TaylorMade Penta TP3 and TP5 Review

For the golf team this year, we received Penta TP3s or TP5s which are both HUGE improvements over the crappy Titleist NXTs from last year. They had no spin or real performance. These golf balls from TaylorMade really impressed me. TaylorMade has never really stood out in the golf ball market but I believe that these two are excellent choices.

TP3: The Penta TP3s are really the best of both worlds. They have enough spin to stop sufficiently on the greens, but not so much that they can bring down your long game. They are versatile golf balls. I don't find that the urethane cover scuffs up very easily (like the Nike One Platinums that I used this year) so you won't be changing golf balls every other hole. The TP3s compress easily for a 3 piece ball and really have a nice soft feel especially around the greens. Around the greens they perform like any 4 or 5 piece ball. It is a great ball that will perform well on every type of shot and every type of club.

TP5: I found that the Penta TP5s perform as well as a ProV1. They really do provide excellent spin around the greens. I don't think that I ever actually got substantial backspin until I used the TP5s. They do have a lot of spin (since they are a 5 piece ball) so if you have problems controlling your ball flight, these balls wouldn't help you there. I am fairly certain that these have the same urethane cover that the TP3s since that they both are versatile. For some reason with the TP5s I don't particularly like the feel when hitting them with an iron. It could be because my swing speed isn't quite high enough to compress it properly.

I find that with both golf balls that you will get a nice high ball flight which is a pro in my eyes. I would rather have a higher flight than a lower one, but that would really depend on the person. The Penta TP3s are comparable to the Callaway HEX Chrome both in pricing and performance (checkout my review of those if you haven't already) at $35.99 a dozen. The Penta TP5s are at a more pricey $45.99 a dozen. To be honest, I don't think that I would ever buy them (I got them free for being on the golf team) on my own considering that the TP3s are nearly just as comparable and they are even $10 cheaper. If you really need a lot of spin (and I mean a lot) and you really know how to control your ball flight as good as a pro, then you would be a better fit with the TP5s They TP5s are also meant for golfers with higher swing speeds and are harder to compress due to the 5 layers. I don't think I am quite there so if I had a choice, I would go with the TP3.