“Why wouldn’t you play a golf ball that’s performs better than what you’re using now?”

That’s the take of Eric Loper, TaylorMade’s director of golf ball research and development, when discussing the company’s new and improved TP5 and TP5x golf balls. What’s the TaylorMade promise on the newly-designed balls? That you’re going to be five or six yards longer with your irons when you use this five-piece ball.

“The benefits of having five layers is it allows us to do all of it,” Loper says, referring to lower spin on balls struck with a driver, and more spin on chips and shots around the greens.

But most of all, TaylorMade says the ball travels significantly farther than its previous generation.  We were at their recent media event to introduce the golf ball, and it was there that they put the latest version of TP5 up against the previous generation. The difference in length when hit with a 7-iron was often more than five yards without impacting trajectory.

“When you’re seeing five or six yards longer with your irons, it really changes the irons you’re going to play on shots into greens,” Loper says.

Here are the biggest changes to the TaylorMade TP5 golf ball for enhanced performance.

New materials

High-flex material: That’s a key to the speed gains TaylorMade has made in the TP5 and TP5x. The material is central to the five-layer construction, which is at least one layer more than most competitive balls. With four stiff layers, the new material is the fastest the company has used, and is comparable to a tightly-wound spring that releases maximum energy.

Tri-Fast Core

By using a large low-compression core, and progressively stiffer outer core and mantle, the makeup of TP5 and TP5x deliver increased length when hit with irons by creating lower drag and increased carry. They say every swing made at more than 60 mph will benefit.

Dual-Spin Cover

The latest TaylorMade balls have a urethane cover and a rigid inner cover that makes for great control around greens. The rigid inner cover offers maximum spin on chips, and the new cover is more scuff-resistant than previous versions.

TP5 or TP5x?

The TP5 has a softer feel and launches lower on iron shots, while offering more spin around the greens (as much as 300 rpm more than TP5x when hitting an approach from 100 yards), while the TP5x has a firmer feel and will generate higher-launching iron shots.

Get it at Golf Town starting February 15.