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REVIEWS: 2018 Callaway Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X. Read what members say here.


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Finally got to play 18 yesterday with the new ball. I'm impressed, so far.

 

Off the tee, the ball is quite long. I reached areas with the ball on the course that I haven't been in quite a while. Whenever I hit it decently, the ball went long and straight. Really didn't miss a fairway when hit solidly. I was outdriving my golfing friends, which is something that can't always be said.

 

On the irons, the ball replicates the same length. On the 4th hole, had a 143 yard uphill shot to a back pin. Picked out my 140 yard club, just to play a little short off the pin. Hit the shot, hit it solidly, and the ball flew to the back of the green. I wasn't disappointed in the shot, just impressed with the length of the ball. On the following hole, had a 172 yard par 3, ball went about 30 feet past. This was the theme throughout the day; the new Chrome Soft X went about half a club, if not a whole club further than the ball I normally play. On shots I didn't try smother, the ball still went as far if not further than my gamer. I'm really impressed. The added distance is something I can easily adjust to, and will do so in future rounds when gaming the ball.

 

For short game, the ball was also really good. On shots that required a little bit of running out, the ball performed admirably. No complaints there. On shots that required a little more check, it seemed to stop a little quicker than the Srixon XV, my gamer. I'll have to keep adjusting and testing the ball there.

 

As for putting, the same things I mentioned earlier still apply to this golf ball. It provided responsiveness in terms of sound throughout the day, which I like. Also was softer off the milled putter face than my normal gamer when struck well, something I really liked.

 

With the weather at a 72 degrees yesterday, made for a fun day. Looks like rain is forecasted throughout the rest of the week, unfortunately. Will update again when weather allows to be on the course. If there's time to do more extensive testing on the short game, will post here soon.

 

Ultimately, the ball is extremely high performing. I used to play the ProV1x, and I like this ball better than that. As for my gamer, I'll continue having them duke it out.

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I was lucky enough to be selected for this ball test. I was given the regular chrome soft rather than the X version.

 

I'm now entering the part of my golfing life where my ss is dwindling which is most likely why I was selected for the non-x version. In my better days I could get to around 105-108 with the driver but have now settled into 100-102. Advancing age will do that to ya.

 

My number one priority in a golf ball is that I like a soft feel, especially off the putter and the wedges. I've always preferred a ball that feels like it squishes into the putter face. I think its a throwback from my tennis days in that a softer ball feels like it stays on the face longer, which gives me a feeling of more control. I LOVE the feel of the chrome soft off the wedges and putter. I solely use carbon steel putters as they feel softer to me and combined with this ball the feel was perfect. I also tried the ball with my son's stainless steel putter and the ball retained that soft feel that I like.

 

Spin control with the wedges is predictable with the Chrome Soft. While I wasn't sucking the ball back like I sometimes can with a B330S or a Pro Vi, the Chrome soft was more of a drop and stop which I prefer. It was reliable and predictable without having to factor in crazy backspin that I sometimes get with the aforementioned balls. Greenside chips were consistent in their rollout and I was still able to play the one hop and stop knockdown with my 52 degree from 30-40 yards which has always been my go to shot. Many other soft balls have made this shot more unpredictable for me but the Chrome Soft was consistent every time. I really like this ball around the greens.

 

Iron shots were a real pleasure with the Chrome Soft. Again, no crazy spin backs, consistent distances, and a nice mid-high ball flight for me. Full shots ened up within 3-5 feet of their pitch mark every time.

 

I did not notice any distance gain or loss in comparison to my everyday ball (B330S). Does not seem overly spinny off the driver and ball held its line very well in the wind.

 

Where this ball shines for me is its feel and durability. Many "soft" balls I've played seem to derive most of their softness from the cover which leads to durability issues. One of the reasons I've never really liked Pro V's is I tend to shred them easily, especially with flushed shots off a short iron. I played the Chrome Soft for 15 holes, tagged a couple of trees, bounced off 1 cart path, and thinned a couple of irons. Yet. it had nary a mark on it. If I hadn't submerged it on 16 I would have a pic to verify but suffice to say this ball is very durable. I've played Chrome Soft in the past and there definitely seems to be a drastic improvement in this area. The feel is hard to describe for me except that the ball feels soft to me from the inside out, rather than the outside/in soft feeling I get with other soft covered balls. I'm not sure if the improved durability is due to the new Graphene core but I. for one, will not hesitate to play this ball going forward. Thanks again for Golfwrx and Callway for the opportunity to test these out, Callway has a winner on their hands here....

Cobra King f9/Fujikura Atmos Red TS 60S
TEE 15* XCG/DVS 70S
Adams Idea Pro 20*/Aldila Blue Bayou 80S
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TM TP 52*
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Finally had a day of decent weather, sunny and windy which is a nice break from the amount of rain we've gotten, and some time to get out to the course to test out the new Chrome Soft over 9 holes. I did a head to head comparison with last years model.

 

First I started off on the practice green to get a feel for the new model off of the putter and on chips around the green. I used an Evnroll ER5 putter and an older Taylormade RAC 54* wedge for this. The most important thing for me around the green is a soft feel, this definitely delivers on that front. Felt great off the putter face, maybe a little softer than last years model but the both had a great feel. When chipping I saw very similar performance between the two models. The ball performed exactly as I expected and wasn't really surprised with the amount of roll out that I was getting. I couldn't really hit any shots with opening the club face and the grass is still somewhat bare around the practice green at my local course so I was only able do bump and run type shots.

 

Next I did some on course testing and this is where the new model really excelled for me. On several holes I played two balls to have a direct comparison. On the first hole I did this I played 6 iron off the tee playing into the wind. I played last years model first as I knew what to expect as far as distance and ball flight. Next it was time to hit my first shot with the new model, wow! This shot was easily 15-20 yards past the previous. I was completely blown away with the performance in the wind after one shot. Second shot I played both balls from the spot of my first shot, I had about 120 left to the center of the green. First shot again was with the previous model. Once again the new model really performed in the wind and flew about 5 yards further. I noticed on these shots that the ball flight appeared to be higher with the new model.

 

Next hole was a par 3 around 135 to the center of the green and the flag in the front. Very similar results here as on the previous hole. Previous model was a bit short in comparison with a slightly lower ball flight. After 2 holes I was completely sold on the new model and played it for the rest of the round. The wind continued for the rest of the round but time and time again I was impressed by how well the new ball performed.

 

Overall I loved the feel and performance of this ball and based on the few holes I've played with it I can highly recommend trying it out. I play on getting out again on Sunday or Monday to do some more testing and long as the weather cooperates. I will update this post with the results. I'd like to do some head to head comparison with the driver and some more mid irons. The course backed up today so I couldn't get some of that testing done.

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So I played Saturday and was able to compare the Chrome Soft (not the X) with the B330S, KSig, Tour Platinum and the Pro V1 (not the X).

 

Putter: I thought the CS was simply great, the closest ball was the B330S, then the ProV1...softer than the rest of the bunch, it was not clicky at all, even on missed hits it went the distance.

 

Short Game: on the practice area, the CS was very good, the B330S for me checked a bit better in almost every different shots I tried...bump and runs were actually impressive, my average was about 1-1.5 feet away from the hole, on pitch shots it was stopping right around the hole but it released a bit more than I was expecting, after a few shots I was able to adjust and it responded much better. On the course it performed much better, I was having a very good ball striking day, on approach shots I was spinning it back about a foot, the others were a bit more active, the B330S was spinning way too much on those, closer to 2.5-3 feet from the pitch mark, the Pro V1 was the closest to the CS here, they were almost the same where the ProV1 spun about the 2 feet at the most...in the wind the CS was almost non affected, same for the Pro V1 and the B330S, the KSig and the Nike would go a bit off line or just ballooned a bit too much ending short of target.

 

Irons: I really enjoyed the feel coming off the irons (I play the iBlade), it felt like a forged iron (if that makes sense), I didn't gained or lost any distance on well struck shots, I was getting my averages maybe a yard or so longer but the spin made up for it keeping it in the target zone, the ProV1 and the B330S were just as accurate where feel was the difference much softer with the CS...I am not sure if it was a bit too cold (47-52*) for the KSig and the Nike, they felt almost harsh and in turn they did not spin as well as they normally did for me during the summer or warmer months.

 

Driver: loved the feel and sound off the driver, long if not longer than the others, the V1 was almost the same distance, it did spin a bit more at times (saw a bit of ballooning with the V1), the B330S was not as long but very accurate, didn't go off line too bad (didn't lose any of the balls used for this comparison btw) on a hole (straight/wide Par5) that I can really go for it I teed up all of the golf balls, the Nike and the KSig were by far the longest, very straight, it hurt me because they ran through the fairway, the CS was the most accurate (all day) almost split the fairway, the V1 was about 3 yards shorter and just as accurate, the B330S was 7 yards back also in the middle of the fairway...

 

In closing, I think this new CS is a winner, I will get a few boxes and play it this season with it, I was very pleased with the overall performance of this golf ball, it did everything almost as good as I expected, I have a few boxes of the B330S, a box of KSigs, 2 boxes of the Nike and ProV1...I am going to do another comparison once the weather gets warmer and the ball can react to the best conditions, I also want to give the KSIg and the Nike a chance to redeem themselves, I played very well with them last summer...more to follow...

With the B330S being my primary review I'm finding your review spot on. Though I think you said it better.

Cobra King f9/Fujikura Atmos Red TS 60S
TEE 15* XCG/DVS 70S
Adams Idea Pro 20*/Aldila Blue Bayou 80S
Srixon 565 4-PW / Nippon tour modus 105S
TM TP 52*
TM TP ATV 56*
TM TP ATV 60*
Giannini Legacy 3


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Played another 36 with the Chrome Soft X’s. Thursday was our clubs MGA Thursday nighr scramble, I had enough confidence to play it.

 

Today was our Shamrock open. Alternate shot for your first two shots, then your third in is played as a scramble. Once again, I played the CSx’s. Then afterwards I played an additional 9 holes with it. The tournament 18 was really good, however it was wet. So comparisons were not available, or not fair.

 

The afternoon 9 holes gave me some good comparisons....

I played the TP5x against the CSx.

I only hit two comparable drivers on one hole. The CSx was almost dead even with the TP5x.

I hit two mid irons that could be compared, the CSx was 3 yards longer on one and 2 yards longer on the other on carry distance. Spin was similar with both, with the CSx spinning a smidge more.

I hit three comparable 2 irons off of the tee, and the CSx was 2, 5, and 6 yards longer.

Short irons were a different story. I hit two dead hand knock downs with a 54. Both carried shorter and spun more than the TP5x. Carry distance was a yard one one and three yards on the second short. Both spun back from their pitch marks abot 7 feet. The TP5x wete even or a within a foot of their pitch marks.

Full wedges were worse, with the CSx the carry distance was 2 and 1 yard shorter, and they spun back 12 and 10 feet.

 

The CSx will be a better ball to play this summer when our greens are much former and faster.

  • Driver - Ping G430 Max 10k - Ventus Black 6X | Ping G430 LST 10.5 - Aldila Rogue White 130 MSI TX
  • 3 Wood - Taylormade 300 Mini 13.5 - Ventus Purple X
  • 5 Wood - Ping G430 Max - Ventus Purple X 
  • 7 Wood - Ping G430 Max - Ventus Purple X | 4 iron - Srixon ZX4 MKII - Axiom 105X
  • 5 - GW Cobra King Tour - Axiom 105X
  • SW - Cleveland RTX6 55* - Fuji Tour Spec 115X | LW - Vokey SM9T 60* - Fuji Tour Spec 115X
  • Putters - Odyssey #7 Knuckle Neck Proto | Odyssey Jailbird Versa Microhinge - Odyssey Tank DBOdyssey Jailbird Ai-One
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The weather was finally nice enough to sneak in 9 holes with the 2018 Chrome Soft. The course was packed so no on course pictures today.

 

 

 

As of right now I can't tell a big difference between the 2018 Chrome Soft and last years Chrome Soft that I game regularly but that is a good thing.

 

 

 

My bread and butter is chipping and putting, this ball does not disappoint.

Pitches and chips respond with just the right amount of spin.

Putts feel soft off of the face and distance is easy to control.

 

 

 

Driving is where I struggle the most but I hit all fairways today, which is very rare for me.

Irons, hybrids and wedges all held on the firm greens nicely.

Distance was about the same on all clubs.

 

 

I'm looking forward to testing this ball more extensively and plan on doing a head to head between it, last years Chrome Soft and the Snell MTB.

 

Stay tuned...

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Ping G10 24*
Mizuno MP-32 5-PW
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GoLo
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Alright, got to play 18 with them, and tomorrow I’ll be out on the range and chipping green with them and will have my review up. So far I am very impressed with the Chrome Soft X. I went into this testing thinking I would not switch from my Pro V1s, but after tomorrow I might just be gaming a new ball..

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I played a very swampy 9-hole round today with the Chrome Soft ball. My biggest takeaway was the reliable performance in the short game. This is the area of my game that hinders me from breaking 90 on most occasions and today the spin was evident even in the wet conditions. I hit the flagstick with a 15 yard chip on hole #2. I got up and down from 15-20 feet off the green to get a par on hole #6. I left a few putts short early in my round because the CS is just so soft but later in the round, I gauged speed much better and made a couple of 8-10 footers. I was erratic with my driver today but only lost 1 ball so the CS didn't seem to have excessive sidespin. I hit my irons and fairways woods great because it was lift, clean, and place due to wet conditions. The CS was really jumping off the face of my 3 wood, a club I don't normally have much success with when hitting off the deck. Since I only played 9 holes today, I'll save judgment on the durability but I can say, the ball maintained its white color after being covered in mud on each and every hole today.

Ben Hogan GS53 9* with UST Helium stiff  & Ben Hogan GS53 16* with UST Helium stiff

Titleist 816 H2 21* with stiff flex Diamana S+ Blue 70  

Ping G400 irons 5-AW with steel AWT shafts

Callaway MD4 Wide sole wedges 54* & 58*

Seemore Nashville One Studio Series

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So got out and played 18 with my buddy today. I had him try the ball out as well. Just like the previous round this ball feels great off the irons and wedges. I hit a 3h off the second tee and my back foot slipped but the ball still got up with new issues and went straight so I was happy it doesn’t spin crazy on the long clubs and spray all over the place. Unfortunately the greens had been punched and then it rained all week so putting was impossible to judge. Pulled out a tp5x which has been one of the longest tour balls of the tee and hit both to compare. Both were hit clean and landed right next to each other. This has been the biggest with the cs in the past so I can say it’s a winner. My buddy agreed and said he would game it at any time.

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Thanks for the reviews guys! I was able to get my hands on some Chrome Soft X’s a little early from my rep and I gotta say I’m enjoying them so far. It’s still a little cold here so I haven’t noticed a huge change besides with the 7-PW irons. I felt like with the old chrome soft and CSx that I would get a lot of spin in that part of the bag and my distance control was all over the place. These seem to spin less in that part of the bag but still maintain the green side spin that I’ve become accustomed to.

 

I’m curious to see how the ball reacts to my driver and fairway wood once I get more in season.

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15* G430 Max Diamana Ahina 70

21* Apex UW Diamana Ilima 80
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I was able sneak 9 in today after work. I don’t have a driver right now, but hit my bomber M2 3 wood 5 times and a couple off the tee with my Hybrid. I did hit the CSX against the KSIG, just like I have been demoing on the short game area several times. Again, 10 capper with a bad long game and good short game. I depend on a controllable ball around the green.

 

I must say the CSX feels so darn good off the tee. It’s a just a taste harder than the KSIG and seeing the same thing as my short game trials - CSX is lower trajectory than the KSIG. Off the irons it was the same, but man this thing holds its line and has less curve than the KSIG. I was just trying to get 9 in and didn’t keep score, but my guess the few holes I played two balls, I bet I scored better with the CSX maybe by a stroke or two because of less side spin (nice long run on sentence there).

 

So far this is a solid ball that will be my primary ball for 2018. I will review again soon when I get my driver and play a full 18.

 

Can't thank GOLFWRX and Callaway for this opportunity to review this ball.

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Mizuno ST-Z 15* Diamana T+ 60s 

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OK so as promised here we go... To start off just a few tidbits. First as a disclaimer I suck... well I don’t suck I just don't hit the ball well in a sim. For whatever reason I don’t swing the same and it's always been like that. That being said all shots were hit in the same sim, so even though I don’t think them 100% represent my on course numbers it is apples to apples. Secondly it is really hard to hit 50 yard pitch shots to no target.. I did this testing on Foresight but I was hitting into a net so the only real point of reference I had to hit at was the indention in the new every time I hit. For this reason, distances are a bit on the pitches. I really had no reference point for alignment. I will say though if one had easy access to a Foresight set up in this fashion and could get to the point where they could hit shots consistently the to the same spot and same distance going strictly off of feel they would be deadly. Being able to replicate when having a target is one thing but this to me would be a game changer. So on with the numbers...

 

I'll start by saying all in all to me the results of my testing were somewhat surprising in that for the most part, and here is the huge kicker, ....... the ball doesn’t matter. Not at our level. Where strike is generally much more inconsistent than that of a touring professional. To me strike had much more of an impact on results than the ball did. This does not mean however one ball may or may not perform better for you than another. I think the numbers are all so similar that if you find a ball that you have 100% confidence in that will do what you expect it to do 100% of the time that would make a bigger difference than anything else. I think if you have a ball that you have confidence in you’ll simply hit better shots, whether it’s because you make a better swing, or keep better technique on a pitch or release the putter a little better on a putt. So for the second time after a rant, on with the numbers...

 

(For testing I compared current and prior year Pro V1's to the CSX, I know you may be thinking that’s apples to oranges but the Pro V1 is what I have been playing and I would never consider playing the CS as it is too soft)

 

First off I hit some ~50yd pitches. The first test was done with the new Po V1, the CSX then the previous Pro V1. Pictures are attached below but to briefly summarize the numbers, there was not a lot of difference here. Feel wise I think the current V1 actually felt softer comparatively to the other two. Backspin appears to be slightly higher with the current V1 but if you look my club head speed was up 1mph with that so I believe that was a contributing factor. Distance control seemed to be a little better with both V1's but accuracy was better with the CSX. You can see 4/5 shots were on identical lines with the CSX. It did however have the biggest gap between carry distances. Launch angle, peak height and decent angle were all negligible. I liked the feel of the current V1 here but accuracy of the CSX was nice.

 

Next was full 58* wedge shots. A little more of the same here. Distance were a little "better" ( distance is not a goal with my wedges) with the CSX and prior yr. V1 but club head speed was up with those as well so I would contribute it to that. Launch, peak height and decent were all basically the same. What did surprise me was the side spin here of the CSX, looking at all the numbers after the fact the CSX generally had the lowest side spin so it surprised me that it was the highest here. Once again the V1 just felt a little better to me. This is something I will get to later in my summary but the CSX just feels "plasticky" to me, almost like a toy and this is in hand and off of the club face. Once again no real difference here between any of the balls numbers wise.

 

Now for 7i's. Full disclosure I only tested the current V1 the last two rounds, I am battling a thumb injury which was starting to bother me and honestly I wasn’t going to play the prior version anyways. Club head speed and ball sped were identical. Launch angle was a hair lower with the CSX as was peak height but carry distance was the same. What jumped out to me was the side spin. Average was way lower with the CSX and there were a couple with the V1 that would have spun off of the planet right. So what this may tell is that on a poor strike the V1 has a higher probability to spin off target. And you can see by the "off line" column the variation of the CSX was far lower than that of the V1. Back spin was essentially the same. Up until this point I had favored the V1 based strictly on feel and the fact that the numbers weren’t that dissimilar but the degree to which the V1 spun off line with the 7i has now greatly altered my take on whether or not I would still play the V1 over the CSX.

 

Lastly the one everyone has been waiting for the Big Dog. Not to sound like a WRX blowhard but in all honesty number were a little below what I generally see from me, for both ball. As I mentions I am battling a thumb injury and I just wasn’t generating my normal club head speed. So club head speed was basically the same as was ball speed, maybe a tick lower with the CSX but not enough to say it was the ball or not. Launch angle was a tad lower with the CSX as was side spin and back spin, both good things. Also if you look closely, while the averages are approximately the same in most categories the CSX is more consistent with less variation. The CSX was a hair longer in both carry and total distance. Again if you look, except for an outlier with the CSX, the CSX was generally more online than the V1 and when i say generally I may dramatically ha.

 

 

So what does all this mean...? I would say looking back at all the numbers I may change my tone a little on the whole "ball doesn’t matter" front. I still think at our level confidence in what you’re playing means the most. I just think strike will play the biggest difference in actual numbers and confidence may make the biggest difference in strike if that makes sense. Find something you trust and believe that will do what you expect and your expectations will become reality. That being said I could not ignore how much more accurate the CSX seemed to be on all different shots. I do like the feel of the V1 more, to me the CSX just feels noticeably different in hand and off of the club face but it may just be something I could get used to. I don’t think I am going to see a huge uptick in distance in either ball but if one is consistently more on line than the other you'd have to assume that would make a great difference on scores. I'll have to play more with the CSX to see if it actually translates but seeing the quantitative data has at least peaked my interest in giving it its fair shot.

 

Hopefully I didn’t ramble on too much and you found this review if not helpful, at least entertaining. Cheers!

Stay Tuned...

 

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Played another round yesterday. Unfortunately, didn't have the best day out there, especially with the driver.

 

It did give me a lot of opportunity to test the ball out with the short game. On full shot wedges, it was drop and stop all day. Didn't really try to spin it all that much, but the ball performed exactly as I expected it too.

 

It was really on chipping and putting. When I needed it to run out, it did just that. When I placed the ball much higher in the air to stop it upon landing, it did just that. I was really happy with the ball's performance around the greens. Even on my mishit drives, the ball was getting out there nice and long.

 

As for durability, it's alright. The first 18 holes didn't seem to affect it much. It actually covered the scuffs pretty decently. Did get a good sized one around Hole 24, but nothing to complain about. Would like to see how yellow does, as the XV always hides them well. :)

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OK so as promised here we go... To start off just a few tidbits. First as a disclaimer I suck... well I don’t suck I just don't hit the ball well in a sim. For whatever reason I don’t swing the same and it's always been like that. That being said all shots were hit in the same sim, so even though I don’t think them 100% represent my on course numbers it is apples to apples. Secondly it is really hard to hit 50 yard pitch shots to no target.. I did this testing on Foresight but I was hitting into a net so the only real point of reference I had to hit at was the indention in the new every time I hit. For this reason, distances are a bit on the pitches. I really had no reference point for alignment. I will say though if one had easy access to a Foresight set up in this fashion and could get to the point where they could hit shots consistently the to the same spot and same distance going strictly off of feel they would be deadly. Being able to replicate when having a target is one thing but this to me would be a game changer. So on with the numbers...

I'll start by saying all in all to me the results of my testing were somewhat surprising in that for the most part, and here is the huge kicker, ....... the ball doesn’t matter. Not at our level. Where strike is generally much more inconsistent than that of a touring professional. To me strike had much more of an impact on results than the ball did. This does not mean however one ball may or may not perform better for you than another. I think the numbers are all so similar that if you find a ball that you have 100% confidence in that will do what you expect it to do 100% of the time that would make a bigger difference than anything else. I think if you have a ball that you have confidence in you’ll simply hit better shots, whether it’s because you make a better swing, or keep better technique on a pitch or release the putter a little better on a putt. So for the second time after a rant, on with the numbers...

(For testing I compared current and prior year Pro V1's to the CSX, I know you may be thinking that’s apples to oranges but the Pro V1 is what I have been playing and I would never consider playing the CS as it is too soft)

First off I hit some ~50yd pitches. The first test was done with the new Po V1, the CSX then the previous Pro V1. Pictures are attached below but to briefly summarize the numbers, there was not a lot of difference here. Feel wise I think the current V1 actually felt softer comparatively to the other two. Backspin appears to be slightly higher with the current V1 but if you look my club head speed was up 1mph with that so I believe that was a contributing factor. Distance control seemed to be a little better with both V1's but accuracy was better with the CSX. You can see 4/5 shots were on identical lines with the CSX. It did however have the biggest gap between carry distances. Launch angle, peak height and decent angle were all negligible. I liked the feel of the current V1 here but accuracy of the CSX was nice.

Next was full 58* wedge shots. A little more of the same here. Distance were a little "better" ( distance is not a goal with my wedges) with the CSX and prior yr. V1 but club head speed was up with those as well so I would contribute it to that. Launch, peak height and decent were all basically the same. What did surprise me was the side spin here of the CSX, looking at all the numbers after the fact the CSX generally had the lowest side spin so it surprised me that it was the highest here. Once again the V1 just felt a little better to me. This is something I will get to later in my summary but the CSX just feels "plasticky" to me, almost like a toy and this is in hand and off of the club face. Once again no real difference here between any of the balls numbers wise.

Now for 7i's. Full disclosure I only tested the current V1 the last two rounds, I am battling a thumb injury which was starting to bother me and honestly I wasn’t going to play the prior version anyways. Club head speed and ball sped were identical. Launch angle was a hair lower with the CSX as was peak height but carry distance was the same. What jumped out to me was the side spin. Average was way lower with the CSX and there were a couple with the V1 that would have spun off of the planet right. So what this may tell is that on a poor strike the V1 has a higher probability to spin off target. And you can see by the "off line" column the variation of the CSX was far lower than that of the V1. Back spin was essentially the same. Up until this point I had favored the V1 based strictly on feel and the fact that the numbers weren’t that dissimilar but the degree to which the V1 spun off line with the 7i has now greatly altered my take on whether or not I would still play the V1 over the CSX.

Lastly the one everyone has been waiting for the Big Dog. Not to sound like a WRX blowhard but in all honesty number were a little below what I generally see from me, for both ball. As I mentions I am battling a thumb injury and I just wasn’t generating my normal club head speed. So club head speed was basically the same as was ball speed, maybe a tick lower with the CSX but not enough to say it was the ball or not. Launch angle was a tad lower with the CSX as was side spin and back spin, both good things. Also if you look closely, while the averages are approximately the same in most categories the CSX is more consistent with less variation. The CSX was a hair longer in both carry and total distance. Again if you look, except for an outlier with the CSX, the CSX was generally more online than the V1 and when i say generally I may dramatically ha.

So what does all this mean...? I would say looking back at all the numbers I may change my tone a little on the whole "ball doesn’t matter" front. I still think at our level confidence in what you’re playing means the most. I just think strike will play the biggest difference in actual numbers and confidence may make the biggest difference in strike if that makes sense. Find something you trust and believe that will do what you expect and your expectations will become reality. That being said I could not ignore how much more accurate the CSX seemed to be on all different shots. I do like the feel of the V1 more, to me the CSX just feels noticeably different in hand and off of the club face but it may just be something I could get used to. I don’t think I am going to see a huge uptick in distance in either ball but if one is consistently more on line than the other you'd have to assume that would make a great difference on scores. I'll have to play more with the CSX to see if it actually translates but seeing the quantitative data has at least peaked my interest in giving it its fair shot.

Hopefully I didn’t ramble on too much and you found this review if not helpful, at least entertaining. Cheers!

Awesome write up! Very cool showing the data and the comparison against some of the best balls in the business.

 

Great stuff. I think all of us reviewers agree the the ‘18 Chrome Soft is a very good ball and near the top of all premium balls out there.

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I Was very happy to be selected to try out the Chrome Soft X. I tried them several times on the practice range /chipping greens as well as a few rounds since receiving these!

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Driver-

 

I played 9 Holes with the CS X and 9 holes with a Pro V1 (current gamer). 3 of my longest drives came with the CS X. I had a 303,306 and 312 yard drives with the CS X. It feels like the ball jumps off the face a tad bit faster than the Pro V1. It maybe all mental, but the on course results don’t lie. I also like the way that the CS X cuts through the wind. Playing in Oklahoma, a ball that can nativgate through the wind is vital.

 

Long Iron/Mid irons-

 

With the long irons, I was noticing the ball flight was a tad higher than with the pro V1, not enough to really notice a difference in how the ball would react on the green, by nonetheless less a tad higher ball flight..

 

Wedge/short irons -

 

This was my biggest focus. Since I am not very accurate with my Driver, my short game has to save me more times than not.

 

The CS X is a good ball around the green when it comes to consistent reactions with good shots and when chipping/pitching. I put the CS X up against the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. As well as the Bridgestone BS330 and the Taylormade TP5. The CS X does not spin as much as I would like around the green. I am use to being able to stop the Pro V1 rather quickly around the greens, and getting the ball to stop on the 2nd or 3rd hop. On the plus side, the CS X seem to release consistently when struck well, and Once I got use to the ball not stopping I was able to put the ball close to the pin more often than not.

 

Overall-

 

After having some time to test the Callaway Chrome Soft X, I would rate the ball a very solid B+. At one point I felt like It could be a gamer. The distance, consistency, durability, ball flight are all what makes this ball a very very solid ball. The spin and touch around the game is what made me stick with my Pro V1. If you’re someone who doesn’t need a ton of spin around the greens, and would prefer the ball to rollout, then this may be the ball for you.

 

 

I will continue to do on going test with the ball, to see if I notice anything different.

 

Thanks again to Callaway and GolfWRX for the chance to give my review on the Chrome Soft X.

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I had an opportunity to play a full round with the Chrome Soft ball in extremely windy conditions yesterday and the ball really performed well. I got off to a slow start with the driver but the sidespin was not excessive with the CS. On a 170 yard par 3, my shot was straight into the wind so I hit a 4 iron with a low piercing trajectory and the CS ball took one hop on the green and stopped inside 20 feet. The final hole of the day was a 350 yd par 4- downhill, downwind and I caught all of it, what a great feeling! The CS flew off the driver, baby draw to inside 80 yds. I'm still adjusting to the soft feel of the CS on the greens as I left several putts short today. All in all, the ball performed admirably in the extreme windy conditions.

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Played some more with them. I really, really like them.

 

One thing I noticed today, moreso than my previous rounds with the ball is I putt better with this ball than the Srixon XV. My speed with the Chrome Soft X is better; not sure if it was because I adjusted to the speed of the greens or because it's the ball.

 

Today, I noticed that I hit this ball further on mishits than I do with the XV. My playing partner absolutely bombed his drive down the middle of a par 5, and I followed with a toe-y hit, and my ball wasn't much further behind.

 

This ball is coming very, very close to usurping the XV as the gamer. It's just on par, if not better.

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Thanks again to GolfWRX for letting me review the new Callaway Chrome Soft. Now that life and weather have afforded me the chance to play the ball, please find below my review. Apologies for the lack of photos, I will take some on my next round. A bit about me, I am in my 40s playing to an 8 hcp and see my driving and short game as my strengths. I don't hit the ball Golf WRX distances, ~260 with the driver and ~160 with a 7 iron, but can get the ball around the course.

 

The testing took place over 36 holes at Black Horse and Bayonet, 2 excellent courses near Monterey, CA. Due to the length of time playing I was able to play the ball from soft, dewy early morning through to wind swept sun dried afternoon conditions. There was a decent breeze and the greens were in excellent nick, running true.

 

I've divided my review over 3 categories and played a 2017 Chrome Soft ball on some of the holes to compare and contrast.

 

Feel

I converted to the Chrome soft last year and was particularly interested in how the 2017 and 2018 versions compared to each other; the short answer is that they both feel the same - which is a good thing. The ball feels soft off the putter, which can lead to me hitting the ball harder (I use an Edel putter), but this wasn't the case. Having gotten used to last year's version is was an easy transition to the new ball. Off my wedges the ball sounds soft, there's no click you hear with some brands, and I was able to control distance/predict bounce. Which leads me to.....

 

Spin

The consensus among my group (I was playing with 3 scratch players) was that the 2017 version of the ball spun more. One caveat to this is that I was playing a yellow tru-vis version of the 2017 ball which may have made any spin more noticeable. That said, the 2018 ball drops and stops very well, certainly compared to my experience with its premium ball peers. I played the full variety of short shots and didn't see anything outrageous, it reacted well to the shot played.

For the longer shots it held its line well in the wind. I didn't see it being knocked down.

 

Durability

This ball is durable. A big plus in my eyes due to the cost. I played 36 holes with 3 balls, 1 2017 model and 2 2018. I retired one ball after flying the green straight into a tree causing it to scuff, outside of that the ball held up very well to some new Vokey wedges and general play. I went in 3 bunkers over the course of the rounds, the ball survived each with minimal scuffing. What scuffing there was, was not enough to affect play or cause me to switch it out. I did this deliberately as I was intrigued to see if there was any degradation in performance, there wasn't.

 

Overall I really like the ball. It is not worse than the 2017 version, which is a good thing, and retains the same positive characteristics. The one area I intend to test more is spin. As mentioned before, the 2017 version appears to spin more, but I need to play more with both to validate that. I recommend others try the ball, however i know that like wine, golf ball preference is hugely subjective and personal, that said I plan to play the 2018 season with it.

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Played a full 18 yesterday and really love the CSX. This may be my ball for this year. As I have reviewed so far, I have played it against the KSIG as I did today. I played by myself today and was able to hit two balls numerous time.

 

I saw the same thing I have been seeing. The CSX is a little lower than the KSIG on ALL clubs. That is not a bad thing, I actually like the CSX trajectory AND the perfect amount of spin. Again, great green side predictable spin I love.

 

Off the tee this ball was 1 club longer than the KSIG. This might been because of a little lower spin than the KSIG. I like how the CSX felt off the G400 Max driver and my new Spider Tour Black putter. Off the irons I didn’t see much curve which was nice. Same with the driver, low spin and straight.

 

Overall, I really like this ball. I am very thankful Callaway allowed me to test this ball. I will keep reporting and answer any questions people might have.

 

Here is a pic of a straight bomb I hit on 18. For you guys in the snow, it was 94 degrees and beautiful here in AZ. Sorry.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

First off, I would like to thank Callaway and GolfWRX for the opportunity to review the new Chrome Soft ball. Secondly, I apologize for taking so long to review. I don't seem to get the time to practice and play with a 1.5 year old baby boy keeping me busy.

 

*Background*

I've been playing golf for about 6 years, and am currently a 16 handicap. I've been stalled out the last 2 years with the lack of time to play. My lowest round to date is 81. I play game improvement irons and have a moderate swing speed. I currently play the Srixon Q Star Tour. I was selected for a testing for this ball a year or so ago and it has never made it out of the bag. I realize that comparing the Chrome Soft to the Q Star Tour is not comparing apples to apples.

 

*Distance*

I personally didn't experience extra yardage. I did notice a much more penetrating ball flight compared to my current ball, but generally felt like I hit the ball to my normal distances.

 

*Spin*

I've never been able to spin a ball back and that's probably due to lack of good greens on the municipal courses I play in east Texas and the lack of talent. Chips around the green seemed to check well. Off the driver the ball seemed to have low side spin. Felt great coming off the face.

 

*Feel*

The ball is soft and I like the high quality urethane cover. The ball did seem to have nice compression and came off hot on well struct hits.

 

*Control*

The penetrating ball flight seemed to be beneficial to control the ball. I tend to get a little balloony with my current ball from time to time, and the chrome soft seems a little easier to control off the tee. Even mishits seemed to fly straight.

 

*Durability*

The durability is great. Considering the soft urethane cover this ball had minimal wear. The ball seemed to have a more durable cover than my current urethane ball.

 

*Overall*

I liked the Chrome Soft, but due to my ability and cost i think i will stick with my current gamer. I have no complaints and greatly appreciate Callaway and GolfWRX giving me the opportunity to test the new ball.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am bringing this back.

I saw Rick Shiels review and surprised that he found the ball to be clicky. I got a dozen from work of the csx and don’t find them clicky.

This ball the vice pro plus and tp5x have been my favorite golf balls that I have played this year and I feel like I have tried them all haha.

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I am bringing this back.

I saw Rick Shiels review and surprised that he found the ball to be clicky. I got a dozen from work of the csx and don't find them clicky.

This ball the vice pro plus and tp5x have been my favorite golf balls that I have played this year and I feel like I have tried them all haha.

 

I don't find them clicky at all either. :)

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