How The New Titleist ProV1 And ProV1x Promise To Be 'Demonstrably' Better

How The New Titleist ProV1 And ProV1x Promise To Be 'Demonstrably' Better

Back with the newest iteration of its class-leading premium golf balls, Titleist is confident that the latest ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls will offer golfers demonstrable gains over the previous generation. With a two-year cycle behind the development of the new ProV1 and ProV1x, the developers have plenty of time to test new technologies before launching a new ball - but what is behind the demonstrable gains expected for 2023?

While the ball will be available to golfers from February 2023, players on Tour have been very quick to add the new golf balls to their setup for the 2023 season. Oftentimes, with golfers so acutely dialed into the characteristics of their golf ball, persuading them to jump ship to the new model can be a tough task for ball manufacturers. This doesn't seem to have the case for Titleist and its Tour players, with the likes of Seamus Power and Sungjae Im, Will Zalatoris and Viktor Hovland all putting the ball in play right at the start of 2023. Indeed, Seamus Power has made the move from the 2021 ProV1 to the 2023 ProV1x already. 

Frederick Waddell, Director of Golf Ball Product Management said of the new ProV1 and ProV1x, "For a Titleist golf ball to be new, it must be better. For us to call it a new Pro V1, it needs to be demonstrably better than the prior generation." So, how has Titleist looked to improve on its 2021 offering, and what will make the 2023 versions of ProV1 and ProV1x 'demonstrably' better than the last generation? 

What's The New Technology?

The story for the 2023 ProV1 and ProV1x is all about the core of the golf ball. With an all-new core at the literal heart of both golf balls, Titleist is confident that both balls will offer lower long-game spin, longer distance, and a tighter landing area overall. The new, high gradient core in the 2023 ProV1 is soft on the inside and gets gradually stiffer towards the outside. The new core delays spin from occurring too quickly and can therefore keep the ball on a more penetrating trajectory for longer. 

During Titleist's testing of the 2023 ball - it's worth noting Titleist uses a robot hitting into the wind to gather data on how the ball performs - the developers found an increase in overall distance and tighter dispersion that came from the new core. Otherwise, everything else that worked so well in the 2021 version of the ProV1 has stayed the same. So that means the soft case urethane Elastomer Cover and the spherically-tiled 388 tetrahedral dimple design carries over from the 2021 ball. These two parts of the ball are where you'll see effects in your short game, so expect greenside spin and the feel off the putter face to feel pretty much the same to 2021..

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The story is very similar to the new ProV1x, where the new core is the most significant improvement. For 2023, the ProV1x features a new high-gradient dual core. The dual-core allows Titleist to make a harder golf ball that provides golfers more speed, but still keeps spin in the long game down and therefore provides more distance. Much like the new ProV1, the new ProV1x carries over a lot of similar technology that made it so popular in 2021. The same soft cast urethane Elastomer Cover carries over as does the spherically-tiled 348 tetrahedral dimple design that was 

All in all, what the 2023 versions of the ProV1 and ProV1x are offering is more distance in the long game with tighter dispersion as well as the same tried, tested, and trusted control and feel in the short game. 

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First Impressions

Neil Tappin

"Titleist has raised the bar again with its new Pro V1 design. In our testing, it was the added consistency in the long game that shone through. Without dramatically changing the characteristics that have made the Pro V1 so popular, it seems Titleist has made some subtle but important improvements."

"As for the new ProV1x, it delivers in all areas of the game. I noticed a jump in ball speed off the tee which, combined with a strong flight, offered superb distance. That this didn’t come at the cost of short-game control was a big win."

• Read our full Titleist ProV1 2023 golf ball review
• Read our full Titleist ProV1x 2023 golf ball review

Price, Availability & Specs

The new Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls will available in the UK from 3rd February 2023 with an RRP of £50 per dozen. The yellow version will then be available from February 17th, 2023.