While Titleist launched an experimental research project last fall that also happens to be a ball you can buy, the internet pulled hammy trying to figure out what it could be. Now, we get the answer, and it's something that the company that made Titleist golf balls for 85 years has never done before.
But somehow, the EXP · 01 test ball has released a new ball that symbolises what Titleist balls seem to always be: a product designed for a specific type of player's needs. That product is the new Tour Speed, the first Titleist ball ever to wear a thermoplastic urethane [TPU] cover. It is intended for golfers who want the distance with a healthy dose of tour ball greenside spin ionomer balls [Surlyn] can produce. Tour Speed also directs a near-reach price point compared to the balls the best players in the world have ever used. Titleist's urethane cover balls, a prominent Pro V1 and AVX family use a thermoset-made urethane cover. Over the years, Titleist engineers have solidly developed a case that contains urethane, and especially its version of cast urethane, offering the best combination of play, rotation, and short-game shots. Thermoplastic urethane is an affordable option, but upgrading your Tour Speed was not the only cost-cutting task. According to Titleist golf product production manager Michael Fish, “Our R&D and Ops team tested hundreds of TPU composites and additional combinations to ensure that this was right for our standards. The reason it took so many years to get to a point where we felt comfortable bringing it to market was that they found quality problems with multiple TPUs, whether it was performance or even just appearance. But it's not just TPU, the construction of a golf course. That's a deep impression [the company claims to have 42 per cent of all golf patents issued since 2012 and added a special unit to its football operations in New Bedford, Mass. in finding a way to make a ball that responds to many functional aspects, starting at a distance but with a second spin. "We regard this golfer as a brilliant player. They know they want to play good golf, they want to spend ten dollars less," says fish. The TPU process allows for that access but also allows for a different distance proposal, Fish said. That comes from a three-piece construction that includes a new mantle, or casing layer, that uses the company's ionomer to be more durable, and the context that works with the mantle to produce ball speed and lower spin for better distance and longer clubs. That design has grown from EXP · 01 but Travel Speed is not just EXP · 01 with a different sidebar. Travel Speed shows tweaks in all aspects, including the 346 quadrilateral dipyramid design and cover design. Available at US golf stores from Aug. 7, Tour Speed offers a unique and stressful performance option to the Titleist golf family with its new three-episode design, bringing a unique combination of unique distance to the long game and precise goal control of the short game. : The new high-speed core construction combined with Titleist ionomer's fast-paced ionomer layer delivers high-speed and low-speed game spin for the best distance in the category. Travel Speed is faster and longer than Callaway Chrome Soft, Bridgestone Tour B RX, TaylorMade Tour Response, Srixon Z-STAR, and Srixon Q-STAR TOUR. The cover of Tour Speed's thermoplastic urethane (TPU) is a Titleist golf technology developed specifically for R&D pharmacists, delivering a greenside spin goal control for a short game and a soft feel. The unique distance of the Tour Speed is enhanced by the design of the new 346 quadrilateral dipyramid that provides an inbound, unchanging aircraft. All new Titleist golf balls must pass our robust machine intended for player testing to progress in the R&D category, ”said Scott Cooper, the lead engineer for Titleist Golf Ball R&D using Tour Speed. "All the data and feedback from golf we have collected is clear: Travel speed is the fastest, longest, and most preferred golf course among the products covered by urethane competing in this category."
