Titleist’s AVX golf ball fits a very important niche in the market.
Players who want to play great golf and play a golf ball with a urethane cover, but maybe don’t have the speed to maximize one of Titleist’s tournament balls like Pro V1 or Pro V1x. With a lower flight and lower spin at the top end of the bag, the AVX fits the bill while offering tournament level feel and greenside performance of a urethane cover ball.
So when Titleist looked to create the next generation of AVX for 2026, they discovered one thing AVX players wanted to improve: more spin on the green.
“AVX golfers are very clear about why they play AVX. They like the long distance, low spin during play and especially the soft feel. These players are looking for specific performance attributes,” Titleist Golf Ball Product Management Director Frederick Waddell said in a release. “They were also telling us that if there was anything they could get more of with AVX, it was rotation and short game control, as long as it didn’t compromise the other aspects of AVX that they love.”
Not only did the new AVX deliver more spin on the green with a thicker and softer urethane cover, but a new reformulated core also allowed it to be even faster than before.
One thing you’ll hear golf ball engineers talk about when they change the characteristics of a golf ball is “spin slope.” The less a ball rolls off the top and the more around the greens, the steeper the spin slope.
To give AVX players the drive they wanted with more greenside spin while keeping driver and iron spin low, Titleist engineers had to increase the spin slope.
What they did was make the urethane cover thicker and softer to increase greenside spin, but if nothing else changed, it would promote spin off, which they didn’t want.
This is the place where AVX’s three-piece construction it was crucial because engineers could redesign the core to be faster and use a thinner ply layer to cancel out the added spin at the top end of the bag.
“These soft-on-hard, hard-on-soft relationships really drive spin performance for all golf ball designs,” said Titleist SVP of Golf Ball R&D, Mike Madson. “A soft shell over a hard case layer adds spin on shorter shots where the shell plays the biggest role. Then you have a hard shell layer over a softer core, which reduces spin when you get to those higher speed shots like a driver or hybrid. With the AVX, it’s really every part of its construction that we’re using to tune players with the AVX.”
My take: The true take on the AVX niche
Just like Titleist did with Pro V1x Left Dash and making it “Dash more Dash”, looks like they made it “AVX to AVX” too.
The AVX is a unique “fountain of youth” ball that really works well with older players looking to regain some distance lost with age. When Titleist is making equipment in the pro-ams, they load up on AVX knowing that those players will enjoy the increased distance.
While I wouldn’t call it a trade-off, it never rolled as much as a Pro V1 or Pro V1x around the greens, and that’s not necessarily something the typical AVX player benefits from.
Now with a little more spin around the greens, but still that low flight and spin with everything else, the AVX becomes an even more valuable ball for the right players.
Price and Availability
The new Titleist AVX 2026 golf ball will be available in golf stores starting January 21.
Each box of a dozen golf balls will cost $49.99.
Want to find the best golf balls for your game in 2026? Find a convenient club location near you at True Spec Golf.
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