New 2020 Callaway Chromesoft

[tsecor]

Chrome Soft Golf BallsThe "X" is due out soon as well.

 

 

[Jeff58]

The Chrome Soft site has a ball selection tool that, after locking up a few times, determined that my best fit was the, humm..., Chrome Soft.

I really would be interested in trying them, except the price has now increased to $48 per dozen, the same as the known-best V1’s and $14 more than what we can currently find TP5’s. IMO Callaway is essentially demanding its own failure by not providing some incentive or method for people to demo them beyond the standard advertising hype.

[GoGoErky]

Also new csx not an option at this time.

[tsecor]

wait....you can get TP5's for $32???

[Jeff58]

34 ish. It’s their buy 3 get one free deal. Check TGW or similar. For me, that’s about a year’s worth of the model I prefer regardless of cost.

[tsecor]

oh yea.....i love the TP5 ball.....its flies far and feels great....i wonder how TM will top this model

[golfkrzy10]

Look at the number of Callaway Staffers not using the Callaway ball........

[Jeff58]

I think the main reason that they aren’t using it isn’t because it’s a bad ball, it’s because they don’t trust it. It’s effectively the opposite of the V1. The V1 is absolutely consistent. It’s manufacturing tolerances are the best, and the consistency of response from ball to ball and year to year is unparalleled. Even when the V1 and V1x “flipped” spin characteristics, it was done to maintain playability in the face of changing club and player standards.

The Crome Soft has a history and reputation of variability and questionable manufacturing. The newest model in the link above is advertised as “completely changed in every way possible”. Ehhhh....

[Jeff58]

I really hope they don’t try. It’s one of the few pieces of golf equipment that, at least for me, is essentially perfect.

What they could do, in case they’re listening, is market them differently. Since they make both clubs and balls, they can tell you exactly and objectively how every ball that they make interacts with every club, down to the individual iron at various swing speeds. Instead of the type of ball selector in the Callaway link, they can predict with high probability how a change in ball or club will change your shot response. IMO anything that cuts through the ambiguity and marketing BS can be a very powerful tool indeed.

[tsecor]

the TP5 is very stable when it flies......people talk about wind, well, when you hit the ball 100+ feet in the air, there is ALWAYS wind......to me, the prov is great but not as stable. i can keep the TP5 straighter......i think the new CS will be very good for a lot of people.......if they have another major QC issue, the CS may cease to exist

[phil75070]

Way back when, one of the reasons Titleist took hold on the tour, long before endorsement money was being spread around, guys would show up at a tournament to find a couple dozen Titleists waiting for them in their lockers. I obviously don't know if this is the case or not, just throwing it out there, but maybe Callaway isn't willing to spend the kind of endorsement money that Titleist does to have the pros play their balls.

[GoGoErky]

It’s cheaper to pay for balls than clubs. It’s the reason Srixon guys don’t usually have a Srixon driver in the bag. The money it would cost to pay Matsuyama to play the driver they can put 5 people in their balls

[NRJyzr]

 

Maxfli were the Kings of wind play for golfballs, back in the day. It's not a surprise then to see TP stuff continuing that, seeing how they bought Maxfli.

Even the HT is/was almost comically good in the wind (I still have a few unused).

[NRJyzr]

Pretty much exactly that. Fortune Brands has long been at the fore with their ball/shoe/glove contracts. TM was going to make a big move, back in the day, and Titleist responded by cutting back their Tour Pro endorsement funds, putting that into the ball/shoe/glove deals. TM decided not to play bidding war there, and put their efforts into driver tee money.

Makes one wonder how things would have turned out if there had been that bidding war.

Also wonder what would have happened were it not for the earthquake in 1995 that damaged/trashed the Maxfli facility in Japan.

Two things done differently, and the whole landscape could have been vastly different....

[tsecor]

The difference is, Titleist doesnt have to pay people to play their balls. I know they do, but the money is not a lot by any standard. Their product has consistently been the best for years, so their reputatioon stands alone.....but i know the industry is catching up, especially with Bridgestone, Srixon and TM.

 

[NRJyzr]

LOL, no. Completely disagree. It's not been the best. It never was the best. Really, there is no "best." There is product, and there is personal opinion.

And where Tour Usage is concerned, there is money. You can never discount the effect of money on Tour Usage, especially among the lower part of the money list. Being able to cover your expenses is a huge safety blanket.

[GoGoErky]

Catching up in what terms?

[tsecor]

as in quality of product and reputation

[Stanks]

Funny thing is, that no one knew that there was a QC issue until Golf Ball Guts and the other adventurists starting to cut golf balls find out. Yet, you have pros on pros winning tournament with them. To the average golfer, like all of us on this forum (none of us are special here and you can't feel an extra 10 RPM on a shanked driver shot between PROV and CS), the ball is fine.

I still say it's all about feel. I know I'll give CS a shot. THe price hike is not ideal but, expected after a full revamp of product.

[tsecor]

The pros on tour do not play the same CS as the one at retail. Phil has stated that for years so im sure Phils ball is 100% QC checked.

Also, if you hit a CS off line, the uneven core may have contributed to a poorer shot. At $48 / dzn, i think everyone can agree, they would want a product that is 100% QC verified as center core.....

[arbeck]

Titleist, Bridgestone and others are taking digs at the Chromesoft in advertisements now so the knowledge of the quality issue is starting to be much more widespread than just people on forums at this point.

[Stanks]

That’s obvious. But trust that the same machines make their tournament ball. They wouldn’t sub contract out another facility or machine to make the pros ball. No way.

totally agree if you hit it not centered, the ball will take off another way (bulge and roll combine with an off center core...).

I think most of us will try out the ball.

 

 

[arbeck]

It's fairly trivial for Callaway to do an extra QC check on the balls going out for pros. The facility that makes the balls wasn't producing a bad ball every time, just a certain %.

[Stanks]

Trivial to who’s viewpoint? Yours?

Don’t get it wrong. This discovery was an insanely big black eye on Callaway. They’re in recovery mode. But again, I still maintain that they’d never be there if it wasn’t for one or two other entities cutting balls and learning that way.

[nsxguy]

I remember the off center ball but was there ever any determination whether or not this was a "one off" ? Any reasonable estimate of how many, or what percentage of old CS balls were off center ?

And I'm not sure about "recovery mode". Doesn't sound like it to me.

When one gets a black eye in business one usually "makes up for it" by reducing the price, or increasing the quantity of the new and improved product, at least in the short run, in an attempt to bring customers back; certainly not increasing the price.

[GoGoErky]

Numerous examples on social media from #finditcutit

callaway upped their money from $30 million to $50million for plant upgrades. They paid Golf Channel for a puff piece on their ball plant.

The price of their balls has risen with almost every release since the original CS.

They have delayed the release of the csx by a couple months because they are struggling with qc when mass producing it compared to the new cs which just got released for pre order.

[tsecor]

but somehow Phil and a couple others get their ball made and everyone knows how critical he is with his equipment. his golf balls have zero QC issues....hmmmmmmmmmm

[GoGoErky]

Phil has never played the retail ball until this current version and only about 60% of their staff will have a 2020 retail version of ball in play. The tour staff gets the best quality ball, the tightest of tolerances in specs for clubs and further tweaks if needed.

also mas quigley reporter the current csx ball Callaway is only able to produce in small quantities and those are going to the tour staff so there would be minimal to no qc issues with those balls.

[tsecor]

we should get the same ball as the tour guys like Srixon, Bridgestone and Titleist supply. Not sure if TM balls are for their staff only and the retail version is different

[GoGoErky]

Why should you or anyone get what the pros get. The vast majority of golfers don’t need that. Take the left dash prov1x that’s at retail now. It’s been a tour ball for a few years and of all the staffers that titleist has a handful use it/want it. Same for left dot and star versions the the balls. There’s a thread on here about the ball and some like it and some don’t. One person recently posted about losing distance when his swing drops below a certain speed which is faster than the majority of amateurs.

Should manufacturers sell ever version of an iron, wedge or driver that’s available to pros? Callaway has 9+ versions of the mavrik on the conforming list.

SKU management as well as productions costs, retail stock and so on go into decisions on what is brought to retail.

Tour only offering of equipment is nothing new.