The Loop
Consumer feedback drives enhancements in Titleist's latest NXT Tour golf ball
Ask Bill Morgan, Titleist's senior VP of golf ball R&D, how he goes about making an improvement to a ball, and the answer is simple.
"Golfers tell us what they need and want," Morgan says.
For the new NXT Tour and NXT Tour S line ($34 a dozen), more than 40,000 golfers worldwide participated in the testing (which also included the new Velocity and DT SoLo balls). What the company learned this time around is that in addition to achieving as close to the performance level of the company's Pro V1 and Pro V1x at a better price ($34 a dozen), a softer feel was desired without sacrificing performance benefits.
In the multilayer NXT Tour a softer dual core helps reduce spin on long shots, and a softer cover adds spin on shorter shots. On the two-piece Tour S a similar process was followed (softer core and cover) for more spin around the greens and a softer feel.