TaylorMade have teamed up with Rickie Fowler to redesign and improve the new pix versions of their premium TP5 and TP5x golf balls. As one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, Fowler provided some valuable insights during the year-long development of the balls, which feature pixelated graphics to enhance visibility through the air.
And, thanks to Rickie's input, pix balls now aid alignment while also offering a visual indication of the ball's rotation - instant feedback that will help golfers self-diagnose putting faults and correct them immediately.
Rickie Fowler recommended adding a strip of white space down the centre of pix balls, achieved by using only one TaylorMade stamp instead of the usual two, to create a distinct pathway that can be used to line up putts correctly.
But the new orange and black pixelations on the cover also provide visual feedback of the quality of a putt when the ball is rolling. The pix graphics blur together to indicate the ball's spin after it has left the putter and on a pure, top-spinning putt, players will be able to clearly see the defined white section of the ball rolling end-over-end.
However, if side-spin is being imparted– a real impediment to accurate putting - the pix graphics will generate a scrambled appearance while the ball is in motion.