Titleist Tour Soft

[North Butte]

Serious question, do you really think it is a rebadged NXT or an actual new ball ? I ask because I haven't bought NXTs in years so by just hitting a TS I wouldn't know. I did get a 2 ball sleeve of the TS to try and what little I used it on the course and the performance I personally got out of it, so far its not worth buying a full dozen for me anyway.

 

No, all the specs indicate it is a different design from NXT. It's just targeting exactly the same golfers and from early reports seems to be producing much the same performance characteristics.

[lenman73]

Serious question, do you really think it is a rebadged NXT or an actual new ball ? I ask because I haven't bought NXTs in years so by just hitting a TS I wouldn't know. I did get a 2 ball sleeve of the TS to try and what little I used it on the course and the performance I personally got out of it, so far its not worth buying a full dozen for me anyway.

 

No, all the specs indicate it is a different design from NXT. It's just targeting exactly the same golfers and from early reports seems to be producing much the same performance characteristics.

 

Thank you sir. I see what you are getting at now. I was able to get 3 dozen of the E6 soft for $50 and am liking that ball so far. Once it heats up and dries up around here my ball of choice is subject to change.

[Twism86]

I picked up a dozen of the new TS after being a fan of the few NXTs ive found and played (im cheap like that). Im still a new golfer as I only started playing for real in Sept '17. Before that I just played some pitch 'n putt and would hit the range.

 

My initial feel is that when these are struck well, they are pretty darn straight. As for the soft bit they definitely dont feel or sound that soft on a full shot compared to the Chrome Softs I have been playing. They dont seem to check up as well but I also still am not that good.

 

My guess is also that I am still not good enough to really be able to tell major differences between balls but when I do hit a "premium" ball and hit it well they seem to do exactly what I want. How important is ball selection this early in my game?

[nsxguy]

I picked up a dozen of the new TS after being a fan of the few NXTs ive found and played (im cheap like that).

 

First of all, welcome to the site.

 

But cheap ? Buying $35/doz golf balls ? Look around. You ain't seen nuthin' yet. :cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

[Tanner25]

I picked up a dozen of the new TS after being a fan of the few NXTs ive found and played (im cheap like that). Im still a new golfer as I only started playing for real in Sept '17. Before that I just played some pitch 'n putt and would hit the range.

 

My initial feel is that when these are struck well, they are pretty darn straight. As for the soft bit they definitely dont feel or sound that soft on a full shot compared to the Chrome Softs I have been playing. They dont seem to check up as well but I also still am not that good.

 

My guess is also that I am still not good enough to really be able to tell major differences between balls but when I do hit a "premium" ball and hit it well they seem to do exactly what I want. How important is ball selection this early in my game?

 

I don't think the ball matters. It comes down to feel and price. Any low cost 3 piece is a good choice. Gamersoft and Duo spin are priced right and feels the best to me - not mushy and not too firm. I haven't played the E6 soft. But, it's another ball in this category.

[nowitski41]

I found a yellow TS on the back 9 the other day. I love my yellow balls. Played the NXT S for years. When you hit the TS center face it feels like butter....just so smooth and soft. You know, that center face feeling where you don’t even feel it. I hit a 5i out of the rough and my playing partner asked if I had hit because he didn’t hear anything. I know that a lot of you hate this feeling but I love the marshmallow feeling off the club. My old ball was the lime green Vice. I chipped these two side by side in my living room and the sound/feel is so different. The Vice has a loud click whereas the TS just has this smooth super muted sound. TP5 and ProV are somewhere in the middle. I get a lot of roll on driver shots as I am a low ball hitter. The only complaint was a flushed 6i to a green 30 feet downhill. Ball hit the green and rolled 25 feet to the back collar. It was downhill 167 yards so I have a slower swing speed but I hit it high and expected some checkability. Other than that one shot I was completely happy. Putted very well and chipped lights out for me. Shot a career low 76. Bought 3 dozen to start the season here in Chicago.

[MountainGoat]

I don't know if a rebranded version of the NXT or not, but it sure feels like an NXT. It's a very hard ball. I can't say I don't like it, because I shot one of my best rounds of the year with one yesterday. But, it sure is hard. I didn't find it particularly long, either. I was surprised. Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft I've been playing up to now. But, it stays on the golf course, and that's more than I can say for the Pro V.

[nsxguy]

I don't know if a rebranded version of the NXT or not, but it sure feels like an NXT. It's a very hard ball. I can't say I don't like it, because I shot one of my best rounds of the year with one yesterday. But, it sure is hard. I didn't find it particularly long, either. I was surprised. Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft I've been playing up to now. But, it stays on the golf course, and that's more than I can say for the Pro V.

 

Wait ! What ?

 

The Tour Soft is HARD ? What ball DO you play ?!?!?!

 

Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft ? Is that playability-wise ? Distance-wise ? Hardness ? The Tour Soft is even softer than the Chrome Soft (that I've been playing for 18 months now).

 

What do you consider the ProV ? A rock ?

[nowitski41]

I tried the AVX for 10 holes and shot +13. Switched to the Tour Soft and shot even par for the remaining 8 holes. 6i from 160 rolled out 5 feet from the ball mark on medium speed greens. The TS is my official ball for the rest of the season!

[MountainGoat]

I don't know if a rebranded version of the NXT or not, but it sure feels like an NXT. It's a very hard ball. I can't say I don't like it, because I shot one of my best rounds of the year with one yesterday. But, it sure is hard. I didn't find it particularly long, either. I was surprised. Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft I've been playing up to now. But, it stays on the golf course, and that's more than I can say for the Pro V.

 

Wait ! What ?

 

The Tour Soft is HARD ? What ball DO you play ?!?!?!

 

Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft ? Is that playability-wise ? Distance-wise ? Hardness ? The Tour Soft is even softer than the Chrome Soft (that I've been playing for 18 months now).

 

What do you consider the ProV ? A rock ?

 

Just sharing my impression. I've been playing the Calloway Chrome Soft but have been concerned about compromised driver distance. So, I tried the Titleist Soft. My impression was that it was a firmer ball than the Chrome Soft, and that it felt very similar to the old NXT. As far as distance was concerned, the Chrome Soft and the Titleist Soft were pretty close. For the record, in my hands the ProV has magnificent feel and a beautiful sound when hit square. It's also a fabulous short game ball. I'd love to play it full time. My problem is that I can't keep them on the golf course.

[nsxguy]

I don't know if a rebranded version of the NXT or not, but it sure feels like an NXT. It's a very hard ball. I can't say I don't like it, because I shot one of my best rounds of the year with one yesterday. But, it sure is hard. I didn't find it particularly long, either. I was surprised. Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft I've been playing up to now. But, it stays on the golf course, and that's more than I can say for the Pro V.

 

Wait ! What ?

 

The Tour Soft is HARD ? What ball DO you play ?!?!?!

 

Pretty much the same as the Chrome Soft ? Is that playability-wise ? Distance-wise ? Hardness ? The Tour Soft is even softer than the Chrome Soft (that I've been playing for 18 months now).

 

What do you consider the ProV ? A rock ?

 

Just sharing my impression. I've been playing the Calloway Chrome Soft but have been concerned about compromised driver distance. So, I tried the Titleist Soft. My impression was that it was a firmer ball than the Chrome Soft, and that it felt very similar to the old NXT. As far as distance was concerned, the Chrome Soft and the Titleist Soft were pretty close. For the record, in my hands the ProV has magnificent feel and a beautiful sound when hit square. It's also a fabulous short game ball. I'd love to play it full time. My problem is that I can't keep them on the golf course.

 

Everything is relative BUT you did say the Tour Soft was a "very hard ball". It's not. Firmer than the Chrome Soft ? I guess maybe that's true - haven't played much with the TS so hard to tell. So maybe, but they're pretty close IMO.

 

But my ProV "rock" question wasn't how if "felt" but how HARD it IS; clearly MUCH harder than bothe the Chrome Soft and the Tour Soft.

 

About a year ago, after having been playing about 4-5 months with the CS, I played my usual CS for 16 holes. Lost it in the water on 16 and I wasn't playing very well that day anyway so I took out the prior generation ProV1x I had in the bag for the last 2 holes.

 

Hit it twice with the driver on each of 17 and 18 and the sound was very harsh and it felt like I hit a rock - having gotten so used to the CS.

[chilllwave]

I bought two sleeves of these last week and have really been enjoying them. I’ve really been struggling to figure out what ball to play now that my game is more consistent and I don’t lose balls as often. All though they’re not the best performing short game ball, I really love the DT Trusoft. They work really well with my swing speed and I love the feel off the putter. Since trying the Tour Soft, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my short game results and to be honest it feels very similar to the DT Trusoft. To me, it feels/performs nothing like the NXT balls.

 

[Jackrwesty]

Gotta be a sucker to bite on this ball...

[tbowles411]

Gotta be a sucker to bite on this ball...

Why? A company tries to compete with another company to sell more product than someone else? Crazy man... ;)

[North Butte]

The Cheapskate thinks anyone spending more money than him is a Sucker.

 

The Sucker thinks anyone spending less money than him is a Cheapskate.

 

Kind of like the old George Carlin (RIP) routine about driving in traffic. Anybody going faster than you is a Maniac and anybody going slower than you is an Idiot!

 

[original language Bowdlerized for forum use]

[Celeras]

It's really just a stupid thing to say regardless of the justification. IIRC this is literally one of the only balls sitting with a compression in the 60s. If that's what you like, this is your ball. Period.

 

It's been proven time and time again that low compression isn't relevant to performance at higher swing speeds, so unless you're one of those folks holding on to the myth that they're only for slow swingers.. it really is as simple as preference.

[tbowles411]

The Cheapskate thinks anyone spending more money than him is a Sucker.

 

The Sucker thinks anyone spending less money than him is a Cheapskate.

 

Kind of like the old George Carlin (RIP) routine about driving in traffic. Anybody going faster than you is a Maniac and anybody going slower than you is an Idiot!

 

[original language Bowdlerized for forum use]

You're so close to 8,000 posts! YAY! Make it a good one! LOL

[nsxguy]

The Cheapskate thinks anyone spending more money than him is a Sucker.

 

The Sucker thinks anyone spending less money than him is a Cheapskate.

 

Kind of like the old George Carlin (RIP) routine about driving in traffic. Anybody going faster than you is a Maniac and anybody going slower than you is an Idiot!

 

[original language Bowdlerized for forum use]

You're so close to 8,000 posts! YAY! Make it a good one! LOL

 

In only 2 years (today). 11 PPD. Truly prolific. A record setting pace,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

BTW, Happy Anniversary NB !!!

[North Butte]

Aw, shucks. Y’all done made me blush...

 

Cheers!

[nowitski41]

$34.99 at any golf store. Found the yellow tour sorts at Walmart for $31.22. I bought up the last 2 dozen...

[Tanner25]

$34.99 at any golf store. Found the yellow tour sorts at Walmart for $31.22. I bought up the last 2 dozen...

 

TM TP's and Velocity's are cheaper there too

[crazygolfnut]

Today I used the Tour Soft for 9 holes and shot a 39. I found the ball to be about ½ club longer than my Chrome Soft or Snell MTB Red on iron shots. On drives it was long and straight. The problems I had was stopping it on the greens. Several holes hitting short irons, it landed in the middle of the green and ran out to the back collar. Snell or CS would have stopped. I like the feel of the ball but it lacks the spin that other balls.

[Celeras]

The spin is firmly between MTB Black and Red according to this: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/spin-the-wheel-hot-list-ball-spin-chart-shows-how-short-shots-separate-price-categories

 

Since it's basically the same price point just look at it as another choice (which is kind of hilarious as everyone thinks Snell is a bargain and these are overpriced), get the Reds if you want the most spin.

 

Either will definitely be less than the Chrome Softs though, and rightfully so as they're considerably more expensive.

[Break81]

The spin is firmly between MTB Black and Red according to this: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/spin-the-wheel-hot-list-ball-spin-chart-shows-how-short-shots-separate-price-categories

 

Since it's basically the same price point just look at it as another choice (which is kind of hilarious as everyone thinks Snell is a bargain and these are overpriced), get the Reds if you want the most spin.

 

Either will definitely be less than the Chrome Softs though, and rightfully so as they're considerably more expensive.

Snell is $3 cheaper and actually about )$9 cheaper if you are buying the value packs.

 

I do think a 2 pc ball might spin ok on full shots , but it would not perform the same as a urethane multi layered ball on the 50 yard up and over a bunker need to stop on a dime shot.

[Celeras]

The spin is firmly between MTB Black and Red according to this: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/spin-the-wheel-hot-list-ball-spin-chart-shows-how-short-shots-separate-price-categories

 

Since it's basically the same price point just look at it as another choice (which is kind of hilarious as everyone thinks Snell is a bargain and these are overpriced), get the Reds if you want the most spin.

 

Either will definitely be less than the Chrome Softs though, and rightfully so as they're considerably more expensive.

Snell is $3 cheaper and actually about )$9 cheaper if you are buying the value packs.

 

I do think a 2 pc ball might spin ok on full shots , but it would not perform the same as a urethane multi layered ball on the 50 yard up and over a bunker need to stop on a dime shot.

 

The test I linked is exactly that, 50 yards out. Tour Soft is between the MTB Black and Red whether people like to admit it or not.

 

And yeah, $3 difference at MSRP. If you want to call that a different price point well that's your prerogative lol. They're the same price as far as I'm concerned. I've even gotten Tour Softs for cheaper ($31) on more than one occasion.

[Break81]

The spin is firmly between MTB Black and Red according to this: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/spin-the-wheel-hot-list-ball-spin-chart-shows-how-short-shots-separate-price-categories

 

Since it's basically the same price point just look at it as another choice (which is kind of hilarious as everyone thinks Snell is a bargain and these are overpriced), get the Reds if you want the most spin.

 

Either will definitely be less than the Chrome Softs though, and rightfully so as they're considerably more expensive.

Snell is $3 cheaper and actually about )$9 cheaper if you are buying the value packs.

 

I do think a 2 pc ball might spin ok on full shots , but it would not perform the same as a urethane multi layered ball on the 50 yard up and over a bunker need to stop on a dime shot.

 

The test I linked is exactly that, 50 yards out. Tour Soft is between the MTB Black and Red whether people like to admit it or not.

 

And yeah, $3 difference at MSRP. If you want to call that a different price point well that's your prerogative lol. They're the same price as far as I'm concerned. I've even gotten Tour Softs for cheaper ($31) on more than one occasion.

Most people have said it doesn’t not spin like a tour ball nor should you expect it to do so. If there is no difference in spin for a player , most like that player doesn’t spin the ball much anyway.

 

I know a guy who plays the Vice Tour Surlyn ball because he doesn’t spin and could care less and can shoot low 70’s

H

 

[Celeras]

Sure, however one of us is providing numbers from a conducted test and the other is countering with anecdotes and hearsay. Not really anywhere I can go from here.

[1Mordrid1]

The spin is firmly between MTB Black and Red according to this: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/spin-the-wheel-hot-list-ball-spin-chart-shows-how-short-shots-separate-price-categories

 

Since it's basically the same price point just look at it as another choice (which is kind of hilarious as everyone thinks Snell is a bargain and these are overpriced), get the Reds if you want the most spin.

 

Either will definitely be less than the Chrome Softs though, and rightfully so as they're considerably more expensive.

 

The golf digest chart really doesn't tell the whole story. Spin produced from the strike is only part of the equation. The ability of a ball to "grab" or "bite" on firm greens is often overlooked in these tests. And that performance difference is what separates urethane balls from surlyn/ionomer balls.

 

 

[mikec3672]

Said it before and will say it again -- I think urethane is over rated for most of our needs.

After a lot of testing, the Tour Soft is clearly the better ball for me, over the AVX.

Yes the AVX is long, but it flies too low and spins to little on full shots, e.g. where my shots into greens (running at 11-12 for the club championship) were releasing 15 yards.

I switched back to the Tour Soft, and just a better ball for me, and nearly as long, if not the same, but with better spin and peak height and stopping power on full shots.

[Break81]

I agree that urethane can be overrated. What I think is more overrated is $35 for a 2 pc non urethane ball.

 

I have great success with the Top Flight Gamer and right now for $7.50 a dozen I can get 4-1/2 dozen for the price of the Tour Soft.