TaylorMade TP5 Stripe – a premium ball plus enhanced alignment
We all know the merits of the TP5 and TP5x balls. They’re TaylorMade’s premium balls and what the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull all rely on.
McIlroy has described the TP5x as the fastest ball that he’s ever hit – “It’s unbelievably fast. Even going into the longer clubs, what I’ve picked up with driver as well, it’s amazing.”
In 2022 TaylorMade brought out the Tour Response Stripe which is a three-piece ball, aimed at the club golfer who has a moderate to fast swing speed, but with an advanced visual tech called 360° ClearPath Alignment.
Now TaylorMade have married the alignment aid, which features a 22mm-wide black marking that wraps around the centre of the ball to match a putter’s sight lines, on to the company’s premium ball. Fleetwood has been using it as an alignment tool in practice and we have Dustin Johnson to thank for the stripe in the first place.
The two-time Major champ loved the alignment aid on a photo shoot a few years ago and asked for it to be included on the TP5 and TP5x and now we have it. The American loves seeing his putts roll end over end and, with the 360 lines, you can get that immediate feedback be it on the long or short putts.
Even better if you’re using a putter with an alignment aid, like a TaylorMade Spider, you have the perfect alignment tools.
Needless to say the majority of putts have an element of break in them and this where the Stripe comes in. Now you can get a very solid idea of where you are lining the ball up which is not the case with other balls that have a much less significant alignment aid.
Also, and this is never mentioned as much, it works beautifully off the tee whether you want to line it up straight or set up for a fade or a draw. When setting up for a fade you can point the lines left of centre and vice versa for a draw.
“The reason golfers have fallen in love with the 360° ClearPath Alignment Stripe is because it really allows them to lock in on their line from behind the ball,” explained Michael Fox, TaylorMade’s balls expert.
“The immediate feedback about how the golf ball rolls is pivotal as well. Countless hours were spent having real golfers line up putts with 360° ClearPath Alignment and we found that the digital band helped them to aim more accurately.”
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