The Performance Stripe trades the full 360-degree stretch wrap of the TP5 and TP5x for a partial side print that you can roll out of sight.
The lines on golf balls aren’t going anywhere. A growing body of internal research says there’s a real benefit to alignment, and brands have clearly noticed. But before we go any further, let’s set the table. If putting is broken down into three elements (reading the green, aiming for your target, making the shot), a bar is built to help accurately A from them. We’re talking about purpose. Full stop. Nothing printed on a golf ball reads the break for you, and no tape has ever made the shot on behalf of its owner. Who knows? Perhaps the first AI-designed golf ball will help with that.
Until then, what you might find interesting TaylorMade’s new TP5 AND TP5x Performance Stripe is that, in a world of increasingly bold designs, the company is actually taking things back a bit.
A more subtle stripe
Clear path extension bar TP5 players already know it’s a full 360-degree design that wraps around the entire ball. The Performance Stripe is more of a side upgrade than a true stripe.
Because numbers are fun, TaylorMade says the Performance Stripe design creates a side seal that’s 75 percent longer than what you get standard TP5 side seal (20 millimeters) and 52 percent longer than TP5x (23mm) version. This gives you a bit more to see than the standard white and yellow models, while remaining significantly smaller than the full-wrap stripe treatment.
I suppose the practical implication is that you have options (sometimes). Because the tape only covers part of the ball, you can orient it to lay when you want help or tuck it out of sight for a clean look on the tee and green. (In the middle, you get what you get, but that’s true of any side stamp.) If the approach sounds familiar, it’s the same basic idea behind Titleist’s AIM stamps: a line for players who want it; disclaimer for those who don’t.
If this line significantly moves your profit rate is still the part you need to take some faith. More than one ball manufacturer has conducted tests and determined that alignment aids provide a benefit. Take it for what it’s worth, but the premise isn’t far-fetched. As I’ve said, I honestly believe that longer and wider lines are useful aids to alignment, so I’m inclined to believe that the data is real.
What’s under the paint?
The ribbon is the headliner, but it’s not the only difference. Both balls get new Microcoating, which TaylorMade describes as a more precise process to control how paint is applied to the cover. The goal is a more durable outer layer, which in theory allows the dimple pattern to do its job the same way shot after shot and ball after ball. It’s not something you’ll feel standing on a putt, but it should go without saying that consistency is more than a little important.
Where do I land?
I will admit that I usually give TaylorMade grief for playing it straight with stripes. This is a company that puts flamingos on a golf ball and pickles on a golf ball, while its TP stretch graphics tend to appear dressed up for a board meeting. In this case, however, the limitation is the point. A loud, colorful stripe would detract from a design whose whole point is to make it disappear whenever you want, so I’ll keep my “give me some color” complaint in my pocket for once.
The fair warning is that optionality only goes so far. You get the clean look if you set the ball for it, but the orientations between them are whatever the ball gives you. For many golfers, this trade is more than fair. For others, a bar is a bar.
Price and availability
TP5 AND TP5x Performance Stripe come in six-packs priced at $29.99. The six-pack is worth a beat on its own. Premium balls are almost always sold by the dozen, so this is another way to shop.
