What is the first word that pops into your heads when you read the word, Titleist?
I’m willing to bet the most common answer will be something to do with Tradition, or ProV1.
Let’s be real, those are exactly the things that should come to mind. Titleist has cemented itself in golf tradition, and the biggest reason for that is the ProV1 and ProV1x. Those two entities have dominated sales for decades now, and that can’t be contested. However, the golf ball market has changed and fitting the broader spectrum has become the name of the game. While once upon a time the story from Titleist was always heavily tilted to the ProV1 and ProV1x being able to cover the gamut of golfers needs, the game has evolved, and we are seeing Titleist evolve with it.
While the release of the AVX turned heads in a big way by being a golf ball for the slimmest of the bell curve, now comes something aimed at the bulk of it, and I honestly never saw it coming.
Today Titleist is introducing the new Tour Speed golf ball, a design aimed at speed through the bag and spin in the short game. More than that though, this is a urethane ball from Titleist, coming to market at $39.99. You read that right.
Quick Take
A fourth urethane ball from Titleist, and at a lower price point is something most of us never thought would actually happen but given the direction of the golf ball market we shouldn’t be all that surprised. The Tour Speed checks the boxes for the majority of amateurs offering speed while finding balanced spin and precision where it is needed throughout the bag, at a much more eye-catching price to boot.
Titleist Tour Speed – Where Does it Fit?
If you would have told me that Titleist would be releasing a $39.99 golf ball this year, it wouldn’t have shocked me. However, if you told me it would be a urethane design at that price point, I would have called you a liar.
Now, understand, this isn’t a slight on Titleist, and more options are always good, but this is a company that for years essentially told us if you are looking for a urethane design then you need look no further than the ProV1 or ProV1x. Since then, we got the AVX which fits a decidedly specific portion of golfers, but still at that top tier price. For Titleist to come in with a $39.99 urethane golf ball and pull no punches saying it is aimed to compete directly with the Chrome Soft’s, Q-Star Tour’s and Tour B RX’s of the industry, that is in my opinion a potential paradigm shift. Why is that exactly? Well, not only is this seemingly the sweet spot for a lot of golfers, but it’s the price realm that has become highly competitive in recent years.
The design itself makes it equally as interesting as the price though, as this one is clearly aimed at the average golfer. With that in mind, one can’t help but wonder if this is a somewhat reactionary release that could actually pull away golfers from their other premium offerings, or perhaps it’s just them truly evolving with the times in grasping that having a broader spectrum of urethane offerings only serves to further solidify their presence? Well, I’ll leave that discussion point up to you all.
As for the golf ball, the Tour Speed is a three-piece design focused on what Titleist describes as “a unique combination of exceptional distance in the long game and precise short game scoring control”. The design utilizes a unique high-speed core combined with Titleist’s fastest ionomer casing layer to generate significant speed in the long game, enough that their testing showed it to be longer than some big-name designs. The Tour Speed is finished off with a proprietary TPU (thermoplastic urethane) cover to offer short game control that they have never accomplished in this segment before. With 346 quadrilateral dipyramid dimples done and the first-class quality and design control that only Titleist can offer, this is essentially a ball for all.
Titleist Tour Speed – Performance
Release information is always a fun time, but the real story comes with putting the product through its paces. For this release, I was lucky enough to get a dozen Tour Speed golf balls in to work with and see just what was going on. Rather than comparing them to other designs in the segment, out of the gates I wanted to see instead just how the Tour Speed stood on its own.
First off, I have to mention that it’s always amazing to me how much cleaner Titleist’s tour golf balls look in hand. For example, to my eye, the legendary Titleist script in non-urethane releases has always looked a little thicker and less sharp. Here with the Tour Speed though, this is the same clean precision I see in the ProV1’s and AVX. I will say however, and you will see it in the pictures, the alignment aid design on this one is really out there for Titleist. The multi-arrow look with bright blue “Tour Speed” text worked well for me on the greens, but I do believe it’s going to potentially be too busy some, though it does help set it apart from the ProV’s.
I decided to take a unique direction with the Tour Speed for this review. As is standard, I used the Foresight GC2 to record data for this article, however, being that the marketing focus on this one is low spin and speed in the longer clubs and more spin and control in the scoring portion of the bag, I steered away from the usual show people a driver and lob wedge methodology. Instead, I thought a better picture of what is going on could be seen by focusing on long, mid, and short irons. Specifically, I worked with the 5i, 7i, and 9i.
Right into it, as you will see in the data above, there was a lot to like about the Tour Speed for me and my swing during testing. What stood out most was what felt like the ease of launch while not sacrificing speed/distance for spin. Hitting 35, 37, and 36-yard average peak heights respectively is something that as a mid-ball hitter I enjoyed seeing. Bigger though, the spin numbers in the 9i were higher than I anticipated as a historically lower spin player, and they tapered off into the lower numbers I expected given the product description in the 5i indicating, for me at least, that it’s doing what they claim.
I do want to mention that I did get some quick numbers for my swing on not just the ProV1 and ProV1x, but also the Tour Soft non urethane design and the Tour Speed sat right in the middle for me. In the 5i, the numbers were spot on with the low spin distance I saw from the ionomer Tour Soft, but in the 9i they were about 500 RPM higher, but still lower than the ProV1x. Clearly, everyone’s mileage may vary here, but I saw enough to feel comfortable with how Titleist is marketing this ball and to what segment it is aimed. Personally, I need a slightly higher spin ball, but I’m also a bit outside the biggest portion of the bell curve of golfers.
What does it all mean? Well, for me I walk away from this believing that Titleist is serious about establishing a foothold in this $39.99 price real and potentially taking some share from the competitors which are already there. The big question for me is not performance, as I think we all knew that Titleist wouldn’t bring something like this out if it didn’t live up to the name, rather I think it is how the masses will respond to a middle tier priced urethane Titleist golf ball which is a contrast to what we have come to expect from them basically forever.
What do you think about the new Tour Speed golf ball? Feel free to jump into the conversation both here as well as on The Hackers Paradise forums and let us know!
The Details
Available: 9/7/2020
Price: $39.99
Construction: 3-Piece with TPU Cover
I Played 36 holes, 18 on Saturday, and 18 on Monday. I am going to split my thoughts into two posts, as I did quite different comparisons on each day.
Saturday – September 5th 2020
Temperature: 85-89 Degrees
Wind: Light – Sustained 8-10 MPH Winds
Course: Falcon Lakes – Basehor Kansas
During my Saturday round, I played all 18 holes with the Tour Speed, this was really my "Get to Know You" Round, and I want to delve into the different aspects of the game, and my feelings on each, without comparison to my gamer.
Driver: I felt the ball really excelled here. It seemed every bit as long as my gamer, potentially even longer, and I am not entirely sure if that should be attributed to my swing, or maybe lower spin off the driver, but either way, distance is a definite positive of this ball. I ended up hitting 8/14 fairways, which isn’t an abnormally low or high number for me, in fact, probably about average. I lost one ball off the tee, it was a shot I tried to take over some trees, on a shorter Par 4, and I ended up pushing it into the fescue.
Long Irons: Again, I felt the ball performed well here. I had a couple of Par 3s where I pulled 5/6 Iron, as well as some approaches into some longer Par 4s, and I got the expected distance I expected. I am not "Good" enough to have a REAL expectation of high spin with the longer irons, so I am speaking really based on distance here, where I felt the ball hit my expected yardages with a good swing.
Short Irons: This is where the ball starts to lose a bit for me. While I was hitting my expected yardages, sometimes even further, I was not quite getting the spin I would expect from a Urethane ball on a clean strike. For example, I hit a flush 9 iron on a Par 3, a shot I expect to see immediate stop, if not even a bit of backing up, and the ball ran past my mark a good 4-6 feet. Nothing INSANE, but again, not the spin I would expect to see from a Urethane ball.
Wedges: Very similar to the short irons for me, I hit expected yardages, but I definitely have to play for a bit more run-out, than I would expect, given a Urethane ball. The feeling off of the club face was good, but the expected outcomes didn’t always match what I expected, given the contact I was seeing.
Putting: One of my favorite aspects of this ball, the arrow, as opposed to just the name of the ball, on the side. I typically mark my ball with a line, and with this ball, I never even thought twice about needing it, given the arrow. The feel off the putter face was about what I am used to, and I felt the ball rolled true.
My next post, will be more of a comparison with my Gamer, but wanted 18 holes where I focused SOLELY on this ball, without any biases coming through.
As always, feel free to ask questions.
Temperature: 73 – 76 Degrees
Wind: Moderate – Sustained 10-13 MPH Winds
Course: Stone Canyon – Blue Springs, MO
I felt like I really needed to do a comparison between the Tour Speed and my current gamer (2020 Bridgestone Tour B XS), to come up with some Pros and Cons of the ball, and to determine if this would be a better "Value" for me, given the cheaper price. Here are my thoughts:
Driver: I feel the Tour Speed does everything off the Tee that I expect from my gamer, if not even a bit more. I don’t have access to a Launch Monitor, but given the course was slow, and I was in a twosome, I was able to hit 2 tee balls on a few holes. I found, with solid contact, the Tour Speed kept up, if not surpassed, the Bridgestone Tour B XS, in distance. After this round I have to assume it is due to lower spin, but again, would love to compare them on a Launch Monitor, if I had the ability. If I had to lean one way or the other, I would actually give the edge to the Tour Speed.
Long Irons: This is a very similar story to the Driver. I find the distance is slightly longer with the Tour Speed than the Bridgestone Tour B XS, and without much difference in roll-out/spin. Again, I am not consistent enough to have some expectation of spin here, I am more focused on putting a good swing on the ball and hitting a green, with anything longer than a 7I in my hand.
Short Irons: Similar to my thoughts in my initial post, I was seeing consistently more spin with the Tour B XS than the Tour Speed with the Short Irons. I hit an 8 Iron into a Par 3 with both the Tour Speed and Tour B XS. With my Tour B XS I saw an immediate hit and stop, with the Tour Speed, it ran out a good 6-8 feet. I felt both strikes were similar, but saw less spin with the Tour Speed.
Wedges: Rinse and repeat the above. I have to play more runout with the Tour Speed than the Tour B XS. I prefer the "Hop and Stop" with the Tour B XS, but I think if I played the Tour Speed long term, I could get used to playing for a bit more rollout.
Putter: I didn’t see a significant difference between these two balls off the putter.
Overall, I think the Tour Speed is an excellent ball at the price point, but I wouldn’t play it over my Tour B XS. I am going to continue to put the ball into play as I can, I still have 4/6, and see if I can come up with more comparisons or feedback, but overall, I think it is an excellent ball, with a bit less spin than I see with the higher-priced Tour B XS I play today.
I will really try and grab some cover pictures the next time I am out.
Great reviews! Question for you, did you do any solid wedge shots with them? I picked up a dozen last week and played them both rounds this weekend, ripped up the covers pretty bad on 6 of them with aggressive swings on my 55 and 60 wedges. Admitted, they are new wedges but, they barely leave a mark on my QSTs.:confused2:
Interesting… I did hit quite a few "Full" wedge shots with these, but my wedges are definitely not new.
I hit all my wedges full, probably to the detriment of my game, but I cannot say I saw a ton of durability concerns, at least no more than I am used to seeing out of a Urethane ball.
This is definitely something I will try and pay attention to my next time out!
Good to know because I didn’t like the prototype
So i would hit both into the green, the BX stops and checks, the TS checks and releases. a couple of yardsmore.
There wee times i tried to draw into a pin placement, the BX turned over where i figged it would, the TS moved about half as much.
I could draw it with the UiHi 3 and 4 irons off the tee on the shorter holes.
I hit 10 of 14 fairways with he Tour Speed, but i hit all 4 of the par fours with it. When i mossed the green on holes, i was usually short sided, so i could bump it into the green side and it would hope like i wanted. The ball held up well.
Over all its a respectable ball for the price point as what you would expect for a 3 piece.
I’ve noticed that as well for many years. Titleist white is not necessarily anybody else’s white!
That’s kind of how I try them out! I really love the TM TP5, but it’s far too expensive for me to buy!
I assume it was based closer on design and price.
Telling golfers its better than a cheaper product doesn’t really resonate.
ERC Soft FWIW is not a urethane covered golf ball. With that said, it spun more for me than AVX did and less than this Tour Speed does.
It sounds like you and I are seeing a LOT of the same….
I got out for another 18 this weekend, and decided to alternate this and my gamer every other hole, and my thoughts really haven’t changed.
It is a SOLID ball, just with a bit less greenside spin than I see from my gamer. I would not hesitate to recommend this ball, or play it, if needed.
I just completed the 7 iron testing on my skytrak and I want to caveat this with the fact that I don’t fully trust the skytrak numbers. This is why I want to have JB test a skytrak against a GCQuad. I know the skytrak is guessing on the clubhead data and some of the numbers seem off. In general, the backspin is a good bit lower from what I’ve seen on Trackman and GCQuad. Additionally, some of these show 12+ yards of rollout which I’ve never seen except on a worm-burner. I do hope the niners are at least consistently off. When hitting into a green I usually see 5-10 feet of rollout with the occasional one that hits and sticks. I was hitting my Cobra Forged Tec Black 7 iron and I usually play this on shots between 170-175. I was trying to produce an on course swing but I’m no Iron Byron and it shows from the data. Here is the Taylormade TP5x which averaged 4924rpms of backspin with a carry of 161 yards and total distance of 173 yards.
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Here is the Snell MTB-x which averaged 4861rpms of backspin with a carry of 163 yards and total distance of 175 yards.
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Finally, here is the Titleist Tour Speed which averaged 3949rpms of backspin with a carry of 162 yards and total distance of 177 yards. This was significantly lower spinning than the other 2.
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I think for the remaining testing it may be more accurate to use on – course data and compare it to my Arccos data to see true distance with driver. If the skytrak data is helpful, please let me know what else you would like to see!!
Rick Shiels did a video today on this exact comparision. All 4 balls were very close but with his 110 swing speed it was slightly behind the Srixon and Chrome Soft. The fine print on their box indicated they tested at I believe 140 ball speed at a specific launch angle on a machine.
Based on his numbers with driver I don’t know that I could ever tell a difference between any of them. Based on those numbers alone, I would certainly consider playing this ball over the Chrome Soft and Z-Star just because it is slightly cheaper. I’m still not particularly interested in paying that much for them. I would like to see how it tacks up agaisnt the Q Star Tour or Vice pro Soft since that is what I normally play. I still have a sleeve of the EXP-01 balls so maybe my own on course test is in order.
Both days (Wednesday and Thursday) were similar in temperature, on the cooler side, about 68 degrees when teeing off. Slight breeze (nothing more than 10mph). I was able to do a side by side comparison with the Q-Star Tour during these rounds.
Driver: The performance off the Driver was very consistent. Distance wise, for me was comparable to the Q-Star Tour, Nice penetrating ball flight that held it’s line. To me it felt a little firmer then the QST but not terrible.
Fairway Woods: Very similar to the Driver, good solid feel off the club face, which produced a nice penetrating ball flight. Distance was slightly above average (~5yds) more than the QST.
Hybrid: Feel off the Hybrid was solid, it performed almost identical as the QST. The main difference I saw between the 2 was the Tour Speed had significantly more roll out off the Hybrid than the QST. I had multiple shots over the 2 days with this and the result was the same.
Irons: I saw no real difference in distance with this ball compared to the QST. So that was nice knowing the adjustment would be easy compared to my normal ball. Feel off the irons was a bit more firm than the QST, not "clicky firm" that would be an annoyance, just slightly different than what I was used to. With shots into the green , there was a bit more rollout, but nothing to substantial.
Wedges: With full wedge shots the Tour Speed performed very similar to the QST. I saw a touch more roll out ( 1-2 feet) but nothing out of the ordinary. Where I saw the big difference using the wedges was in chipping. The Tour Speed did not check up like I had hoped, this is where I saw the biggest difference in the roll out compared to the QST. After seeing this during the first few rounds with this ball, it was an easy adjustment to play for but it was important to note for me.
Putter: Performance off the putter did not change from my initial review. The ball felt good coming off the face, a little more firm than the QST but nothing that would be annoying. Feel was very good. I was able to adjust and gauge distances very well with this ball.
Durability: Overall this ball held up fairly well for me. I did not see the scuffing issues off the wedges that some had reported. I did introduce it to several trees over the course of the testing and it seemed to be no worse for the wear. Overall wear during the course of play the cover held up as one would expect. No cuts, gouges or scuffs.
Overall: I think this is a solid ball overall and it will fit in nicely in the market space it’s designed for. Like I have stated several times, It performs very similarly to the Srixon Q-Star Tour. I would have no problem playing this ball in the future. Although, I don’t think it out performed the QST in any fashion, so, I will not be switching from my current gamer.
Now conditions were wet and the greens were receptive however I had no issues with the ball hitting the green, bounce once and stop.
I’d have no issues gaming them long term.
I really like the alignment aid on the Tour Speed over my current gamer. This ball feels great off the putter face too IMO.
I’m excited to get these on a launch monitor or out on the course very soon.
Driver: I believe these knocked the spin down way too low on my driver. The ball had a more penetrating flight with a shorter carry but they really rolled out well when I hit the fairway. The rough on the course is Bermuda which snags the ball and they sit down in it quick so looking at Arccos my driving distance was down a good bit with these overall. I will say I had a 309 yard drive with one of these due to it bouncing multiple times down the cart path. ?
Irons: these felt really good off of my irons and I had a lot of confidence in these even though I know the spin was lower. One shot that stood out was a 9 iron from 152 yards in the fairway. The flag was in the middle of the green and this was my best strike of the day. With my normal gamer ball this one would have landed between 150-155 and stopped within a foot of the ball mark. With the Titleist Tour Speed ball it hit at the front of the green and rolled out about 12ft to finish pin high. This is very similar to what I saw on the skytrak that the carry was slightly shorter with more rollout.
Wedges /short game: this is an area that I struggled more than I anticipated. I have put a lot of work into my 40-100 yard pitch shots and on my chipping. I had several pitches which hit and rolled out more than I accounted for and randomly had a few hit and check up quickly which was unexpected. The greens were on the quick side as the course had their member guest tournament the day before. When chipping on fast, curvy greens like these I like to throw my chips a little higher and further with spin to take a lot of the break out. I could not get comfortable with these as sometimes they would check up really fast and other times they would just keep rolling. I do believe with more practice I could get these dialed in.
Putting: these were fine off of the putter. They are a little more firm than the softer balls (like a ProV1) but my gamers are a little firmer so these felt fine.
Durability: these held up really well over the front nine. The ball that hit the cart path had a minor scuff and was still very playable. I did not see a chewed up cover or anything like that. I was going to get a picture of the ball after finishing the front 9 (that long drive which was cart path assisted was on 8). Unfortunately on hole 9 there’s water to carry in front of the green and I took an aggressive swipe from the rough and it found its watery grave.
Overall thoughts: I do believe this is a good ball especially in the price range they are targeting. If you need to reduce spin, this is definitely one you should try. For my game, I believe I could adjust for this ball with my irons and wedges with enough time but the big area I would need to fix is driving. I’m not a long hitter and find the rough enough so I would have to find a way to get more carry. I may experiment with lofting my driver up to see if that helps. I switched balls on the back 9 and immediately saw a different flight off driver which even my playing partner commented on.
I think a lot of people play the competition because its geared toward "less than tour speeds" without losing selling points.
I have adapted that I need to shorten my landing zone and yardage due to run out and that’s worked pretty well.
Putting with them in the house has been pleasant so I will like to see how that translates on the actual greens.
Firmer than my Q-Star Tour but I enjoyed the performance. TS was right in my wheelhouse in how it played on the course for me.
I’m not entirely sure that it was faster but I had a few drives that really impressed me. The ball jumped off the face and had a nice, flat flight.
Approach shots didn’t release that it was too low spin and the feel of the face felt good.
Putting was nice because of the alignment aid.
If the weather stays nice, I’ll be going for a lunchtime 9 at my home track on Wednesday for some more testing.
But i do not see me switching
It’s close to replacing it as well but I love QST. It will take some time to replace it.
A side note.. the alignment has grown on me. I like the larger visual from a putting standpoint and make sure its hidden on the tee… also I think that the price point is good on these considering where their lineup is, however I would much rather see this in the Tour Soft zone, as I don’t think that is a very good ball. If these go on sale post-season, it mike make for a new gamer next year. QST has a great price for similar performance
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it really is my favorite Titelist ball not named pro v-1
I played this ball on a couple of different occasions last season. I liked it.
I didn’t see a single negative today. The ball felt a touch toward the former side, which is fine for me. Our greens are super soft right now so it’s tough to judge how the ball really behaves on approach shots but o liked what I was seeing today (an inch or two behind pitch marks on full swings with scoring irons)
They cost $40 a dozen, right?
That’s stretching the "value ball" definition in my opinion. For that kind of money I’d have to get better than "good enough" performance. It’s more than I pay for Pro V1’s purchased during the spring Loyalty promotion.
Tour SPEED is the $40/dozen urethane (TPU, not cast) ball.
The $35/dozen Titlest ball is Tour SOFT, a seriously overpriced Surlyn model. Basically a latter day NXT Tour.
Of course.
It’s just not a good value compared to pretty much any other ball on the market. Saying otherwise is a misuse of the word "value".
And it’s not a $35/dozen, it’s $40/dozen.
But other than that, it’s a perfectly cromulent ball and if it works for you it’s a good find.