Gear & Reviews · Golf Balls

What golf balls do the top-ranked pros use in 2025?

If you watch a pro broadcast for more than five minutes you’ll hear about what ball a player is using. There’s a reason: at that level, ball choice is part of the player’s identity, just like their driver or putter.

Below we’ll give you a simple snapshot of which balls some of the top-ranked pros play, explain why Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, and Srixon dominate the tours, and highlight highly rated “tour-style” golf balls from Amazon that you can actually put in play this weekend.

Player gear changes often; the chart on this page is a best-effort snapshot from late 2025. Some links are affiliate links, which may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep Reach The Green up and running.

Quick look: which balls do the top pros play?

This isn’t a complete list of every star on tour, but it shows the general pattern at the top of the game: a handful of premium urethane balls dominate on both the PGA Tour and LPGA.

Player Tour Typical ranking/status (2025) Usual ball model*
Scottie Scheffler PGA Tour World No. 1 Titleist Pro V1
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Top 5 in the world TaylorMade TP5
Xander Schauffele PGA Tour Top 5–10 in the world Callaway Chrome Tour
Jon Rahm LIV / Majors Major champion, top-ranked globally Callaway Chrome Tour X
Nelly Korda LPGA World No. 1 / Player of the Year TaylorMade TP5x
Tommy Fleetwood PGA / DP World Top-20 ball-striking star TaylorMade TP5x pix

*Pros often use customized versions, prototype markings, or tour-only constructions of these balls. What you buy at retail is usually very close in performance, but not always identical to what you see on TV.

Why do the same few balls show up in so many pro bags?

At the top of the game, the ball needs to do two things at once: go far off the tee and spin and stop around the green. That’s why you see:

  • Titleist Pro V1 / Pro V1x dominating as the “default” tour ball on many leaderboards.
  • TaylorMade TP5 / TP5x in the bags of aggressive drivers and shot-shapers.
  • Callaway Chrome Tour / Chrome Tour X for players who like a slightly different launch/spin profile.
  • Srixon Z-Star / Z-Star Diamond on a growing number of tour winners.

For you, the point isn’t to copy a specific pro perfectly, but to choose a ball in this “tour urethane” category that fits your launch, spin, and feel preferences.

Tour-style balls you can actually buy

From our Amazon feed we pulled all the premium golf balls, filtered out accessories, and then sorted by rating. Here are three standouts from the top 10 by rating:

Golf ball Rating Price* Link
Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls (2023) 4.8 ★ (13163) $26.97 View on Amazon
Titleist Pro V1 Prior Generation Golf Balls 4.7 ★ (4760) See listing View on Amazon
Callaway Golf Warbird Golf Balls 4.7 ★ (4458) $21.99 View on Amazon

*Approximate prices from the feed. Always check the current price and model details on Amazon before you buy.

Top 10 highly rated “tour-style” golf balls

Here’s the full top 10 list from our feed. Many of these are the same models (or close cousins) that tour players rely on every week, just in the consumer versions you can buy.

Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls (2023)

Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls (2023)

Rating: 4.8 ★ (13163 reviews)

$26.97 $2.25

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Titleist Pro V1 Prior Generation Golf Balls

Titleist Pro V1 Prior Generation Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (4760 reviews)

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Callaway Golf Warbird Golf Balls

Callaway Golf Warbird Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (4458 reviews)

$21.99

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Rating: 4.8 ★ (3985 reviews)

$32.97 $38.99

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Rating: 4.8 ★ (3985 reviews)

$37.99 $3.17

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (3423 reviews)

$33.94 $39.99

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (3423 reviews)

$33.94 $39.99

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Vice Pro Plus Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (3423 reviews)

$37.99 $3.17

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls (2025)

Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls (2025)

Rating: 4.8 ★ (2987 reviews)

$24.99 $2.08

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

VICE Pro Soft Golf Balls

VICE Pro Soft Golf Balls

Rating: 4.7 ★ (2569 reviews)

$28.44 $38.99

Click through for details on construction, compression, and whether the ball is built for tour-level spin or a more distance-focused flight.

How to pick a “pro-style” golf ball for your game

Before you copy your favorite player’s ball, think about what you actually need. Most golfers will do best with one ball they can trust all season, not a drawer full of random sleeves.

  1. Decide on feel first. Do you like the ball to feel really soft off the putter, or do you want a slightly firmer “click”? That alone narrows the field quickly.
  2. Check launch and spin with your irons. If you already launch it high with lots of spin, you might want the slightly lower-spinning version in a family (Pro V1 vs Pro V1x, TP5 vs TP5x, Chrome Tour vs Chrome Tour X).
  3. Look at your short game. Around the green, urethane-cover balls will generally give you more spin and consistency. If you like bump-and-run shots, you might actually prefer something with a little less zip.
  4. Try two models side by side. Take two candidates to the practice green, hit chips, pitches, and putts, and see which one you trust more. Then stick with it.
  5. Play the same ball every round. Pros don’t switch balls mid-round, and you shouldn’t either. Consistency is where the scoring gains come from.

If you’re also working on stopping power with your wedges, pair your ball testing with our guide to getting backspin on a golf ball.

FAQ: pro golf balls vs regular golf balls

Do pros always use the exact same ball you can buy in stores?

Often it’s the same model name and very close in performance, but some players use prototype markings or slightly tweaked versions. Still, the retail Pro V1, TP5, Chrome Tour, Z-Star, etc. are designed to deliver essentially the same performance characteristics for regular golfers.

Can a new ball really lower my scores?

A ball alone won’t fix a slice, but the right ball can absolutely help you hit more greens, hold more approaches, and tidy up your short game. The key is sticking with one model so your distances and rollout become predictable.

Should higher handicaps play the same balls as pros?

There’s no rule that says you can’t. If you lose a lot of balls, you might prefer a value option or used premiums, but there’s nothing wrong with playing a Pro V1 or TP5 as a 20-handicap if you like how it feels and performs.

Is it bad to mix balls during a round?

It won’t break the rules (as long as you don’t change brands and models between holes in events that require a “one-ball rule”), but it will make distance control harder. For casual golf, pick a ball you like and try to keep it consistent from hole to hole.

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