AskMyGolfSpy Vol. 42 – Answering your Titleist AVX Questions

AskMyGolfSpy is an opportunity to submit questions to our experts here at MGS.

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Normally we cover a range of topics on AskMyGolfSpy but today we’re focusing on the new Titleist AVX golf ball.

Q: What does “AVX” stand for?

The original story is that the AVX was designed to be an Alternative to the Pro V1 and Pro V1x.

Q: Why did Titleist change the cover on AVX?

In a word, I think it comes down to capacity. Part of what we haven’t discussed much this year is that Titleist plans to lean into Left Dash more than ever. That means continuing to increase awareness and ramping up production so that it’s nearly as easy to find as Pro V1 and Pro V1x (both of which need to stay on shelves).

With that, something had to give and with the discontinuation of Tour Speed, Ball Plant 2 had some available capacity (that includes the machines to apply TPU covers) so there’s some logic in the switch.

Q: So Titleist just took the guts out of AVX and put a Tour Speed cover on it?

No. I suppose the first part is roughly true. The guts (the core and the mantle) are inarguably still AVX, albeit with the upgrades discussed in our initial story.

The cover is most definitely not Tour Speed.

A couple of points here. First, the Tour Speed cover is more of a high-flight design—the kind of thing you’d find on most non-Tour urethane offerings. Within its space, AVX has always been somewhat of an outlier as it’s designed to produce a lower, more penetrating trajectory. If you were to stick the Tour Speed cover on AVX, you’d end up with a ball that’s nothing like what golfers expect from AVX.

The second point is that while both Tour Speed and the new AVX feature TPU (injection-molded, thermoplastic urethane) covers, the urethane formulation is completely new and unique to AVX.

Paraphrasing a bit from what I’ve been told, except for a different core, a different mantle, a different dimple pattern and urethane cover formulation, the new AVX is exactly like Tour Speed.

Also worth a mention, AVX is roughly five compression points softer than Tour Speed was. It’s not huge but it’s not nothing, either.

Q: I wish Titleist would just release the Pro V1 Left Dot and sunset the AVX.

“Left Dot” is Tour-only version of the Pro V1 that’s lower flying and lower spinning.

Not a question but we’re not picky.

For purely selfish reasons, I’m with you but the reality is that AVX has carved out its own niche within the Titleist ball family. If Titleist were to ditch AVX in favor of Left Dot, the likelihood is that a subset of Pro V1, Pro V1x and Left Dash users would move into Left Dot while a not-insignificant number of AVX players would move into somebody else’s golf ball.

While there are some similarities between AVX and Left Dot, AVX is meaningfully softer, which is part of the appeal.

Q: How does AVX compare to Pro V1?

Keeping in mind that these comparisons are true only within the Titleist lineup and that, over time, performance specs change, the current Titleist urethane lineup breaks out like this:

AVX: low flight, low spin, soft feel Pro V1: mid flight, mid spin, mid firm feel Pro V1x: high flight, high spin, firm feel Pro V1x Left Dash: high flight, low spin, firm feel

Q: Can I test these for free?

You had your chance. You missed it. So, no.

Q: Why is there no RCT (Radar Capture Technology) option in the new AVX?

According to Titleist, there is a handful of reasons why RCT hasn’t made it into the new AVX. One of those reasons is that Ball Plant 2, where the new AVX is made, doesn’t have the tools necessary to produce RCT.

Q: How do I know if AVX is right for me?

The best way to find out is to get fitted for a golf ball. I know that’s easier said than done. I think you’ll see something soon to simplify the process (that’s a teaser) but, for now, I’d recommend taking AVX and something else with you out on the course. It shouldn’t take long before you get a sense of what you like the feel of off the putter, what stops when you need it to around the green and what’s going to maximize your distance off the tee and with long irons.

While it would be nice if ball fitting were simple, I’ve found it’s more a process of elimination. Get rid of what doesn’t work until you’re left with what does.

Q: Why is AVX cheaper than Titleist’s other urethane offerings?

Priced at $49.99, the new AVX is less expensive than Titleist’s other urethane offerings.

My hunch is that it’s a combination of things.

With Tour Speed, Titleist kinda established the idea that it would charge less for TPU than cast urethane products. There’s no reason why that couldn’t change but it’s at least likely true that, despite being made alongside Pro V1 with much of the same technology as Pro V1, many consumers view AVX as not quite a Pro V1.

While Titleist will tell you there’s no drop in quality associated with the cover and factory change, for those who pay attention to such things, not being made next to Pro V1 changes the equation a bit—at least it does for me.

Finally, from a strategic perspective, if you’re going to say that cast urethane offers the best performance for Tour-level balls, charging less for the same technology in your non-Tour ball that many of your competitors use in their Tour balls is a subtle way of suggesting their tech isn’t quite as good as yours.

Call it the Fairhaven Finger.

Q: Why do manufacturers make so many types of balls?

Not specific to AVX but a good question, nonetheless.

A full-service golf ball company needs to offer something to satisfy the needs of both performance and preference-driven golfers.

The performance part mandates balls with different flight and spin profiles. Neither Pro V1, Pro V1x, Left Dash nor AVX will meet the performance needs of every golfer but between the four of them, most golfers are covered.

Of course, with prices starting at $50, not everybody is going to be onboard with the plan. That’s why Titleist (and basically everyone else) sells balls in the $20-$30 and $30-$40 ranges.

Great, but what if none of those balls (and let’s add Tour Soft to the conversation) is as soft as you want a golf ball to be?

Because there are more than a few feel-driven golfers, Titleist offers TruFeel for less than $25. If you don’t want to spend a lot, but want distance instead of feel, that’s where Velocity comes in.

Basically, everyone is trying to cover as many permutations as it can sensibly fit on retail shelves. As things like color and patterns become increasingly popular, those permutations will only increase.

The goal is to offer something for nearly everyone at nearly every conceivable (or at least tenable) price point.