I used the NXT-Tour for many years but NEVER put a smilly on any ball.

Maybe your using a square groove wedge ?

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I am hitting tm wedges from 2009, but I also can scuff the ball occasionally with an 8-PW (i15 from 2010).  Very strange.  I talked to a local pro and he said Titleist had complaints regarding this issue and were responding with a new 2011 ball.  I am trying to get confirmation before I switch balls or wait for the 2011.

Here is a related question:  Anyone know the rules regarding a damaged golf ball?  When I scuff the ball like this, it leaves little pieces of the cover attached to the ball.  Can I peel those off before putting?  Or is that considered altering the ball?

Hi guys,

There are currently no plans to release a new version of the NXT Tour or NXT golf ball in 2011.  The current models were launched last year and are the most advanced generation of the NXT franchise to-date.

As for the feedback posted regarding the performance some of you have noted with your wedges and higher lofted clubs, here is a little more background and additional information on the NXT Tour golf balls. 

The NXT Tour features a Fusablend cover that contributes to soft feel and exceptional control into and around the green. Fusablend is a material that is used to transmit a softer sensation to the hands and provide more spin than Surlyn-covered golf ball models. The NXT Tour is designed primarily to maximize spin and feel for higher overall performance. 

New irons and wedges will all have a tendency to shear the golf ball (for some people) because the grooves are new and sharper. The shear affect does vary from player to player and the characteristics of a player's swing in combination with the design of their higher lofted clubs can also have a major impact on abrasions due to iron shots (called "shear damage").  If you tend to be steeper on your attack, you may see more shearing then if you were more shallow. 

We hope this helps provide some more insight. Thanks again for sharing your feedback. 

Sounds like the old Balata's we played with when I was in college (mid 1960s).  New clubs would shear the covers and we would change balls about every 3 holes.  Of course, if you hit'em thin, then you could expect the ball to be "smiling" at you and you could replace it immediately, once you claimed it unfit.  As fo the rules: I think your looking for 5-3!  If the ball cover is scraped and not out of round, cut, or cracked, then it would not meet the defination of "unfit for play" (usually) and you are not allowed to change the ball during the play of a hole.  You can always change the ball, after you have holed out and before you tee off on the next hole. 

Last year the same happened with my NXT Tours a well struck wedge would shave the ball, it would come back but destroyed the cover.  And yes just like anyone else that bought a wedge over the last few years they had square groves.

I hope they are I do like the NXT tour.