I'll start with an honest admission: I'm not a long hitter, and I've made peace with that. I'm 58, I play to about a 14 handicap, and my driver swing speed is not what it was when I was 35. I walk nine holes twice a week at my local public course in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and I play an 18-hole Saturday round with the same three buddies. I don't need a tour-level ball. I need one that flies straight enough, feels reasonable around the greens, and doesn't make me wince when I lose it in the woods. The TaylorMade Golf Distance+ has been that ball for me all season.
Before I get to the list, one thing worth knowing: I have no relationship with TaylorMade. I bought these balls the same way you would, and I've played them for most of a season. Every point on this list comes from actual rounds, not from a spec sheet. These are the ten reasons they keep earning a spot in my bag.
A distance ball that doesn't feel like a rock
The TaylorMade Distance+ is one of the highest-rated value golf balls on Amazon, with more than 11,000 ratings and a 4.7 average. If you're tired of losing expensive tour balls in the woods, this is the one to try first.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →The distance off the tee is the real deal
I hit my first one on a cold March morning at the range, and the flight surprised me. The ball came off the face hot and carried past the group of balls I was hitting beside. On the course, I noticed it most on the holes where I used to come up short of a hill crest. With the Distance+, I'm routinely playing from the top of the hill instead of the bottom. That's not a new swing. That's the ball.
It launches high, which helps as swing speeds drop
At 58, I'm not generating the ball speed I once did, and a low-launching ball just rolls out into trouble. The Distance+ gets up quickly off the driver and holds its flight, so I get carry instead of a dying knuckleball. On wet mornings when the fairways are soft, that extra carry matters even more. It's the kind of ball that works with the swing you have now, not the one you had twenty years ago.
The cover is softer than I expected from a distance ball
Distance balls used to feel like rocks around the green. The Distance+ has a soft ionomer cover, and you can feel it on chips and pitches. I've had chips check up instead of running ten feet past, which used to be my specialty in the worst way. It's not a tour ball, and I won't pretend it spins like one, but on a 20-yard chip with a sand wedge, it behaves. That's all I ask.
It holds a line in a crosswind better than I expected
My home course has a few holes where the wind comes off the bay and pushes everything right. The bay wind is my regular opponent, and this ball has held its own against it. With TaylorMade's 342-dimple pattern on this ball, the flight stays on line instead of ballooning. I still have to aim, and I still miss, but the miss is smaller. On a windy Saturday round, that's the difference between a bogey and a double.
The cover survives cart paths and tree trunks
I'm not proud of this, but I've hit this ball off a paved cart path twice this season. Both times I walked up expecting a scuff the size of a quarter. The ball had a mark you could barely see, and it still flew fine on the next hole. A premium ball with a urethane cover would have been shredded. One of my buddies calls the cart path the fifth hole here, and he's not wrong. I'm not saying the Distance+ is indestructible, because no golf ball is. I'm saying it holds up to the way I actually play.
You don't grind your teeth when you lose one
The water on number 11 has eaten its share of my golf balls. When I used to play a premium ball, I'd stand over that shot thinking about what it cost. That's no way to swing a club. With the Distance+, the sting is gone, and I swing freely. Golf is hard enough without pricing your mistakes on every tee box. This ball lets me play without that voice in my head.
It rolls true off the putter face
I keep a small putting setup in my garage, and I've spent more winter evenings rolling putts with the Distance+ than I care to admit. The feel off the face is firm but consistent, and the ball tracks where I aim it. My wife Carol says she can hear me putting at 9 p.m. from the kitchen, and Murphy, our yellow Lab, is the only one who watches without judging. On the course, I trust it on the three-footers that used to make me nervous. A ball that starts on your line and holds it is worth more than any marketing claim.
Mis-hits don't get punished as hard
I'm a 14 handicap, which is a polite way of saying I don't always find the middle of the face. What I've found with the Distance+ is that my mis-hits still get out there. A toe-hit that used to die short now carries to the front of the green or rolls up near the fairway bunker. It won't fix a bad swing, and I won't pretend it will, but for a golfer with my bad habits, the forgiveness shows up on the scorecard.
It matches the way weekend golfers actually play
Most of us aren't playing firm, fast tournament-condition courses. We're playing public courses with wet rough, sandy greens, and the occasional patch of dirt in the fairway. A ball that spins like a tour ball doesn't do you favors in those conditions. The Distance+ is built for the golf most of us actually play: a few good shots, a few bad ones, and a beer after. The guys I play with on Saturday are all in the same boat, and all three of them have switched. It suits that game perfectly.
It's the ball I reach for without thinking
At the start of this season, I had a dozen Distance+ balls in my bag and a dozen premium balls I'd been saving. The premium balls are still in my closet. Every Saturday, I grab the TaylorMade Distance+ and head to the first tee. Consistency is the reason. Same ball every round, same flight, same feel, no second-guessing. That consistency shows up in my scores more than any single shot does. When you're standing on the first tee with the same three buddies, that counts for a lot.
What I'd Skip
If you're a low handicapper who needs to stop the ball on a hard green with a full wedge, this isn't the ball for you. The Distance+ doesn't spin like a urethane tour ball, and no amount of good intentions changes that. If you like a very soft feel on every shot, including full irons, you may prefer a softer ball. And if you're fighting a slice or a hook, I'll tell you what I tell my buddies: no golf ball fixes that, and this one won't either. But if you're a weekend golfer who wants reliable distance, a decent feel, and a ball you don't have to baby, it deserves a spot in your bag.
Three rounds with the same sleeve of balls. That has never happened to me with a premium ball.
Give your next round a ball you won't think twice about
TaylorMade's Distance+ is one of the most popular value golf balls on Amazon, with more than 11,000 ratings behind it. If you're over 40 and tired of losing expensive balls in the woods, it's a good place to start.
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