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- NIKE ONE TOUR/
ONE TOUR D PRICE: $45/dozen
WEBSITE: nikegolf.comCONSTRUCTION: Below left: four-piece One Tour; below right: three-piece One Tour D
COVER: Thermoplastic urethane
TECH STORY: The Tour has a soft cover to produce more spin off the wedge and driver. Its second mantle layer is designed to improve feel and workability for lower-lofted clubs. Both balls have an ionomer mantle for increasing ball speed off the tee. The softer-feeling Tour features more dimples than the Tour D to help promote a higher ball flight.
VERDICT: The chemistry in the responsive mantle does what it's designed to do.
- SRIXON Z-STAR/Z-STAR X
PRICE: $40/dozen
WEBSITE: srixon.comCONSTRUCTION: Both are three-piece: core, mantle and cover
COVER: Thermoset urethane
TECH STORY: Srixon was the first manufacturer to develop a ball with an enhanced core that gets firmer from inside to outside. Now the company wants to change the cover. Both models have the thinnest urethane cover in the game (.02 inches or 33 percent thinner than the cover of the Titleist Pro V1). The cover's coating is designed to improve friction on less-than-full-impact shots, even from the rough.
VERDICT: Pint-size market share but 10 gallons of technology.
- TAYLORMADE TP RED/
TP BLACK PRICE: $43/dozen
WEBSITE: taylormadegolf.comCONSTRUCTION: Below left: four-piece Red; below right: three-piece Black
COVER: Thermoset polyurethane
TECH STORY: The LDP (low drag performance) concept is designed to enhance ball flight with a better dimple design. The NdV4 rubber technology used in the core is intended to lower the compression without sacrificing speed. The thicker, more rigid mantle layer in the three-piece Black makes it feel firmer than the four-piece Red.
VERDICT: Drivers are increasingly designed to reduce spin, so here's a ball designed to work better with less spin. Good thinking.
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