A few months ago, a group of forum members got a chance to head to California and more specifically Callaway Golf HQ for a trip of a lifetime. During that visit, they learned about the new Chrome Soft line of golf balls and immediately put them into play. Since that time the reviews have been posted on the THP Forum and you can read all of those here.
The Chrome Soft hits retail today and we wanted to dive in a little deeper to not only the technology that makes them different, but also what golfers should expect to see on the golf course. We chatted with Jason Finley, Director of Brand and Product Management about the specs, the story and most importantly the expectations of performance.
THP: Chrome Soft has been a huge success over the last few years for Callaway. 2020 is a fairly large change to the product, can you summarize some of the biggest differences people will see over the previous generation?
Jason Finley: What is so exciting with the new Chrome Soft in particular is that we have taken a product that golfers love and made everything about it better. We have taken all that everyone loves and improved upon it by making it longer, more consistent and higher quality. The big key to this that made it all possible is the investment we have made in our Chicopee ball plant. We would not be able to make the balls we are in 2020 without the improvements we have done in Chicopee.
THP: Both core and mantle have been redesigned, but for a lot of golfers, those changes are going to be seen rather than heard. What will they see from the new core and mantle while playing?
Jason Finley: The biggest key is that both balls will be faster but also each of the balls is designed to fit different types of golfers with more differentiation between our two balls than we have ever had. The different construction of having the mantle and core working together is what is going to drive not only the ball speed gains but also the total performance the two balls are providing.
THP: More spin around the green and less spin on full shots is the unicorn in some ways. Early testing by forum members says that Callaway has in fact nailed this. How different is it than previous offerings?
Jason Finley: This is all part of the optimization process that we are going through. Certain variables are so important to this – like the Larger inner core in the CS golf ball which is really helpful for that player type and the Dual Mantle working with the large single core in the CSX. It is also a part of our design philosophy for the Chrome Soft family of golf balls where we take more of an approach of stroked gain and how golfers who play each ball actually play the game and what they are looking for out of a golf ball.
THP: Recently a documentary aired on Callaway Golf and the Golf Channel talking bout the Chiopee plant. Learning about the investment being made over the last few years (yes years) has been staggering. How will this bring innovation and quality that is different than before?
Jason Finley: As we talked about before, all of these changes are not only allowing us to make a ball we have never been able to make before, but also dramatically improves the quality and consistency we are able to deliver in our golf balls.
THP: Callaway offers a lot of golf balls. Who do you think the Chrome Soft is best for?
Jason Finley: The vast majority of those who are BUYING golf balls are going to benefit most from Chrome Soft. It is going to be longer all around the golf course and provide tremendous spin and control around the green. The Chrome Soft and its lower compression will also be a more forgiving golf ball which will help to be longer around the golf course as a result of losing less speed on mishits.
THP: Triple Track, Truvis, White. How many choices exist for our readers?
Jason Finley: Depending on the ball, there are a lot of choices and we think that is good for golfers. Leading the way is Triple Track which is rooted in the science of Hyper Acuity and how our eyes work. This is aimed for the player to look for help with improving alignment. Truvis provides a unique visual alignment option for players looking for better focus and visibility and also some unique color combinations.
The new Callaway Chrome Soft hits retail stores today. Pricing is $47.99 per dozen. Are you going to try them? Have you tried them? Drop a note in the comments below and let us know your thoughts.
I’ll probably put the CS into play next time out, on a more ball friendly course.
I seem to have really dialed in my 3/4 and full wedges with it in the last few weeks and it’s giving me plenty of chances to score since then.
You will not regret it. They are so good.
Give the Triple Track a shot if you haven’t.
I’m afraid of what will happen to my green game if I don’t use it.
You’ll be fine. I am still not using it, just doesn’t work with my eyes and always looks off.
Stupid summers
I’m playing my first round with it right now and with the long site line of my Indy I struggle a bit. It was great with a blade but it’s different using this putter for some reason. I’ll keep at it though and see if that changes.
firmness off the putter is the only draw back for me, but it is so good through the other clubs in the bag it’s hard for me to play the regular CS.
Through 5 holes I’m enjoying it so far. I haven’t seen anything that stands out so far but I’m also not striking the ball great. I have no covers so far though outside of the feel.
Didn’t work well for me either but the ball is great.
Distance – if I hadn’t heard the ball was long before playing it that probably would not have been a big takeaway from this round for me. A lot of this was me. I took an 0-fer on FIR. It’s unusual for me to miss right like this off the tee. Anyway, I was too sideways to notice extra distance. The one exception was a 6i into a slightly uphill flag 174 yards away. 174 is normally a 6i. Plus the uphill there have been plenty of times where I’ve come up just short of the green. Today I flew the green. My ball came to rest 13 paces past the flag. I’ve played this course a hundred times. I’ve never flown the green unless it was too much club or a skilled ball.
Dispersion – I was terrible off the tees. My ball flight was totally opposite off normal. I’m going to chalk this up to me and give the ball a pass. Conversely, I was a lot more accurate with irons. I had a couple of misses left but they were not that far left and most of my irons were straight.
Durability – the cover showed some wear after hitting a house.
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it looked the same after hitting a tree hard. This isn’t enough to affect playability but it is worse than I’ve seen from other balls.
Feel – The 2020 CSx felt softer than the 2018 CSx and about the same – maybe a touch firmer than the 2019 CSx TT to me. I definitely had some firmer feeling shots off the driver face. But thanks to the Epic Flash’s feedback I know I was all over the face, which affects feel. The ball felt great to me off my Apex ‘19s, MD5 wedges and Toulon putter. I made a lot of putts and had great distance control on lag putts.
I could still be solid with my Memphis, but I’m overwhelmingly better with triple track.
And that is why we try different things. As everyone should try it to see if it will work for them.
Hit a couple long drives, a couple less so. Tried to hide triple track on the tee.
Hit the pin with a 9i approach, stopped a flighted 7i in 2′, ripped back a seriously flighted PW from 124, came up short of the green and the bunker guarding the green on a 154yd par 3 into the wind, noticed a different ball flight with irons than I’m used to. Hated that I couldn’t rotate the triple track to not see it.
Got really good bite on a tricky wedge into the first green, and a 50 yd pitch into #5. Got a baffling lack of bite on a short pitch over the bunker on #7. Watching triple track spin in the air, and then not bite, added to baffle.
Putted like crap. Had nothing to do with the ball. Didn’t like TT rolling crooked, and refuse to line it up before putting.
Ball conclusions: None. Way too early.
General conclusions: I still ****ing hate Triple Track. Need to give these away and find some CSX without TT and continue testing.
these are three examples of me hitting as good of a drive and I can hit. The big takeaway is how much longer the CSX is for me. Not only off the tee, but through the bag also. It’s safe to say the CSX is my ball going forward.
2020CSX
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yeah, i gave in a bought a sleeve…they are great. the hype is real.
Yeah it was a much better ball for you. Had really nice trajectory off the tee as well (when a good strike )
Apparently, you haven’t hit the Mavrik driver – not clunky and sounds great. Like all clubs, you’ve got to find the one for you. I avoid TM. I play TEE, Mizuno and Ping and played Callway drivers. But I’m not knocking any brand. It’s just what fits you.
I have friends that have the Mavrik driver, aside from it’s terrible look and fragile build it sounds terrible. The TM drivers are much better. They are longer more forgiving and look amazing. I’d never play anything Callaway except their chrome soft. The only clubs I’d play are the TaylorMade (entire lineup), Srixon irons, Titleist driver/irons, Mizuno irons, and maybe Ping driver. But never a Callaway.
It’s about feel, how it looks at address and of course performance. I like the WITB from the GolfWRX site, every Monday they show what the weekend winners are using. 90% of the time it’s TaylorMade.
And that is the beauty of options. I am glad you found a set up that works for you, but a blanket statement of "their clubs are overrated and clunky" is not accurate at all given the success many have seen. Not just amateurs but on tour as well.
Oh, okay. TM pays a lot of money for those endorsements from great players. They can win with anything. Just saying.
I don’t play TM, not because they aren’t good clubs, but their tech in the past wasn’t up to their marketing claims for the average player. Saw too many old men play RBZ 3 wds that they could not get in the air – they drank the kool-aid. So I hold a grude. lol. I don’t have a Callaway club in my bag at the moment, so I have no dog in this hunt. But I’m open to playing them. And one of the golf balls I am trying next, is the CS.
It’s been a while since I have been on a LM, but typically for me i live in the high 90’s to low 100’s with the driver.
I hear what you’re saying but the last time I looked at the top in the Masters 8 were playing TM. Of those eight 4 were not under TM contract. So they got to pick the best clubs that allowed them the best chance to win. Kinda tells me the pro’s take every advantage they can get.
Wait. Are you saying the top 8 last year in the Masters? Or the last 8 Masters winners?
Either way it’s not accurate at all.
But we should probably keep this thread to the golf balls.
High 90s for me so similar to Mike G, maybe a little slower than him. Hit some bombs with CSX for sure.
Mid to high 100’s. That being said, swing speed only has so much to do with it. Spin, launch, those matter just as much!
Sorry, I meant to say. 8 of the top 10 finishers at the last Masters…..
FWIW that isn’t correct.
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Nope. Xander, Webb, Cantlay, and Fowler all played non-TM equipment. Anyway, back to the thread at hand.
Don’t forget Molinari and Finau haha.
That’s great. You should provide that feedback in the Srixon thread. Here’s the link
https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/2019-srixon-z-star-and-z-star-xv-golf-balls.112392/page-17
Molinari rocking those "clunky" Apex Pros.
Shot my personal best for 9 holes with the Chrome Soft (even par) today. With this iteration, I think it’s a ball that does everything well. I really liked the old version up to the green, but I was always wanting around the green. My course has tiny greens so short game’s more important than it has been for me in the past. I have ZERO problems controlling the ball around the green, and I feel like I’m in position to get a kick-in par every time I’m just off the green. I didn’t have that last year, and kept gravitating towards the X – which I didn’t click with as much from tee to green.
Do I wish the ball was cheaper? Yes. But I can’t complain about performance.
Yup.
Cantlay
Finau
Simpson
Molinari
Xander
(and Fowler is cut off, but there too)
I’m not trying to argue with you.
You said 8 out of 10 were using it. Merely pointing out that it’s not correct and listed the players in that list that weren’t.
If you like that brand and think most players winning are using it, right or wrong, all the power to you and enjoy it.