I Tried The Viral Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot Golf Ball

It's not very often that a golf product is so popular that it sells out and hits the secondary market at twice the price, unless we're talking about some rare Scotty Cameron gear, but over the last few years, there have been several examples that come to mind.

First, there was the original Kirkland Signature golf ball, and funny enough, the first batch of their players' distance irons also caused a fury. Then there was the first batch of the TaylorMade P7TW irons, and the BRNR mini-driver, which was another product that failed to keep up with demand. The recent example for the golf ball world is the Titleist •Pro V1 (aka the Left Dot) - a ball that just went on sale again and quickly sold out.

But, I was lucky to get my hands on a single dozen and decided that it might be better to find out what all the hype is about, instead of selling them for a profit and buying myself a nice Casio Calculator watch. I hope you realize that that part was a joke.

But before we get to my actual impressions of the ball, for those not quite familiar, here's some background.

The Left Dot Story

The Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot is one of a few CPO (Custom Performance Offering) golf balls that Titleist makes available to its players at the highest level of professional golf. Normally, these CPOs don't make their way into consumers' hands, but on occasion, they do go on sale.

It's this limited availability plus the allure of them being strictly allocated for the PGA Tour that makes demand far outweigh the production, even if some golfers aren't a perfect fit for the ball's launch and spin characteristics.

As for those characteristics, the Left Dot Pro V1 is a lower-flying and lower-spinning version of the popular Pro V1, but still maintains the soft feel and higher greenside spin of the core model Pro V1.

As for some history, the •Pro V1 dates back quite a few years now and was designed for those PGA Tour players who liked the performance of the core Pro V1 but also wanted to see a slightly lower ball flight and spin. These attributes are helpful for those golfers on the higher end of the club head speed spectrum with higher spin swing/impact dynamics. Players like Tony Finau and Jake Knapp.

Well, Tony Finau and Jake Knapp I am NOT, but like I said, since I finally got my hands on some it was time to put them to the test.

Pro V1 Left Dot Results

Since I didn't really feel like going to a range and smashing $60 worth of balls, which would likely be lost forever, I did the next best thing and brought them with me to play 9 holes. Sure, it's a small sample size, but considering I have a go-to golf course and have tested a lot of equipment this season, it doesn't take long for me to know if I like something or not, and it's performing as it should.

For background, I normally play either the Left Dash Pro V1x, or the standard Pro V1 - and yes, I realize they are not really in the same ballpark as far as performance is concerned, but for me, my biggest ask from a golf ball is lower spin. But on that note, I will say that as much as I like the Pro V1x left dash, it can feel a little on the firm side (to me).

This is where the ProV1 Left Dot had me very curious because it feels soft like the standard Pro V1, but flies lower and with less spin.

Driver

Off the tee, numbers show that I'm fairly optimized, but as promised, the Pro V1 Left Dot 100% delivered a lower ball flight by about 10-15%. From a distance perspective, I can't say that it was much longer than my normal go-to, but I could see this as handy for those who really struggle with lowering peak height to achieve a better descent angle.

Longer Game

This is where for me, the Pro V1 Left Dot really stood out. Not because I'm a super long player, but because my swing dynamics have me creating more than the ideal amount of dynamic loft into impact with my irons (4-6 irons) which generally causes a higher floaty ball flight.

Of those shots I did hit with my longer irons, I carried them right to my usual peak distance without any extra effort and the ball flew on a much more flatter trajectory, rather then my usual symetrical parabolic flight. This helped me gain about half a club of distance without losing stopping power.

It's this part of the bag where I think this golf ball really shines.

Wedges & Short Game

Just like with the irons, the Pro V1 Left Dot provided a lower flight with less spin on my wedges, with the only problem being, since I was going in cold to this little testing session, I failed to account for the roughly 5-8% of extra carry I was getting.

On the first two wedges, I blamed myself, but I soon realized and continued to not account for the extra carry I was getting on shots inside of 125 yards - that's on me, not the golf ball. As for actual performance, it was great and even with the touted lower spin, the ball had no issue grabbing greens. For those who tend to inadvertantly spin wedges too much this ball is a fantastic option, while still offering an extremely soft (but not too soft) feel.

Is It Worth The Hype?

This is where I struggle to answer the question, because on one hand, the Pro V1 left Dot lives up to everything it promises: lower flight, lower spin, and soft feel.

On the other hand, it isn't available on a regular basis, and I believe it might be possible to find something that likely performs similarly without having to go through the trouble of buying in the secondary market. Heck, you could just use the standard Pro V1 and be pretty darn set.

But, look, I said I would tell you how I feel, and here it is.

I think the ball is worth the hype and the price in the premium category (same as a standard Pro V1). I also think that if Titleist wants to offer it up, they should offer it on a full-time basis rather than making golfers feel like Labubu fans trying to get their hands on a new release.

As for some extra analysis and opinion, the likelihood is, the folks at Titleist don't want this "other" ball to eat too far into the sales of the core Pro V1, so on occasion, they give in to gear nerd demands and make it available, and if you are lucky enough to snag some, you're also likely to enjoy the performance they deliver.

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