What Golf Balls The Pros Use: PGA, Liv & LPGA Breakdown

Professional golfers need high-end balls in order to hit high-quality shots. You’ve probably wondered which ball your favorite player uses, so in this post, we’ll talk about which golf balls the pros use, why they might use them, and what makes high-end balls better than value balls.

  • The most common golf balls you’ll see on tour, by far, are made by Titleist.
  • Close to 28% of golfers use the Titleist Pro V1 while another 28% use the Titleist Pro V1x.
  • The remaining golfers use a ball from Srixon, Callaway, Taylormade, and Bridgestone.

There are a few reasons why the majority of pros use Titleist balls, which we’ll talk about in the rest of this article. That being said, just because the pros use these balls doesn’t mean that you should.


In This Article

PGA & LIV | LPGA | Why Titleist Is So Popular | Why Pros Use The Balls They Do


The Golf Balls Used By PGA Tour & LIV Golf Players

GolferGolf Ball
Scottie SchefflerTitleist Pro V1
Rory McIlroyTaylormade TP5x
Cameron SmithTitleist Pro V1x
Patrick CantlayTitleist Pro V1x
Xander SchauffeleCallaway Chrome Tour
Jon RahmCallaway Chrome Tour X
Justin ThomasTitleist Pro V1x
Will ZalatorisTitleist Pro V1x
Collin MorikawaTaylormade TP5x
Viktor HovlandTitleist Pro V1
Matt FitzpatrickTitleist Pro V1x
Sam BurnsCallaway Chrome Tour X
Jordan SpiethTitleist Pro V1x
Tony FinauTitleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Billy HorschelTitleist Pro V1
Hideki MatsuyamaSrixon Z-Star XV
Cameron YoungTitleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Sungjae ImTitleist Pro V1x
Shane LowrySrixon Z-Star XV
Joaquin NiemannTitleist Pro V1x
Tom KimTitleist Pro V1x
Max HomaTitleist Pro V1
Dustin JohnsonTaylormade TP5x
Abraham AncerTitleist Pro V1x
Corey ConnersTitleist Pro V1
Ludvig AbergTitleist Pro V1x
Brooks KoepkaSrixon Z-Star Diamond
Tyrrell HattonTitleist Pro V1x
Tommy FleetwoodTaylormade TP5x
Adam ScottTitleist Pro V1
Wyndham ClarkTitleist Pro V1x
Sahith TheegalaTitleist Pro V1
Louis OosthuizenTitleist Pro V1
Paul CaseyTitleist Pro V1
Talor GoochTitleist Pro V1
Brian HarmanTitleist Pro V1
Russell HenleyTitleist Pro V1x
Robert MacintyreTitleist Pro V1
Sepp StrakaSrixon Z-Star Diamond
Seamus PowerTitleist Pro V1x
Aaron RaiTitleist Pro V1
Sergio GarciaTaylormade TP5
Bryson DeChambeauTitleist Pro V1x Left Dash
Dean BurmesterSrixon Z Star XV
Tom HogeTitleist Pro V1
Harris EnglishTitleist Pro V1
Keegan BradleySrixon Z-Star Diamond
Ryan FoxSrixon Z-Star XV
Matthieu PavonTitleist Pro V1
Patrick ReedTitleist Pro V1
Tiger WoodsBridgestone Tour BX

To sum things up:

  1. Titleist Pro V1: 17
  2. Titleist Pro V1x: 15
  3. Taylormade TP5x: 4
  4. Srixon Z-Star XV: 4
  5. Srixon Z-Star Diamond: 3
  6. Callaway Chrome Tour X: 2
  7. Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot: 2
  8. Callaway Chrome Tour: 1
  9. Taylormade TP5: 1
  10. Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash: 1
  11. Bridgestone Tour B X: 1

The Golf Balls Used By LPGA Players

GolferGolf Ball
Atthaya ThitikulCallaway Chrome Soft X
Jin Young KoTitleist Pro V1
Lydia KoTitleist Pro V1x
Nelly KordaTaylormade TP5x
Minjee LeeCallaway Chrome Tour X
Brooke HendersonTaylormade TP5x
Lilia VuTitleist Pro V1x
In Gee ChunSrixon Z-Star
Hyo-Joo KimTitleist Pro V1x
Nasa HataokaSrixon Z-Star
Jennifer KupchoTitleist Pro V1
Danielle KangTitleist Pro V1x
Celine BoutierTitleist Pro V1x
Amy YangTitleist Pro V1x
Ruoning YinCallaway Chrome Soft X
Charley HullTaylormade TP5x
Rose ZhangCallaway Chrome Tour X
Yuka SasoCallaway Chrome Tour X
Hannah GreenSrixon Z-Star Diamond
Leona MaguireTitleist Pro V1
Ayaka FurueBridgestone Tour B XS
In Bee ParkSrixon Z-Star
Linn GrantTitleist Pro V1

To sum things up:

  • Titleist Pro V1x: 6
  • Titleist Pro V1: 4
  • Taylormade TP5x: 3
  • Callaway Chrome Tour X: 3
  • Srixon Z-Star: 3
  • Callaway Chrome Soft X: 2
  • Srixon Z-Star Diamond: 1
  • Bridgestone Tour B XS: 1

Why Pros Use Titleist Golf Balls

The reason professional golfers use Titleist balls is that they’re the most consistent off the tee and around the green. Compared to any other ball, the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x produce the most reliable spin rates and distance.

Of the top 50 golfers out there 70% of them use a Titleist ball, which is pretty crazy when you think about it. Some people may think it’s because they’re sponsored and paid to use them (could partially be true), but the main reason comes down to performance.

From the tests I’ve seen and done myself, Titleist generally seems to be the most well-built and consistent balls out there. I don’t think you’d notice much of a difference as an average hacker, but it’s obvious that professionals can.

I’ve seen a number of tests that looked at the compression ratings and shape of each ball (100+ of each model). Certain balls actually fluctuate slightly when it comes to compression and some of them aren’t perfectly round.

The compression rating and shape of the Titleist balls were the most consistent.

Other than shape and quality, it’s also important that you have a ball that performs consistently on the course. Knowing exactly how far the ball will fly and how much spin it’ll have is super important.

Again, from what I’ve seen, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x have very close spin rates across a bunch of shots and travel a consistent distance for each club.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between the Pro V1 and Pro V1x, it is essentially the spin rate and launch height. The Pro V1x will spin more off the tee and around the green and will also fly higher.

Clearly, most people prefer the standard Pro V1. Even though you probably shouldn’t use either of them yourself (unless you shoot in the low 70s), the standard Pro V1 would be the better choice if you had to pick.

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What Type Of Balls The Pros Use

There are a lot of factors that go into picking the right ball. Let’s jump into the different aspects and why a professional would pick one ball over another.

Compression

Professional golfers generally use high compression golf balls, but the compression range tends to vary between 65-100. Fred Couples plays a 65 compression ball (Tour B RXS) while a lot of longer hitters play a 100 compression ball (Pro V1x).

You can read our golf ball compression chart to see the ratings of each ball.

The reason you’d need a higher compression ball is that your swing speed is faster. Pairing a fast swing speed with a low compression ball could be fine, but you’ll probably overcompress the ball, which will balloon shots up in the air and not fly as far.

The opposite would be true if you paired a slow swing speed with a high compression ball. We actually did a test to see if the compression rating impacted distance, which you can read HERE.

Compression isn’t as important as it used to be but it still is something you should look at. Before, all you had to do was match your swing speed to the right compression rating. Now, there are more important things to look at.

We’ll touch on those things in the next section. Here’s a general rule that’s not always true, but it’s a good starting point:

  • Swing speeds over 100 MPH = High compression ball (Over 90)
  • Swing speeds between 85-100 MPH = Mid compression ball (70-90)
  • Swing speeds under 85 MPH = Low compression ball (Under 70)

Layers

2 vs 3 vs 4 piece golf ball

The first thing you need to look at is how many layers the ball has. You can find balls that have between 2 and 5 layers. Professionals will mostly use 3 or 4 piece golf balls, but a few of them use 5 piece balls.

As a general rule, more layers equals more spin. 2 piece balls don’t spin a whole lot and that is why the pros don’t use them. They’re designed for average hackers like you and me who don’t want to spend a fortune on balls.

3 piece balls like the Pro V1 normally have a softer feel to them, have good spin around the greens, and produce less spin off the tee.

4 piece balls like the Pro V1x normally feel firmer when you hit them, but the main difference is that they spin more around the green and off the tee.

5 piece balls don’t really spin more around the green or off the tee. The main difference seems to be that they produce more spin with your longer irons to get the ball in the air.

I read an article where Jim Furyk was testing balls but had a tough time getting a 4 piece ball in the air with his long irons. Adding an extra layer (5 total) helped him hit the ball higher.

Spin

We just talked about spin and how professionals need a ball that produces more. Just in case you don’t know why, we’ll quickly cover why spin is important for them (and possibly bad for you).

I’m sure you’ve seen a shot on TV where the ball landed on the green past the pin and it rolled backward to within a few feet. That’s because the ball had spin on it.

Being able to quickly stop the ball on the green is super important if you want to improve your short game. Most of us can’t do that which is why we don’t need a ball that spins that much.

I’m sure you’ve also seen the guy at your local course who hits the huge banana slices. The reason that happens is because the ball has way too much sidespin.

If you already hit hook or slices then a high spin ball will make it worse. That being said, it makes it easier to draw or fade the ball around, which is why the pros need a higher spinning ball.

Cover

Another difference you’ll find between balls is the cover material. There are pros and cons of each type of cover, but the pros will want something that has a urethane cover.

Urethane covers come on premium balls and are more expensive. The benefit of them is that they’re softer and they produce more spin. The downside is that they aren’t as durable.

On cheaper 2 or 3 piece balls, the cover material will be ionomer or Surlyn. The benefits of these are that they’re more durable and are cheaper. The downside is that they don’t have as much short-game spin. You can learn more about the different covers HERE.

Feel

When it comes to soft or firm balls, you can look at the overall feel of the ball or the compression rating. Some people consider soft and low compression balls the same thing. They also consider firm and high compression balls the same.

If that’s the case then all pros would use hard golf balls, which I wouldn’t say is true. You can find lower compression balls that have a firm feel to them and you can find high compression balls that have a softer feel.

The Titleist Velocity is an example of a mid compression ball that has a firm feel to it. The Pro V1 is a higher compression ball but has a softer feel.

Generally speaking, balls that say “X” are usually firmer than the model without the “X.” Examples of softer balls would be the Pro V1, Chrome Soft, and TP5. Then you’d have the Pro V1x, Chrome Soft X, and TP5x that are a bit firmer.

That being said, even balls that have an “X” can still be considered softer. In saying that, somewhere around 55% of professionals use a ball that’s considered to be “soft.”

You can learn more about hard and soft golf balls HERE.


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Jon is the main product tester at Out Of Bounds Golf and has been in the golf world for 10+ years. He has personally tested over 100 products, from balls to clubs to bags. He started this website for the average player, to help make the game a little easier to understand.

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