T2GRN18
Active member
Good stuff Brett, any chance you were able to look at spin numbers of your wedges?
Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Ball Review Thread
golf4life
Grip n rip
Unfortunately not yet. Once my hitting bay is finished next week I will be putting it through its paces with wedges and irons on a monitor.
But I think a lot of what's already been posted is confirming that iron spin is substantial. I'm impressed that they seem to have found a way to lower driver spin while maintaining iron and wedge spin.
I'm also impressed at the ball's ability to produce ball speed for me with such a low compression number.
T2GRN18
Active member
Yes I've seen many talk about the iron SPI being substantial through out, I was curious as to if you had looked at it in comparison the your 330s numbers solely on the fact that it's a ball I typically play, and on my good days I generate nearly the same ball speeds. Probably a little lower in all actuality....but I can dream.
Johnny mojo
Mojovated!
Just wanted to throw this in here from another thread.
Played Chrome Soft yesterday. Was extremely impressed with the spin on full shots. Backed up 2 shots off the green and I do not spin the ball at all. Driver distance was acceptable and it putted well also. If I can learn to play golf with and manage this much spin, it could be awesome!
I will be trying it out some more on a local course I am familiar with to get a feel for the distance. Thanks for all the information on this ball everyone!
JM
Played Chrome Soft yesterday. Was extremely impressed with the spin on full shots. Backed up 2 shots off the green and I do not spin the ball at all. Driver distance was acceptable and it putted well also. If I can learn to play golf with and manage this much spin, it could be awesome!
I will be trying it out some more on a local course I am familiar with to get a feel for the distance. Thanks for all the information on this ball everyone!
JM
Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Ball Review Thread
I put the chrome soft into play today. I'm not sure if I'm just not good enough or what, but I could not tell the difference off the tee and with approach shots compared to the SR2 & B330-RX I normally play. This ball felt great off the driver face and produced distances I've come to expect.
Where it did shine was around the green and the putter. Where I've come to expect some rollout with my previous gamers, this ball checked up a little more. Not a bad thing, but something I need to take into account.
Off the putter is where I noticed the biggest difference. I didn't hear that "click" sound off the face. I don't mind the sound, but that was my first observation. It's hard to explain/describe, but the ball off the putter face feels great. Not too soft like a marshmallow & not too hard. The right combinations IMO.
Durability is where this ball shined. Having played the Chrome +'s my biggest complaint was durability. This ball held up for 16 holes before I donated it. I hit out of sand and it hit a few trees & did not show any scuffs or marks.
****edit****
I did notice the distance gains off my irons. I several shots where the yardage put me with a certain club & I was longer than anticipated. It could be I put good swings on the ball, but I noticed increased distance that had me questioning club choice at times.
I put the chrome soft into play today. I'm not sure if I'm just not good enough or what, but I could not tell the difference off the tee and with approach shots compared to the SR2 & B330-RX I normally play. This ball felt great off the driver face and produced distances I've come to expect.
Where it did shine was around the green and the putter. Where I've come to expect some rollout with my previous gamers, this ball checked up a little more. Not a bad thing, but something I need to take into account.
Off the putter is where I noticed the biggest difference. I didn't hear that "click" sound off the face. I don't mind the sound, but that was my first observation. It's hard to explain/describe, but the ball off the putter face feels great. Not too soft like a marshmallow & not too hard. The right combinations IMO.
Durability is where this ball shined. Having played the Chrome +'s my biggest complaint was durability. This ball held up for 16 holes before I donated it. I hit out of sand and it hit a few trees & did not show any scuffs or marks.
****edit****
I did notice the distance gains off my irons. I several shots where the yardage put me with a certain club & I was longer than anticipated. It could be I put good swings on the ball, but I noticed increased distance that had me questioning club choice at times.
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I was going to wait to purchase these till I ran out of the e6s I got for Xmas. However I was walking through Dicks and saw they had only 3 boxes left for $36...decided to Pick one up. While it will be a bit before I play golf regularly here in the north... I will bring it to the simulator though and see what it does.
Tap tap taparoo
Tap tap taparoo
simp_10
.
Played these for the first time today. Hopefully my attempt at a review makes sense!
Durability:
A+. Rotated 2 balls all day and no noticeable marks on either. **I hit many wedges but no cart paths or trees today.
Driver/Woods:
A . Feel is great and very similar to the SuperSoft for me. Really enjoy the lack of spin off the driver and they kept me in play off the tee all day. Not sure about distance but any gain/loss appears to be negligible right now. May change when the temps warm up in a few months.
Long to Mid Irons:
B . Again great feel (seeing a theme). Distance appeared to be slightly longer compared to my current balls but more roll out for sure. I don’t expect longer irons (3-6) to stop on a dime but the roll out was noticeable.
Short Irons to Wedges:
B. They still feel great off the wedges but just do not grab/check like the Z-Star XV’s I’ve used for several years. They definitely stop much better than the original SuperSoft but I was expecting these to wow me around the greens based on other member’s experiences. I bought a dozen so I will be using them for many more rounds and hope this aspect was just a fluke today. Seemed like they were rolling out 8-10 feet more than I was expecting. Note: I would give my ball striking a B today as well.
Putting:
A . The softer ball felt great off my non-insert putter. They roll nice for sure.
Overall:
A-/B+. I think they are a quality ball in most phases of the game but for me they lack the initial bite / check on the greens is the issue. I plan to play many more rounds with these to confirm or disprove my results today. It really will take many rounds to confirm if this is a better option for me or not….staying in play all day off the tee is Great and perhaps more practice with the Chrome Soft and I will have better results from 100 yds and in.
**The greens were fairly soft and receptive today since we had some rain overnight. Just to confirm, I dropped a few Z Star’s down after my first shots and they definitely bite harder and stop faster (for me).
Durability:
A+. Rotated 2 balls all day and no noticeable marks on either. **I hit many wedges but no cart paths or trees today.
Driver/Woods:
A . Feel is great and very similar to the SuperSoft for me. Really enjoy the lack of spin off the driver and they kept me in play off the tee all day. Not sure about distance but any gain/loss appears to be negligible right now. May change when the temps warm up in a few months.
Long to Mid Irons:
B . Again great feel (seeing a theme). Distance appeared to be slightly longer compared to my current balls but more roll out for sure. I don’t expect longer irons (3-6) to stop on a dime but the roll out was noticeable.
Short Irons to Wedges:
B. They still feel great off the wedges but just do not grab/check like the Z-Star XV’s I’ve used for several years. They definitely stop much better than the original SuperSoft but I was expecting these to wow me around the greens based on other member’s experiences. I bought a dozen so I will be using them for many more rounds and hope this aspect was just a fluke today. Seemed like they were rolling out 8-10 feet more than I was expecting. Note: I would give my ball striking a B today as well.
Putting:
A . The softer ball felt great off my non-insert putter. They roll nice for sure.
Overall:
A-/B+. I think they are a quality ball in most phases of the game but for me they lack the initial bite / check on the greens is the issue. I plan to play many more rounds with these to confirm or disprove my results today. It really will take many rounds to confirm if this is a better option for me or not….staying in play all day off the tee is Great and perhaps more practice with the Chrome Soft and I will have better results from 100 yds and in.
**The greens were fairly soft and receptive today since we had some rain overnight. Just to confirm, I dropped a few Z Star’s down after my first shots and they definitely bite harder and stop faster (for me).
Wow. What a great review! Due to poor technique, I rarely spin the ball much so I am always looking for maximum spin without paying prov1 prices. It is dissapointing to learn that these don't bite enough.
I find it intriguing that you noticed LESS bite and hold on greens with these, considering almost everyone says they are getting much more. Could it be that you were just more confident with the Z-stars since you play them more, so you put more confident swings on them with your wedges? I noticed way more check on them just on carpet, and if they can check on carpet, I can only imagine what they'll do on greens.
simp_10
.
These are MY results after one round. I tried to carefully word my review and it's not a confidence issue with the ball as I stated it felt great. I plan to play many more rounds and will let you and everyone know my results. As of right now they offer me less spin around the greens than Z stars.
Hope you are able to get out there soon and give them a shot!
hemiths
New member
lmao. wow. seriously... this is internet analysis at its finest.
I would try them yourself. Many find them to spin very well
I fail to see the comedy in my comment. It wasn't a review or analysis, just an observation.
- Staff
- #464
Don't sweat it dude, just do you. The beauty of THP is all the different takes, thoughts, and the different ways we all share them. Can't wait for you to get them on the course and hear your feedback buddy.
lewisgl
New member
Nice review. I wonder if folks with lower swing speeds might notice less spin on iron approach shots with this ball vs folks with higher swing speeds. That has been the case with other golf balls. My swing speed isn't very fast now but a Zstar will back up a little for me on some wedge approach shots, but something like the Chrome Soft may not as much. Someone with a faster swing speed might be able to get these to check up quite a bit more than me as I only swing a 7 iron around 72-74 mph tops. We will probably learn more about this after more reviews come in. All that said, if this ball will even have something close to hop and stop on a 3/4 wedge swing, that would probably be plenty good enough for me if it performs good in other aspects, which it seems to so far.
BIGBALL
Active member
Well, I put this ball in play yesterday. We played a course that basically was frozen ( concrete greens & fairways, even the rough was frozen in spots! ) and it was about 36' degrees, so it is really hard to give a fair review - but here are some observations...
I actually did scuff my ball up a bit, but I think that was due to the icy conditions - I think this happened in the bunkers, which were hard and in patches had snow / ice in them. It FELT really good off my wedges - both full and partial - but there was no checking anything up on the greens today - you had to hit short of the green, and if you had to carry a bunker, well, good luck! Off the driver, I can't say I noticed a ton of difference than the regular chromes I normally play, although it may fly a tad bit lower? Seemed more like the chrome + in that regard. My driver swing was a bit iffy, but it seemed to play very similar spin wise to the chrome, maybe more testing is needed there!. Distances seemed to be a bit longer off the irons - a couple times I hit a knock down shot, and it carried further than I know the regular chrome would, and hit the green instead of the fringe / rough, and then did it's best impression of a super ball! Seemed really soft off the face, which I really like. The one place I loved it was off the putter - it just felt really great. ( yea, I know that is a very subjective thing! )The fact that I holed out 2 putts of over 20' probably helped as well!
Overall, I think I need to play it in more "normal" conditions - but if it spins / holds more greens, I think it will stay in the bag. Next time out I am going to play it head to head with a normal chrome and see what happens.
I actually did scuff my ball up a bit, but I think that was due to the icy conditions - I think this happened in the bunkers, which were hard and in patches had snow / ice in them. It FELT really good off my wedges - both full and partial - but there was no checking anything up on the greens today - you had to hit short of the green, and if you had to carry a bunker, well, good luck! Off the driver, I can't say I noticed a ton of difference than the regular chromes I normally play, although it may fly a tad bit lower? Seemed more like the chrome + in that regard. My driver swing was a bit iffy, but it seemed to play very similar spin wise to the chrome, maybe more testing is needed there!. Distances seemed to be a bit longer off the irons - a couple times I hit a knock down shot, and it carried further than I know the regular chrome would, and hit the green instead of the fringe / rough, and then did it's best impression of a super ball! Seemed really soft off the face, which I really like. The one place I loved it was off the putter - it just felt really great. ( yea, I know that is a very subjective thing! )The fact that I holed out 2 putts of over 20' probably helped as well!
Overall, I think I need to play it in more "normal" conditions - but if it spins / holds more greens, I think it will stay in the bag. Next time out I am going to play it head to head with a normal chrome and see what happens.
golfdawg
Well-known member
Thanks for a well rounded review.
Checked my usual websites for these and they still don't even show so no idea when I might be able to get my hands on them over here, although after the snow yesterday that came down and the forecast for the next week (and my ongoing recovery) it will be a while yet before I can think if getting out
Boom_Boom
Member
I spun the piss out of 'em... Not quite Pro V spin, but enough for me to game them.
BogeyWoods03
Member
I jumped on the hype train and went and bought a dozen from the local Dicks sporting goods.. Lil quick background , my SS is 108 so I was a little leery of the compression , not sure why but I was. Played in California , about 50 degrees but some fog/cloud haze all afternoon. Anyhow , used 2 balls for the round. I found the distance to be very comparable to a regular ProV1 off of the driver , felt great as well. Liked the feel off of the irons the most and also off of the putter. Spin was decent , very playable and manageable. Our greens at the course are very good and the ball held very well. As far as durability I would give them an A. I managed to hit my normal tree or two through out the round but the ball held up well. Overall impressed with the ball and would continue to game it , especially now. Summer time when its 101 out will be a good test.
Finally got out to do some sim testing of the balls. Wasn't able to capture any of the data to show, but here is how my session went. All aspects were against Nike RZN Red, and of course these are all subjectively my opinions:
My Background: As per my information next to this, I play to about a 12 HC. I have a driver swing speed around 110-113, and have typically average to above average iron striking (most of my shots are in the middle of the face). My normal ball flight is a slight fade, and when I miss it's usually high and to the right when I lose control of my fade. I was taught by my Grandfather when I was younger, but have a lot more recently been pretty much self taught. I have been playing off and on for practically my whole life, but have only really been in golf seriously for about 2 seasons.
With that said, here is what I thought of the Chrome Soft.
Feel/Sound - A+: These feel absolutely amazing. Very soft, lovely sound, just screams confidence. You can definitely notice the difference in feel with just about every club. Putting in simulators is laughable in terms of speed/distance control, but you notice the feel and sound off the putter face immediately.
Control - A: These definitely felt good on contact while trying to control them. Honestly just solid. How much the ball helped on misses I'm not sure, but I don't think it hurt. Seemed to get the right spin numbers while trying to work the ball from either direction. I don't draw the ball very much, but took a couple cracks at it and the ball did what I wanted it to. To me this is pretty expected out of a soft compression ball, so I'm glad it fit the bill.
Durability - A: Take durability while sim testing for what it's worth, but I got about a solid hour straight of hitting this ball, and no marks or anything from the club face while using fairly brand new Mizuno's. One shot in particular I must have lost concentration and thinned it like no other. Basically cut straight across it with the leading edge of my club, but no damage was done. Very nice for such a soft ball.
Irons (Long and Short) Used both Mizuno 825 pro's and Callaway Razr X Forged- B/B+: I think this ball feels fantastic off the face. Definitely prefer it to my RZN red's that I have gamed for about a year now. But there were no distance gains or spin differences between the two. This is in no way a negative per say towards the chrome soft, since most soft core balls might actually lose a little bit of distance vs. a harder ball, but I guess I expected a little bit of distance gains based on what I have been hearing. Also kind of expected much less spin off the long irons, neither of which I saw in the simulator when hitting very near identical swing speed/ball speed numbers with both.
Driver/Woods - Cleveland Classic XL 9* / Callaway X Hot 3deep 14.5* and X hot pro 19* - A/A+: This is one aspect of the ball that I think really shined through. For the lack of distance gains in the irons, I definitely noticed distance gains in the woods. On almost identical shots in terms of club head speed, ball speed, and contact/club path, the Chrome Soft was carrying around 5-10 yards longer each time. For being a softer core ball, that impressed me quite a bit. Normally the woods are where I would see a drop in distance the most when using softer core balls, but these contradicted that. Made quite a good sound in combination with the X hot's I was using to test this as well.
Wedges - Cleveland CG 14 54* - N/A: For a simulator test, I don't feel you can get a ton of data in terms of spin/hold/reaction on the greens, but based off the spin numbers the simulator had them stopping quicker on the greens than the RZN red's when simulating wedge shots for both chipping and pitch shots. I'm not going to put much weight into that, so I'm giving this score an N/A until I can get them on actual greens outside. Felt awesome off the wedges though.
Putting - SeeMore z3c - N/A: I want to give this score an A+ for sound and feel alone, but since I couldn't test distance control I won't give it a score yet. Again though, this ball sounds and feels amazing off the putter (IMO at least)
Overall - A: In conclusion for this test session...would I game these? Absolutely. The combination of sound and feel is incredible, and even if there were no differences in numbers I would game them for that alone. The distance gains off of the woods was impressive, but kind of disappointed I didn't see the drop in spin and positive distance gains in the long irons which I kind of expected as well. I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the towel on the RZN's and trade them all in for Chrome Softs, but honestly it's close. If these have anywhere near the stopping power on the greens I am expecting out of them, I think that might be the final push.
My Background: As per my information next to this, I play to about a 12 HC. I have a driver swing speed around 110-113, and have typically average to above average iron striking (most of my shots are in the middle of the face). My normal ball flight is a slight fade, and when I miss it's usually high and to the right when I lose control of my fade. I was taught by my Grandfather when I was younger, but have a lot more recently been pretty much self taught. I have been playing off and on for practically my whole life, but have only really been in golf seriously for about 2 seasons.
With that said, here is what I thought of the Chrome Soft.
Feel/Sound - A+: These feel absolutely amazing. Very soft, lovely sound, just screams confidence. You can definitely notice the difference in feel with just about every club. Putting in simulators is laughable in terms of speed/distance control, but you notice the feel and sound off the putter face immediately.
Control - A: These definitely felt good on contact while trying to control them. Honestly just solid. How much the ball helped on misses I'm not sure, but I don't think it hurt. Seemed to get the right spin numbers while trying to work the ball from either direction. I don't draw the ball very much, but took a couple cracks at it and the ball did what I wanted it to. To me this is pretty expected out of a soft compression ball, so I'm glad it fit the bill.
Durability - A: Take durability while sim testing for what it's worth, but I got about a solid hour straight of hitting this ball, and no marks or anything from the club face while using fairly brand new Mizuno's. One shot in particular I must have lost concentration and thinned it like no other. Basically cut straight across it with the leading edge of my club, but no damage was done. Very nice for such a soft ball.
Irons (Long and Short) Used both Mizuno 825 pro's and Callaway Razr X Forged- B/B+: I think this ball feels fantastic off the face. Definitely prefer it to my RZN red's that I have gamed for about a year now. But there were no distance gains or spin differences between the two. This is in no way a negative per say towards the chrome soft, since most soft core balls might actually lose a little bit of distance vs. a harder ball, but I guess I expected a little bit of distance gains based on what I have been hearing. Also kind of expected much less spin off the long irons, neither of which I saw in the simulator when hitting very near identical swing speed/ball speed numbers with both.
Driver/Woods - Cleveland Classic XL 9* / Callaway X Hot 3deep 14.5* and X hot pro 19* - A/A+: This is one aspect of the ball that I think really shined through. For the lack of distance gains in the irons, I definitely noticed distance gains in the woods. On almost identical shots in terms of club head speed, ball speed, and contact/club path, the Chrome Soft was carrying around 5-10 yards longer each time. For being a softer core ball, that impressed me quite a bit. Normally the woods are where I would see a drop in distance the most when using softer core balls, but these contradicted that. Made quite a good sound in combination with the X hot's I was using to test this as well.
Wedges - Cleveland CG 14 54* - N/A: For a simulator test, I don't feel you can get a ton of data in terms of spin/hold/reaction on the greens, but based off the spin numbers the simulator had them stopping quicker on the greens than the RZN red's when simulating wedge shots for both chipping and pitch shots. I'm not going to put much weight into that, so I'm giving this score an N/A until I can get them on actual greens outside. Felt awesome off the wedges though.
Putting - SeeMore z3c - N/A: I want to give this score an A+ for sound and feel alone, but since I couldn't test distance control I won't give it a score yet. Again though, this ball sounds and feels amazing off the putter (IMO at least)
Overall - A: In conclusion for this test session...would I game these? Absolutely. The combination of sound and feel is incredible, and even if there were no differences in numbers I would game them for that alone. The distance gains off of the woods was impressive, but kind of disappointed I didn't see the drop in spin and positive distance gains in the long irons which I kind of expected as well. I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the towel on the RZN's and trade them all in for Chrome Softs, but honestly it's close. If these have anywhere near the stopping power on the greens I am expecting out of them, I think that might be the final push.
TheHeez
Well-known member
Played 18 today using the same ball for the entire round. Loved every bit of it! The durability was ridiculous. At the end of the round I handed it to my buddy and said, "can you believe I played this same ball all round?" It had two little marks the size of a hex edge and that was it. This included shots from bunkers, thin lies and plenty of spin inducing full wedges. Incredible!
lopsta5
Active member
Don't feel bad, we don't have them here yet either.
Boom_Boom
Member
Ok, I have played 36 holes with these and I love them. I really do. Had 105 yards into the pin today and hitmy 58* Vokey. Carried about 107 and it spun back to about 18 inches. It was a little windy, and she never deviated from her line. Very impressed.