New Tour Soft and Tour Speed

[North Butte]

6 hours ago, Justsomeguy said:

This is spot on. Older 2 piece balls were 1 dimensional. The NXT line was much more unique then. Now less so.

I think Titleist got caught up in the 'soft' craze and had to jump in, to their detriment, bc they validated the category and killed the NXT, which sold plenty, and replaced it with 2 indeterminate offerings.

All that said, Trufeel could be the best 2 piece ball on the market with great consistency.

And Tour Soft, although it doesn't get a lot of love, is like a better NXT-S.

It's odd for me bc I went years playing zero Titleist balls bc cost is silly, but recently got 2 sleeves of Trufeel at an out of town course with rentals bc every sleeve was exorbitant, and bought a dozen yellow Soft from a local muni I play that has great used ball deals fished out of the course right there.

So weirdly I have about a dozen Titleist balls in my bag for the first time in 5 years or so.

I'm enjoying it. They're consistent. Rarely very offline. No wtf results. So I've come to appreciate it as a brand again.

 

The only times I used the pre-TruFeel models (DT Solo, etc.) was on a couple trips to the UK. Through some combination of exchange rate and OEM pricing it also seems like the DT Solo in a pro shop over there was the same price as cheap models from all the other brands. Here in USA there's usually something in 2pc category cheaper than TruFeel by at least a little bit.

[munichop]

I agree about the 2 piece balls. I tried the supersoft when it came out as a winter ball. It played like a super ball around the green. I didn’t try it again until this past winter and was pleasantly surprised. It is very close the the soft feel for me. Now that things have warmed up I tried the new superfast. Another very good ball very similar to the new q star. These balls are very consistent for me whereas the new trufeel is a step back for me.  I have played only surlyn balls since 2015. I prefer the low compression models but some of the mid compression ones are good too. I am curious what the next gamer model  will be. 

[smashdn]

This seems as good a thread as any to ask a few questions.

 

I normally play the Chrome Soft with my persimmons and have also found it to be pretty well performing with modern clubs as well.  Attempted to buy a sleeve the other day before a round but the course was out.  They did have the typical Titleist [high end] offerings but I just didn't want to drop an additional 17 bucks for a sleeve of something I really didn't want.  They did not have the Tour Soft or the Tour Speed either though.

 

That got me to looking online for some Chrome Softs and see that they changed them for 2020 or 2022 (or both).  They have also increased the price into a range I would rather not pay.  I did see the Tour Softs are in the $37-39/dozen range.  

 

How do they compare with the Chrome Soft in terms of soft feel and spin?  I want to say the Chrome Softs are a urethane cover so had some additional spin.  I actually need more spin using the persimmons and the old worn out groove forged irons and wedges I play with in this particular bag.

[jjfcpa]

Some will differ as to my opinion, but I found the Tour Soft lacking in spin and the Tour Speed a little short on distance compared to the 2022 Chrome Soft.  If you can afford it and don't lose a bunch of balls, the 2022 Chrome Soft is my personal ball of choice.  Just soft enough that I can compress it with my senior swing speed, and excellent spin when hitting into the greens.

[North Butte]

16 hours ago, jjfcpa said:

Some will differ as to my opinion, but I found the Tour Soft lacking in spin and the Tour Speed a little short on distance compared to the 2022 Chrome Soft.  If you can afford it and don't lose a bunch of balls, the 2022 Chrome Soft is my personal ball of choice.  Just soft enough that I can compress it with my senior swing speed, and excellent spin when hitting into the greens.

I found the Tour Speed to be very similar to Pro V1 in distance (and everything else except durability) so no complaints on that one from me.

 

But I agree the Tour Soft is going to be disappointing for spin to anyone used to a Chrome Soft or other Tour type ball.

[NoTalentLefty]

Apparently the greens you all play on are harder surfaces  than my cow pasture courses . I can stop the TruFeel and the Tour Soft pretty easy. I’m trying to determine which of these two will be my ball for the rest of the year.

[dbenn]

On 5/23/2022 at 10:45 PM, mantan said:

 

I think another thing that has changed the market is how much 2-piece balls have improved.  For a long time two piece cheap balls were flat out bad.  They were either hard balls that felt like range balls - Pinnacles, Warbirds, etc. Or they were very lively soft balls that almost played like superballs when they hit the green - AD333, Noodle, etc.

 

The quality of 2-piece balls have improved. The Callaway SuperSoft and Srixon Soft Feel are much better than they used to be. To me that has decreased the value of the 'mid-range' ball.  I bought way too many Titleist Tour Speeds and hates how they played after a couple of months. The ProV1x plays MUCH better.  I've played some really good golf with the Callaway SuperSoft.  The $40 price point of the Tour Speed just doesn't make sense. I'd either pay $10 for the ProV1x or buy a box of SuperSofts for just over half the Tour Speed price.

 

I get it though.  I fell into playing the SuperSofts. Like a lot of golfers, I thought my game had 'graduated' to a higher level of ball. I was the prime market for the Tour Speed/Tour Soft.  I wasn't crazy about paying $50 for premium balls but thought I was 'losing something' with a 2-piece.

 

couldnt agree more here, i dont understand the $40/dzn market space, i mean if you're willing to spend $40 whats another $10 to get the obviously better tour ball? same goes for the $35 space, the toursoft and trufeel are essentially the same ball with a different stamp on the side, but marketing convinces you otherwise. in my humble opinion if you're looking for at a major manufacturer's ball line, either cough up the money and buy the tour ball or buy the cheapest they offer. if you want a great ball for non tour just play some DTC's.

[RouteBurner]

I'd play NXT Tour again in a heartbeat, but the Tour Speed is close. Tour Soft didn't hold the greens for me either. Distance isn't great but I lose the 5-10 yards and ProV price, for a solid all around urethane ball. Tour Speed & Chrome Soft have urethane covers, but Tour Soft does not.

Edited January 8, 2023 by RouteBurner

[ReidE5]

Just noticed the tour speed price got bumped up to 42.99.  Those new ProV's are definitely going up as well 

[grm24]

1 hour ago, ReidE5 said:

Just noticed the tour speed price got bumped up to 42.99.  Those new ProV's are definitely going up as well 

They will likely be around $54.99/dozen. Basing that on what Morton Golf Sales is selling the current Pro-V1/V1x.

 

https://www.mortongolfsales.com/titleist-pro-v1x-golf-balls---2021/

 

[NNJ]

I think the DTC brands have also hurt the big brands’ midrange segments.

 

 the average golfer (maybe not us WRXers) may look at the bulk pricing for something like a Vice Pro Plus, read the reviews saying it’s comparable to $50+ tour balls, try it out, and think “why would I buy those companies’ midrange models for $10 more than I’m paying for a ball that keeps up with their tour models, when it’s not even the big brands best offering?”

 

it’s not necessarily a justified or correct way to actually evaluate/compare the quality of something like a tour speed, but I’m sure it’s a thought many are having

Edited January 10, 2023 by NNJ

[elwhippy]

Golf gear seems to be going up a lot faster than street clothes and other sports equipment. Our local store manager reports plenty of sales but focused on soft goods and balls. Hardware has slowed down. Lots of interest in G430s but he fears those who purchased a Stealth will miss out on the "new" version.