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Taylormade Penta TP - Forum Review Thread

SuperStroke
I heard a rumour that Taylormade had 100million of these produced for the US market and a further 80million for the European market, they sold out like hotcakes and are struggling to keep up with demand, factories working 24/7 7days a week..

Is there any truth to this?
 
Penta

Penta

Enjoyed your reviews! Thanks for the info and I will certainly give these balls a shot! I think the way THP passes out stuff like this to try and we get some hard looks at products from all levels of golfers, is second to none. Again good stuff!
 
cocopoppyhead said:
I heard a rumour that Taylormade had 100million of these produced for the US market and a further 80million for the European market, they sold out like hotcakes and are struggling to keep up with demand, factories working 24/7 7days a week..

Is there any truth to this?
Click to expand...

While they did sell out of their first batch, those numbers are a little off. They also had issues with their first shipment in that the Penta ink labeling was a problem. That is why they had to order more early on, because stores had placed orders and they were not shipping the 1st run.
 
Penta Update.

I still had a couple of the Pentas left in my bag, so I put it in play yesterday. I played it for a few holes, switched to a Nike Platinum One, then switched back, then played the ProV1 for a few holes, finishing with the Penta.

Verdict is that the Penta performs great against this competition, at least for my game. I did notice that I had to make an aggressive swing with the driver to take advantage of the Penta's length. Perhaps it takes that to properly activate the core of the ball.

Around the greens, it performed quite well from bunkers and all those little dinks and chips I have to execute to play well. I got consistent performance in terms of spin and trajectory. It reminds me of the ProV1 around the greens.

The Penta has a nice soft feel while putting. I use a putter with a rather hard bronze insert so the softer ball works best for me.

In iron play, I really didn't notice a difference in performance between the three balls. All performed as well as my faulty swing could coax from them. I think the balls deserved better ballstriking to get a better review. Maybe I'll get a chance to give the Penta a better test again latter this week. I'll keep updating as I go.
 
C-Tech said:
Penta Update.

I think the balls deserved better ballstriking to get a better review. Maybe I'll get a chance to give the Penta a better test again latter this week. I'll keep updating as I go.
Click to expand...

I feel exactly the same way about my Penta test. The weather conditions and the course condition (wetness) were less than ideal to test new equipment and discern any advantage/disadvantage. I will likely purchase more Penta balls in a few weeks and test more (and review here) once the Augusta weather is warmer and drier. I reiterate: from what I learned in my first test, Penta seems to compare favorably to any top ball and could become my ball of choice.
 
I am down to my last Penta and it is looking pretty rough, but I will continue to play it till i baptize it or send it to be found by somebody else. I will be playing these balls as soon as I move through the Pro V1's that I have. I simply love this ball.
 
I am not an official tester of the Penta for this thread. However, I played a round with them today. I hope JB and the rest of THP doesn't mind me sharing my thoughts as well.

I played the round with two pentas today. I lost the first one in the water on the 7th hole.

Overall, I enjoyed playing with this ball. I played much of last season with the Taylormade TP Red, and I see some of the same qualities in the Penta.

I liked the ball off the driver. It was about 48 degrees at the course, and it was my first round, so the distance was exactly what I expected from the ball. It wasn;t the longest ball I have played, but I really enjoyed hitting this ball with my driver. Also, the ball flight appeared that the ball did not have as much spin with the driver as I see in the TM Red. I liked this quality in the ball.

With the mid irons, I really liked the feel. It felt really smooth. When I hit the green with these clubs, the ball stuck pretty well... often within a couple feet of the ball mark. Ball flight was the same for me.

Short irons and full-wedges. Decent spin for me. Was backing up the ball a bit on higher shots. If I played a lower trajectory shot, it skipped once and then checked.

Chipping and pitching was the biggest difference I saw between the Penta and Red. It checked much more after the first bounce than the Red. It took me a few holes to get used to it. It rolled out, just not as far as I am used to.

Putting felt good. It was soft and smooth.

Negative: The outer layer scuffed up easily. I didn't hit a tree or cart path today (unusual for me), but I felt the cover was getting a bit more scuffed than I am used to.
 
Great stuff guys, keep them coming.
 
interlooper said:
but I felt the cover was getting a bit more scuffed than I am used to.
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I thought the cover wear was my imagination. What I noticed was the printing wearing away. The Taylormade logo looked like the ball had been in play for a few rounds instead of a few holes.
 
I will be playing 9 very cold holes today for golf practice at school and will put these into play agian. Post with results tonight.
 
C-Tech said:
I thought the cover wear was my imagination. What I noticed was the printing wearing away. The Taylormade logo looked like the ball had been in play for a few rounds instead of a few holes.
Click to expand...

C-Tech, I noticed the same thing.... it looked like the red lettering was streaking down the ball.
 
I finally lost my last ball and it was all yellow from the chemicals that they put on my course. I didn't have the durability issues that you guys are having. Mine stood up much better to my wedges than the Pro V1 balls did. It is not like I didn't take some skin off of them either.
 
SethO said:
I finally lost my last ball and it was all yellow from the chemicals that they put on my course.
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Seth - Is that typical on the courses you play? I've never seen a ball become discolored from chemicals.
 
Diane said:
Seth - Is that typical on the courses you play? I've never seen a ball become discolored from chemicals.
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I pretty much play one course because it is 5 minutes from my house and I am a member there. I assume it was the chemicals because I noticed everything turning yellow (balls, shoes, the wheels on push carts) after they warned me that they spread that stuff. It could have been that it did that because I played on the day that they spread it.
 
I had a different experience than some of you in terms of durability, it seems. I hit two cartpaths with my three balls, but those marks were virtually the only ones I made on the balls in 45 holes of play, shooting 77 and 81 (lotsa putts) and a 37 on a niner. I did, however, have the same logo issues some mention, as the name was fading significantly on two of the balls. That said, I usually place my ball white side up and side markings away, which means I strike the ball on or near the logo on many shots. But, there are no wedge groove markings on the ball I am looking at as I make this reply.
 
i hate to chime in b/c i was not one of the selected testers but i did pick up some pentas to try out for myself. i couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to see how they performed. i've never been much of a TM guy for reasons i'm not too sure but after reading all of this stuff i felt like i needed to give them a whirl. i won't get into too many details but would like to address the issue of durability since it seems to be a hot topic. for me, i played 18 holes on one penta and had zero durability issues. the cover didn't seem to scuff at all off my scoring irons and honestly, i couldn't be happier with the durability. the one issue i did have was that the ball didn't always gravitate into the hole :D.
 
I tried the Penta yesterday and really liked it. I have played the Prov1x for the past three years. Before that I had played the TM TP black.

I've loved the distance of the prov1x and how straight it goes on slight mishits. When I'm off I get the hooks and the regular prov goes a little to astray.

I played 14 holes with the Penta really liked it. I played it side by side with a provx.

In 14 holes, I was 3 under with Penta and 1 over with the provx. As a baseline, my last full round at the same course was 1 under with provx. I've been putting more time in my game lately and am swinging well.

Distance- I found the prov to be a LITTLE longer for me 4-8 yards off the driver. Had 10 drives with each and was just a few yards longer with the provx. Maybe the extra spin did it. Advantage Provx

Irons- off the irons the distance gap was eliminated. The Penta stopped quicker which liked but would take some getting used to as I've played the provx for a few years. Slightly higher ball flight for the Penta but I liked it. advantage-Penta but almost a draw. Just liked the feel of the Penta.

Short game- this is where the Penta really started to shine for me. It stopped dead compared to a few feet of rollout with provx. I really liked how much more agressive I could be. On the par 5 first hole I was 20 yards short in 2 and my pitch stopped 15-20 feet short where the provx would roll out much more. Advantage Penta.

Putting- I have liked the provx but the softer feel of the Penta was awesome. I leave my puts short sometimes with the provx az I put on pretty fast greens and don't like a ton of rollout. The Penta feel softer, a little less clicky so I agaiN was more aggressive. Just really liked the feel. Advantage Penta.

Overall, I liked everything about the Penta. I think if I'm playing well, as I am right now, it's a better ball for me. The provx seems a little more forgiving directionally and a tad longer but I love the short game feel of the Penta. The regular prov spins TOO much for me and this ball seems to fit perfectly in middle at the moment. I'm going to play this dozen and see how if it's a honeymoon or a long term switch.
 
AZRhode said:
I tried the Penta yesterday and really liked it. I have played the Prov1x for the past three years. Before that I had played the TM TP black.

I've loved the distance of the prov1x and how straight it goes on slight mishits. When I'm off I get the hooks and the regular prov goes a little to astray.

I played 14 holes with the Penta really liked it. I played it side by side with a provx.

In 14 holes, I was 3 under with Penta and 1 over with the provx. As a baseline, my last full round at the same course was 1 under with provx. I've been putting more time in my game lately and am swinging well.

Distance- I found the prov to be a LITTLE longer for me 4-8 yards off the driver. Had 10 drives with each and was just a few yards longer with the provx. Maybe the extra spin did it. Advantage Provx

Irons- off the irons the distance gap was eliminated. The Penta stopped quicker which liked but would take some getting used to as I've played the provx for a few years. Slightly higher ball flight for the Penta but I liked it. advantage-Penta but almost a draw. Just liked the feel of the Penta.

Short game- this is where the Penta really started to shine for me. It stopped dead compared to a few feet of rollout with provx. I really liked how much more agressive I could be. On the par 5 first hole I was 20 yards short in 2 and my pitch stopped 15-20 feet short where the provx would roll out much more. Advantage Penta.

Putting- I have liked the provx but the softer feel of the Penta was awesome. I leave my puts short sometimes with the provx az I put on pretty fast greens and don't like a ton of rollout. The Penta feel softer, a little less clicky so I agaiN was more aggressive. Just really liked the feel. Advantage Penta.

Overall, I liked everything about the Penta. I think if I'm playing well, as I am right now, it's a better ball for me. The provx seems a little more forgiving directionally and a tad longer but I love the short game feel of the Penta. The regular prov spins TOO much for me and this ball seems to fit perfectly in middle at the moment. I'm going to play this dozen and see how if it's a honeymoon or a long term switch.
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Great review AZrhode!
 
Saw the Pentas at the local golf shop for 39.99 today. Thought they were supposted to be in the upper 40's?
 
I typically find them for ~$46 in San Diego. Where did you see them at $39?

That's a great deal.
 
sacul1573 said:
Saw the Pentas at the local golf shop for 39.99 today. Thought they were supposted to be in the upper 40's?
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Street price is the same as all the other premium balls at $44.99. Some stores will have sales since golf season is kicking off.
 
Re: Taylormade Penta Trial Take 2

Re: Taylormade Penta Trial Take 2

sacul1573 said:
Saw the Pentas at the local golf shop for 39.99 today. Thought they were supposted to be in the upper 40's?
Click to expand...

When we meet up fo golf you can try a couple ofine if you like before you buy them. And you'll have to show me where you saw them for that price cause ill get a dozen!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bought a dozen because I just could not resist after playing the trial ones that THP sent. The Penta looks better after 17 holes than the Pro V1 does.
 
SethO said:
Bought a dozen because I just could not resist after playing the trial ones that THP sent. The Penta looks better after 17 holes than the Pro V1 does.
Click to expand...

So you put it in the water on the 18th? hehehe
 
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