TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x Golf Ball Review

Selecting the right golf ball can be challenging amidst a market flooded with claims of superiority and premium prices reaching $60 for every box.

Titleist has long held the top spot in professional golf worldwide, but TaylorMade has been steadily regaining ground, particularly with their TP5 and TP5x series.

The golf ball stands as one of the most crucial items in your golf bag, and there’s a compelling reason why numerous professionals are transitioning TaylorMade

Renowned players like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Colin Morikawa, and Jon Rahm, among others, have made the switch to TaylorMade.

If you’re contemplating a similar move, we’ve crafted this guide to assist you in determining if it’s the right choice.

Within this article, we’ll delve into the key technologies of both balls, highlight their distinctions, and ultimately provide our recommendation on whether TaylorMade is the optimal choice for your golf ball selection.

At A High Level


At a high level, both the TP5 and TP5x golf balls exhibit minimal spin off the driver and high spin around the green and with irons and wedges.

To distinguish between them, the TP5 offers the HIGHEST spin around the green, while the TP5x provides the LOWEST spin off the tee.

Off the tee, both balls perform nearly identically. However, if you seek extra distance and reduced spin with the driver, the TP5x is the ideal choice.

Moreover, with an iron or wedge in your hand, both balls demonstrate similar performance, yet the TP5 generates slightly more spin, resulting in a lower launch.

If enhanced spin and a lower launch are what you desire instead of added distance, the TP5 is the suitable option for you.

Shared Key Technologies

Both of these balls exhibit a lot of fantastic features and there is no wonder why they have gotten traction on the professional circuit.

Here are some of the technologies that they share as the two balls are more similar than different.

New Tour Flight Dimple Pattern

TaylorMade’s latest dimple pattern, the most aerodynamic yet, is generating impressive carry distances.


This distinctive design incorporates a 322-dimple pattern meticulously crafted to enhance aerodynamics and carry distance.


It utilizes shallow dimples to minimize drag during ascent and steep walls to trap air during descent, ensuring sustained lift and prolonged hang time!

5-Layer Construction

TaylorMade achieves superior speed while maintaining optimal spin performance through its exclusive 5-layer ball construction.

This design includes a larger and more responsive Tri-Fast Core, ensuring maximum carry and minimal drag. Combined with the Dual-Spin Cover featuring an ultra-soft, highly durable cast urethane cover, TP5 delivers exceptional performance from tee to green without compromises.

The outcome is a ball that facilitates a swift launch, extended carry distances, and a steep descent angle, providing additional stopping power, particularly with long irons.

Speed-Layer System And High-Flex Material

TaylorMade’s Speed-Layer System integrates four progressively rigid layers to amplify ball speed, resulting in extended carry distance off the tee, improved wind control, and enhanced spin around the greens.

In conjunction with this system, TP5 incorporates High-Flex Material (HFM) designed for higher ball speeds through an increased rebound effect.

Acting like a tightly wound spring, HFM accumulates energy swiftly and rebounds rapidly, leading to heightened ball speed.

This unique characteristic of HFM also intensifies the force on the driver’s face, further accelerating the golf ball upon impact.

Key Technologies Specific To The TP5

Just as much as these balls are alike, there are a few differences that make the TP5 unique, here are what help the TP5 to be the highest spinning Tour ball that TaylorMade produces.

Tour Control And Complete Performance

TP5 represents TaylorMade’s softest and most high-spinning Tour ball, offering superior stopping power within 100 yards.

Powered by a soft cast urethane cover, it delivers heightened greenside spin, ensuring control and precision when it counts the most: near the pin.

The ultra-soft urethane cover, positioned between the clubface and a firmer inner cover, optimizes groove traction, resulting in maximum spin.

Expanded Core For Increased Speed

At the heart of TP5 lies a larger and more responsive core, a focal point of TaylorMade’s design.

Crafted to store and release energy with greater efficiency, it creates a spring-like effect, leading to faster ball speeds and enhanced distance compared to past versions.

This feature also helps it to keep up with driver distance despite its higher spin characteristics.

Key Technologies Specific To The TP5x

Here are the technologies specific to the TP5x ball. There are what drives it to be slightly longer and lower spinning off the tee.

Tour Distance And Complete Performance

TP5x stands as TaylorMade’s swiftest and most extensive Tour ball, showcasing a 5-layer construction with four progressively rigid layers encased in cast urethane.

It provides unparalleled performance both off the tee and on the approach, all while preserving the essential feel during scoring shots.

Its ridged design is slightly more than its TP5 counterpart which helps it take the edge in the distance department.

Improved Greenside Spin and Feel

TaylorMade has upheld the winning formula that establishes TP5x as a front-runner in speed and distance.

They’ve introduced a softer cast urethane cover to enhance groove interaction on greenside shots, resulting in more spin and an improved feel.

Although not as soft as TP5, TP5x employs similar technology, placing a soft urethane cover between the clubface and a firmer inner cover, generating the traction needed for optimal spin.

Key Takeaways And Our Recommendation

Choosing between TaylorMade’s TP5 and TP5x golf balls can be challenging given the abundance of options in the market.

Both balls have gained popularity among professional golfers, including renowned players like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Colin Morikawa, and Jon Rahm, making them a viable choice for serious golfers.

For TaylorMade TP5:

  • High Spin Performance: TP5 is TaylorMade’s softest and highest-spinning Tour ball, making it an excellent choice for players who prioritize spin and stopping power, especially within 100 yards.
  • Tour Control: TP5 features a soft cast urethane cover, enhancing greenside spin and providing superior control and precision on scoring shots near the pin.
  • Expanded Core: TP5 boasts a larger and more responsive core, creating a spring-like effect that leads to faster ball speeds and enhanced distance, maintaining a balance between spin and distance.

For TP5x:

  • Longer Distance: TP5x is TaylorMade’s fastest and longest Tour ball, designed for players seeking maximum distance without sacrificing feel on scoring shots.
  • Ridged Design: TP5x has a slightly firmer construction, providing improved greenside spin and feel compared to its predecessor, making it suitable for golfers who prioritize distance while still desiring control and spin.

Shared Key Technologies:

  • Both TP5 and TP5x feature TaylorMade’s advanced 5-layer construction, incorporating a larger Tri-Fast Core for energy efficiency and reduced drag, coupled with a Dual-Spin Cover for optimal spin performance.
  • They share the benefits of TaylorMade’s new Tour Flight Dimple Pattern, enhancing aerodynamics and carry distance with shallow dimples for reduced drag during ascent and steep walls to trap air during descent, ensuring sustained lift and prolonged hang time.
  • TaylorMade’s innovative Speed-Layer System and High-Flex Material are integrated into both balls, amplifying ball speed, improving wind control, and enhancing spin characteristics, making them competitive choices for golfers seeking top-notch performance.

In summary, TP5 is ideal for players who prioritize high spin and control, especially in the short game, while TP5x caters to golfers seeking maximum distance off the tee without compromising greenside spin and feel.

Ultimately, the choice between TP5 and TP5x depends on individual preferences and playing style.

Both are fantastic options for your game and certainly worth trying out if you have never given them a chance before.


Patrick Stephenson
Patrick Stephenson

Hello, I’m Patrick Stephenson, a golf enthusiast and a former Division 1 golfer at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. I have an MBA degree and a +4 handicap, and I love to share my insights and tips on golf clubs, courses, and instruction through this blog.

Here are clubs that I rely on when I play golf:

Driver: Ping 425 Max
3 Wood: Titleist 917
Hybrid: Titleist 818
4-7 Iron: TaylorMade 760
PW-8 Iron: TaylorMade 7MC
58, 54, 50 Wedges: Vokey SSM9
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Red S

Articles: 44

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