2022 TaylorMade Tour Response and Soft Response Stripe Balls

[Chester3488]

On 3/18/2022 at 1:20 PM, Golf2Much said:

There is at least one unintended consequence for playing a ball like this.  I've been playing the Srixon Q-Star Tour Divide for months and I'm the only one in my men's golf league to put those balls in play.  Whenever someone in my league finds one (and so far, none have had my markings) they give it to me because they know I play them.  In the last month, I've probably received about a half dozen or more of my favorite golf balls without paying a cent.  

Sometimes it pays to be a little different! 

I've been playing the Srixon Divide as well. The same thing happens to me. 

[DriverBreaker]

I can see this big yellow stripe being easy to line up when putting and also great for feedback on your roll.  Butttttttttt, IDK how much I'd like it for anything else.  I applaud them for trying something unique, and they really have been adventurous with the markings they put on their golf balls lately.  Go big or go home I guess.

[jjfcpa]

On 4/6/2022 at 8:07 PM, Peejer said:

The graphic shows Tour Response @ $35, but in the article and on-line it's $39.99.

I think at $34.99 they have a very intriguing golf ball that I'd try, at $39.99...I pass.  Before the hater's start, yes - it's only $5 difference.

But $39.99 is logically $40, so when balls are priced there; Snell, OnCore and Vice are better values.

 

Just my two cents, or $5, in this case!

-- Peejer

The prior version ball is $ 35, but they raised the price for the new (2022) ball to $ 39.99.

I'm testing it right now and it just might be a very good ball when you compare the quality of the build compared to other tour balls.  I've seen some reviews where it compares very favorably to more expensive tour balls.  So if you're ready to play a $ 50 tour ball, you may be able to save yourself some money on the TR.  

I do agree that the Snell, OnCore, and Vice balls are better values; however, if you look at the compression for these, you might end up selecting the TR since it is a softer feeling ball.  Vice Pro Soft might be a good comparison, but again, the Vice Pro Soft is more of an AVX competitor instead of the TR.

[MrBandit]

On 4/8/2022 at 8:09 PM, GolfSpy_CS said:

I can see this big yellow stripe being easy to line up when putting and also great for feedback on your roll.  Butttttttttt, IDK how much I'd like it for anything else.  I applaud them for trying something unique, and they really have been adventurous with the markings they put on their golf balls lately.  Go big or go home I guess.

I have been using the stripe ball for past few rounds, so much easier to line up and see the ball as it breaks or goes straight. Its longer and spins more than previous versions. 
I suspect other brands will copy this model soon.

 

[Hook DeLoft]

Can anyone comment on the durability of the cover?  I bought a dozen of the previous generation in yellow and the yellow paint chipped off in a number of spots.

[MrBandit]

4 minutes ago, Hook DeLoft said:

Can anyone comment on the durability of the cover?  I bought a dozen of the previous generation in yellow and the yellow paint chipped off in a number of spots.

Durable cover, I played with the same ball for 2 rounds.. other than the color fading on the stripe a little bit. Last year model the cover would get eaten up by the wedges by the end of the round.

[sg419]

So I bought a dozen of these balls last weekend and went and played 18 with them

I play the Snell Black normally and I have been testing out several new golf balls lately in case Snell gets nuked by TM

I normally would practice a few times with my ball the Snell and a new ball to get an idea on how it performs compared to my gamer.

But I bought them on a Friday and played them on Saturday morning in my normal playing group

Driver:

I found myself in the same areas as I would normally be if I was hitting my Snell at least nothing noticeably different in distance

Same with my irons

This ball flies high, noticeably higher

I played the BridgeStone for a while and I thought that ball flew high but this one topped that.

The TR held the greens just like the Snell Black

The greens right now are super hard, as we have had very little rain in the south

Nothing backed up, but it stopped on the greens just like the Snell does

The main difference besides the height, is the feel off of the putter

The TR is very mushy and I am not use to that at all.

I liked the line on the ball but I am also a big fan of the TRUVIS, I just don't like the Chrome soft

Overall this ball is a winner for me

I am really digging the line and the ball held up nicely over the course of the round

Will it replace the Snell Black?

If it was the same price as the Snell Black, yes

 

 

My top 3 right now:

1. Snell Black

2. TM Tour Response

3. Wilson Triad

 

 

 PS

I play to a 9 HCP

Driver swing speed

96-99

As with anything your results may vary

 

 

Good luck

 

 

 

[tony@CIC]

On 3/18/2022 at 11:57 PM, Mick Close said:

Don't know when they are available here in Tasmania but I would definitely like to get a box of the "stripes" and give them a try. 

Hey Mick, when we were in Tassie last time we played Barnboogle and Lost Farm - both are great courses. Daughter lives in Sandford. 

[Rhinosparky]

Has anyone who has played the 2020 version noticed any significant difference in the new 2022 version?

I have a couple of dozen of the new version but I am trying to go through my 2020 balls before i jump into them.

[MrBandit]

1 hour ago, Rhinosparky said:

Has anyone who has played the 2020 version noticed any significant difference in the new 2022 version?

I have a couple of dozen of the new version but I am trying to go through my 2020 balls before i jump into them.

I played the 2020 version, and compare to this new version, its a bit longer than previous version with better spin around the greens from previous version.
I just order 2 new Dozens after testing the new verison.

[bogeymonsters]

I've always liked the TR, but I'm not sure about the striped version. I've tried it during a few rounds and, while I appreciate the alignment on the green, it can be very disorienting depending how it lands on the fairway. If your approach shot is due East, but the strip is pointing Northwest it's hard to orient yourself correctly. For now, I've resorted back to the tried and true all-white TR and I'm saving the stripes for putting practice.

[vandyland]

Just wanted to drop into this thread and say a few things about the Tour Response, almost all positive:

-For a "soft" ball, I saw no distance loss (my Driver swing speed is 105 mph so not crazy fast but definitely not slow)
-I used the same ball for an entire round and didn't have any cuts but the stripe starts to fade pretty quickly
-The spin was on par with my Snell MTB Black I typically play
-The main negative of the stripe is it makes the ball blend in with the rough making it hard to find in shady rough areas

Having only played one round with it I should temper my expectations but this ball seems to do everything my Snell MTB Black does but feels much better (I like a soft feel on 1/2 shots) and doesn't have a seam on it like the Black. I would just recommend waiting until TM comes out with an orange stripe or getting the all white ball so you can find it. The Yellow stripe is good for putting practice though because you can see if you are rolling the ball straight. 

[MTK005]

Jumping in here now that I've played a few rounds with the TR Stripe. For context, I'm an average hobbyist golfer, I mostly play my local municipal 9-hole, and my handicap is ~25.

I decided to give these a try because I liked the thick stripe -- I wouldn't have to mark my ball with my own lines at all. Sucker for marketing, maybe, but I just liked the look. It was nice at address on the tee, too, not just for putts. I don't think it made an iota of impact on me hitting fairways, but it was calming (in a way) to see it pointed a particular direction on the tee.

I didn't care for the feel hitting it, however. I generally play a "soft" ball, and in the last year I've played the Callaway Supersoft, Titleist TourSoft, Vice Pro Soft, and TR Stripe, and the stripe was my least favorite for feel. It felt much more like hitting a cotton ball when I compared it to hitting the Vice Pro Soft, which is my usual ball. 

This is also completely anecdotal, since I don't have any legitimate range or tracking data to back any of this up, but whether it was a greater tendency to spray the ball around with the TR Stripe or just the composition of the ball, I felt like I lost some distance and was having club up a little to hit the same shots. Obviously that's less impactful the closer I got to the green, but going off my phone GPS & the 18 Birdies app (I use the free version), it seemed like a loss of 5-10 yards with my driver and then varying smaller losses with my other clubs, down the line. Places where I would hit a Vice Pro Soft with a 7 iron were landing short and I found myself hitting (or re-hitting, if I was alone) a 6. 

I can't speak to greenside feel or spin, since I don't have those skills and I don't know how to intentionally put spin on the ball. As I alluded to above, I liked the stripe to align for putting but I saw no demonstrable improvement in my putting accuracy with the stripe -- just my same tendency to get the speed right and not be aimed properly or just miss the cup. 

In all honesty, this experiment has shown me how important the ball is even to someone as poor a player as me, since my worst rounds of the year were all played while trying the TR Stripe. After hooking a drive and losing a ball on the 2nd to last hole today I just grabbed my Vice Pro Softs instead of a new sleeve of TR Stripes and promptly crushed an iron to the fringe before hitting a great drive to start the last hole. 

I don't think the TR Stripe is a bad ball, mind you -- it's fine and I would play it again in a pinch -- but I've found that it's not  the ball for me. If you're curious, I'd encourage you to splurge on a box and see how it works for you. Happy to answer any questions if people have them.

[GregGarner]

19 hours ago, MTK005 said:

I didn't care for the feel hitting it, however. I generally play a "soft" ball, and in the last year I've played the Callaway Supersoft, Titleist TourSoft, Vice Pro Soft, and TR Stripe, and the stripe was my least favorite for feel. It felt much more like hitting a cotton ball when I compared it to hitting the Vice Pro Soft, which is my usual ball. 

I don't think the TR Stripe is a bad ball, mind you -- it's fine and I would play it again in a pinch -- but I've found that it's not  the ball for me. If you're curious, I'd encourage you to splurge on a box and see how it works for you. Happy to answer any questions if people have them.

Fascinating! I would guess that the reason you're seeing more distance with the other balls you've listed is that they're higher-launch, lower-spin than the TR. I would also guess that, since the TR is the only urethane cover of the balls you've listed, that's why you are getting softer feel: the cover is softer and therefore isn't as loud as the ionomer balls (sound is a significant component of feel). So even though comparatively the TR is a firmer ball overall, you're not getting the feedback you're used to, which then makes it seem marshmallow-y. 

On the opposite side of the coin, I can't game the Tour Response because it doesn't spin enough. On the irons, however, the TR is a half club longer than the balls I typically game. Sure glad we have so many options to choose from!

[MTK005]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:49 AM, GregGarner said:

Fascinating! I would guess that the reason you're seeing more distance with the other balls you've listed is that they're higher-launch, lower-spin than the TR. I would also guess that, since the TR is the only urethane cover of the balls you've listed, that's why you are getting softer feel: the cover is softer and therefore isn't as loud as the ionomer balls (sound is a significant component of feel). So even though comparatively the TR is a firmer ball overall, you're not getting the feedback you're used to, which then makes it seem marshmallow-y. 

On the opposite side of the coin, I can't game the Tour Response because it doesn't spin enough. On the irons, however, the TR is a half club longer than the balls I typically game. Sure glad we have so many options to choose from!

I'm sure you're right -- I'm betting the higher spin on TR is why I was spraying it left and right more compared to the lower spin balls I usually play.

As I play more and (hopefully) get better, I might get to a place where the TR is actually the better ball for me. Here's hoping 

[fixyurdivot]

I've just recently put a couple of Tour Response (Blanco scheme) through some rounds and like them.  That's pretty amazing considering how fussy I am about balls .  I've played them H2H against Maxfli Tour and Velocity and find their length a bit more Velocity-like and their feel more Maxfli Tour-like.  I didn't notice any significant difference in ball flight.  I think these can safely be added to my short list.

[15handi]

I bought a box and tried these out based on the ball review.  Driving distance increased, carry and roll out.  Ball has a noticeable bounce when it hits the ground and keeps moving forward for quite a while.

  Rest of clubs, slight improvement in carry distance.  Little more runout on the green than I was used to.  Putting is where I judge a ball, since it is my strength.  More bounce off the putter face and seemed to magnify off center strokes, on the course and in my basement.  Overall, if I played it more than these couple rounds I would most likely get calibrated to these balls.  Sticking to my regular for rest of this year.

 

[tmerick]

Will be trying some of these out this weekend!

[GolfSpy TCB]

On 8/7/2022 at 1:55 PM, 15handi said:

I bought a box and tried these out based on the ball review.  Driving distance increased, carry and roll out.  Ball has a noticeable bounce when it hits the ground and keeps moving forward for quite a while.

  Rest of clubs, slight improvement in carry distance.  Little more runout on the green than I was used to.  Putting is where I judge a ball, since it is my strength.  More bounce off the putter face and seemed to magnify off center strokes, on the course and in my basement.  Overall, if I played it more than these couple rounds I would most likely get calibrated to these balls.  Sticking to my regular for rest of this year.

 

15Handi.. what is your "regular"?

[Imp]

On 5/28/2022 at 11:43 AM, MTK005 said:

I'm sure you're right -- I'm betting the higher spin on TR is why I was spraying it left and right more compared to the lower spin balls I usually play.

As I play more and (hopefully) get better, I might get to a place where the TR is actually the better ball for me. Here's hoping 

I also tried a box of these for a week or two and I watched my scores go up. If you have any kind of side spin, they'll zip offline more than I would have expected them to and found myself in quite a few precarious situations.

Irons, I found them sometimes to be too long, randomly. Same club, same distance out, sometimes I'd be on the green, sometimes I'd be over it and have to chip back to the green.

Putting, about the same, a little clicky but not enough to turn me off to them.

Going back to the MTB Black, rounds are back to what I'm used to and the ball is in play a lot more off the tee, and no surprises with randomly being over greens.  Shooting low 80s, high 70s and went to mid-high 80s  (with a round in the 90s) with the TR, and then back to low 80s, high 70s with MTB Black. They're not for me and my swing. 

Edited August 12, 2022 by Imp

[Hoganman1]

How does the Tour Response compare with the Titleist AVX? I know it's cheaper, but is it longer off the tee etc.

[MrBandit]

On 9/3/2022 at 5:47 PM, Hoganman1 said:

How does the Tour Response compare with the Titleist AVX? I know it's cheaper, but is it longer off the tee etc.

I don't think is longer than the AVX but it better around the greens, in my opinion. The AVX to me is too jumpy, specially on the greens, putts will fly by on normal strokes.