Expert Picks: Houston Open

Following up the release of its TOUR-used 2019 TP5 golf balls in January, TaylorMade has announced new TP5 Pix golf balls – Pix is short for pixelated – that contain the same technologies as the all-white TP5 golf balls, but with a different look.  Certainly, these aren’t your grandparents’ golf balls, but there’s a technological reason for the new design that has 12 “Pix X� shapes on the urethane covers.   “White, round and sits on the ground is no longer the norm for golf balls,� as TaylorMade’s Category Director of Golf Balls said in a press release. “Visual technology has given us the opportunity to not only change the appearance of the golf ball but also allows for players to see immediate feedback where spin matters most — on and around the greens.� Based on research conducted with Indiana University, which also helped the company with its new Spider X putters, TaylorMade found the Pix design is easier to see than a white golf ball. Due to its multi-colored pattern, the company says the TP5 Pix golf balls are more visible during different times of the day, too. “The human eye processes lighter colors more efficiently when it’s darker and darker colors when it’s lighter,� according to TaylorMade. With more than one color in each Pix X shape, TaylorMade says the TP5 Pix golf balls have an advantage over other golf balls that have similar designs but use just one color. “Whereas most competitive products have only one color within a single image or shape, TP5 Pix’s unique design features two colors within one shape, further enhancing visibility and delivering a product that’s easy to see, regardless of the time of play during the day,� TaylorMade said. TaylorMade also says the Pix X shapes “allow golfers to see how much overall and side spin is generated around the green,� due to the contrast. Using a printing machine that TaylorMade has spent more than 18 months designing and developing, the shapes are applied using the same process as the logo, numbers and side stamping, with an “under coating printing,� according to the company. Like the all-white TaylorMade TP5 golf balls, the TP5 Pix also have five layers, including the new High-Flex Material, which was designed to create more rebound energy at impact for higher ball speeds compared to the previous TP5 golf balls. The new TP5 Pix golf balls will hit retail on March 22, selling for $44.99 per dozen. The Pix pattern is not available in the TP5x version. For more information on the TaylorMade 2019 TP5 golf ball technology, click here. PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Buy equipment here

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On Thursday of the 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship, Miura, a high-end Japanese club manufacturer known for its hand-crafted irons, announced that it signed Mexico’s Abraham Ancer as the first brand ambassador on the PGA TOUR in the company’s history, which started in 1957. As part of the agreement, Ancer, who’s currently 42nd in the FedExCup standings, “will work directly with the Miura family in Himeji, Japan, to craft his custom-designed forged irons, and will don the trademark Miura hat at TOUR events,â€� according to the company. “I switched to Miura irons well before any partnership; I just wanted to play the best forged irons available,â€� Ancer said in a press release. Although Ancer already plays Miura irons, it sounds as though he will have the opportunity to be more involved with the design process going forward. Miura’s Master Fitter Genaro Davila originally custom fit Ancer two years ago into a set of Miura irons. Now, as part of Ancer’s new deal, the 27-year-old will team up with Davila, and entrepreneur Gerardo Benavides, to form Dead Solid Perfect (DSP) Golf Mexico, which is a fitting studio and club assembly facility located in Monclova, Coahuila, that will be fully stocked with Miura products. “This is a first for Miura and it was important to us that this partnership transcend the traditional sponsorship model,â€� said Hoyt McGarity, President of Miura Golf in a press release. “Abraham is the perfect partner to grow Miura’s presence on and off the course. As one of the most successful Mexican golfers ever, his personal investment in Miura is the strongest endorsement as we increase our operations in Mexico and other parts of the world.â€� Ancer — he was born in South Texas but raised in Reynosa, Mexico, and has dual citizenship in Mexico and America – most notably won the 2018 Emirates Australian Open, and he also won the Web.com Tour’s Nova Scotia Open in 2015. Ancer is in the field at the WGC-Mexico Championship, and he will tee it up alongside Tiger Woods and Bryson Dechambeau in the first two rounds at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

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