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.
Just tried the new CSx tonight. Agree less spin off the tee. Definitely longer for me than the CS. Spin on approach shots was fine and they stop a little better than the CS. Didn’t notice much if any difference in feel. Plenty of stopping power on pitches and chips around the green. I’ve found my ball for the balance of 2020!
However, whilst I can still pick up the previous version for a very good price I won’t be stocking up on the new balls just yet unless the performance is significantly better
I was referring to the CS in this. The new CS reminds me a lot of the previous CSX. The new CSX was definitely firmer feeling.
Here are some key differences between the two balls.
More free side spin on the CSX. Similar off the tee for me.
Mean green side spin?
Oooooooh, those are awesome. I’ve been holding off to try to clear out old stock but those may need to be purchased soon!
Yes, he meant green side
The regular CS will have a higher flight. The CSX will have a bit more of a penetrating flight.
Got it. So they are opposite of other Tour balls like the TP5x and ProV1x which are their higher fliers.
the CSX will launch just fine, but will handle the wind better and have a more penetrating flight.
Basically yes.
Exactly what I found. A tad lower trajectory and penetrating.
For me the feel between 2020 CS and CSx were very similar. CSx definitely lower more penetrating flight for me.
I’ll just say this. If you’re a fan of the Prov1x, I think you’ll be extremely happy with the CSX. I used both today, basically interchangeably and couldn’t really pick out a difference between the two. They feel similar, they perform similarly. And that’s great because I don’t think anyone can argue that the Prov1x is not great ball.
It’s definitely firmer than the CS. Doesn’t feel quite as clicky as the 2018 CSX. It’s long of the tee. It has a ton of bite with my irons. Great great ball.
Approach performance and feel is great. As many have said the ball flight is penetrating and the ball holds its line.
Greenside feel and spin is as good any any other ball. High and low shots flight as intended.
Putting feel is great. Definitely firmer than the CS but nothing offensive at all. I play the TT with the insert and the feel of the ball and insert is great.
I’ve said this before but this will be my gamer for the foreseeable future.
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Anyways, I just wanted to reiterate how similar the CSX and ProV1x seemed even during my round yesterday. I even threw in one of my favorite balls ever into the mix to see how things would go. The Z Star XV. The CSX can officially do anything my favorite ball up to this point can.
I have never been one to notice a huge difference between golf balls. Especially when they are supposed to offer similar performance. I base most of my decision making on feel as much as I do performance. These feel nice. They feel really nice. I never really got along with the last CSX. They didn’t feel right to me. Too hard off the irons and putter without giving me much difference in performance. During our time in Carlsbad, we were essentially told that it was really the only main difference between that and the old CS. They essentially performed the same with feel being the only real difference. They went out of their way to ensure the new CSX stood apart from the CS this time around. They got it right. I can see that the CSX is launching lower than the CS on both driver and irons for me. They also seem to spin more off the irons and appears to be longer off the driver for me. I haven’t gotten them on a LM to do any in depth testing between the two and am going off of memory on the CS.
More spin with my irons is exactly what my game needed this season. The CSX delivers. I couldn’t really tell any major differences in greenside spin. The greens at my new course are much different than what I am used to. I want to get out to my old course one of these days. I know those greens like the back of my hand. I will be able to tell immediately if they are reacting differently on those shots.
Thank you for the support. We are really happy to be a part of this program and help support the Childrens Miracle Network of hospitals and the Play Yellow campaign.
Glad I could help. My local shop I think only had sleeves of the Play Yellow so far so I bought a sleeve the other day. Will likely be picking a dozen up from Dicks later this week.
Any discernible difference in launch or shot height between the CSX and the V1x ?
Reason I ask is because the V1x is supposed to be Titleist’s highest launching urethane ball and you mentioned the CSX flying lower than the CS.
I find that the Prov1x seems to launch lower than Chrome Soft or Srixon Z Star. For my swing anyways. And this is just an eye test. So, any variables in my swing on a given day can surely play into that. I seem to get a nice mid boring trajectory off of my driver and irons with it. If we’re talking a degree difference between the two, I wouldn’t be able to pick it up without a LM.
My swing is a bit of an anomaly at times though. I seem to launch the ball higher than most, but definitely produce a lot less spin than most as well.
I need to get the new CSX in hand though. Last year’s Triple Track version is one of my favorite balls ever and while I like the regular CS it didn’t do anything to blow me away.
I started with the 2018 balls bc I know what those give me since I’ve played them the longest. Both great balls imo and I could play the 18 CSX with no problems if I had to.
As suspected based on my time with the CS it felt great and had some runout to it. On occasion I could get it to check up a little, but more often than not it ran out a few feet. Hard to gauge how much but safe to say enough to have me aiming short of my target and having it run up. Again typical of what I saw when I played these before.
The 18CSX definitely has more spin. I’ve used this ball for a majority of my rounds since it came out because of how it checks into the green with irons and the action I can produce with wedges. Aiming to the same target, roughly about 30yds, the ball had one or two hops and checked up. One thing to know this ball will run out, but not as much as the CS. I played the ball back in my stance and it performed as expected. Open up the 54 a little and it hits soft and checks. A lot of what I saw during my time putting it in play.
The 20CS has been in rotation since I got back from The Grandaddy. I really enjoy this ball through the bag and into the green. Where the previous version came up short spin wise with irons and wedges, this one begins to fix the issue for me. Again I know this is all on me and how I deliver the club/wedge to the ball, but I saw this version checking a little better. I saw more stopping with minimal rollout. The ball still moved forward after landing but I didn’t see it running out as much. A lot of what I saw was similar to my experience on the course. One thing to note that a wedge player with a more aggressive move than I have, will have no problems checking these up with their shots.
The 20CSX is the unknown for me and many. We got the low down back in December on the make up for this ball and how this version is different than the CS. To be honest I immediately discounted the ball because I know I don’t have the swing speed off the tee the ball demands. I’m not comparing it at all to the Prov1X or ZStar XV, but I feel like this ball will compete nicely with those two based on the presentation. A few THPers have commented that you don’t need a high, 100mph plus, swing speed off the tee to get the benefits from this one and that makes me smile.
Back to the wedge shots. I’ll try to temper my excitement based on a practice session, but I’m sold. I still saw some run out with the ball in the back of my stance for bump and runs as expected, but moving it forward and opening up the 54* the ball landed and stopped within a couple of inches. A few times I got aggressive with the pitches and saw some great spin. This ball took what the 2018 CSX did and made it better based on my limited practice with it.
I hit up the practice green to work on a couple of things and I wanted to pay attention to how firm it felt off the putter face. I’m using my Toulon Chicago and the 2018CSX felt really firm off the putter. There is an audible click coming off the face. The 20CSX feels firm as well, but I’m not hearing/feeling that click off the face. Safe to say I really enjoy this one off the putter.
I’m playing a course tomorrow that I have a good idea where my normal tee shots end up, so I’ll know real quick if I’m losing distance off the tee. I also know I’ll have a couple of holes where those in between wedge shots will come into play so I’ll make some mental notes and hopefully have a better idea if the 20CSX will be the ball im playing long term.
For the last season I’d been playing the CSX TT ‘19. It was the perfect balance for me. Firm, but not harsh. Low spin off the tee. High spin around the greens. I gave the 2020 CS a go this year. It was a solid ball but definitely played softer. The CSX 19 was still giving me a better balance from tee to green so i was excited to try the newer iteration. During my last outing, I saw some pretty significant distance gains on a few shots. Half to a full club distance. One of them shocked my playing partners and the Marshall who happened to have stopped and watched my approach shot. I don’t know whether or not it literally carried a full club further but when I reached the ball it was almost 15yds further than what I normally see off my 7i. Similar off the driver but definitely long to longer.
Back to the greens. I’m not sure if it’s the new jaws wedges, the CSX 2020 or both but I found myself having to step on a few shots because I wasn’t getting the same amount of roll out. As a matter of fact some shots were stopping almost immediately on the moister greens and checking up quickly on the drier greens. It was definite adjustment. I even had a few wedge shots that I thinned and fully expected to go off the green that grabbed and and stopped before rolling off into oblivion.
In a nutshell, I’m sold. This will be my gamer. The distance. The flight. The spin. I love it. Let’s just say I moved some things and grabbed a few.
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I never played the + but iirc it was firm from others feedback.
Felt awesome on irons and driver
I need to dig up the reviews but it was a weird release. I think it performed really good for those that put it in play
I haaated it. It was supposed to be a firmer version of the Chrome, which was absurdly spinny around the greens.
All of a sudden my ball flight changed from left to right to right to left. Guess I finally figured out how to set the thing up right, but I also gained a good 20-30 yards in distance! Does anyone think there’s anything to the idea that you should hit the ball that has the same name as the clubs you play? Suddenly, these Chrome Softs feel like butter and take off like rockets!
I “think” I caught one of those today. Took off like a bullet and the one where I mentioned I didn’t even feel contact of it leaving the face of the driver. It’s hard to describe but left me like “damn” that felt sooooo good.
Another thing that popped in my head is how muted it sounds off the driver. I was used to a certain sound with the previous versions and even the 20CS, but the CSX was noticeably more muted.
That’s the one. I told my buddy the same thing on my drive that finished over 300. It had been a while since I’d caught one like that but I barely felt the ball.
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Pretty durable, just a minor scuff. Still playable
today I played my home course and I consistently had 1/2 or a full club less for second shots. That’s says a lot about what this one is doing for me off the tee.
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