Thursday, January 28, 2016

Titleist Introduces New NXT Tour, NXT Tour S and Velocity Golf Balls

Technically Advanced, High Performance Models Deliver Even Longer Distance, Better Feel

(FAIRHAVEN, Mass) – Titleist, the #1 ball in golf, delivers best-in-class performance in its new NXT Tour, NXT Tour S and Velocity golf balls for 2016 through new core and cover innovations. New NXT Tour has been engineered for even longer distance, while new NXT Tour S offers its softest feel yet. New Velocity provides even more powerful distance with a more playable feel.

Every new Titleist golf ball model results from a rigorous R&D process rooted in golfer research and feedback, technological advancements, intellectual property leadership and comprehensive prototype testing and validation. Titleist’s precision manufacturing process ensures each new model delivers the superior performance, consistency and quality that golfers expect from Titleist.

“At Titleist, our goal is always to deliver the best performing product we possibly can, and what new NXT Tour, NXT Tour S and Velocity represent are the best performing golf balls in their respective categories,” said Michael Mahoney, Director, Golf Ball Product Management. “When we look at the results of our extensive robot and player testing, we are exceedingly confident that golfers will experience new Titleist golf ball models that outperform their competition and deliver on their meaningful performance improvements relative to distance, short-game performance and soft feel.”

New NXT Tour and NXT Tour S, its softer-feeling companion model, are high performance golf balls designed with advanced distance and short-game technologies to help golfers shoot lower scores:
• New NXT Tour has a larger center dual core that produces low spin and fast ball speed for even longer driver and iron distance. The new core technology combines with Titleist’s soft, proprietary Fusablend cover for excellent shot stopping control and soft feel.
• New NXT Tour S provides similar high performance benefits as NXT Tour with a remarkably softer feel. A reformulated softer compression core combines with a softer Fusablend cover to produce the softest-feeling NXT Tour S yet, while maintaining outstanding distance in the long game and commanding scoring performance for precision in the short game.
• Comparatively, NXT Tour delivers longer distance with a higher flight, while NXT Tour S provides significantly softer feel.

New Velocity, reengineered with its largest and fastest core yet, produces explosive initial velocity for even more powerful distance:
• Velocity’s proprietary LSX core technology delivers faster ball speeds for more distance on all full swing shots. The low-spin construction with leading-edge aerodynamics produces a soaring trajectory for remarkable carry and roll, while a new, thinner NAZ2 cover provides more playable feel in the short game.

More than 34,000 golfers from around the world participated in the white box testing and validation process for new NXT Tour, NXT Tour S and Velocity, with golfers receiving prototype golf balls for on-course evaluation. Player feedback was then gathered through Team Titleist and shared with Titleist R&D.

All new models are available in golf shops worldwide beginning Jan. 28.

New NXT Tour for 2016 
Engineered for high performance and distance, new Titleist NXT Tour is designed using advanced multi-component technology to provide even longer distance with excellent scoring performance and soft feel. NXT Tour’s dual core has been reengineered with a larger center that lowers driver and iron spin while delivering fast ball speed for more distance. A soft, thin Fusablend cover, pioneered by Titleist R&D, maintains NXT Tour’s excellent scoring performance with shot stopping control into and around the green. A spherically tiled 302 octahedral dimple design with shallower edge angles delivers a higher ball flight (than NXT Tour S) with a deep downrange peak trajectory.

“Performance can be measured with robots and instruments, but ultimately we measure our performance by the feedback we receive from golfers. And those golfers asked us to deliver an even longer NXT Tour,” said Matt Hogge, Titleist Golf Ball R&D’s Director of Product Implementation. “The challenge for R&D was in reengineering the technology to increase distance while retaining the exceptional scoring performance that these golfers rely on. When you look at the dual core technology of NXT Tour, one of the critical elements is the relationship of the softer inner core to the firmer outer core. We’ve increased the size of that softer center so that by volume it’s about 66 percent larger. That’s a significant change which allowed us to knock down spin on full shots for longer distance. When you combine that with our thin, soft Fusablend cover, you also get great performance on shots into and around the green, the shots that really matter the most for scoring.”

Player Benefits
• Longer driver distance
• Longer iron distance
• Shot stopping short game control
• Soft feel
• Excellent durability

Technology Excellence
• Larger center dual core engine
• Soft, fast Fusablend cover
• Spherically-tiled 302 octahedral dimple design

MAP: $34.99/dozen (MSRP: $45/dozen)

New NXT Tour S for 2016
Softer from core to cover, new Titleist NXT Tour S golf ball is designed for players seeking the tee-to-green performance of NXT Tour – outstanding distance, consistent flight and excellent short-game control – with a significantly softer compression feel. New NXT Tour S has been reengineered with an even softer compression core and softer Fusablend, resulting in the softest-feeling NXT Tour S ever. A spherically tiled 302 octahedral dimple design delivers a piercing and stable ball flight.

NXT Tour S is available in both White and High Optic Yellow.

“Golfers that play NXT Tour S value very soft feel, and they still want Titleist performance. They want to hit it long off the tee and have great control around the greens. For 2016, our design goal was to further differentiate NXT Tour S from NXT Tour in terms of feel, while still delivering on those performance expectations,” said Scott Cooper, Titleist R&D’s Product Development Manager. “With new NXT Tour S, we’ve reformulated the core to be lower in compression so it will feel softer. We’ve also softened the cover by increasing the percentage of the softening agent used in the cover formulation. The cover is soft but it’s also durable, and it’s exclusive to Titleist. We call it Fusablend. It’s engineered to be soft and thin, which contributes to the ball’s exceptional short game spin. Unlike thermoplastic urethanes (TPU) which most of our competitors use, our cover feels soft on all shots rather than clicky.”

Player Benefits
• Softer feel on every shot
• Outstanding long game distance
• Piercing and stable ball flight
• Shot stopping short game control
• Excellent durability

Technology Excellence
• Reformulated softer compression core
• Softer Fusablend cover
• Spherically-tiled 302 octahedral dimple design

MAP: $34.99/dozen (MSRP: $45/dozen)

New Velocity for 2016 
Titleist R&D has reengineered the new Velocity golf ball to deliver even more explosive distance on all full swing shots while providing a more playable feel in the short game. New Velocity is designed with a larger, faster LSX core that produces higher ball speed for more distance. The low spin construction and 328 dimples in a spherically-tiled tetrahedral design deliver a soaring, penetrating ball flight that produces long carry distance with more rollout. A thinner NAZ2 cover combines with the larger core to deliver more playable greenside feel.

Velocity is available in single (#1, 2, 3, 4) and double-digit (#00, 22, 77, 99) play numbers. The double-digit play numbers were selected based on their popularity among members of Team Titleist (www.titleist.com/teamtitleist).

“The core is the engine of the golf ball. We’ve made the core of the new Velocity even larger – it’s now 1.575 inches in diameter. A larger core means a thinner cover. That combination gives Velocity great ball speed. Add in Velocity’s aerodynamic package and you have an incredible formula for distance,” Hogge said. “But this is still a Titleist golf ball – and every golf ball we design is about tee-to-green performance. While Velocity is built for distance in the long game, it also launches high with a steep angle of descent, which help golfers who don’t generate a lot of short game spin stop the ball close to the pin. The thinner cover also provides a more playable feel. All of these benefits will help golfers feel more confident from tee to green.”
 
Player Benefits
• Explosive initial velocity for powerful distance
• Low long game spin
• Precise, consistent ball flight
• Playable short game feel

Technology Excellence
• Larger and faster LSX core technology
• Thinner NAZ2 cover formulation
• Spherically-tiled 328 tetrahedral dimple design

MAP: $26.99/dozen (MSRP: $35/dozen)

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