Equipment

Wilson introduces new Duo Soft golf balls, available in matte colors

Published

9 years ago

Oct 10, 2017

Wilson is unveiling the industry’s lowest-compression two-piece golf ball and adding some color in the process.

“The industry’s lowest 29-compression golf balls are not only the softest, longest and straightest, but now even longer and more durable,” says Frank Simonutti, Wilson’s Global Director of Golf Ball Innovation.

“With a 3 percent larger core for increased ball velocity and a softer, thinner sodium/zinc ionomer cover for optimal distance and durability, this newly formulated 2-piece golf ball provides low driver spin, exceptional yardage and unparalleled soft feel to the Distance (D) player.”

WilsonDuoSoftSPin

The Duo Soft balls, which will be available in-store and online November 17, bear a $19.99 price tag for one dozen. In terms of price, the Duo Soft slides in behind Wilson’s premium Staff FG Tour Urethane ($44.99/dozen) and Duo Urethane ($37.99/dozen).

Simonutti also notes company testing shows the new Duo Soft is an industry leader in the two-piece ball market.

“The optimized dimple pattern has reduced dimple depth by 5.7 percent, resulting in higher trajectory and longer distance performance.” These enhancements give DUO Soft the (1) best feel, (2) longest distance, and (3) the lowest spin leading to straightest flight off the tee in testing against all competitive premium 2-piece balls.”

Consumers will be able to pre-order the Duo Soft golf ball– in one of six matte finishes –starting October 30. The balls are available in red, green, yellow, orange, pink, and a women’s matte white.

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

22 Comments

Vito B

Oct 11, 2017 at 5:57 pm

Interesting. On My Golf Spy, Frank Simonetti says that they tested a large number of different golf balls and there was no more than 4 yards difference in all of them.(except for Aeroburner Soft which was “a lot shorter”). So which is it Mr. Simonetti, are they longer or not? Or are you wearing your “marketing”(aka B.S) hat?

Reply Report comment
- JB
  
  Oct 13, 2017 at 3:27 pm
  
  In context he you are referring to two separate comparisons.
  
  When he says they are longer, he is referring to the previous ball these replaced. Which, yes, can generally be viewed as marketing. It is always expected to be better than previous generations. Do you think anyone would ever sell a product if they said “It is kind of better than the previous generation.” It would be like Apple saying “This is the same exact iPhone, with no real improvement over the old generation”, or “The battery life is the exact same.” Probably wouldn’t sell many phones.
  
  His other comment about a 4 yard difference is a comparison across all balls, both tour and non-tour caliber balls. In other words under the USGA rules, all balls essentially get the same distance, and the only difference is feel, spin, etc. So if your buying a ball just for “distance” you are wasting time, they all go the same distance give or take a few yards. Keep in mind this comparison is not a comparison with the previous DUO.
  
  Reply Report comment
William Milne

Oct 11, 2017 at 12:20 pm

Must tell you guys…I am senior golfer and at one time scratch player for years. I tried the duo about a year ago and have tried all the other brands and was long time PRO V! player. For my swing speed at about 90 MPH it is great! Also, what I like is that it is the softest feel off pitches and putter of ANY ball I have ever used. Sure, it doesn’t bite as well as the premiums, but for price and feel, I have come to conclusion that it is the only ball for me and I am going to quit trying to find better ball. Tried the duo spin, but did not like it as well…not sure why.

Reply Report comment
matt

Oct 11, 2017 at 10:49 am

So Women only get the white-balls???

Reply Report comment
- Thomas A
  
  Oct 11, 2017 at 11:40 am
  
  Don’t be racist.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - dapadre
    
    Oct 11, 2017 at 2:07 pm
    
    Taking a Knee because of Matts comment.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Travis
      
      Oct 12, 2017 at 8:47 am
      
      Get out of here, Collin!
      
      Reply Report comment
- JB
  
  Oct 13, 2017 at 3:29 pm
  
  I heard they were going to make matt black balls too, but you know what they say about going black…..
  
  Reply Report comment
Gorden

Oct 10, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Like what he said about distance, all most all golf balls have reached distance limit, last year Barney Adams (original Adams golf) told us Drivers had reached distance limit within the last 6 years or so….Now we need to see how long before golf governing bodies cave in to club and ball companies and make the average tour drive 350….with 400 common for big hitters…..

Reply Report comment
Volvik

Oct 10, 2017 at 9:19 pm

Welp, there goes my business…

Reply Report comment
- Real Volvik
  
  Oct 11, 2017 at 7:10 am
  
  Not really, we are supplying the technology to Wilson Staff. We’re doing just fine.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Real Real Volvik
    
    Oct 12, 2017 at 8:48 am
    
    Just kidding, no one plays our balls anyway.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Rick
      
      Oct 13, 2017 at 9:16 am
      
      I play the green. I don’t see as well as always but hate wearing glasses while playing. Easy to see and no glare. It even lights up the face of my irons when sun is right which is no benefit, but cool
      
      Reply Report comment
Scott

Oct 10, 2017 at 8:54 pm

Why don’t they come out with blue balls…

Reply Report comment
- Tanner
  
  Oct 11, 2017 at 7:12 pm
  
  Gamer Soft has. WTF, no yellow ones?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Thomas A
    
    Oct 12, 2017 at 10:23 am
    
    Yellow is listed and pictured here.
    
    Reply Report comment
etc.

Oct 10, 2017 at 6:54 pm

29-compressioin?!!! They must feel like a silicone ball or a really old marshmallow !!!

Reply Report comment
Shane

Oct 10, 2017 at 6:32 pm

Says matte but in photo at top with the box they look like regular white, thus so or not? I saw them elsewhere and the shield was blue in color, what gives?

Reply Report comment
Steve I

Oct 10, 2017 at 5:07 pm

Balls! … White balls … Yellow balls …. Orange balls …. what’s next … Blackballs?

Reply Report comment
- etc.
  
  Oct 10, 2017 at 6:55 pm
  
  IIRC Nike came out with a ‘black’ ball.. but it was quickly discontinued…. wonder why.
  
  Reply Report comment
Cornwall1888

Oct 10, 2017 at 11:31 am

Softest, longest, straightest? Too good to be true

Reply Report comment
Dat

Oct 10, 2017 at 9:40 am

Just in time for fall/winter. I like it!

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

3 mins ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.