NXT Tour... WTH Should I Expect?

scagnetti · July 16, 2016

Bought a ridiculous amount of gear in Singapore this week, and one of the shops gave me their last two dozen of the Titleist NXT Tour balls for like SG$40 (~$30USD). Just a little bit better more than a buck a ball... a steal right?

Well, I have played Chrome Soft for the last several months to a year now, after loving the Maxfli issue of Noodle Long & Soft. I'm not cheap at all, but I really haven't found a ball I love as much as I loved those Noodles (the TM issue is crap and gets chewed up without hitting the damned things...)

A narrower version of this inquest is found here, but doesn't really provide the answers I'm looking for... So my question is this: What can I expect with this ball considering I love the old Noodle L&S and have shifted to the 2015 Chrome Soft?

Loooooonger?

Straighter?

If I love it, obviously gonna be more expensive, but what else?

Thanks in advance,

scagnetti

Golf64 · July 16, 2016

CS is urethane cover for spin. Noodles are surlyn cover, doesn't spin a lot. Usually get higher launch with 2 piece balls vs. urethane(3+ piece balls). Comes down to what you want a ball to do?! I personally love the NXT Tour S balls, but too expensive here in Canada!?

WidespreadPanic · July 16, 2016

I think you meant to say they were a little more than a buck a ball.

scagnetti · July 17, 2016

I think you meant to say they were a little more than a buck a ball.

thanks for the constructive comment...

i play them for the first time tomorrow. it appears people are very eager to hear about my experiences. almost as eager as they are willing to offer, again, constructive commentary. literal comments of sentence construction...

Stevie · July 17, 2016

NXT Tours will feel and perform different than Chrome Soft because of (1) cover, and (2) core construction. NXT Tours will feel slightly softer and fly slightly longer than Chrome Soft - in my opinion.

You did not mention them but Bridgestone e6 is a fantastic ball at a better price point. For me, NXT Tour over Chrome Soft but e6 over NXT Tour.

Badgergolfer2 · July 17, 2016

Ive never been a big fan of the NXT. I always felt like they had the performance of a Noodle at near the price of a tour ball.

duffer18 · July 17, 2016

NXT Tours don't have a urethane cover like the new CS, so they don't perform around the green quite as well as CS. Might be a little longer than the CS, but not by much. I'm a hacker--14 handicap index, 64, 93-97 driver swing speed. I'm not a short game guru, don't spin the ball, don't try to work the ball much--golf's enough of a struggle when I just try to hit the damn ball straight and the right distance. I liked the CS and to me, it did not feel appreciably harder than a NXT Tour.

That being said, I'm a NXT Tour guy, using them pretty much all the time. I don't have an explanation for it, but my best rounds have come when I've used NXT Tour balls all the way through. Not that I can't hit bad shots with 'em--I certainly can. But when I look back at my finest rounds his year and previous years, the NXTs have been in play. So until things fall apart (which could happen any time, of course), it's NXTs for me.

scagnetti · July 21, 2016

I appreciate everyone putting their two cents' in, and after playing a few rounds with them...

...I'm going back to the Chrome Soft.

Like I said before, I'm a shorter irons player (3 hybrids) with old Eye 2s, so my stopping/spinning power really comes from high lofted shots, but I found the NXTs really spinny, much more spin when I flop a shot onto the green. I had to start accounting for that extra spin and roll, and kinda threw off my game...

I could play them again, but my ability to make the CS stop essentially how I want it to, that's the key for me.

Incidentally, it didn't seem any more softer at impact, but really BOUNCED off my putter on the green, which was a bit strange.

Just couldn't control the ball as I am accustomed to...

Not a bad ball, just a bad ball for me.

putts4bogey · July 21, 2016

I played NXT's in all varieties for years and it was my go to ball. I then ventured out and tried Chrome Soft, BB330 and PRO-V1 and 1X. Off the tee, performance was generally the same but the NXT's sounded firmer. Approaches and on/ around the green is where I noticed more difference. PRO-V1 stops and spins better allowing me to go more at the pin. It also has the softest sound or feel with the putter, helping me putt through the ball better. 1X might give a tad more distance with less spin with long clubs (might- for me), but with less short game and on/around green performance. Putts sound a little clickier. I'd rate the BB330 and CS down from there with the CS feeling softer of the two off the putter. I'd place the NXT down from there on all categories. I wouldn't have believed that all the years I played them exclusively. It isn't a bad ball, just not as good as the others for MY game.