WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: PXG launches its second generation of multilayer, urethane-covered golf balls, the PXG Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X. Both are three-piece designs with the Tour offering a softer feel, a lower trajectory and less spin off the driver, and the Tour X presenting a firmer feel, a higher trajectory and slightly more spin off the driver.

PRICE: $50 per dozen. Xtreme Tour in white and yellow; Xtreme Tour X in white.

3 COOL THINGS 1. Why two is better than one. When PXG entered the golf ball market, its focus with the Xtreme ball was to simplify the crowded golf ball landscape with an answer that would work for all types of swing speeds, and while that could be true for the majority of shots, it ran counter to the company’s emphasis on fitting, said Caleb Kroloff, senior R&D engineer.

“With our first generation, we talked about one golf ball because golf balls are complicated and there’s so many models out there and it’s something that consumers are easily confused by,” he said. “With these two balls now, we’re showing there’s enough differentiation from ball to ball of what fits a person better.”

Kroloff pointed to the two balls’ differing compressions as one key to fitting and optimizing performance. He said the Xtreme Tour’s overall compression is around 98, or about 12 points lower (softer) than the original Xtreme and slightly softer than the typical tour-played ball. Meanwhile, the Xtreme Tour X checks in at 107, notably firmer than the Xtreme Tour but still softer than the original Xtreme and softer than many of the firmest tour-played balls.

“So having those different compression levels will help different players be more optimal, so a softer ball might compress better for a slower speed player, and a firmer ball might be more optimal for a high-speed player,” Kroloff said.

2. Outside story. Both new balls feature a thinner cover than the previous Xtreme model, and while one benefit is more energy from the larger core, Kroloff said another bonus is durability. “It may be be a little counterintuitive, but a thinner cover is more durable off wedges because the cover doesn’t eat into the grooves as much, so it doesn’t scrape as much off the cover,” he said. “Secondly, because the overall size of the golf ball obviously hasn’t changed, by having a thinner cover, you have more core, so that transfers more energy so it creates more ball speed.”

PXG Xtreme Tour (left), Xtreme Tour X (right) both have thinner covers than original PXG Xtreme ball (below).

BEN WALTON

3. Inside story. That energetic inner element of the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X also is an upgrade from the first PXG ball. Despite the two different core compressions of the polybutadiene cores, both balls optimize the rebound for a given speed, Kroloff said. He said in addition to the cores being larger because of the thinner cover, they have different durometer ratings or firmnesses, to optimize speed, driver spin and feel for the target player.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com