Titleist NXT Golf Balls

Titleist has developed a variety of high-performing golf balls over the years designed for both top touring professionals and high-handicap golfers alike. Recently, the Titleist NXT has evolved into two different balls. The NXT Tour is designed for better golfers looking to maximize their yardage off the tee but not give up the spin so critical to their scoring. The NXT Extreme is designed for players of all abilities, including beginners who are primarily looking for maximum yardage but still want a bit of the soft feel that makes a high-end golf ball appealing to the better player.

Titleist developed originally as the golf product arm of the Acushnet Rubber Company headquartered in Massachusetts in the early part of the 20th century. Acushnet manufactured all sorts of rubber products from tents to tires and found as the rubber golf ball developed that golf products were a growth industry for them. Titleist was their first brand of golf ball and over the years, this soft, three-piece, rubber-based ball became the choice of touring professionals around the world. Over time, Titleist invested substantial time and resources into developing golf balls to help the average, beginning, senior and female golfer make the most of their games. The NXT series is a product of that technological research and development.

The NXT Tour is a three-piece ball made up of an inner and outer core surrounded by a thin, patented cover material called Fusablend. It has 392 dimples that promote the ball's aerodynamics. The NXT Extreme, on the other hand, is a two-piece construction with a solid core to promote long distance and a thin Ionomer cover to promote spin and soft feel. Also featuring 392 dimples, the Extreme version of the NXT has a significantly harder feel than the Tour version.

Both versions of the NXT ball are designed to combine maximum yardage and responsiveness from iron and short shots, however, each takes a different approach to this. The Tour version is softer than the Extreme, but firmer than the flagship ProV1 golf ball. The NXT Tour is basically designed for the average to above-average player who either doesn't need the features of or doesn't want to pay full price for the ProV1. The Extreme, on the other hand is a firmer, two-piece ball that cuts down overall spin and therefore keeps more balls flying straight. It is, however, a high-quality Titleist ball designed for the average to high-handicap player.

Both the NXT balls from Titleist are priced a bit lower than their ProV1 golf balls, but the NXT Tour, with its three-piece construction and design for generally better golfers, is priced a bit higher than its Extreme counterpart. The NXT Tour has a suggested retail price of $40 compared to the NXT Extreme at $34 in 2009.