When Titleist launched the AVX in 2018, it was designed as a sort of fountain of youth golf ball — lower spin and lower than anything else in the Pro V1 family and, hey, that softer feel was an added bonus that golfers in the AVX’s primary demographic love.
For 2026, Titleist hasn’t fundamentally changed the AVX, but the company says the new ball is faster without compromising the identity that sets the AVX apart from those other Titleist urethane golf balls.
A brief history of AVX
AVX is designed for players with moderate swing speeds looking for the missing distance. AVX’s early development and validation relied heavily on testing in the Sun Belt and focused on players who still wanted urethane-level performance but weren’t exactly flirting with tournament-level speed. The logic was straightforward: if ball speed starts to slip, distance must come from somewhere else.
That elsewhere it was the lowest roll and the flattest flight.
What has changed since then is not AVX’s purpose, but its scope. While moderate-speed players remain central to the design philosophy, the AVX has steadily expanded beyond its initial audience, finding a place in the bags of players looking for a different kind of urethane performance. AVX may be an option for faster players who suffer from high spin (especially off the driver). And while that’s not reason enough for me to recommend the AVX, there are certainly those who like the idea of playing a Titleist ball and prefer the softer feel.
What’s new for 2026
The 2026 AVX update doesn’t bring any wholesale changes, but it’s tweaked enough to suggest a better performing ball.
At the heart of the update is a reworked core designed to increase speed. The same core adjustments are paired with a reformulated outer layer, which results in lower long game spin. The increased speed plus low spin explains where the AVX’s increased distance comes from.
Of course, if not taken into account, spin points can flow through the bag, so to compensate for the fundamental changes and maintain spin around the green, Titleist reformulated the AVX’s cover, making it thicker and softer to increase greenside spin.
Completing the update is a new aerodynamic package designed to produce a more penetrating and predictable ball flight. AVX remains lower than anything else in the Pro V1 family, but the updated model improves flight efficiency, especially out of the car.
The net result is a ball that is faster than the previous AVX and more effective at delivering distance through reduced spin and controlled flight without straying from AVX’s defining identity.
Still not Pro V1 (and still not trying to be)
While there’s a case to be made that AVX should have been Pro V1s, it continues to stand apart from the Pro V1 lineup, philosophically and physically.
The Pro V1 and Pro V1x are molded urethane balls manufactured at Titleist’s Ball Plant 3. Beginning with the AVX 2024, Title moved its production to Ball Plant 2, where it uses the injection-molded cover process originally developed for Tour Intermittent Speed.
In terms of performance, compared to the Pro V1 family, the AVX offers lower flight and lower spin throughout the bag, a softer feel and a stronger emphasis on long game distance. Titleist does not position the AVX as a tournament performance offering and was never intended to be one. Instead, it occupies a lane that the Pro V1 family deliberately avoids: a urethane ball optimized for players who benefit more from reduced spin and prefer a softer feel.
About that soft feeling
Titleist describes the AVX as its soft-feeling urethane offering and, on a relative basis, that’s accurate – especially when compared to something like the Left Dash where the gap in feel is significant.
That said, AVX is not soft in the broader market sense.
With compression values in the high 70s, the AVX is softer than anything routinely played on Tour and softer than the Pro V1, Pro V1x and Left Dash, but not soft compared to the wider consumer market. AVX is best described as relatively soft for a urethane golf ball, but not a low-compression offering, where soft feel is all but the whole story. This distinction matters, especially for players coming from non-name offerings like Supersoft or TruFeel.
Fountain of Youth – Refined
Internally, Titleist still refers to the AVX as a fountain of youth ball, and the 2026 updates reinforce that positioning.
The lower spin of the long game and a flatter flight allow players to maintain distance and, to some extent, compensate for the gradual loss of speed that comes with time and age (and, in my case, a general lack of fitness).
What stands out is how AVX’s audience has expanded. While moderate-speed players remain central to the original brief, faster players looking to reduce spin, manage trajectory or simply experience a different feel profile have found the AVX to be a viable alternative, even if it was never intended as a Tour ball.
Color options, pricing and availability
The Titleist AVX 2026 is available in white and yellow with high optics. While it doesn’t carry the $57.99 price tag for everything in the Pro V1 family, at $49.99 it still occupies a premium position in the market.
It is what it is.
If you’re happy with the current model or just curious about the AVX, it’s worth noting that the 2024 ball is discounted to $44.99.
Retail availability for the new Titleist AVX begins January 21st.
For more information, visit Titleist.com.
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