Titleist has released new versions of the NXT Tour golf ball, the NXT Extreme and NXT Tour. I’ve been playing both flavors for a while now. In this article I’ll be reviewing the new NXT Extreme Golf Ball. My NXT Tour golf ball review can be found here.
Titleist NXT Extreme Golf Ball
The NXT Extreme is is a two piece (core and cover) distance ball. It is geared toward players who need distance and don’t need as much spin around the greens, and who don’t want to spend a ton of dough on a box of balls ($34.00). This would likely include about 90% of all amateur golfers. The ball is extremely durable, so if you can keep it in play you’ll be able to play very many holes with it.
The NXT Extreme is so durable that Titleist guarantees you won’t cut open the ball during normal play. If you do, Titleist will replace your cut ball with a whole sleeve of new ones.
Technology
The core of the NXT Extreme is made of Polybutadiene.
From WikiPedia: Polybutadiene is a synthetic rubber that has a high resistance to wear and is used especially in the manufacture of tires. It has also been used to coat or encapsulate electronic assemblies, offering extremely high electrical resistivity. It exhibits a recovery of 80% after stress is applied, a value only exceeded by elastin and resilin. Polybutadiene is a polymer formed from the polymerization of the monomer 1,3-butadiene. ….Right.
The cover of the NXT Extreme is made of Surlyn. Surlyn is a Dupont plastic which is very strong and resistant to cutting.
Dimples
Titleist has long employed a 392 dimple aerodynamic design. Their research has concluded that the 392 dimple pattern provides more carry and distance. There are five different sizes of dimples which are arranged in an icosahedral pattern.
Staggered Wave Parting Design
New for this year Titleist has introduced the “staggered wave parting design.” Titleist balls, including the NXT, ProV1 and ProV1x series have all had a visible seam. What they’re doing now is staggering the dimples where the seam is, to gain that real estate on the ball. This has allowed more dimple coverage and even better results in carry, distance and spin.
AIM System
No longer do you need to draw an aiming line on your ball with Titleist’s new A.I.M. system. A.I.M. is short for alignment integrated marking. They call it a system but come on. It’s just a line, right? Perhaps not. The arrows and lines give you conscious and subconscious influence on aim and club path.
On The Course
I’m not a “hard” ball player typically. I prefer softer cover balls and I usually play the Titleist ProV1. My main two reasons are the spin around the greens and the pain (or lack thereof) when I hit full shots. I’ve been battling golfer’s elbow for several years and I’ve just about got it beat. But when I hit hard balls, or a bunch of range balls for that matter, my pain starts to come back.
I found the NXT Extreme to be “extremely” long. Like I mentioned in my NXT Tour review, the biggest distance increase I noticed was in my irons. I was taking aerial photos of the green as my approach shots flew right over by one or two extra clubs. Once I adjusted and went one or two shorter clubs down I started hitting greens again.
I’m not a bomber, but I can poke my drives out there on an average of 290 or so. I’m definitely capable of going beyond 300 when my timing is right and I hit the sweet spot. I found the NXT capable of drives well over 300 yards, but perhaps more importantly they were all fairly straight. With the Surlyn cover and the lower compression producing less spin, slices and hooks were easier to control.
Though I didn’t get any mad backspin I found that the Extreme stopped quite well on approach shots. Keeping in mind that this is a harder ball, I adjusted my shots around the green as well. Once I found the right touch or shot selection (like a bump and run), I found the consistency of the NXT Extreme excellent. I never ended up hitting a shot and wondering how my distance control was so bad.
NXT Extreme 1, Cart Path 0
One shot I hit on my home course, #13 hole, hit the cart path. This is a par-5, 528 yards. After hitting the cart path, my NXT ended up right at 145 yards out. I’d hit about a 380 yard drive, 80 of which was cart path. I examined the NXT for damage, but that Surlyn cover barely had a scratch. Other balls would be unplayable with an impact like that.
Conclusion
The NXT Extreme is a reasonably priced and very durable ball. It flies true, straight and long. It’s a bit too hard for my game and physical limitations with my elbows, but for the average amateur player this would be an excellent choice. I think the average Joe would hit a few more fairways and gain a noticeable bit of distance off the driver (and irons) compared to other golf balls.
For more pictures of the NXT and other Titleist products, click here to visit the Hooked On Golf Blog Titleist image gallery.
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