Equipment
Brian Gay on what we might expect from the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x
“Tactician” is the first word that comes to mind when I hear Brian Gay’s name. He has never been a long hitter rather finding success plotting around the golf course and letting his putter and wedges do the talking.
If you want to put Brian Gay in a bucket, he would fall in the Kevin Na, Ryan Moore, Brendan Todd, Zach Johnson category…even Collin Morikawa could fit in there. These are precision-first players.
With the Bryson Effect, players like Gay, in theory, should be dying out little by little, but that hasn’t been the case. In fact, it’s gone the other way.
The “shorter” hitters are finding advantages in other places, and I believe that the golf ball provides more benefit to these players than the big hitters.
In an interview Brian Gay did with Titleist earlier this week, he discussed the different nuances of how he chooses a golf ball and gave us a little insight into what we may expect with the new Pro V1/X series.
Titleist: You put the new Pro V1 in play at Shriners. How do you come to the decision to change into a new golf ball – the one piece of equipment you use on every shot?
Brian Gay: Great question. The Titleist guys sent some of the new golf balls to my home in September, but I didn’t really get to even test them out before I went to Vegas. I didn’t play Puntacana and then the next week was Sanderson Farms. I was intending to play there but my lower back was kind of locked up and I couldn’t go. So, I just took the new golf balls with me to Vegas, practiced and played with them for a couple of days and told the guys I’m was in, “I’m going to play the new Pro V1 this week.”
I’d been using the Pro V1x Left Dash most of the last two years or so. I did play the 2019 Pro V1 when it first came out and even the 19X a little bit. But I found the New Pro V1 incredible. It’s super soft. I love the soft feel, especially with the putter. I thought it worked very well in the wind. The other thing, like I was saying, I’ve been working on my wedge game shots, say 50 to 100 yards, and it really flights nicely. I like that. The Left Dash is a higher flying ball and I was able to hit more low spinner shots with the New Pro V1 with my wedges.
Titleist: How do you prioritize what you are looking for in a golf ball?
Brian Gay: Being more of a short game player, not a power player, it’s important to me how the golf ball reacts on short shots. However, I am still concerned about distance, and that was what I loved about the Pro V1x Left Dash when it came out. When I tested it, I hit it higher and a little further from my mid-irons on up, yet I still was getting the spin with my wedges. It was just more of a feel thing versus spin and a little bit higher flight with the New Pro V1. Honestly, it’s a combination. Does it spin the right amount with my irons? The new Pro V1 was super soft. I love that feel. And I don’t feel like I lost any distance. It’s still going as far as the other ones, so I thought it was a good mix.
Titleist: So how much does distance come into play and how did this distance compare to the Left Dash?
Brian Gay: Distance does come into play. Like I said, I didn’t get a chance to really do extensive testing at home before I went to Vegas with it. I just took it out on the course. I did hit some drivers on the Trackman on the range. I did a little bit of comparison on the course, but I loved the feel of it. I know what the best numbers are on my driver and I was getting the same numbers with it. So I didn’t feel like I was giving anything up.
It’s easy to look at the long hitters and try to emulate what they do. However, if you really want to get better, paying attention to what Gay, Champions Tour players, and the LPGA is where you will find actual real-world nuggets to implement into your own game. All golf ball makers these days have great product,t and understanding what each ball really does and how it enhances your particular game is as important as anything. For me personally, it’s always ball first, clubs second.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Lame
Nov 7, 2020 at 11:52 pm
How much did titleist pay for y’all to run this?
John Wunder
Nov 9, 2020 at 7:19 am
3 Beyblades and a Wally Joyner rookie card.