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What’s New: 2020 Callaway Chrome Soft Hits Retail

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SuperStroke
Well it took a couple days but I finally made it through all 41 pages. I jumped in to this thread since I picked up a box of the previous generation CSX and they've been the first ball I feel truly made a difference. I saw @billyh had commented to the effect that it seemed to help his slice, and when I did the ball fitting on Callaway it put me in the CS because I'm looking for straight ball flights. Does anyone else have an opinion on the CS being straighter off the tee vs. the CSX?
 
thewilderside said:
Well it took a couple days but I finally made it through all 41 pages. I jumped in to this thread since I picked up a box of the previous generation CSX and they've been the first ball I feel truly made a difference. I saw @billyh had commented to the effect that it seemed to help his slice, and when I did the ball fitting on Callaway it put me in the CS because I'm looking for straight ball flights. Does anyone else have an opinion on the CS being straighter off the tee vs. the CSX?
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Not sure about that. I have played both and can hit both straight. The CSX is designed for a bit higher swing speed players and guys/gals who work the ball with ease.
I would guess the CS will give you everything you need
 
I’ve four four rounds on the 2020 CS balls. I do like them, and they are very straight, but they don’t feel as soft as the previous versions. Am I the only one that prefers the 2018 version over the 2020? I had them in play for 9 holes and then switched to my normal Callaway Hex Soft for the back. There is a noticeable difference in “softness” to which I like. I wouldn’t have a hard time gaming it at all, but to me, it’s not what I completely want.
 
billyh said:
I’ve four four rounds on the 2020 CS balls. I do like them, and they are very straight, but they don’t feel as soft as the previous versions. Am I the only one that prefers the 2018 version over the 2020? I had them in play for 9 holes and then switched to my normal Callaway Hex Soft for the back. There is a noticeable difference in “softness” to which I like. I wouldn’t have a hard time gaming it at all, but to me, it’s not what I completely want.
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Feel is very dependent on the user. I prefer the 2020 version for feel. Is it club specific that it feels firmer or all the way thru the bag?
 
Snickerdog said:
Feel is very dependent on the user. I prefer the 2020 version for feel. Is it club specific that it feels firmer or all the way thru the bag?
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All the way through the bag but WAY more noticeable on the irons. I still have 6 left and I’m going to give them another go until I loose them.
 
Snickerdog said:
Not sure about that. I have played both and can hit both straight. The CSX is designed for a bit higher swing speed players and guys/gals who work the ball with ease.
I would guess the CS will give you everything you need
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Yeah I'm guessing I should buy a sleeve of both to test if I'm being honest. I also sit in that grey area with my swing speed, where Callaway puts me in the CS. When I played with their ball fitting tool it would leave me in the CS until you said your average drive was 300 yard, only then did it move the recommendation to CSX. I can get the ball out to 300+ but I'd say I more regularly live in the 280 range.
 
I played 18 again today with the CSx. It was another tough testing day as winds were up to about 25mph and it was swirling and seemed like it was always in our face.

The most noticeable thing was that I continued to have some directional issues off the tees. I putted quite well today - I like how this ball feels on the firmer end of the spectrum but that it is not clicky like the prior version of this ball off the putter (really off all clubs). Iron distances seemed a little short but remember those winds. Distance off the tees...really hard to tell too much given the conditions. There were a few instances where I reached areas I normally dint reach, which is a good sign.
 
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I've hitting the CS for a week now and it's a good ball. You guys can use it and be happy with it's results. It's a good ball to bomb off the tee, my average has been 338 yds with this ball and easily shaped. Approaching the green I can dial up the spin to 10,000 plus and have it hold the green easily. This is a great ball and the greens get peppered with it and leaves a massive ball mark.

I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.
 
billyh said:
I’ve four four rounds on the 2020 CS balls. I do like them, and they are very straight, but they don’t feel as soft as the previous versions. Am I the only one that prefers the 2018 version over the 2020? I had them in play for 9 holes and then switched to my normal Callaway Hex Soft for the back. There is a noticeable difference in “softness” to which I like. I wouldn’t have a hard time gaming it at all, but to me, it’s not what I completely want.
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Per recommendation from a few folks in this community to lower my ball flight, I bought a sleeve of 2020 CS. With regards to feel, I do like the 'clickier' feel of the ball. Again, like others have said, this is really personal.
 
Finally put the X through a couple of rounds over the last couple of days and had some mixed results

Feel

Compared to the previous generation Chrome Soft standard, the new X definitely feels more firm off all clubs with a different sound at impact, especially off the driver, but I would expect that as I am not really comparing the same ball

Good

In the wind it appeared to perform very well for me, at Close House I hit a downhill tee shot into the wind that carried 250yds before plugging in the top of a bunker which had me wondering how much total distance I might have managed if I had missed the bunker, and at my home course I hit one around 270yds and followed that with an approach that led to a birdie

My usual result with full shot approaches is to see the ball stop fairly quick, and I was seeing this all day with this ball, including one approach that I hit slightly long on purpose to ensure I carried the ball far enough (short is dead and will spin back off the green) and it hit the slope behind the pin and spun back and right towards the pin

Partial shots around the green had some nice bite which allowed me to be quite aggressive, and even up to around 60yds the ball would be pretty much stuck to the pitch mark

Bad

The only thing I can question about this ball is the durability - for only a couple of rounds it had more marks than I would have expected to see considering it only clipped a couple branches, but it didn't seem to have an impact on performance, just the visual appearance

Overall it has performed well for the limited time I have had it in play, and hopefully I can get more information over this weekend playing at my home course where I know what to expect

I will also try to find some time to try the standard 2020 Chrome Soft, but playing in comps both days I might stick to the X this weekend
 
If you can get your spin up to and over 10k your wedge play with this ball to have some serious action. It impresses the guys I play golf with when the ball spins back when I wedge it over the flag. Looks cool.
 
This new CSX continues to be a fun performer for me. I know there have been some questions about durability. I don't have sand much at all on my home courses so It hasnt been an issue unless a caught the cart path off the tee. Outside of that, I'm seeing everything I want to see. Ball flight in the wind has been surprisingly good, but I'm talking 15mph winds thus far. Nothing too major. Hoping our stores gets more in soon so I can stock up.
 
Gamed the Chrome Soft Triple Track for the first time yesterday. Triple track is amazing, have never felt so confident standing over putts. I'm not a big feel guy so i don't have any incredible insights here but nothing feel wise or sound wise jumped out at me.

I was very impressed with this ball off the tee. I was able to successfully shape the ball, but did not have any swings that resulted in a slice or hook even when attempting to hit that shape. I've found often that I exaggerate everything when trying to shape the ball which leads to the slice/hook. I didn't have that issue at all yesterday. Whether I just had my good swing or the ball was helping I'm not sure, but I loved it.

I was a little disappointed with greenside and wedge spin. I had been seeing chips and wedge shots check and stop nicely with the 19 CSX ball. There was considerable rollout on everything with the wedges. I will caveat that statement though as it was cold (45 at tee-off), and dew was present throughout the round so that may very well be the reason for lack of spin (of course, user error can never be ruled out). I have been playing most of my golf mid-day or later when the course has dried out.

I'll try to get some pictures uploaded of the ball condition. The ball did survive all 9 holes for me, which is rare, but did meet a couple trees and a cart path once. The ball did show some wear, but I'm not sure if it was enough to effect playability.
 
Played the standard Chrome Soft over the weekend for a few holes and it feels good, obviously a bit softer than the X but not quite as soft as the previous generation

Conditions were very windy but it seemed to handle it quite well, although not quite as well as the X from what I could tell

I swapped to the X for the back nine of the comp on Sunday and whether I had just finally got my game together or whether it was the ball but I shot a 1 over par 37 for that stretch in the winds we had

Unfortunately I probably won't get to play for a couple of weeks as we are going to stay with my mother for a week whilst the builders knock a load of walls down at home so we need to move all of Jen's work equipment up to her house this coming weekend and then move it all back again the weekend after
 
After two rounds with the Chrome Soft X I've done up with a few thoughts.

The good:
- the ball seems to cut through the wind really well which is a big deal in our area since it's constantly windy.
- distance is right up there with anything in the market and probably a little longer than most. I seem to get a good amount of roll out off the driver. Compared to the regular CS I would say it's maybe a couple yards longer.
- spin has been really good. From 100 yards and in I can be quite aggressive when going at the pin.

Neutral feedback:
- this ball is probably a bit more firm than I prefer feel wise. It's not a deal breaker but I tend to like a little softer feel. This is where the regular CS wins for me.

The bad:
- this could be in my head but it seems like this ball is less forgiving on bad swings. I feel like I lose a little more distance when it's not struck well.
- here is my biggest complaint: durability. So far in 27 holes I've had scuffs on 4 different balls. 3 were from sand shots. The fourth I can't figure out because I didn't hit any sand or objects after putting it in play. It wasn't a huge mark but it's not something I would expect from this level or price point of a golf ball.

Overall I've really enjoyed the ball so far. The firmness off the putter is taking some adjusting but I'm going to put another putter in play next round and see how that goes. I'll be honest the durability is a little troubling but looking at pure performance it's been pretty impressive.
 
I'm a huge fan of the Chrome Soft X. I enjoy the firmer feel and I really like the flight with irons. Haven't noticed any durability issues yet, but in fairness I'm losing balls at an alarming clip lately.
 
Jen has booked a tee time for Saturday so it looks like I will get a chance to play this weekend after all

I will try putting both balls in play for a a few holes at a time and see if there are any other things I notice - will be keeping an eye on the X specifically to see how much more it scuffs up (unless I manage to lose it quickly) as it has been played for a couple of rounds now
 
KEV said:
The bad:
- this could be in my head but it seems like this ball is less forgiving on bad swings. I feel like I lose a little more distance when it's not struck well.
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I couldn't figure it out until you said it, this is the issue I'm having though. Not so much bad swings, but the not as good of contact/center strikes lose more distance than I see with the regular CS.
 
Snickerdog said:
I couldn't figure it out until you said it, this is the issue I'm having though. Not so much bad swings, but the not as good of contact/center strikes lose more distance than I see with the regular CS.
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It's weird, I've never really thought about ball forgiveness but I swear there is a difference compared to the regular CS.
 
billyh said:
I’ve four four rounds on the 2020 CS balls. I do like them, and they are very straight, but they don’t feel as soft as the previous versions. Am I the only one that prefers the 2018 version over the 2020? I had them in play for 9 holes and then switched to my normal Callaway Hex Soft for the back. There is a noticeable difference in “softness” to which I like. I wouldn’t have a hard time gaming it at all, but to me, it’s not what I completely want.
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i agree 2020cs is not as soft as 2018cs, but that's a good thing for me.
 
McLovin said:
i agree 2020cs is not as soft as 2018cs, but that's a good thing for me.
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I agree. I love that they firmed the regular CS up a bit. The last version was just a little too marshmallowy for me.
 
KEV said:
It's weird, I've never really thought about ball forgiveness but I swear there is a difference compared to the regular CS.
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Swing harder. Duh.
 
I need to pay attention to durability next time out. The only issues i've seen are when poorly place trees or cart paths get in the way of my ball flight. Out of the sand I have not noticed, but that's where I will pay attention to next time.
 
KEV said:
It's weird, I've never really thought about ball forgiveness but I swear there is a difference compared to the regular CS.
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Crazy I see this today after noticing this exact thing last night. Course was dead so I played the CS and CSx. I definitely noticed on poorer contact that the CSx wasn't as long. Thought I was going crazy because the CS was almost always the same distance regardless of the strike (within reason of course) and the CSx had more variance in my distances.
 
I haven't seen any durability issues with the 2020 CS, they have actually held up better than I expected. Last time out I played the first 15 holes with the same ball, hit into some bushes and couldn't find it on the 16th, but it looked great up to then.
 
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