Titleist /TM/

Nope. They are pretty much the same durability-wise than they have been for a long time. I grew up on Titleist Tour Balata so it was rare for a ball cover to last more than 9 holes. I can play multiple rounds with my ProV1x and not see any imperfections whatsoever unless I hit a cart path or our desert landscape. I have thinned an occasional sand shot with fresh wedges and it has left some groove scapes but that's no fault of the cover, that's on me.

I’ve recently played both the ProV1 and x and haven’t noticed any wear issues or imperfections with new balls.

Can’t add to your complaint on how the balls hold up (my Pro-V’s tend to end up off course or hit cart paths or trees to get scuffed).
That you find fresh Titleist stock with imperfections is surprising. Are you buying fresh boxes from authorized dealers? Even with XXX balls pulled for imperfections are hard to see an issue.

In response to your question on durability of recent vintages of Pro-v’s, I did a little test with 2021 & 2023 versions.
Both were played a minimum of 27 holes but I did lost track of the exact number of holes due to a rain out after 11 holes one day.
I did not hit them on a couple holes due the high probability of hitting the tee shot in a lake.
I think they did well, with a little scruff marks on each and are still very playable.
See the attached photos for details.
Note that these were slightly used balls to begin with as I have a very large supply to burn through before I put new balls in play.

I open a brand new sleeve of Prov1s and can play a few rounds with a ball. Of course I am a picker not a digger. If I hit one of those awful cart paths or maybe a tree, yep, scars. Otherwise, normal wear. Find they hold up extremely well. As to imperfections out of the box, have not found any. For the other ball, cannot answer, do not play it. Hakuna matata.

I play the Pro V1 and have not seen any imperfections straight out of the sleeves or issues with durability while playing.

I can easily get a full 18 holes out of one ProV1x. I don't lose many either so a dozen box can last me a long time. I too remember the Balata and Professional days. I could put a mean cut into a Balata back them. Today's V and X have an amazing cover. Provided you don't play the cart path, firmly hit a tree or thin a bunker shot, they should be good to go.

Haven't noticed any imperfections from a new sleeve either.

When a ball has finished its playing days, it will take home in my shag bag for practice. fections