Titleist’s PGA Tour seeding of its new 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls began at the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas (although several pros actually started using them the event prior, at the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship).

At the time, we didn’t yet know about the technical improvements, release date or pricing, we only had the early feedback of pros who already started testing and using the new golf balls.

Charley Hoffmann, for example, switched into the 2023 Pro V1x golf ball at the Shriners during Tour launch week. Speaking with GolfWRX.com at the Shriners, Hoffmann compared his experience with the new Pro V1x golf ball, versus the Pro V1x Left Dash golf ball he was playing previously.

“I just started hitting it [in Oceanside] and the speed was great,” Hoffmann told GolfWRX. “I call the Left Dash a ‘Trackman ball,’ because all the numbers look really good on Trackman, but you lose a little bit around the greens. This ’23 golf ball is, I would say, a very fast golf ball. It spins a little bit more [than the low-spinning Left Dash], but with the driver you can get optimal launch conditions, and low spin with the driver. But where I really like it, and where I’ve seen the bigger difference, is that it’s really tight with the irons, and really, really good around the greens. I would say a little softer feel, not as click-y as the Dash I was playing, or a traditional X golf ball. It’s a little quieter sound, and really, really good around the greens. It’s hard to keep both the distance and good ball flight with driver, and keep up performance around the greens, but somehow Titleist has figured it out with this ’23 golf ball.”

Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Tour Consultant for Golf Ball R&D, confirmed at the Shriners that Titleist’s goal with the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls was to make them “a little bit longer,” by reducing spin on high speed full shots. To avoid a tradeoff on short game performance, though, Pitts and team sought to keep the short game performance the same within 100 yards.

During the official retail announcement today, January 18, Titleist confirmed exactly how the company went about making those desired improvements.

According to Titleist, the company designed a new “high gradient core” to achieve lower spin and faster speeds. The cores of both golf balls are now built to be firmer on the outer portions, getting progressively softer as the core reaches the exact center of the golf ball. The Pro V1x golf ball, specifically, saw its inner core increase by 44 percent – the larger soft area of the core works in concert with the high-gradient design to lower spin and enhance stability as the ball flies through the air.

Just like previous Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, the 2023 versions also have soft urethane covers and firm casing layers to help maintain the maximum greenside spin.

The combination of a soft cover, firm inner casing layer, and progressively soft inner cores allowed Titleist to decrease spin in the long game and increase distance on full shots, while maintaining the short game spin that Titleist golf ball users have grown accustomed to in recent years.

2023 Titleist Pro V1 vs. Pro V1x

Now, for the real question: Which golf ball should you play – the 2023 Pro V1 or the 2023 Pro V1x?

Let’s take a look at the differences.

The Titleist 2023 Pro V1 golf ball has 388 dimples on the cover, a black number, and it has a 3-layer construction (urethane cover, casing layer and core). The Pro V1 is built to have the lower long game spin and more penetrating ball flight, with a softer feel.

The Titleist 2023 Pro V1x golf ball, on the other hand, has 348 dimples, a red number, and it has a 4-layer construction (urethane cover, casing layer, dual core). The Pro V1x will offer slightly more spin in the long game and a higher flight, with a firmer feel than the Pro V1.

Titleist’s new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls will be available in retail shops starting on January 25 for a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) of $54.99. Both golf balls are available in white (numbers 00, 1-99) and high optic yellow (numbers 1-4).