Equipment
TaylorMade Project (a) golf balls
In most ways, amateurs need their golf balls to perform like the premium balls used by professional golfers.
With the driver, for example, most amateurs prefer the low-spin performance that is typical of a multi-piece tour ball because it allows them to hit longer drives. And on short shots, amateurs will benefit from the high-spin performance that is characteristic of a tour ball’s thin, urethane cover.
TaylorMade’s new Project (a) golf balls are designed specifically for amateurs, and use the company’s “React Core” to create low-spinning drives and “Soft Tech” cast urethane cover to drive higher-spinning short shots. The three-piece Project (a) balls also have a “Spin Mantle” layer in the middle, which helps regulate spin on the shots in between. Where they’re different from TaylorMade’s new Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred X tour balls, however, is where their high spin kicks in.
According to Dean Snell, vice president of golf ball R&D for TaylorMade, amateurs with handicaps in 10-to-24 range miss the green from 150 yards by an average of 35 yards. They certainly don’t need the extra spin a tour ball would provide on those shots, because it would cause them to miss the target by an even greater margin. But where they do need spin is from 80 yards and in, where Snell said they record 80 percent of their shots during a round.
“The tour guys, they average about 10,000 rpm of spin with their wedges,” Snell said. “It takes about 9000 rpm for a ball to spin and come back [on the green]. But amateurs only average about 5000 rpm of spin.”
To close the gap between amateurs and professionals, the Project (a) golf balls are designed to have maximum spin with a golfer’s short clubs, from the 9 iron and in for most golfers. Every extra 1000 rpm amateurs can generate with those clubs will stop the ball 5 feet closer to its landing point, Snell said.
The Project (a) golf balls are available in stores now for $31.99 per dozen.
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
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Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
J.T. Poston’s winning WITB: 2026 Memorial Tournament
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Best irons 2026: Best irons overall, most forgiving irons, and more
Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
Asterisk Talley WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Brianna Do WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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Ragin Kagin
Jul 25, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Love these, on my 5th dozen. Straight drives great spin on short shots and great durability no scuffs off my rotax wedges ,and excellent feel all around. Ive been searching for a ball to call my own for 2yrs and now ive got one. Was playing bridge rxs before . These are much straighter of the tee.
Gary
Feb 5, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Sounds like this ball is very much worth a try, probably a somewhat updated Rocketballz Urethane. Does this ball have a seamless cover?
Joe Golfer
Feb 5, 2014 at 1:47 am
If they spin that much, I hope the covers don’t get chewed up on wedge shots, especially with so many of the latest wedges having the extra laser etched grooving on the faces.
jc
Feb 4, 2014 at 5:02 pm
talk about spin!!!! I hit a driver and the ball hit the ground and spun all the way back to the tee!!!!
jc
Feb 4, 2014 at 5:01 pm
many optic tests have proven that yellow is easier to see…why do you think tennis balls are yellow now? they are also easier to spot in the early morning and dusk…the white ball is easier to see IF it is early morning, there is dew on the grass and the sun is bright..
I like yellow because I know which ball is mine when we get out in the fairway.
Erjhin
Sep 29, 2014 at 11:29 am
A good many vallubaes you’ve given me.
Arsotangkul
Oct 1, 2014 at 9:06 am
Thanks for the great info dog I owe you biigtgy.
Brandie
Jan 20, 2015 at 3:51 pm
cheap auto insurance
J
Feb 4, 2014 at 11:41 am
Any data to back-up the claim it takes 9000 RPM to back a golf ball up on the green? If that is the case, I’m hitting the 9k mark with a 6 iron and just shy of that on my 4 iron.
Zak Kozuchowski
Feb 4, 2014 at 12:11 pm
A lot of factors at play here, J: angle of descent, firmness of greens, moisture content, etc. But you bring up a good point. This is something I’d like for us to drill into in the future.
Poi
Feb 4, 2014 at 12:55 am
How is it off the driver? Does it balloon?
Indy
Feb 3, 2014 at 6:49 pm
I got some of these at the PGA Show, the spin rate increase was crazy! I generated 9800 with the NXT Tour, 11000 with Project A. Took it to the course the next day, backed both shots I hit with it back at minimal 20ft. The Rocketballz Urethane, could not do what this ball will do. Saw my dad do their test, went from 5000 to 6500. Same test with NXT Tour. This ball will spin!
Adam
Aug 5, 2014 at 2:50 pm
That’s because the NXT Tour doesn’t have a completely urethane cover. They advertise it as a “blend”
Jim
Feb 3, 2014 at 12:03 pm
Sounds like a rebranding of the the RBZ Urethane from last year – not that that’s a bad thing. Hopefully TM will learn about keeping the name of their golf balls consistent going forward too.
Brady Wilson
Feb 3, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Those balls surprised me by how good they were. our shop sold out of them because they were so cheap, and good quality combined. hopefully they improved upon that same idea. I’ll have to give these a try.
bootscrilla
Feb 3, 2014 at 6:33 pm
Same here, we couldn’t keep them on the shelves..I never did try them but I might have to give these a go
Justin
Feb 3, 2014 at 10:52 pm
I agree, they were really good balls, and I gamed them for a little bit in my college matches. They may have spun a tad much on the mid irons, but that may be because I still used the old TP/Black balls from forever ago (itself a mid spin design).
Chris
Feb 3, 2014 at 11:46 am
The reason most amateurs average around 5,000 RPM’s of spin is not just the golf ball, but the way they strike it. Hard to generate spin when they pick it off the turf or if they are hitting an approach from the rough, too.
Poi
Feb 4, 2014 at 12:55 am
You mean blade it off the turf. You can still generate a ton of spin by picking it on the grooves.
J
Feb 3, 2014 at 11:41 am
Similar to NXT Tours perhaps?
tbowles411
Feb 3, 2014 at 10:43 am
But can you get it in yellow?
deafninja
Feb 3, 2014 at 4:58 pm
Nope not currently in yellow doubt they will produce it in yellow. That’s why I will stick with Srixon since they have practically all of their offerings available in Yellow.
Dave
Feb 3, 2014 at 5:13 pm
What’s the benefit of yellow? Not trying to down play, just curious.
bootscrilla
Feb 3, 2014 at 6:31 pm
Visibility for the most part
Jeff
Feb 3, 2014 at 8:19 pm
They are no easier to see. It’s a gimmick.
RadioActive
Feb 4, 2014 at 11:07 am
Well if Jeff says they are not easier to see then they must not be easier to see…
paul
Feb 5, 2014 at 12:54 am
I play early morning golf and its way easier to see when the sun is barely up. And it is easier to spot in the rough I think.
fitterray
Feb 5, 2014 at 7:30 pm
I’ve lost every yellow ball that I’ve ever had.
Ragin Kagin
Jul 25, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Lmao @ fitterray is correct ive lost all of mine as well