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Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Ball Review Thread

SuperStroke
cbaker2882 said:
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.
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Really like the review. Can't wait until to hear more about the wedges and putting.
 
hemiths said:
lmao. wow. seriously... this is internet analysis at its finest.
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Mocks "internet analysis"...by posting in a thread on an internet forum of people's analysis. Makes sense.

Baker, I enjoyed your review dude, don't sweat it.
 
lewisgl said:
Really like the review. Can't wait until to hear more about the wedges and putting.
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Thanks! Can't wait for it to dry out a little bit so I can get outside with them. There is a course by work that I will probably sneak off to once it does to get some time on the chipping/pitching and putting greens. I don't need that high of temps, but being real wet and snowy doesn't do much help.

Chase said:
Mocks "internet analysis"...by posting in a thread on an internet forum of people's analysis. Makes sense.

Baker, I enjoyed your review dude, don't sweat it.
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Thanks, Chase!
 
Played another round today. This ball checks all the boxes for me. Shot 38/45 and rewarded myself with another dozen Chrome Soft. Just lost it mentally on second half of the back nine. This the first time a ball has given me confidence.
 
jhstew1 said:
Played this ball 10 days ago for the 1st time, no practice w/ it put it on the tee on the 1st hole here are my initial thoughts:

Durability: Excellent
Distance: half club longer
Wind: seemed to hold its line very well into the wind
Feel: tough to say w/o having some (more) practice with it, but it seemed fine
Price: at $38 a dozen this ball could be a huge seller for Callaway
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One of the most amazing performance factors for Callaway balls over the years, is their performance in the wind...they hold their line. And with the exception of the Tour Black (their only tour ball that I haven't liked), Callaway balls have always been very durable.
 
I was finally able to put these balls in play yesterday and I must admit that they took what appears to be a chrome plus and made the cover more durable. The main reason I stopped using chromes was because one lob/sand wedge full shot and the cover would shred.

I love these here balls and will put them into play for my league rounds for sure. I wasn't getting or losing any distance with these balls. I have no idea how it holds in the wind but I don't have trouble with playing in the wind so I don't foresee that being an issue.
 
My local shop had these when I went to the range this morning so I picked up a dozen. I live in a small rural area so things tend to cost a little more so they were $44 per dozen, but I get 10% off for being a member, so I paid $39.60. Excited to put them into play Saturday afternoon.
 
Just got back from a range session (played pine Valley with auto 2-putt - amazing course)

I must say these balls are amazing. Great feel and even though it's on a simulator they spin nicely for me.

Distance they are right on the money if not longer.

My one drawback I must say is they fly very very high with the driver for me. However I'm sure if I crank it down 1* I'll be good to go.

Durability they are great - No smiles or gills on less than perfect or full wedge shots when I was spinning it back.

Either way super impressed. Can't wait to use these on the course!

Tap tap taparoo
 
So I praised these balls after 1 round. However after playing another 27 holes with them, I just don't see any difference between them and my typical $9.99/dozen Bridgestone B330-RX AAAA lostgolfball.com specials. My average distance off the tee after 45 holes is within 1 yard of my average distance over the last 3 months. They don't check any better than my other ball and about the only difference i see is that I have to make better contact with the putter to get the ball moving on long putts.

So in other words, I'm sticking with the B330-RX balls for now - at least until I can start getting the Chrome Soft on lostgolfballs.com.

Maybe I'm just not good enough to see a difference (unofficial handicap 8.3 - cannot input into GHIN due to my courses being in off-season).
 
ORLANDO, Fla. – When Phil Mickelson makes his first start of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season this week at the Humana Challenge, he will have Callaway’s new Chrome Soft golf ball in play.

A 42-time PGA Tour winner using a 65-compression golf ball? You bet, and there’s quite a story behind it.

One morning in September, Harry Arnett, Callaway’s senior vice president of marketing, and Tim Reed, senior vice president of product strategy and management, met Mickelson at a coffee shop to discuss a wedge in the pipeline. Once that business wrapped up, Mickelson asked what else they had for him. Reed mentioned Chrome, the type of softer compression golf ball that typically was designed for slower swingers. But this ball had a softer-feeling core without sacrificing the low-spin, high-speed distance associated with solid-core construction in a higher compression model. Intrigued, Mickelson asked to take some of the three-piece balls for a test drive. Reed didn’t have any with him so Arnett fished out a sleeve from his golf bag and three balls he’d already marked with a blue dot. Mickelson said he’d give them a whack when he got back from the Ryder Cup. But curiosity got the better of him. Mickelson went home to his backyard practice area and played with them all afternoon. That night, he called Arnett and left a voice mail.

The message amounted to best ball ever!

“It blew our mind,” Arnett said. “He’s been playing a ball from a compression standpoint that is 105 and this one is 65.”

This isn’t the first time Mickelson has swooned over equipment changes. When he won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in January 2013, Mickelson called his new driver “a career changer,” and then won the Open Championship that summer without one in his bag.
Mickelson won’t be the first to put Chrome Soft in play on Tour. Kenny Perry and Sam Saunders have already done so and Arnett said he expects upwards of half of Callaway’s Tour staff to follow suit.

“We think the ball is going to be a game changer,” said Chip Brewer, Callaway’s CEO. “Every type of player seems to think it’s great.”

To generate word of mouth with regular golfers, Arnett asked between 500 and 1,000 of Callaway’s green-grass professionals to provide the home address of six influential golfers at their facility. Each member received a white prototype box with a dozen golf balls. Accompanying the package: a letter drafted by Mickelson. It made quite the impression, Arnett said.

“He felt strongly enough that he wanted his own words about the ball to go to the people that would get them,” he said.

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jan/21/phil-mickelson-callaway-chrome-soft-golf-ball/
 
Pretty aggressive marketing of these at the PGA Show has me more eager than ever to put this ball in play.
 
wubears71 said:
So I praised these balls after 1 round. However after playing another 27 holes with them, I just don't see any difference between them and my typical $9.99/dozen Bridgestone B330-RX AAAA lostgolfball.com specials. My average distance off the tee after 45 holes is within 1 yard of my average distance over the last 3 months. They don't check any better than my other ball and about the only difference i see is that I have to make better contact with the putter to get the ball moving on long putts.

So in other words, I'm sticking with the B330-RX balls for now - at least until I can start getting the Chrome Soft on lostgolfballs.com.

Maybe I'm just not good enough to see a difference (unofficial handicap 8.3 - cannot input into GHIN due to my courses being in off-season).
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Your review actually doesn't surprise me. If I would have had to pick one current ball out there that most likely resembled the Chrome Soft I would have thought the B330-RX.
 
Oh its so hard to find these in NZ. I rang one shop and they didn't even know what they were, hadn't even heard of them. Then today went into a local small golf store and he said Callaway wanted him to buy 96 doz per order, which he cant even justify.
 
To my fellow antipodean
Just got a dozen from golfbox
In w a
Charge $15 for delivery to n z 44.95 aus per dozen
If you ordered a few dozen would work out ok
 
I played these on Tuesday for the first time.

I didn't realize the cost when I made the purchase, until it was time to pay (for some reason I thought they were going to be around $30).

Anyways, I was a little put off by the price, but I have to admit they are great balls.
I read someone here commented they don't stick the greens that great...but that was not my experience. I thought they were truly excellent in that regard.

I'm still not into paying $3.50/ball though. But, if I was going to buy a high end ball next time, I prefer these over the ProV1's.
 
Really like this golf ball so far, have done a pretty fair amount of chipping and pitching with it and it performs pretty well on the greens I have used it on so far, soft to medium firm greens. Will get a chance to play it some this Sunday. Right now, my golf ball of choice is the B330RXS and based on the results so far, the B330RXS is slightly better over all, but will have to give the Chrome Soft more time on the golf course to be completely fair about it.
 
lewisgl said:
Really like this golf ball so far, have done a pretty fair amount of chipping and pitching with it and it performs pretty well on the greens I have used it on so far, soft to medium firm greens. Will get a chance to play it some this Sunday. Right now, my golf ball of choice is the B330RXS and based on the results so far, the B330RXS is slightly better over all, but will have to give the Chrome Soft more time on the golf course to be completely fair about it.
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Hi can you say a bit about your type of swing and driver swing speed? Many thanks..
 
Far as swing type goes, am working on somewhat of a partial Stack and Tilt swing right now. Pretty moderate to slow swing speed now at 62 years old, around 86-90 mph on the driver, so not a lot of spin on approach shots. I tend to pay more attention to what the ball does around the greens now since it is a different game than what it was 10 years ago, shorter tee shots, longer approaches, more missed greens and missing greens by larger margins at times. I don't mind giving up a few yards off the tee to get better control around the greens. Really like the Chrome soft but the B330RXS seems like it might be a little better around the greens (not completely sure on that yet). Still like the Chrome soft and have about 3 dozen of them to try this year.
 
lewisgl said:
Far as swing type goes, am working on somewhat of a partial Stack and Tilt swing right now. Pretty moderate to slow swing speed now at 62 years old, around 86-90 mph on the driver, so not a lot of spin on approach shots. I tend to pay more attention to what the ball does around the greens now since it is a different game than what it was 10 years ago, shorter tee shots, longer approaches, more missed greens and missing greens by larger margins at times. I don't mind giving up a few yards off the tee to get better control around the greens. Really like the Chrome soft but the B330RXS seems like it might be a little better around the greens (not completely sure on that yet). Still like the Chrome soft and have about 3 dozen of them to try this year.
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Sound very similar to me thanks very much. I'm interested in trying the RXS but wondered if the RX might be better. Can't wait for the new season....
cheers
 
Thedoswells said:
Sound very similar to me thanks very much. I'm interested in trying the RXS but wondered if the RX might be better. Can't wait for the new season....
cheers
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I haven't used the RX ball very much but it should be a good ball, maybe a little less spin the RXS but not a huge deal. The RX might not have as much sides spin off the driver, and that could be a good thing. You might give both a try and compare them. The RX seems to be more popular I think. I should give the RX a try too.
 
Yeah me too. I am interested in how much difference there is with distance so hope to try that out. Thanks and enjoy...
 
Had my first hit in nice sunny Melbourne 29 c or about 85 f
So ball naturally travelling far
Feel of club face is really nice .
Played some high spin half wedges beautiful action
Ball seems to fly as far if not further than my normal bridgestone rx
Some wind today but ball held its line well
Putting was good although softer feel meant I left to on the lip which I feel is just a matter of adjustment
Overall love the ball
Prefer to the rx
Interchanged two balls through the round one ha d a little scuff early but the other completely unmarked
I will keep using it now
 
Quick little story; johnny Rod and I played Metrowest yesterday morning and we're paired with a gentleman named Tom and his son Ryan. Ryan was in town playing on a mini tour and Tom was a local.
Both could move it off the tee and the dad really suprised us on a fee holes with some stellar drives. Well we all had a great time and reached 18.
We asked them both to hit their PROV1s and then the Chrome soft. Both his their standard going draws down the right side and ended up in the middle of the fairaway. Young ryan blocked his Chromesoft deep into the right rough. Tom blasted his on the same flight as the first. The results were staggering. 20 yards further with the chromesoft. If I didn't see it I wouldn't have believed it. His jaw dropped and johnny asked him to play the dozen we gave him and nd report back via email. More balls would be sent. It was very cool to see.
 
Would loved to have seen that haha. "Hey thanks, but why didn't you let me try that 17 holes ago!?" :act-up:

JM
 
Freddie, I know Matt Wood at the Hideaway was commenting how good these balls felt, and how much longer they were.
I know he was flying greens, and commenting how his drives were also longer.
He genuinely seemed impressed by this ball!

I can't wait to play it today in my sim round!!
 
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