Review of Callaway Diablo Tour golf ball

[cavemeister]

$20/dozen new at golfsmith

Callaway Diablo Tour. It is a 3 piece ball.
Kind of where the v1 was when it first came out--but longer and a little harder, and less spinny--but decent spin (and I don't have to seam this ball to hit it farther like the original v1...let's see if the old timers remember that!)

I took a quick trip to Florida from Wisconsin. So golf game has been dormant all winter. Picked up 2 dozen Callaway Diablo Tour balls for $20 a dozen from golfsmith.

Me: First of all I have varied from scratch to about a 7 handicap. i am a high spin player.
Played 7 times last summer.
This year I hope to get back to low single digit.
In some ways I am a foolish player. I like hitting it far, so I try to find a ball that satisfies my wish to maximize my distance while not costing me strokes on approach shots and short game. Distance balls just run too much to save those precious strokes around the green--so I look for a small compromise.

I have often used the Titleist v1x, but they tend to spin too much on drives for my liking, but the short game is king right? The best short game ball ever imho was the nike platinum. No wonder Tiger was the greatest short game master back then. The ball was marshmallow soft and spun like a woman I knew in Thailand (not really--but thats a long story). I love killing the Titleist Next Extreme off the driver--the longest ball out there for me, but the thing rolls downhill on greens even when going uphill...if you know what i mean.

Anywho...here goes.

The Diablo Tour is the BEST WIND BALL I've ever played. Does not get pushed off line. Does not get knocked down easily. (Actually the best wind ball I ever played was a topflite from 15 years ago that had oblong dimples--maybe someone remembers the name?).

Feel: Ball is kind of soft, not a dead rock like the callaway hot--and doesn't have that click that I hate on distance balls. I can putt this ball with feel. I am a "pop" putter like Johnny Miller was. I'm an average putter, little above average--but I jab at the ball a bit, so it is very important for me to putt with a soft ball. Soft balls do not bounce off the putter face as a much with my jabby stroke.

Distance: As long as anything off irons. Driver distance is up there, not a Next extreme, but probably longer than a v1 or v1x. And into a wind it is much longer.

Spin: Enough to play fast greens. Lob shots die after a few feet of roll. I hit a 9 iron downwind and it still stopped within 10 feet after my ball mark. A pitching wedge from a (140yds) with no wind, stops within 2 feet. So this is manageable. A Titleist might back up a foot or two for me with a pw, and sometimes the v1x has backed up 10 feet with my sw. So I like drop and stop.

Durability: Super durable--could easily use one ball the whole round.
Once my swing kicks in and the summer heat comes to Madison, I most likely will play this ball. It seems to go far. Is accurate and spins enough to get done what needs to be done. At $20 a dozen--it can't be beat.

[LOVE4LPGA]

Excellent review.

I've been surprised by how instantly this model dived to $20 online when the = other brands are holding their surlyn three-piecers at $24 - $26 (or even $30 in one case).

I found it disappointing in spin department. For $10 online, the Gamer v2 would beat it for me. I surmise you bring a lot of spin-ability to the game and can make this ball behave.

Would love to find that $20 - $25 [i]panacea[/i]: long and spin too (but not being unrealistic about PV spin). Best one I found before was the Callaway [b][u]BIG BERTHA[/u] Diablo[/b] that has been replaced by the [u]HX [/u]Diablo. Best two piece ball I found in a long time. Now only available used.



[quote name='cavemeister' timestamp='1329863753' post='4344657']
Callaway Diablo Tour. It is [b]a 3 piece ball. [/b]
Kind of where the v1 was when it first came out--but longer and a little harder, and less spinny--but decent spin (and I don't have to seam this ball to hit it farther like the original v1...let's see if the old timers remember that!)

I took a quick trip to Florida from Wisconsin. So golf game has been dormant all winter. Picked up 2 dozen Callaway Diablo Tour balls for $20 a dozen from golfsmith.

Me: First of all I have varied from scratch to about a 7 handicap. i am a high spin player.
Played 7 times last summer.
This year I hope to get back to low single digit.
In some ways I am a foolish player. I like hitting it far, so I try to find a ball that satisfies my wish to maximize my distance while not costing me strokes on approach shots and short game. Distance balls just run too much to save those precious strokes around the green--so I look for a small compromise.

I have often used the Titleist v1x, but they tend to spin too much on drives for my liking, but the short game is king right? The best short game ball ever imho was the nike platinum. No wonder Tiger was the greatest short game master back then. The ball was marshmallow soft and spun like a woman I knew in Thailand (not really--but thats a long story). I love killing the Titleist Next Extreme off the driver--the longest ball out there for me, but the thing rolls downhill on greens even when going uphill...if you know what i mean.

Anywho...here goes.

[b]The Diablo Tour is the BEST WIND BALL[/b] I've ever played. Does not get pushed off line. Does not get knocked down easily. (Actually the best wind ball I ever played was a topflite from 15 years ago that had oblong dimples--maybe someone remembers the name?).

[b]Feel:[/b] Ball is kind of soft, not a dead rock like the callaway hot--and doesn't have that click that I hate on distance balls. I can putt this ball with feel. I am a "pop" putter like Johnny Miller was. I'm an average putter, little above average--but I jab at the ball a bit, so it is very important for me to putt with a soft ball. Soft balls do not bounce off the putter face as a much with my jabby stroke.

[b]Distance: [/b]As long as anything off irons. Driver distance is up there, not a Next extreme, but probably longer than a v1 or v1x. And into a wind it is much longer.

[b]Spin: [/b]Enough to play fast greens. Lob shots die after a few feet of roll. I hit a 9 iron downwind and it still stopped within 10 feet after my ball mark. A pitching wedge from a (140yds) with no wind, stops within 2 feet. So this is manageable. A Titleist might back up a foot or two for me with a pw, and sometimes the v1x has backed up 10 feet with my sw. So I like drop and stop.

[b]Durability: Super durable--could easily use one ball the whole round.[/b]
Once my swing kicks in and the summer heat comes to Madison, [b]I most likely will play this ball. [/b]It seems to go far. Is accurate and spins enough to get done what needs to be done. [b]At $20 a dozen--it can't be beat. [/b]
[/quote]

[BuckyBadger]

It must be nice to get to go to Florida once and a awhile. I used to be able to go, but now I'm tied down with four kids and broke.

My parents leave Wisconsin right after Christmas and go down to Hollywood Florida for three months. My dad said it was 87 there Sunday. They are retired and spending my inheritance. They deserve it though.

Anyway, great review. I hit some of my longest drives of the year with the Diablo Tour. I liked it better than the gamer V2. I usually play the Diablo Tour or if I'm feeling sassy, the Srixon XV yellow.

[MadGolfer76]

Great ball. Here is an early review I gave of it:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/490733-callaway-diablo-hx-tour/page__st__30__p__3381702__hl__hx+diablo+tour__fromsearch__1#entry3381702


We should compare notes.

[tjumper78]

it has been my favorite ball overall since last year.
i had a chance to compare this ball side by side with srixon trispeed tour yellow while i was playing by myself at a local course.
diablo tour was about 10 yards longer with my driver (tm superdeep), and about 5 yards longer with irons (mizuno mx300).
hitting on par3 135 yards with 9 iron (hit 3 balls each), neither ball spun back but diablo tour took a tiny bounce and stopped while trispeed tour rolled a few yards.
i love this ball!

[cavemeister]

maybe we will play this year

[quote name='BuckyBadger' timestamp='1329869825' post='4345433']
It must be nice to get to go to Florida once and a awhile. I used to be able to go, but now I'm tied down with four kids and broke.

My parents leave Wisconsin right after Christmas and go down to Hollywood Florida for three months. My dad said it was 87 there Sunday. They are retired and spending my inheritance. They deserve it though.

Anyway, great review. I hit some of my longest drives of the year with the Diablo Tour. I liked it better than the gamer V2. I usually play the Diablo Tour or if I'm feeling sassy, the Srixon XV yellow.
[/quote]

[Undaunted]

Absolutely LOVE this ball. Great off the tee and feels amazing while putting. I get a better feel with it and more true rolls than most ProV1s I've played. Recently just bought a dozen preparing for the next season.

[suwdawg]

Simliar for me last year nice ball for the money.

[marauder20]

can anyone compare this to the callaway hot plus? i know its supposed to be that model or modeled after that, but has anyone hit both and can compare?

[suwdawg]

[quote name='marauder20' timestamp='1330631058' post='4412755']
can anyone compare this to the callaway hot plus? i know its supposed to be that model or modeled after that, but has anyone hit both and can compare?
[/quote]


IMHO this is a little better all around ball than the hot plus. The tour seems to be better greenside and is a little softer than the plus. Both are long and seem simliar in flight (what I can recall of the plus).

[rvs0002]

Normally play the Gamer...think I'll give this a try. Thanks for the review.

[cavemeister]

I usually use a v1x, but I tried the d2 feel a couple days after playing the diablo tour, its alot longer than the diablo tour!
[quote name='lokke' timestamp='1330725070' post='4421711']
Normally play the Gamer...think I'll give this a try. Thanks for the review.
[/quote]

[Boomermike]

Love this ball. They have the logo overruns at the Golfsmith in Austin for $14.99 a dozen, which is an absolute steal. Just stocked up on those bad boys.

[Colej]

My game sounds very similar to the OP's. I too liked the Diablo Tour. It seemed like it was super straight and long.

[rvs0002]

[quote name='cavemeister' timestamp='1330760469' post='4424681']
I usually use a v1x, but I tried the d2 feel a couple days after playing the diablo tour, its alot longer than the diablo tour!
[/quote]

I've tried the Feel a few times and it didn't do as much for me as the Gamer does. Not as far or as straight for me, but still spun well into the greens. I thought it would be just the opposite.