Callaway Tour i

laxbc101 · May 19, 2009

yellow sleeve

I was in a golf store today and noticed that some of the tour i balls were in a yellow sleeve, while others were in the original black sleeve. are the balls different? I didnt think callaway made any new balls this year.
thanks

sshadow2 · May 19, 2009

There's no announcement thus far. It might be or just packaging redesign.

Though it might explain why they are giving away half packs with full box purchases. (to get rid of inventory). One person here noted a different price between the two. Did you notice that?

So far on the Tour i has been seen.

peytonk5883 · May 22, 2009

There's no announcement thus far. It might be or just packaging redesign.

Though it might explain why they are giving away half packs with full box purchases. (to get rid of inventory). One person here noted a different price between the two. Did you notice that?

So far on the Tour i has been seen.

It's part of a promotion Callaway is doing right now where you buy a dozen of Tour i or Tour ix balls and you get a free 6-ball pack. I bought one 2 weeks ago and from what I can tell the only sleeve color redesign was in the 6-ball pack. Yes, they are cheaper than the full dozens but this is the first I have seen of them.

So far haven't noticed any difference between the ones in the 6-ball pack or the full doz., could be something Callaway is trying out in terms of sleeve looks.

sshadow2 · May 22, 2009

So far haven't noticed any difference between the ones in the 6-ball pack or the full doz., could be something Callaway is trying out in terms of sleeve looks.

That's my stance. I work for a golf publication, and we haven't heard of any announcements. One poster here swears that there is a new version because a retailer he visits is charging two prices for the two designs. Neither Callaway's site nor my insider connections have heard of a new version.

I could be wrong, but nevertheless, there's no announcement. And if there's no announcement, I don't believe there's a 09 version.

jll62 · May 30, 2009

I firmly believe that the Tour i balls in the gold sleeve are different than the balls in the black sleeve. I had never played the ball prior to a week ago when I won a sleeve of them as part of a hole prize at an event at my club. They were in the gold sleeve (which meant nothing to me at the time). I haven't been happy with the 09 Pro V1x, so I decided to give the Tour i a shot. Played a 36 with the sleeve I got and put in a little short game practice as well. The ball was a clear winner for me. Great feel and spin in the short game, but also performed well off the driver.

Thinking I may have found a new ball for a while, I made a trip over to Golfsmith to buy a dozen and when I got home I noticed that the balls were in a black sleeve. Odd, I thought, but perhaps the balls from the club were part of a promo pack or something. I chipped and putted a little in the living room and the balls from the black sleeve felt different. Slightly firmer to the touch and they didn't spin as much.

I went out and played 18 tonight and did not care for the balls in the black sleeve at all. They felt like the ix, a ball I had tried previously. After hole 14 I couldn't take it any longer and pulled out a beat up ball from the gold sleeve. Big difference off the shorter clubs. Softer and more spin on the wedges. After the round, I asked the pro what the deal was and he didn't know. All of the boxes they had for sale contained gold sleeves, so I assume I purchased old stock at Golfsmith. I pulled a couple balls out and A/B'd them on the putting green and the feel I first had with the gold sleeve balls returned. Either there is a difference, or the Tour i doesn't age very well.

The funny thing is that the ball is changing now, at least cosmetically. I just read that a batch of balls produced last summer exceeded the USGA weight limit so the ball with the current markings is being taken off the conforming list on 6/3. The new ball will have a new side stamp that contains two dots on each side of the stamp instead of one.

minimal45 · May 30, 2009

maybe thats maybe its a spinnier version for next year when the groves rule will change just a thought...

Walkin36 · May 30, 2009

I believe there is another thread on this somewhere...they are different balls, but nothing major. Only concerns you if you are in the professional or elite amateur ranks.

jll62 · May 30, 2009

I believe there is another thread on this somewhere...they are different balls, but nothing major. Only concerns you if you are in the professional or elite amateur ranks.

No, that's not it. The issue to which you refer is what I mentioned at the end of my previous post. A small batch of Tour i's were non-conforming, so Callaway is changing the markings on the more recently produced balls and having the one with the old markings removed from the conforming list to ensure a non-conforming ball isn't played when the Condition of Competition regarding balls on the conforming list is in effect.

Both the balls from the gold sleeve and black sleeve had the same original markings, so any difference is unrelated to the conforming ball issue.

Slapjax7s · May 31, 2009

I believe there is another thread on this somewhere...they are different balls, but nothing major. Only concerns you if you are in the professional or elite amateur ranks.

No, that's not it. The issue to which you refer is what I mentioned at the end of my previous post. A small batch of Tour i's were non-conforming, so Callaway is changing the markings on the more recently produced balls and having the one with the old markings removed from the conforming list to ensure a non-conforming ball isn't played when the Condition of Competition regarding balls on the conforming list is in effect.

Both the balls from the gold sleeve and black sleeve had the same original markings, so any difference is unrelated to the conforming ball issue.

the new balls will look like this **i**

The Current balls out are still conforming to regular play but can not be used in USGA or professional events.

Walkin36 · May 31, 2009

I believe there is another thread on this somewhere...they are different balls, but nothing major. Only concerns you if you are in the professional or elite amateur ranks.

No, that's not it. The issue to which you refer is what I mentioned at the end of my previous post. A small batch of Tour i's were non-conforming, so Callaway is changing the markings on the more recently produced balls and having the one with the old markings removed from the conforming list to ensure a non-conforming ball isn't played when the Condition of Competition regarding balls on the conforming list is in effect.

Both the balls from the gold sleeve and black sleeve had the same original markings, so any difference is unrelated to the conforming ball issue.

Whoops! I don't know how I missed that. I am no expert on this subject, I just knew there was a thread about it somewhere. Thanks!

peytonk5883 · May 31, 2009

I actually was in the pro shop at a local course today and was looking for Tour i balls. I was pretty surprised when I saw them being sold in the gold sleeve! At first I thought Callaway was only selling the new sleeves w/ the 6-ball packs.

Did they crunch a few numbers and realize it increased sales because of it being more eye-catching or something??