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Taylormade Penta TP - Forum Review Thread

SuperStroke
thedue said:
can't wait to see how it works for you Rhino. (this may come out wacky... first posting from BB on Hackers program). while I think it's for almost anyone, some people do better with a ball that has less spin. Fewer balls coming up short. While I play less hit & run's many others do. Good luck!
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I have yet to play the Penta, maybe February golf trip (yeah) before I can. But, I am not sure if I am expecting it to change my game. Only enhance it. If I couldn't hit a flop shot, I still can't. My wedges have pretty agressive grooves but, I rarely fly them past the pin and suck them back. I don't have that shot or don't have the confidence to hit that shot. I will have to see if that changes with this ball. I not planning on it.

Bump and runs for my are less about spin and more about distance control. I was taught to use a 5, 7 or 8 iron around the green, depending on how much fringe/rough I want to carry and hit the ball like a putt. Checks a little then rolls out. I like this part of my game and hope the Penta improves it.

I have played the TP Red for a while and it does what I want a ball to do. If the Penta is replacing it, I want more of the same, only better.
 
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2659edward said:
I have played the TP Red for a while and it does what I want a ball to do. If the Penta is replacing it, I want more of the same, only better.
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I really liked both the TP black and the TP Red. However for me the TP black suffered from some ballooning off the tee and the Red was just a little short on spin. It is as if they combined these to create one ball. It worked well for my game.
 
The Black seemed to hard/clicky for me when it came to putting/chipping. If it duplicates the feel of the Red with a touch more spin, I am all in.

Thanks, JB.
 
ok I used it today and here are my initial reactions. I found the ball to play well in general, felt and rolled nice on the green, off the tee it seemed to launch up higher than other balls I have used. I will play it again tomorrow and again on Wed. and try to put something more substantial here. I dont want to say one thing or another after using it only once.
 
White Rhino said:
ok I used it today and here are my initial reactions. I found the ball to play well in general, felt and rolled nice on the green, off the tee it seemed to launch up higher than other balls I have used. I will play it again tomorrow and again on Wed. and try to put something more substantial here. I dont want to say one thing or another after using it only once.
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Good stuff Rhino, hope it ends up working for you. You might try hitting an extra shot directly into the wind to see if it balloons on you. I didn't for me and I have a high ball flight already. At the price point you pay for these, or any premium ball, you need to know it's the ball for you.

The only thing I could find negative at all with them was the durability, but even there they held up better than my Prov1's.
 
thedue said:
Good stuff Rhino, hope it ends up working for you. You might try hitting an extra shot directly into the wind to see if it balloons on you. I didn't for me and I have a high ball flight already. At the price point you pay for these, or any premium ball, you need to know it's the ball for you.

The only thing I could find negative at all with them was the durability, but even there they held up better than my Prov1's.
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Speaking of the durability, the one I was hitting lasted through the round and looks just fine. One my buddy hit scuffed badly after the first couple of times he hit it and he went back to his old ball. Was kinda wierd, :confused2:
 
I think i will try some when they arrive in MO.
Better than the Nike ONE Tours and Srixon Z-Stars?
 
I was sent two sample sleeves courtesy of Golf Galaxy and Taylormade for an online club I joined. I was told about it on December 4 and they arrived Christmas eve. You want to talk about a kid in the candy store when I got this box from TM. :D

I missed the first shipment at my golf galaxy or I would have bought and tested them sooner.

I got a chance to play a round with them as well as some chipping and putting and I gave a sleeve to my buddy who is a 10 to try out as well. I turned him onto the E6's, which he loves, so that is what he uses as a comparison.

My thoughts:

Pros:

1. Very durable. I was using a new CG15 wedge and I was surprised by how well the ball held up. I hit some bunker shots and where other balls might get a sand rash on them after a shot, this ball was unmarked. I did hit one on the equator and that left a nice mark, I am just glad I did not turn it into an egg.

2. No ballooning for me and the trajectory was very similar to the Pro V1X I normally play.

3. Very forgiving off the tee as far as side spin. Better than the E6 I have played as a comparison.

4. Very soft feel off the putter, irons and driver. Not "clicky" at all.

5. Decent amount of spin from wedges and irons. I was able to spin a 6 iron shot back with this ball. That was fun.

6. I liked the spin around the green on short pitch, chip and flop shots. There is no uncontrolled over or under spin.

7. I usually lose at least 1 ball a round and I must say these balls are impossible to lose and I have never lost a Penta. (Note: Based on 1 round of play) :D

Cons:

1. I was about 10-15 yards behind my Pro V1X on drives I hit side by side for comparison. To be fair, it was a cold day and the ball may not perform that well when it's cold.

2. I wasn't sent enough of them to test, because I shared them. :D

I could not get a good gauge on driver spin, so I am going to have to play with them more.

My buddies thoughts:

Pros:

1. Very soft feel on every club but especially the putter.

2. He loved the spin around the green.

3. More forgiving than the E6, in fact he hit one shot that started to cut but ended up drawing back slightly, never seen that before.

4. No loss of distance, in fact he hit it farther than the E6.

Cons:

1. Had some ballooning issues.

2. Lost one ball.

He is going to test it some more to give me some more feedback.

I am going to play with it some more to see how well I like or love the ball. Initial thoughts after 1 round of ball is I like the ball. I usually hate most balls I play outside of the V1X or the E6, when funds are tight. Since these are replacing the TP Red and TP Black, they are marked improvements over those two balls. It would take a lot to pry the Pro V1X out of my bag, but this is a ball I am going to purchase because I see some potential and I've enjoyed what I have seen so far.
 
Re: Taylormade Penta TP - Official Testers' Thread

Re: Taylormade Penta TP - Official Testers' Thread

Good to see you enjoyed them! I must say the performed well for me too and it was cold out. I can't imagine how they will perform when nice and warm. Good review!


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bigvivec said:
FWIW, other than for the feel factor, I pretty much score the same with a random ball I found in the weeds as with a new ball of my choice...perfomance around the greens is different, but then if it is a ball that I'm unfamilar with, I just hit shots that don't spin much and play the roll...maybe I'm nuts, but IMO until you get to near professional ballstriking I don't think the ball really matters hardly at all...blasphmey I know...
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I know this is a little OT, but I think this depends a lot on the conditions. If the greens are very soft, then you'll see a lot less difference, but if the greens are firm enough that only a well struck shot will hold them, then with a distance ball that you find in the woods, you'll be struggling, especially if there's trouble in front of the greens so you can't run it up. The other thing is if the ball you find in the woods is an old wound balata, you'll be hitting from quite a bit further away than with one of the new balls.

JB said:
I really liked both the TP black and the TP Red. However for me the TP black suffered from some ballooning off the tee and the Red was just a little short on spin. It is as if they combined these to create one ball. It worked well for my game.
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Back on topic, I could have written this word for word myself. It describes exactly my thoughts on all three of those balls. The black downwind was awesome, but it went nowhere into a decent breeze. The red didn't balloon, but gave up a little bit in the spin department. The Penta seems to tick both boxes. I did hit one shot that ballooned with the Penta, but it still went as far as I would have expected it to if it hadn't. To be fair, that was into a wind that a pinnacle would have ballooned in.
 
I picked up a dozen of these today at my local golf shop and intend to try them out this afternoon. I'll report what I think about them when I get back. $40 a dozen these thing better leave trails of colors or something.
 
GMDNP1 said:
I picked up a dozen of these today at my local golf shop and intend to try them out this afternoon. I'll report what I think about them when I get back. $40 a dozen these thing better leave trails of colors or something.
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Wow, $40 is less than most premium balls. Good price. I paid $42 I think and was still glad that they were less than ProV1s.
 
GMDNP1 said:
I picked up a dozen of these today at my local golf shop and intend to try them out this afternoon. I'll report what I think about them when I get back. $40 a dozen these thing better leave trails of colors or something.
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Like JB said, that's not that much for a premium ball...


...like I said, this kid shot a 68 the other day and doesn't even know what a prov1 costs...





...it ain't the ball...
 
JB said:
Wow, $40 is less than most premium balls. Good price. I paid $42 I think and was still glad that they were less than ProV1s.
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yeah I've been shopping at the same local store since I was 13 and they tend to give me a break when I stop in.

I played the Penta for the first time today and I honestly wasn't impressed. I didn't feel much of a difference than the ball I play the TM TP Red. granted the ball is soft, it has a nice feel off wedges, comes off the putter nicely, and I didn't lose any distant. however the TP Red gives me the same feel I honestly didn't notice a difference. it's a good ball but not worth the money.
 
Ty_Webb said:
I know this is a little OT, but I think this depends a lot on the conditions. If the greens are very soft, then you'll see a lot less difference, but if the greens are firm enough that only a well struck shot will hold them, then with a distance ball that you find in the woods, you'll be struggling, especially if there's trouble in front of the greens so you can't run it up. The other thing is if the ball you find in the woods is an old wound balata, you'll be hitting from quite a bit further away than with one of the new balls.



Back on topic, I could have written this word for word myself. It describes exactly my thoughts on all three of those balls. The black downwind was awesome, but it went nowhere into a decent breeze. The red didn't balloon, but gave up a little bit in the spin department. The Penta seems to tick both boxes. I did hit one shot that ballooned with the Penta, but it still went as far as I would have expected it to if it hadn't. To be fair, that was into a wind that a pinnacle would have ballooned in.
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Don't gloss over the "performance around the greens" bit...if greens are fast a spinny ball helps a ton...most of the courses that I play don't have greens that fast though and modified chips and pitches that play the roll or use trajectory to stop the ball work for any old ball...
 
GMDNP1 said:
yeah I've been shopping at the same local store since I was 13 and they tend to give me a break when I stop in.

I played the Penta for the first time today and I honestly wasn't impressed. I didn't feel much of a difference than the ball I play the TM TP Red. granted the ball is soft, it has a nice feel off wedges, comes off the putter nicely, and I didn't lose any distant. however the TP Red gives me the same feel I honestly didn't notice a difference. it's a good ball but not worth the money.
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When the TP Red/Black came out they were $40-$45/dozen. I think we have become spoiled by the 2/$55 price TM has pushed over the last few months. Ever payed $30/dozen for a ProV1 or Srixon Z star?

What are you going to do when the TP Red is gone?
 
Have been playing the Prov1xs since they came out and tried the Pentas just last week. I got 5 yards more distance off the tee and far more spin around the greens. But the best thing for me was the feel around the greens. Top notch ball that for my skill level is the best I have played to date.
 
I was cleaning up the office for the arrival of Harry Longshanks and found a sample box of these. YIPPEE. There are only 5 in there, but beats not having anymore, that is for sure.
 
JB said:
I was cleaning up the office for the arrival of Harry Longshanks and found a sample box of these. YIPPEE. There are only 5 in there, but beats not having anymore, that is for sure.
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I've been reading quite a bit about these balls and they sound really, really nice.

Almost afraid to try them in fear that they will replace my One Tour ball. But, I will be giving these balls a go come spring time. They sound too good not to.
 
JB said:
I was cleaning up the office for the arrival of Harry Longshanks and found a sample box of these. YIPPEE. There are only 5 in there, but beats not having anymore, that is for sure.
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I thought they were available for sale in FL?
 
These are not available at any of the stores in Indy but, found some in AZ. Retail plus shipping not to bad. I have putted with them indoors and they are soft off the putter. Can not wait for warm weather.
 
Forgot to take them to the course yesterday, but they are in my bag today. Thank goodness, I missed them on the course. hehe
 
I'm looking fwd to picking up some in the spring and giving them a test drive! I am a big fan of tour330-rx and Z star so not to sure I am want to pay $10 more per dozen.
I see that Callaway has increased their prices to the ProV1 level with the new tour i(s) and (z). I wonder if this means that we are going to see a move in the future for the price point for some of the good GI balls moves up into the mid thirty dollar range!
 
Cannot find them locally yet.
 
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