Welcome to the fully equipped tool’s weekly Tour report. Every Friday on the PGA Tour week (plus other times, if the report makes it) GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh runs you through some of the biggest news going around golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.
Got your favorite PGA Tour golf ball or an upgrade and the reviews are starting to come in.
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After two years of reinventing the company’s products like clockwork, Titleist officially introduced its new 2027 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls to the PGA Tour this week at the Baycurrent Classic.
Titleist isn’t sharing details on the changes or differences between the new balls and the previous generation, but some players are hinting.
The USGA white golf balls hit the PGA Tour’s Biltmores in North Carolina three weeks ago, where four golfers, including T3 finisher and 54-hole leader Neal Shipley, put them into practice.
This week in Japan, 12 golfers played the new Pro V1 with reps on-site showing the ball for the first time. 2027 balls alone have been used more than any other brand in the 72-player field. Among the players was Jordan Spieth, who had confirmed earlier on Saturday that he would switch to the 2027 Pro V1.
A scout makes an anxious study of the chance that new golf balls have to offer. The three-time major winner ran the higher compression and higher spin Pro V1x throughout its run until it made a rare mid-season switch in April to the new Pro V1x Left Dash. That change almost drove up the interest rates on bonds.
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“I’ve always played the highest ball that I thought I needed in the long irons,” Spieth said of the Cadillac Championship. “Now with this, whatever happened to mine, and just some speed added; my thread rates were high, if not too high. So it’s really kind of nice to be able to lower it a little bit.”
This experiment continued until the US Open when Spieth made another change to the Caledonian Pro V1 ball. The 2025 Pro V1, as is typical with the Titleist line, is softer than the X or Left Dash, but offers webs somewhere in between the two.
The title begins with the 2027 Pro V1 Tour seed at the Baycurrent Classic
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By: Jack Hirsh
The exploration player is not the only one using the new 2027 Pro V1 that deals with overspinning. Shipley was previously playing the Pro V1x Double Dot low and, since switching to the ’27 V has back-to-back top 10s.
With the Titleist mum on the details remaining, I will conclude your conclusions. Shipley is not playing this week while Spieth sits in the middle of the pack after a back-door 72 with a five-under 66 on Friday.
Sahith Theegala gave us some more detailed feedback on the new golf ball via a video posted to Titleist’s social media channels on Thursday.
“I think the thing I’ve found is that with some short-game shots — maybe like 20, 30, 40 yards, not really like a basic ace, but like a mid-pitch shot — I feel the touch drop and the touch spin more,” he later explained to Titleist reps. “I feel like I can lean into the short game. So when it feels like I can squeeze a little more out of something that I feel is really good, it’s a great feeling. Especially when it’s just equipment-based, when you don’t have to change anything personally.”
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Doug Ghim, who plays Pro V1x after making the transition in Utah a week ago, earned his best finish of the season with the runner showing, he mentioned how much more consistently he was spinning in his test.
“I think the windows are tighter,” said the reps. “I am between the spinniest ball and the lowest” [spinning] The ball in the joints, which we hit with each club, tended to be tighter. And I think he saw that he cared less. And luckily that day there’s also a bit of a crosswind, so it’s a good time to try all that. So yeah, I think overall just looking at it with a smaller tail in the wind was a big factor.
Also playing 2027 models this week were Brian Harman (10), Zach Bouchou (5), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (10), Tom Hoge (5), Maverick McNealy (5), Denny McCarthy (5), John Parry (10), Yusaku Hosono (10) and Ren Yonezawa (10).
The titleist posted shots of both Max Homa and Ryan Gerard testing balls on-site this week at Yokohama Antipolis, so it’s likely that more pros are about to switch as well, adding storylines to the rest of the fall PGA Tour season.
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Check it out
This section is dedicated to cool photos we snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a chance to share them yet. This week, check out Keith Mitchell’s world-class Mizuno Pro SI hardware set as he chases his first Tour victory since 2019.
Keith Mitchell plays full-time, 4-PW of the Pro-S-1 Leafs. Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Odds and ends
Some other gear changes and features were tracking this week.
Min Woo Lee submitted the Apex UW for the UT 3-iron tip.
3 things you should read / watch
Find GOLF content from the past week that interests you.
Austin Smotherman notches first win for LAB Golf’s newest mallet – Austin Smotherman broke through for his first PGA Tour using the LAB Golf VZN.1i hammer.
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The title begins with the 2027 Pro V1 Tour seed at the Baycurrent Classic – Titleist officially launched the new Tour seed 2027 Pro V1 and Pro V1x with an announcement on Monday.
Johnny finds out if golf shoes really make a difference using the FootJoy fitting process – Johnny Wunder gets a shoe fitting with FootJoy to see if they can help his game.
The author receives yours Jack.Hirsh@golf.com.
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