TaylorMade takes a fresh shot at the crown with new TP5 and TP5x golf balls

While they haven't quite hit Titleist levels of pomp just yet, TaylorMade remains the fastest-growing major ball manufacturer in golf, and the success of the TP5 is a big part of that winning formula.

The only five-layer ball used on tour remains one of the strongest contenders to the Pro V1's crown, gamed by one of the golf's modern icons in TaylorMade staffer Rory McIlroy (who interestingly switched from the TP5x to the regular TP5 last year) – as well as his stablemates in Tommy Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa.

The TP5 continues to be something of an 'if you know, you know' choice among better players, and the model's refresh for 2026 has TaylorMade hoping it can go to even greater heights over the next couple of years.

Much of the focus from the big ball manufacturers with their releases has been on the subject of paint consistency – so much so that the claims made by Callaway around their own new Chrome Tour balls are actually the subject of a pending lawsuit from TaylorMade.

There is, however, some merit to the discourse surrounding inconsistency of painting in the ball manufacturing process. As TaylorMade states in its own release, its R&D team "found that with traditional finishing processes, excess paint has a tendency to pool in the bottom of the dimples, creating an uneven application across the ball’s surface. That results in inconsistent ball flight performance out on the course."

TM has addressed this with a new micro coat manufacturing process, guaranteeing complete consistency in flight and performance between individual balls.

“Golf balls are they only piece of equipment we hit on every shot, but they are also the only piece of equipment we change in a round," says Mike Fox, Senior Golf Ball Category Director at TaylorMade. "Making sure we produce the most consistent product from ball to ball and shot to shot is as important as anything we do. Until now, applying paint to a golf ball to protect its appearance has carried with it the potential to adversely impact ball flight."

"Now, with micro coating, we have a process that solves what was once an invisible problem, and allows golfers to experience greater consistency in how their shots perform from tee to green. In short, TP5 and TP5x make up our most consistent Tour golf ball family, ever.”

The changes aren't all literally at a surface level. TaylorMade's engineers reportedly used computer simulations to test 100,000 construction variations before landing on the optimal five-layer construction for distance, spin and consistent performance.

As such, the TP5 has a new, bigger and faster core, while the lower-spinning TP5x has new new mantle layers that optimise speed at the higher end of the bag, with the dual benefit of fine-tuning spin throughout the flight.

With an RRP of £47.99 per dozen, the new TP5 and TP5x will hit the market with the choice of white, yellow, Stripe, pix and officially licensed NFL designs.