the ball is spinning on and around the green. According to TaylorMade, the human eye processes darker colors more efficiently when it’s lighter and vice versa, which is the reasoning behind the dual color, red-yellow design.
Another point of note, it took TaylorMade 18 months to develop a specialized printing machine capable of producing the “X design” in a way which maintains the same graphic durability as the TP5 side stamp and TM logo, which suggests this is something TaylorMade has been working on – or at least considering – for several years.
Given that context, even the casual observer, will note the, ahem, similarity between Pix and Callaway’s Truvis design, which is likely protected by some array of ball-marking methods and process related patents. Crossing the fine line between imitation and inspiration doesn’t mean any rules have been broken, but it’s a virtual certainty Callaway will take a close look at this one.
This release leaves the door open for plenty of forum discussion fodder. Do lines, colors and patterns constitute technological advancement? If so, to what end? Will we see increased acceptance of visual technology on professional tours or does the technology become more of a retail novelty than anything else?
Tell us what you think.
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Availability and Pricing
Retail availability for the TaylorMade TP5 Pix begins March 22. Retail price is $45/dozen. For now, there is no TP5x Pix offering.
For more information, visit TaylorMadeGolf.com.
Herm
2 years agoLove these! I
I have played TruVis for one reason … i can see the ball in the air better
My problem … ill never pay for these balls
Snell yellow now
Odie
2 years agoNot really a fan of the look, but I’m indifferent to TaylorMade balls. It looks like a comic book bubble when the fist hits “KAPOW!” I prefer Callaway truvis.
Caroline
2 years agoTalked with a person working in Taylormades ball plant in South Carolina said they are super busy…seems Rickey switch to TPX5 is paying dividends for them….
Jake
2 years agoAlignment visual aid good. Putt roll visual aid good. Spin visual aid… ?♂️ What exactly am looking for? ?
Christopher
2 years agoThe Pix art looks like something you’d get with a 16-bit computer’s graphics program.
Chris C.
2 years agoI do not need to see my golf balls spinning on the green. I do need to find my golf balls should they stray into the rough. I purchased a dozen of the Truvis when they first came out. After one round, I put the remaining 9 in my shag bag. Now along comes the Pix with its new and improved camouflage. They look like something a turkey hunter might wear.
Stump
2 years agoThis logo is beyond ugly. When the Truvis first came out, I did not like it, but got used to it. It is great for short game practice, but I find it can be hard to find on the fairway or leaves depending on color and time of year.
The shape and color of the pix is off-putting to say the lease.
Robert G
2 years agoThey look like the Callaway X hot logo. Really ugly. I pmay the truvis red and white and blue and white. Would not play these
Tider992010
2 years agoWould make better since to put college logos or pro sports logos on them.
JKooiman
2 years agoI find it interesting they took 18 months to develop this. I got a picture put on an order of VICE balls and saw right away the spin on the golf ball when it hits the green. If VICE can put pictures or any other marking you want on a ball, why was it be so hard for Taylor made to add simple graphics? Honestly I’m a little disappointed. I was expecting the graphics to have some thing to do with launch monitors and helping the devices read the ball more accurately.
Dave Hayward
2 years agoI just wish they had done a high visual yellow tp5 first instead of this one. I see the high his balls better. They also don’t look as good has the Callaway
Zebhead47
2 years agoI find Travis generally annoying as gimmicky and these are the same. Like TP5 ball, but won’t be buying these.
Leon
2 years agoCallway XHot + Ninja Star = Sick
Mark
2 years agoSaw these in October when my rep came by to show us the new stuff. Didn’t surprise me they would do this. Chrome soft being the best selling ball at our shop, and 40% is truvis, so there is a lot of demand. Callaway couldn’t keep up when they had 4 machines, what makes TM think they will keep up with just one. My rep said, good luck on getting a fill in order on these when the first batch sells through..
Brad
2 years agoThis is a very poorly implemented copy of Truvis.
It almost reminds me of the cartoonish “POW!” fight graphics on the old Batman TV series. Maybe Taylormade are trying to be the Joker to Callaway’s Batman? Maybe they’ve forgotten that the Joker never truly wins…
Stump
2 years agoBrad…exactly what I thought when I saw the log…BAM…POW…
Ric
2 years agoGag me with a SPOON!!!!!
ComeOnSense
2 years agoI think it would be hard to see this ball in the Fall with leaves around, I find the Truvis Red and White hard to see on the fairway any day.
Bobarino
2 years ago+1
Steven C
2 years agoI agree about the white and red Truvis being hard to spot. I use the yellow and black Truvis because it is easier for me to see. It also looks a little more classy than this.
Jaybee
2 years agoThe nice thing about chrome soft truvis is that for those who have doubts about whether they are rolling their putts properly they get a real visual cue as they see the pattern change. I hope Snell bring out something like this. What makes the named premium brands prohibitive this side of the Atlantic is the price, Eur55 per dozen which equates to USD62.50. That is just not worth it.