cool info! Thanks, Neb!
2016 Callaway Chrome Soft Review Thread
cool info! Thanks, Neb!
Thechosen1
#Thistagwilltravel
I like these but not as much as the supersoft. Maybe the new version will make me change
flog2424
Philippians 4:13
cannot wait to try these.... my new ball of choice
AMart
#TheGrindIsReal
An improved ChromeSoft! Excellent. I look forward to trying a dozen against the B330rx.
Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk
Thechosen1
#Thistagwilltravel
Overall softness. Been awhile since I e played a chrome soft though
rallo
#FYF
I will be comparing this with the similar balls I had played last year. Similar to Misike, the main balls I had been playing in this category were the b330s, b330rx, and chrome soft truvis. (Other balls played heavily were Callaway hex-control, and e6)
A little about me. Driver SS hovers around 97-101mph. I am NOT a high spin player around the greens or off of the tee. I rely on shot height for greenside stoppage, so short sided misses tend to be a problem in terms of keeping it close to the hole. My miss with the driver involves getting too quick, going slightly OTT, and closing the clubface prematurely leading to a nasty hook. My goal with the driver is high and straight, and I am rarely trying to move the ball unless the hole demands that I do. An approach that reaches the green from 150 and farther usually yields a ball that is 3 feet or so away from the pitchmark(coming in high). Anything from there on in will yield something coming in very high and usually staying within a foot or less of the mark. Greenside chipping usually results in landing the ball and letting it run out, as I usually don't get too much spin unless I'm using a really spinny ball like a b330s.
Driver Spin The claims coming with the 2016CS were that it had less spin off of the driver and more around the greens. I didn't doubt the claims, but in the back of my head I wondered "Will these claims translate, and be noticeable to my game?" There is still some spin off of the driver, but I think it has been muted more than last year's Chromesoft, and I would compare it to the B330rx in terms of driver spin and distance. In my experience, the b330s was definitely the most 'spinny' off of the driver of the premium balls I had hit in the last year. The 2016CS was definitely a pleasant surprise in this regard. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it rivals the e6, hex control, or any other ball that is built for driver spin, but it is very playable off of the tee and I believe it outperforms the b330s, and rivals the b330rx in this regard.
Approach
I will preface this by saying that I definitely need more time to get a proper review in, but I came away very impressed. I've touched on this in other threads, but I had an eye opening shot on hole 16 on the Clive course at the Hideaway. The hole was slightly uphill and about 185yards away. I clubbed up to a 5 iron, and struck the ball pretty well. After hitting the shot I thought "too much" I expected it to land on the very back edge of the green and roll off. I noticed the ball landed close to the fringe and stuck, in fact it was within 4 inches of the ball mark. This was very unexpected as I typically see about 3 feet of roll out, maybe more factoring that the hole was slightly uphill. I had a couple of shots like this during the event, shots I where I thought I took too much club or hit too thin were holding up and leaving me on the putting surface.
Greenside I think that this is where the Chromesoft2016 will win a lot of people over. My biggest complaint was that I wasn't prepared for the amount of check that was coming on a lot of chips(and this was on lightning fast Hideaway greens). Perhaps the MD3 wedges are partially to blame, but it definitely took some getting used to and towards the end of the second day I became more confident in throwing chips closer and letting some spin help me out. Feel off of the putter is pleasant, firm yet soft... (honestly I'm neutral on this subject as I only rule out balls that sounds harsh and the 2016CS is NOT harsh.) Having worked extensively in grandaddy prep with the 2015CS truvis, I can definitively say that they have ramped up the spin on greenside shots. More spin than the b330rx, and equal to, or maybe a little less spin than the b330s IMO.
Overall impression
In a perfect world, I would be able to switch balls on every shot. Obviously, the rules of golf do not allow this and for my game I would have to make a decision on tee game vs greenside performance. While the 2016CS isn't necessarily the best ball in every single category, I believe that Callaway has made great strides to ensure this ball has fewer weaknesses than any other ball on the market today. The closest ball for my game that I can compare it with is the b330rx, but in my experience the 2016 CS was just as long off of the tee with similar shot dispersion, yet had noticeably more action around the greens. This increased spin around the greens has changed the way I look at daunting, short sided green shots, while not giving up too much to distance balls off of the tee. I need to take a serious look at making this ball my gamer.
A little about me. Driver SS hovers around 97-101mph. I am NOT a high spin player around the greens or off of the tee. I rely on shot height for greenside stoppage, so short sided misses tend to be a problem in terms of keeping it close to the hole. My miss with the driver involves getting too quick, going slightly OTT, and closing the clubface prematurely leading to a nasty hook. My goal with the driver is high and straight, and I am rarely trying to move the ball unless the hole demands that I do. An approach that reaches the green from 150 and farther usually yields a ball that is 3 feet or so away from the pitchmark(coming in high). Anything from there on in will yield something coming in very high and usually staying within a foot or less of the mark. Greenside chipping usually results in landing the ball and letting it run out, as I usually don't get too much spin unless I'm using a really spinny ball like a b330s.
Driver Spin The claims coming with the 2016CS were that it had less spin off of the driver and more around the greens. I didn't doubt the claims, but in the back of my head I wondered "Will these claims translate, and be noticeable to my game?" There is still some spin off of the driver, but I think it has been muted more than last year's Chromesoft, and I would compare it to the B330rx in terms of driver spin and distance. In my experience, the b330s was definitely the most 'spinny' off of the driver of the premium balls I had hit in the last year. The 2016CS was definitely a pleasant surprise in this regard. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it rivals the e6, hex control, or any other ball that is built for driver spin, but it is very playable off of the tee and I believe it outperforms the b330s, and rivals the b330rx in this regard.
Approach
I will preface this by saying that I definitely need more time to get a proper review in, but I came away very impressed. I've touched on this in other threads, but I had an eye opening shot on hole 16 on the Clive course at the Hideaway. The hole was slightly uphill and about 185yards away. I clubbed up to a 5 iron, and struck the ball pretty well. After hitting the shot I thought "too much" I expected it to land on the very back edge of the green and roll off. I noticed the ball landed close to the fringe and stuck, in fact it was within 4 inches of the ball mark. This was very unexpected as I typically see about 3 feet of roll out, maybe more factoring that the hole was slightly uphill. I had a couple of shots like this during the event, shots I where I thought I took too much club or hit too thin were holding up and leaving me on the putting surface.
Greenside I think that this is where the Chromesoft2016 will win a lot of people over. My biggest complaint was that I wasn't prepared for the amount of check that was coming on a lot of chips(and this was on lightning fast Hideaway greens). Perhaps the MD3 wedges are partially to blame, but it definitely took some getting used to and towards the end of the second day I became more confident in throwing chips closer and letting some spin help me out. Feel off of the putter is pleasant, firm yet soft... (honestly I'm neutral on this subject as I only rule out balls that sounds harsh and the 2016CS is NOT harsh.) Having worked extensively in grandaddy prep with the 2015CS truvis, I can definitively say that they have ramped up the spin on greenside shots. More spin than the b330rx, and equal to, or maybe a little less spin than the b330s IMO.
Overall impression
In a perfect world, I would be able to switch balls on every shot. Obviously, the rules of golf do not allow this and for my game I would have to make a decision on tee game vs greenside performance. While the 2016CS isn't necessarily the best ball in every single category, I believe that Callaway has made great strides to ensure this ball has fewer weaknesses than any other ball on the market today. The closest ball for my game that I can compare it with is the b330rx, but in my experience the 2016 CS was just as long off of the tee with similar shot dispersion, yet had noticeably more action around the greens. This increased spin around the greens has changed the way I look at daunting, short sided green shots, while not giving up too much to distance balls off of the tee. I need to take a serious look at making this ball my gamer.
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rallo
#FYF
I'm glad to hear this, as I gave a few of the balls some shark gills... I blamed the MD3s.
One thing that speaks to the stopping power of this ball is how all of us noticed much more check up than normal. I know part of that is new grooves in the wedges but these greens were so fast and nothing was flat. This ball shined greenside
amsmith61
Active member
Love reading the thoughts guys! Chrome Soft was my ball of choice last year and if they have improved on last year's version - I will be picking some of these up!
2Bad4u
KABOOM BABY!
Keep the reviews coming guys and gals. It looks like it will be a very interesting year with all of the 2016 ball changes. I'm personally looking forward to the Callaway Chrome Soft vs. the Bridgestone B330-RX comparisions.
More compression will give you less spin off irons as well resulting in a slightly higher launch compared to a ball that is spinning more. You only need around 7,500 RPM to get a ball starting to backup on a green.
Harvmp28
Active member
Awesome! Thanks Finley, can't get a better source!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've been gaming the Chrome Soft Truvis regularly since they were introduced and I am really happy that the Truvis version has been continued for 2016. The increased greenside spin of the 2016 Chrome Soft is something that I can really use. Looking forward to picking up a box when they hit the stores.
tpluff
I <3 GAWLF
Cannot wait to get warm weather to try it out. Thanks for dropping in 5 time!
musicmaster6921
hacking away everyday.
So are these the Chrome Soft **?
There were a few holes at The Hideaway where my ball just checked up and the member we were with was like "wow, how did that stop there".
TLeishman34
Active member
Really like this ball when I played it at the Hideaway. I couldn't get off the tee well so I can't really speak to that part and haven't played since I have been home.
However I loved this ball off of my irons and wedges. Liked the sound of them off the club face and it had a nice straight ball flight which it what I prefer as I don't work the ball much.
Also had great spin off the wedges which allowed me to be aggressive as I knew it wouldn't roll out much.
Excited to play with these again and hopefully have driver swing that is decent so I can see how they play off the tee, but these do everything they say they do. Another year and the chrome soft will be the ball of choice for me
However I loved this ball off of my irons and wedges. Liked the sound of them off the club face and it had a nice straight ball flight which it what I prefer as I don't work the ball much.
Also had great spin off the wedges which allowed me to be aggressive as I knew it wouldn't roll out much.
Excited to play with these again and hopefully have driver swing that is decent so I can see how they play off the tee, but these do everything they say they do. Another year and the chrome soft will be the ball of choice for me
When I can stick the shot from the rough & below my feet and it not move was what sold me.
OITW
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2013
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And now you have me in ponder mode.
Just started playing the original Chrome Soft this winter, and I like it so far. I'm looking forward to giving this new version a try sometime this year.
Thanks for all the great feedback/info so far, guys.
Thanks for all the great feedback/info so far, guys.