Spheres of Influence

By E. Michael Johnson

September 25, 2011

Titleist Pro V1x

The champion ball of the 2011 PGA Tour season with 21 wins, including Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open and Bill Haas (shown) at the Tour Championship, the Gold medalist from the 2011 Golf Digest Hot Listis a four-piece ball that features a new spherically tiled dimple design that Titleist says provides the most uniform surface of any ball in the company's history. The Pro V1x also had two wins apiece with Mark Wilson, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, Webb Simpson and Steve Stricker.

Titleist Pro V1

The 2011 version of the Pro V1 (a Gold medal winner on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List) has a reformulated core that helps produce a softer feel from the previous iteration. The Pro V1 had six wins on the PGA Tour this year (some coming with older versions of the Pro V1), including K.J. Choi at the Players and Adam Scott (shown) at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, who both used the 2011 model.

TaylorMade Penta TP

Rory Sabbatini (Honda), Sean O'Hair (Canadian Open), Darren Clarke (British Open), Dustin Johnson (shown, Barclays) and Justin Rose (BMW Championship) represent the five wins for the five-piece Penta TP, a Gold medal winner on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List. Each of the Penta's five sections (a core, three mantles and urethane cover) vary in firmness to affect various shots.

Nike One Tour D

Interestingly, all three of Nike's PGA Tour wins in 2011 came with a Silver medal ball from the 2010 Golf Digest Hot List. The key element in the One family of balls is a polymer layer surrounding the core. Its stronger, tighter molecular structure is designed to improve velocity and mitigate excessive spin on off-center hits. One Tour's four-piece design features an inner cover to improve feel on short-iron and wedge shots. Johnattan Vegas (Bob Hope), Lucas Glover (shown, Wells Fargo) and Charl Schwartzel (Masters) found the winner's circle with this ball in 2011.

Callaway Tour i(z)

A Gold medalist on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List, the i(z) has two wins on Tour. It's a dual-core ball with a soft compression designed to slightly lower trajectory and works well for players with high swing speeds that tend to spin the ball. Phil Mickelson (shown) won with this ball at the Shell Houston Open and Fredrik Jacobson used the sphere to grab his first career PGA Tour win nearly three months later at the Travelers Championship.

Srixon Z-Star XV

One ball with two wins by the same guy: Keegan Bradley, who won the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the PGA Championship with this Gold medal ball from the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List. The XV version boasts the thinnest cover in the industry at a paper-thin .012 inches, leaving more room for a large, 1.58-inch dual core to produce more energy and reduce spin off the driver at high speeds.

Bridgestone B330-S

Bridgestone balls had a single win on the PGA Tour in 2011, thanks to Brandt Snedeker at The Heritage. The B330-S (a Gold medal winner on the 2011 Golf Digest Hot List) is designed for swing speeds in the 103 to 115 mph range and features a gradational core that works well at higher ball speeds to reduce driver spin. A seamless 330-dimple urethane cover provides control around the greens.

Ryder Cup

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Spheres of Influence

Shop This Look

Titleist Pro V1x

Titleist Pro V1

TaylorMade Penta TP

Nike One Tour D

Callaway Tour i(z)

Srixon Z-Star XV

Bridgestone B330-S

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