Unofficial Review: TaylorMade Tour Response Stripe

[DannyDips]

I'm a sucker for golf alignment aids, I mean I've played with a solid line on my golf ball since I was probably 12. That usually means sharpie markers in my bag and usually ink on my fingers for the first few holes. So when I first saw an ad for the new TaylorMade Tour Response with a large thick green/yellow stripe right down the middle, I was pretty intrigued. I have not previously played a TaylorMade ball or one of the several alignment balls Callaway does, something about the thick greenish yellow stripe is appealing to the eye. So about two weeks ago I swung by my local Walmart and picked up a dozen to try them out and possibly pass along what I like and didn't like about playing them. 

This is the product info from TaylorMade:

• Easier alignment with a larger center alignment section
• Better visibility with a unique multi-color stand out design
• 100% Urethane cover played by Tour Players that is stronger and softer than ionomer
• Interacts with the club grooves to optimize spin and control, specifically around the greens
• Upgraded HFM Speedmantle™ and New Tour Flight Dimple Pattern are designed to optimize aerodynamics, lift, and ball speed
• Low 40 Compression core and soft urethane cover result in a total ball compression of 70
• 3 Layer Performance

I don't want to spend too much time on the specs as those could be found in various locations and to be honest the spin rates and softness of the ball isn't what made me click buy. Its that big thick green stripe down the center of the ball and will it help me make more putts....

First, When I'm trying a new golf ball I take the advice I've always heard and test it from the hole back, meaning the most important features are on the green, around the green, from the fairway, then last off the tee. With that in mind I've played three rounds with the ball currently and have a some initial feedback. 

The first round I played was in a charity golf tournament for my university's Civil Engineering Scholarship program. I was excited to try the ball putting, especially getting to see a few putts ran at the hole in front of me in the scramble format. I was disappointed when I realized the greens on the back nine had been aeriated and it wouldn't do me much good watching it bounce up and down on its way to the hole. Luckily, it was only the back nine and after we made the turn I got the ball rolling (literally) with a big eagle putt the first 'real' roll I made with it from about 30'. I'll have to say that had us off to a great start with the testing. It was a pretty solid putting day for me, of course its always easier seeing a roll or two in front of you but initially the ball is soft off the putter face, seems to roll true, and gives instant feedback if you miss hit the putt, watching the flashing colors of the ball instead of the nice end over end line you would get when struck pure. 

For the second round, I played a practice round at my home course in Crossville. I was riding solo so I decided to play a "worst ball" scramble where I hit two shots and played the worst of the two. I did make a couple caveats as I didn't want to spend all day in the tee box or putting green having to hole twice or hit two balls in play every tee shot. Off the tee if one ball was OB or in a hazard I just selected the other ball to play, but if both were in bounds I had to play the worst of the two. On the greens, or around the greens once a shot was holed that was my score, that just prevented me from missing a bunch of 2' putts and also made that second putt/chip really count instead of being less important if I missed the first shot. This also gave me the opportunity to hit a gamer and directly compare to the TM Tour Response. My usual gamers are the Bridgestone TourBX and Titleist ProV1. 
 

Here were some observations I made and notes from the round. 

• Putting with the Stripe again seemed to give better feedback and helped with alignment, instead of the single small sharpie line. Putting twice from the same location gave immediate feedback on if the Stripe ball was firmer than what I usually play. I noticed little to no difference in distance control, it felt easy to adjust to the TM Stripe and the alignment aid helped my putts start off straighter. 

 

• Chipping around the greens felt similar to my gamers. I did have one or two shots where the Stripe ball didn't seem to have as much spin as a TourBX or ProV1 but 90% of the time they would be side by side on chip shots. 
• Approach shots again were similar distance when struck properly. I didn't gain or lose yards swapping to the Stripe ball and when I did land on the green with both they had similar roll out distances. That tells me the spin rates are very similar, hitting two shots from the same lie onto the same putting surface. 
• Off the Tee I noticed little difference in carry and total distance. On two separate holes I hit what I would consider bombs with both my Gamer and the Stripe. One hole the Stripe was 10 yards longer than the gamer and the on the other hole the gamer edged out the Stripe by 5 yards. Making it a push as to if it made any difference. 

• Just a side note... and this is a super minor deal but when I played this round it was rather wet and several shots plugged into the fringe or fairway. The green/yellow stripe was nearly the same color as the grass which made finding those little white areas rather difficult. 

The third round was again in a charity golf tournament for a local Christian school. My previous round led me to believe that little to no difference with the driver meant I'd mostly use the Stripe ball to putt, chip and hit approach shots with. Again I really like putting with the ball, approach shots into greens seemed to be the correct distance and spin the proper amount when hitting the green. There was one or two half to 3/4 wedge shots that didn't spin exactly how I thought they should and rolled out several feet longer than I anticipated but that does sometimes happen with my gamer balls too, I will certainly keep an eye on it as I work my way through the remainder of the dozen balls. 

I think I will try next to hit some shots on my Skytrak and see if there is any difference in spin rates from ball to ball. It might be dicey as I do know the Skytrak does sometimes get finicky with balls with a lot of graphics. I guess we'll soon find out. 

 

 

 

[cksurfdude]

It is a fun looking ball! I'd like to try it but I'm literally over stocked right now with both gift balls plus ones bought on sales over the winter.

Anyway it's interesting that this ball is relatively softer vs your other two yet kept up off the tee. Guess TM is on to something here!

[revkev]

Nice write up 

 

I had a buddy here from up north these weekend and he was playing these - he gave me a sleeve to try yesterday.  The course was crowded so I only hit one and I rushed that  - I drove the ball great yesterday but I managed to duck hook that one into the pond - not much chance for comparison there.  My guess is that it won't perform all that well for me - I will generally give up 10 yards when using a lower compression ball - I can't afford those yards plus honestly I hate how they feel -  I come from the balata era - you can't fool me - these so called softer balls feel nothing like the old balata ones did.  

 

Still I will give it a whirl when our courses thin out a bit more.  I like how it looks.

[DannyDips]

Over the weekend I hit the TM Stripe on my Skytrak in my garage set up and compared it to one of my typical gamer balls, the ProV1. Here is a print out of the session with averages for each ball. 

 

Couple observations. 12 full shots each with my 50 degree wedge, which usually carries 112-118 yards. 

• Avg ball speed, launch, descent angle, and most other stats would be within a margin of error for most of my shots. 
• Avg Back spin was slightly higher with the PROV1, 400 rpms but I didn't notice until I printed these charts today that shot 5 with the Stripe should have got tossed as a misread. If you remove it from the data the Stripe AVG backspin is 8529 RPM which is still 100 rpm lower than the PROV1. 
• These numbers would certainly be within any margin of error in my golf game and I would notice little to no difference playing either ball regularly. 
• This leads me to believe if the stripe helps me make more putts it might make a regular appearance in my bag. 

 

[tony@CIC]

A few weeks ago I bought a box of yellow Tour Response from Walmart ( most likely 2020 version). They definitely underperformed against my MTB Blacks. If I could find a sleeve I might try the 2022 Stripe version. However not interested in paying 40+ for an experiment especially given my previous purchase. 

[BIG STU]

On 4/25/2022 at 12:30 PM, revkev said:

Nice write up 

 

I had a buddy here from up north these weekend and he was playing these - he gave me a sleeve to try yesterday.  The course was crowded so I only hit one and I rushed that  - I drove the ball great yesterday but I managed to duck hook that one into the pond - not much chance for comparison there.  My guess is that it won't perform all that well for me - I will generally give up 10 yards when using a lower compression ball - I can't afford those yards plus honestly I hate how they feel -  I come from the balata era - you can't fool me - these so called softer balls feel nothing like the old balata ones did.  

 

Still I will give it a whirl when our courses thin out a bit more.  I like how it looks.

I will agree with you there on the lower compression balls and distance especially this time of the year. For me it is a noticeable difference between the Srixon Soft Feel and any of their other offerings. Now I am ok with the Soft Feel in cooler weather.

And yes like you I am a product of the balata and wound days  For me some are close but as you said nothing beats the real thing. Now on the Persimmon woods the Soft Feel and the Cally Super Soft work well. And I do have quite a few new in the box balata and wound Dunlop balls. When playing vintage I do pull one out for close approach shots and putting. And I will concede due to age that some of those balls have lost their pep. I have had some in the past wobble on wedge shots in the air but still I relish the feel. In my vintage rounds for me it is not about the score anyhow.

I do not see me trying these balls unless I find a couple because I still have so many various Srixon balls I have won. I do know one of my fellow members who is a good stick in his 70s bought some at Wally World the other day and he loves them.

[vandyland]

I posted in another thread but I am going to repeat myself here as I am geeking out over this ball (after only 1 round so I may come back to this thread in a month with my tail between my legs but...). In comparison to my Snell MTB Black it is all even or better through one round. I was MURDERING this ball (for reference my swing speed is 105 mph with driver and my drives are usually 250-270 yds and my 5W usually carries about 220-230):

and then I hit a 5W 270+ yds:

 

The two drawbacks to this ball are (1) it is hard to see in the rough as @DannyDipspointed out and (2) it is so soft off the putter that I have to adjust my speed calibration. They are rumored to have other stripe colors coming out which would probably be helpful or I will just get the all white ball. Gun to my head, this is a much better ball for me than the Snells but, again, it's just one round. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by vandyland

[Joel C]

This ball raised my eyebrows when it came out, I have yet to try it.  Couple questions I have: 

1)  Do you line use the aide to line up tee shots as well, I cant see a reason why you wouldn't. 

2) When the ball is laying in between tee and green the alignment aid will almost never alight with your next shot, does this cause a distraction on approach shots?  It may be different for everyone and maybe just takes getting use to.  But if you use it to align your puts and tee box shots, i could see it giving an odd visual on approach shots with its aligned at weird angle to where you are aiming.

[James WA]

The Tour Response ball is the best value quality ball out there. I play it in yellow (probably about to be discontinued..) and I find it lovely off the face and remarkably hard to lose. What's not to like ?