This Ball Has Flown Under The Radar in 2026 (And It Shouldn't Have!)

The Titleist AVX has always occupied a specific space within the premium ball market. The 26’ AVX has been introduced into the Titleist golf ball lineup as the lowest-flying, lowest-spinning, and softest-feeling option in the brand’s large family.

The latest generation leans even further into those attributes, and so I wanted to put it to the test against the gold standard of golf balls - the Titleist Pro V1. I took both of these balls onto the golf course as well as inside the Golf Monthly Performance Lab using a Foresight Sports QuadMax launch monitor to analyse the performance differences.

One of the primary reasons golfers have gravitated towards the AVX is its feel, and the new softer urethane cover does not disappoint. It provides a soft sensation off the face of every club in the bag, which I particularly enjoyed with the scoring clubs.

The other reason golfers would sway towards the AVX is its low-spin nature. When talking about low-spin performance, this softer cover was something I would lean towards, over other low-spin options from Titleist, such as the Pro V1x Left Dash, which offers a significantly firmer feel off the clubface.

When starting my testing, I was hitting 50-yard pitches in the studio and immediately noticed the AVX launching lower than the Pro V1. The AVX set off at 29.1° (compared to 31.3°) and peaked at a height of just 24 feet. Because of its low-spin design, it generated 6624 rpm of spin, which is roughly 1000 rpm less than the Pro V1's 7645 rpm.

Testing the AVX out on the course proved incredibly positive, and it performed a lot better around the greens than I initially expected. While it doesn't possess the immediate bite of the Pro V1, the AVX still provides enough grab to comfortably control chips and pitches when pitching onto fairly firm greens.

I was also thoroughly impressed by how responsive this softer cover felt off a milled putter face - something that made dialling in distance control on longer putts feel easy.

Moving into the mid-irons, the AVX showcased its speed. It produced a spin rate of 5501 rpm, once again noticeably lower than the Pro V1's 5798 rpm. Despite the reduced spin and a slightly slower ball speed of 123.4 mph (versus the Pro V1's 124.7 mph), it generated a strong carry of 176.5 yards, edging out the Pro V1 by a yard and a half.

Taking the AVX outside into the elements highlighted a few more distinct advantages. The new cover's durability is really impressive. After an admittedly scrappy round that involved splashing out of a few bunkers and grazing a few branches, the urethane cover emerged looking remarkably fresh, with barely a scuff to be seen.

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It was off the tee, though, where the AVX showed its true character. It produced just 2048 rpm with the driver compared to the Pro V1's 2312 rpm. This spin, combined with a solid launch, delivered a massive 301 yards of carry, once again flying past the Pro V1's 298 yards. Instead of dropping out of the sky, the AVX held its line really well when testing it in the wind, and the lower flight really felt I was in solid control off the tee.

If you're a high-spin player looking to squeeze every yard out of your driver and irons, the Titleist AVX could be the ball you’ve often overlooked. It does fly lower and spin less than a lot of the other best golf balls on the market, but the solid short-game control in a package that’s around $10/£12 lower per dozen compared to the Pro V1 offers great performance for the money.