So, you want to know what golf ball YouTube phenom Grant Horvat uses to bomb his drives and attack pins? He most frequently plays the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash, a very specific and high-performance choice that is perfectly tuned for his powerful, high-speed swing. This article won't just tell you the name of the ball, we’re going to break down exactly why this particular model works for him. More importantly, we'll show you how to use his same pro-level thinking to choose the perfect golf ball for your game.
If you watch Grant's content closely, you'll see he actually uses two different types of golf balls, and understanding the "why" behind each one is important.
For the rest of this guide, we'll focus on the Pro V1x Left Dash. It reveals the most about how a high-level player chooses equipment to gain a real performance edge, and the lessons from his choice are what you can apply directly to your own game.
The name "Pro V1x Left Dash" might sound like a bunch of jargon, but each part of that name tells a story. Titleist's Pro V1 line is the gold standard for premium golf balls, but the "Left Dash" is a unique Custom Performance Option (CPO) that was originally created for Tour players who wanted a very specific flight pattern. It's not the same as a regular Pro V1 or Pro V1x.
Its nickname among club fitters and pros gives you the best hint: it's the "spinner killer."
The first thing a player like Grant would notice is the feel. The Pro V1x Left Dash has a much firmer feel at impact compared to the standard Pro V1 (which is soft) or the standard Pro V1x (which is firm, but not this firm). Faster swinging players often prefer this solid, crisp feedback. It feels powerful, communicating that energy is being transferred directly to the ball without a "mushy" or "spongy" sensation that you might get from a softer, high-compression ball.
This firm feel also provides precise feedback on your putts and chips. You know exactly how the ball came off the face, which helps with distance control around the greens.
This is the number one reason Grant Horvat would choose this ball. Players with high swing speeds (115+ mph with driver) generate an immense amount of backspin naturally. While spin is great around the greens, too much spin with a driver or long irons is a distance killer. It causes the ball to "balloon" up into the air, lose energy fighting gravity and wind, and land softly with very little roll.
The Pro V1x Left Dash is engineered with a firm core and casing layer that work together to dramatically reduce spin on full-swing shots. This turns Grant's raw speed into pure forward velocity. Instead of ballooning, the ball produces a piercing, powerful trajectory that bores through the wind, carries farther, and rolls out upon landing. For him, this can easily mean an extra 15-20 yards of total distance compared to a higher-spinning ball.
Don't confuse "low spin" with "low launch." This ball is still designed to fly high, just like the regular Pro V1x. The difference is in the quality of the flight. It achieves its peak height with a strong, penetrating trajectory instead of climbing weakly. It gets up, flattens out, and seems to hang in the air for an eternity before starting its descent. This combination of high launch and low spin is the holy grail for maximizing carry distance.
The Pro V1x Left Dash is a specialist's ball. The trade-off for its incredible long-game performance is slightly less spin on short-game shots compared to a standard Pro V1. However, since it has a premium urethane cover, it still provides more than enough greenside check and control for a highly-skilled player like Grant. His technique is so refined that he can generate a ton of spin with his wedges regardless, so sacrificing a tiny amount of feel there for massive gains off the tee is a deal he'll take every time.
Okay, so that's the "what" and the "why" for Grant. Now for the most important part: how do you use this knowledge to help yourself? You probably don't swing 125 mph, but the logic a pro uses to select a ball is universal. It boils down to a simple, three-step process.
Before you even look at a box of balls, you need to understand your own baseline. Don't worry, you don't need a $20,000 launch monitor - you can figure this out with some simple observation.
Armed with that self-assessment, you can now narrow down the ridiculously large universe of golf balls to a couple of distinct categories.
If you identified your main goal as needing more distance and a straighter ball flight, you should be looking at 2-piece or 3-piece balls with a low-compression core and an ionomer/Surlyn cover. These balls are engineered to feel soft and minimize sidespin, which helps reduce hooks and slices.
If you have enough speed and your biggest goal is shot-making precision and stopping power on the greens, you need a premium, multi-layer ball with a soft urethane cover. Urethane is a much softer, stickier material than ionomer, allowing the grooves on your wedges to "grab" the ball and generate massive backspin.
This is the final and most crucial step that separates players who find the *right* ball from players who just use the most popular one. No magazine review or friend's recommendation can replace on-course feedback.
Here’s the plan:
In the end, learning that Grant Horvat uses a Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash is interesting, but understanding why - that it’s a low-spin option for his high-speed game - is what’s genuinely useful. The most important lesson is not to copy his choice, but to copy his method: Match the equipment to your specific swing needs to get the best possible results on the course.
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