Titleist Tour Soft. Anyone using it?

naval2006 · April 8

I won three sleeves of Tour Softs in a competition and I want to know about this ball. Never played it myself. I usually play ProVs black or red (black's my favorite) or Bridgestone B330x; and I've been gaming some Srixon Q Star Tour balls usually on quick nines. Is the Tour Soft similar to the Q Star Tour?

North Butte · April 8

It's a $35-$40/doz Surlyn golf ball. Kind of a throwback to when Titleist were charging that sort of price of the NXT Tour.

Just about the worst value I know of in golf ball, currently. Like paying 50% extra for the same basic performance as Tru Feel, which is a pretty decent 2pc ball IMO, at only a slight price premium over similar balls that don't say "Titleist".

Honestly, I think Titleist are banking on people confusing Tour Soft with Tour Speed and thinking they're buying a urethane ball.

grm24 · April 8

37 minutes ago, North Butte said:

I think Titleist are banking on people confusing Tour Soft with Tour Speed and thinking they're buying a urethane ball.

Going forward that shouldn't be an issue as the Tour Speed is no longer produced as of earlier this year since the AVX/Tour Speed are now one ball albeit over priced!

North Butte · April 8

1 minute ago, grm24 said:

Going forward that shouldn't be an issue as the Tour Speed is no longer produced as of earlier this year since the AVX/Tour Speed are now one ball albeit over priced!

Well in that case they will definitely get punters showing up in pro shops grabbing a box of Titleist Tour "Whatever" and thinking they've got the "affordable" version of the premium ball!

Back in the day, I don't know how many times someone told me they used NXT Tour because it was basically like Pro V1 but a little cheaper.

It's a pretty classic pricing/marketing ploy. Have a headliner product everyone has heard of that's very expensive and profitable. That's the Pro V1 range for Titleist nowadays. Then have a bargain basement product that decent but not great. That's Tru Feel at the moment.

But then sell a bunch of the Goldilocks model priced halfway in between. It doesn't have to actually be better than the bargain basement one. Just more expensive than the cheapest and cheaper than the most expensive. Some people will always gravitate to that Goldilocks notion. That's Tour Speed.

naval2006 · April 8

I've always wondered why Titleist sell some of those average balls with a "Titleist" price tag.

Bonneville85308 · April 8

I bought a dozen on sale at Walmart for $20 last month to give them a try. That is about the right price. I agree with everyone else that Titleist's surlyn balls are usually way overpriced, 50-75%+ more than they should be. You are basically paying for the Titleist name. However, it played decently for me for what it is. Didn't feel quite as soft coming off the clubface on longer shots as some of the other balls marketed in the "soft" category. Greenside spin was good for a surlyn ball and it was very durable. I tend to play these low compression models of balls during winter in colder weather and on soft courses where I don't need a lot of approach shot/short game spin, so it fit that mission well. Just not a ball I'd pay more for than what I did.

I've tried the Q-Star Tour and that ball definitely spins better around the greens for me than the Tour Soft but with a very similar feel. My understanding is the Q-Star Tour is 3-piece urethane while the Tour Soft is 2-piece Surlyn.

Edited April 8 by Bonneville85308

philly2kuk · April 8

Tried the tour soft previously and it’s expensive compared to competitors and not much cheaper than a pro v1 realistically. Most pointless ball ever. For me I’d either buy the pro v1 or go for a competitor that’s cheaper if going surlyn two piece.

grm24 · April 9

16 hours ago, naval2006 said:

I've always wondered why Titleist sell some of those average balls with a "Titleist" price tag.

There are numerous products/brands that we as consumers purchase every day at a premium price point that provide the same functionality without any added benefit as other brands of the same product. Yet many won't think twice about it.

Golf equipment isn't immune to that dynamic. Titleist charging a premium for it's product isn't any different than other consumables doing the same.

It's interesting that over the years people continually complain about the price of Titleist golf balls ad nauseum when at times other top OEM's were charging the exact same prices for their premium product level.

naval2006 · April 9

7 hours ago, grm24 said:

There are numerous products/brands that we as consumers purchase every day at a premium price point that provide the same functionality without any added benefit as other brands of the same product. Yet many won't think twice about it.

It's interesting that over the years people continually complain about the price of Titleist golf balls ad nauseum when at times other top OEM's were charging the exact same prices for their premium product level.

I agree with this. However, in my case I only pay for premium balls what's worth. With average balls I'd probably not buy Titleists, I'd get the best bang for the buck. I could game Bridgestone e6s for the rest of my golfing life lol

MrCook · April 18

Plenty of affordable premium (urethane) balls in the 'soft' category these days. TM Tour Response, Voce Pro Soft (now Pro Air), Srixon Q Star Tour, even Cally Chrome Soft if you get a deal on them. Tour Soft is just a ripoff. Grab a bunch of Srixon AD333's for 1 buck/ball on sale and you get essentially the same out of it.