MyGolfSpy Ball Lab is where we quantify the quality and consistency of the golf balls on the market to help you find the best ball for your money. Today, we’re taking a look at the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. An overview of the equipment we use can be found here. To learn more about our test process, how we define “bad” balls and our True Price metric, check out our About MyGolfSpy Ball Lab page.
Let’s start with an admission: the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash is perhaps an odd choice for our ninth Ball Lab. I’d wager some of you have never heard of the ball. That’s not particularly surprising given that Titleist says it’s for less than 10 percent of the market and, because of that, Titleist doesn’t’ say much about the ball.
And, sure, in situations like these it’s reasonable to defer to the manufacturer’s assessment but given how Left Dash’s performance characteristics align with what golfers want (more distance throughout the bag with enough spin for most around the green), I’d suggest the company is somewhat stubbornly missing the plot.
It’s also reasonable to wonder if part of Titleist’s positioning is about not infringing on sales of the mainline Pro V1 lineup.
At a minimum, the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash is a ball that golfers, particularly high-speed golfers, should know about. So here we go.
About the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash
Titleist describes the Left Dash variant of the Pro V1x as high launch and low spin. Launch properties will be similar to the standard Pro V1x. However, it should spin just a bit more than AVX, the lowest-spinning ball in Titleist’s premium range. From a real-world performance standpoint, it offers the high-launch, low-spin properties of many low-compression (soft) offerings but because of its higher compression (see below), it’s not going to suffer a distance penalty off the tee. In fact, quite the opposite.
The Pro V1x Left Dash is manufactured by Titleist at Ball Plant 3 in New Bedford, Mass. The stated price for the Pro V1x Left Dash is $47.99. It’s listed as a special order item though several retailers, including Fairway Golf, maintain inventory.
Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash – Compression
On our gauge, the average compression of the Pro V1x Left Dash is 102. It’s the firmest ball in our database. For reference, the Cut Blue DC and Mizuno RB Tour X both average 99 compression while the Bridgestone Tour BX is roughly 98.5 on average. Given the correlation between compression and speed, along with Left Dash’s high-launch, low-spin characteristics, it’s reasonable to conclude that it will prove to be one of the longest urethane balls on the market – likely the longest.
Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash – Weight and Diameter
Diameter measurements for the Pro V1x Left Dash show a ball that’s average in size for the Tour Ball category. This is true for most Titleist balls where the design targets appear to be exactly 1.68 inches – true to the spirit of the Rules without any suggestion of an attempt to navigate through any loopholes.
Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash – Inspection
Centeredness and Concentricity
As we’re coming to expect from Titleist, there’s not much cause for concern when the balls are cut. Across the entire sample, no balls were flagged for significant defects in core centeredness or layer concentricity. Small mantle concentricity issues were observed in a handful of balls.
All of the defects were minor and not expected to have a meaningful impact on performance.
Core color consistency was generally excellent, though it should be noted that there is variation from the balls we cut last year. This isn’t entirely unexpected as Titleist adjusts formulations seasonally to ensure consistent performance as seasons (temperature and humidity) change.
Cover
We observed a single ball with a small blob of paint in a dimple. It chipped out without much issue and therefore was considered minor. Minor pin marks from the painting process were also observed in several balls.
General Observations
As with other balls in the Pro V1 family, the Pro V1x Left Dash offers a thin urethane cover. Greenside spin should meet expectations for the category.
Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash – Consistency
In this section, we detail the consistency of the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. It’s a measure of how similar the balls in our sample were to one another, relative to all of the models we’ve tested to date.
Weight Consistency
Consistency (of weight) across the Titleist Pro V1x is good (above average). Weight variation between the heaviest and lightest ball in the sample was minimal.Diameter Consistency
Diameter consistency relative to the other balls in our database is good (above average). While not every ball in the sample was round, average diameter from one ball to the next is more consistent than most.Compression Consistency
Let’s start with the simple part. Compression consistency across the Titleist Pro V1x is good (above average).
It’s the only ball in our database that has achieved a “good” rating for each of our three consistency metrics.As we discussed with our Q-Star Tour review, our compression consistency metric is an aggregation of two compression considerations. When we look at the average ball compression across the sample, we find a seven-point compression difference between the firmest and the softest. That’s not exceptional but it’s solidly in the average range. Standard deviations for the same metric place the ball in the “high average” range.
When we look at the difference in the compression values for the three points measured on each golf ball (what we call the IBCR or In Ball Compression Range), we find an average of only 1.07 compression points. That’s the best value currently in our database. It’s on the high end of good, pushing the edge of our definition of excellent (two standard deviations better than the database average).
True Price
True Price is how we quantify the quality of a golf ball. It's a projection of what you'd have to spend to ensure you get 12 good balls.
The True Price will always be equal to or greater than the retail price. The greater the difference between the retail price and the True Price, the more you should be concerned about the quality of the ball.
Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash – Summary Report
To learn more about our test process, how we define “bad” balls and our True Price metric, check out our About MyGolfSpy Ball Lab page.
The Good
Consistency for compression, weight, and diameter measurements each quality as good. The Pro V1x Left Dash is currently the only ball in our database that achieves a good rating across the board.
The Bad
As we’ve come to expect, Left Dash isn’t perfect. Minor defects, specifically slightly off-center cores, and layer concentricity issues, while not prevalent, are not entirely uncommon either. It’s also a reasonable assumption that some golfers will have an issue with the firm feel.
We should also note that, as a small percentage of the market ball, the Left Dash isn’t produced in the same quantities as other Titleist offerings. With smaller quantities likely come tighter tolerances.
True Price
The True Price of the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash is $47.99. That matches its retail price, suggesting it’s an excellent option for those who place a premium on quality and consistency from their golf ball.
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