Until very recently, the difference in performance between golf balls was only debated on shots hit off the tee, from the fairway and around the green. Once balls come to rest on the putting surface, the talk stops because, by rule, golf balls are the same size (1.68 inches in diameter) and weight (1.62 ounces). Assuming they are manufactured properly, they will all be round with symmetrical dimple patterns. Golf balls with different compressions may sound different when you putt them, but no brand has ever claimed that its balls roll better on the greens because balls should roll equally.
However, in recent years, golf ball manufacturers have started making versions of popular balls with patterns and colorful features to help golfers improve their performance on the greens. Like their all-white counterparts, these balls are the same regulation size, weight and shape. Alignment arrows, lines, shapes and special markings are generally regarded as identification markings by the USGA and the R&A, and that has allowed manufacturers to get creative and explore different patterns and color options.
Golf balls with lines or patterns can help your putting in two ways. First, aiming a straight line on the ball down the path you want your putt to start on can help some players set up squarely to that line and aim their putter’s face more effectively, and a better setup can lead to a more effective stroke. Second, if you line up a putt and hit it, and then see the line neatly roll end over end as the ball rolls toward the hole, you know the face of your putter and your stroke matched your intended line. If the line on the ball wobbles or is not rolling end over end, your stroke was not square to your intended path, or the face was either open or closed as it made contact with the ball. Either way, you’re getting feedback, which is why some golfers who don’t use a lined ball when they play use one as a training aid.
Below are several balls that are designed to enhance your performance on the greens using patterns and colors, listed from subtle to bold. Which is right for you? Like golf clubs, the best way to find the ball that helps you the most is to try several different models and test them on the practice green.
Titleist Pro V1 Performance Alignment (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash
Released in 2023, the Performance Alignment system adds the same type of solid line to Pro V1, Pro V1x, and Pro V1x Left Dash that a player might add himself using a Sharpie and a steady hand. The lines, which measure 105° around, can come in black, blue, red or green. The system is simple and to the point. It will be familiar to just about every golfer who has ever drawn a line on his or her ball and used it to aim putts.
Titleist Pro V1x Enhanced Alignment (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash
Titleist’s Enhanced Alignment system was released in 2024 and is a slightly more sophisticated version of Performance Alignment. Instead of utilizing a thick, solid line, the Enhanced Alignment system involves an extended side stamp that has arrows on either end, which is bracketed by a pair of thin black lines. It is intended to help players aim more effectively in a subtle way.
Bridgestone B X MindSet (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX, and Tour B RXS
MindSet is all about pre-shot preparation and mentally putting yourself in the best mindset to hit a good shot. The large red circle represents the time before the shot when you consider things like break and speed, while the smaller yellow circle represents the time when you want to envision what that putt will look like. After using the arrows to aim down your target line and align your putter’s face, the green dot becomes your point of focus. In a Bridgestone study, golfers made five percent more putts using a MindSet ball than an all-white ball from 10 feet.
Callaway ERC Soft Triple Track (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, Chrome Soft, ERC Soft
Callaway’s pentagon-patterned Truvis was one of the first high-visibility balls that took off with golfers, but the Triple Track pattern, which debuted in 2019 with the ERC Soft, is the visual technology that can help golfers on the greens. Available now in Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X and Chrome Soft, Triple Track involves two thin blue lines that bracket a thicker red line to create a pattern that makes it easier to align your putter down your intended line. Odyssey, Callaway’s putter brand, has even added Triple Track alignment aids to some putters to create a ball-club alignment system. Like other striped patterns, a poorly struck putt will cause the lines to wiggle as the ball rolls, but a squarely hit putt makes it rotate smoothly.
TaylorMade TP5 Stripe (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: TP5, TP5x, Tour Response
TaylorMade boldly debuted Stripe in the three-piece Tour Response ball in early 2023, but more subtly brought it to the brand’s most premium five-piece balls, TP5 and TP5x, in August. In Tour Response, Stripe is a 360-degree alignment system featuring a 22-millimeter band all the way around the ball. The colorful band makes the ball easy to aim, but if you pull or block a putt, the stripe will wobble. A properly struck putt makes the stripe remain solid as the ball rolls.
TaylorMade TP5 Pix (David DusekTM/Golfiweek) – Available: TP5, TP5x
TaylorMade has used the Pix platform to not only offer golfers a way to enhance putting performance but also to offer limited-edition balls that celebrate everything from majors to donuts to college teams. Updated for 2024, the two-toned diamond shapes create TaylorMade’s ClearPath Alignment system. With a white area in the middle, after lining up a putt and striking the ball properly, the Pix balls produce an orange track and a black track for easy-to-spot visual feedback.
Srixon Q Star Tour Divide (David Dusek/Golfweek) – Available: Z-Star, Z-Star XV, Q-Star Tour
While it’s simple, Divide is the most aggressive pattern or alignment system out there, and it comes in a variety of colors on Srixon’s premium balls. Each ball is divided into a different colorful region, like yellow-orange or yellow-blue, but golfers can opt for a white with a color too. Either way, putting a Divide creates a can’t-miss roll on the greens and a clear line to use when you are setting up and aligning your putt.
