Forum Member Reviews: Callaway Whitebox Testing

[manderson831]

As others have mentioned, I love the explosiveness of the Chrome Tour X off of the face of the Club. Funny enough, I've been able to compare the Tour X to Bridgestone's new BX ball and they check up really well on the Greens and the ball flight is something I'm loving as well. 

 

Can anyone point me to the link where I can use the Template for the Review? Thanks and will continue testing providing more info!! 

[Rob Person]

23 minutes ago, manderson831 said:

As others have mentioned, I love the explosiveness of the Chrome Tour X off of the face of the Club. Funny enough, I've been able to compare the Tour X to Bridgestone's new BX ball and they check up really well on the Greens and the ball flight is something I'm loving as well. 

 

Can anyone point me to the link where I can use the Template for the Review? Thanks and will continue testing providing more info!! 

You can check the titleist white box test thread for the most recent template used in the thread,  but may be best to ask the mod over this one.

[manderson831]

16 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

You can check the titleist white box test thread for the most recent template used in the thread,  but may be best to ask the mod over this one.

Thanks Rob and will do. 

[manderson831]

UNBOXING: I received my Callaway White Box testing balls on Monday afternoon, and I was ready to try them out but the weather here in GA didn’t quite cooperate. Like a few other first-timers. this is my first ball test so had no idea what to expect! I’ve been fortunate to test Titleist and Bridgestone balls before so I had some initial thoughts on how I wanted to perform the Testing.  Like others I was very pleased with the packaging (not much just a White box) and I have the new Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X.  What I found interesting was unlike the other testing I’d done before, these balls where stamped denoting the difference between Tour and Tour X. On to the Testing….

 

INTRO: Hello everyone, I'm Mario, and super excited to be part of the MGS community, testing out the Callaway Chrome Tour X golf ball. This is my first time as a forum member being chosen to test Callaway’s new Chrome Tour golf balls.  Like others my handicap has been on a roller coaster ride over the past season but I’m determined to get it to a single digit this year. I’m not that far off being a 10.5 Handicap as of 2/18/24.  Changing my practice routine and really focusing on the short game and putting is a priority this season.

MY GAME: Off the tee, I’d say that I’m a little above average in distance and my driver swing speed is 114 mph (last time I was on a Trackman.)  I’ve been working to get rid of my Over-the-Top Swing with Driver at times and have noticed when I took the Callaway Balls out to test, I immediately noticed a straighter ball flight that seemed to explode off the face of my driver.  I typically favor a ball that feels softer off the face of my clubs, which is why I usually play Callaway Chrome Soft balls.

EQUIPMENT: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus 9*, 3 Wood: Stealth Plus, Hybrid: Ping G410 4*, Irons: Mizuno JPX Forged 919 5-PW, Wedges: TaylorMade Hi Toe 52, 54, 60 and Putter: TaylorMade Spider with BGT shaft, Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft. 

EXPECTATIONS: I’m really open to seeing how this ball performs in the current weather conditions here in Georgia (Metro Atlanta.)  The weather has its ups and downs as one day we may be in the low 60s and the next day it can be wet and a high in the 40s, either way, very excited to see how it performs at my local club.  I’ve read the marketing on the new balls but really want to see how the Chrome Tour compares to the Chrome Tour X. 

TESTING: So I decided to go out and play 9 holes with the balls to see how they hold up on the course with Winter rules in place.  I’m also going to attempt to capture some pics and video where possible of the testing.  After a few holes, I definitely like the Chrome Tour X ball better than the Chrome Tour. I usually don’t like the firmer feel of golf balls but I have to admit the Chrome Tour X feels amazing off the face of the clubs, especially my Driver. I hit the Chrome Tour first and my drive went about 252 yards, then I teed up the Chrome Tour X and it went about 8 more yards which was a noticeable difference on Hole 1. I thought this is a great sign of things to come. My approach shot for both balls I chose my 9 Iron which was about 157 yards to the pin.  Chrome Tour was just short of the green a little to the left. The shot felt good but I didn’t hit it as crisp as I’d like to. With the Chrome Tour X, I hit a great shot and the ball checked up on the 2nd hop on the green and left me with a try for a Birdie putt (Hole 1 is a Par 4.) The way the ball checked up, really surprised me as I’m not use to playing the X. Felt good, looked good, loved the results so far. Really had me excited for the next 8 holes. I’m attaching some pictures and will continue with the review as we move forward.

[fixyurdivot]

26 minutes ago, manderson831 said:

UNBOXING: I received my Callaway White Box testing balls on Monday afternoon, and I was ready to try them out but the weather here in GA didn’t quite cooperate. Like a few other first-timers. this is my first ball test so had no idea what to expect! I’ve been fortunate to test Titleist and Bridgestone balls before so I had some initial thoughts on how I wanted to perform the Testing.  Like others I was very pleased with the packaging (not much just a White box) and I have the new Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X.  What I found interesting was unlike the other testing I’d done before, these balls where stamped denoting the difference between Tour and Tour X. On to the Testing….

 

INTRO: Hello everyone, I'm Mario, and super excited to be part of the MGS community, testing out the Callaway Chrome Tour X golf ball. This is my first time as a forum member being chosen to test Callaway’s new Chrome Tour golf balls.  Like others my handicap has been on a roller coaster ride over the past season but I’m determined to get it to a single digit this year. I’m not that far off being a 10.5 Handicap as of 2/18/24.  Changing my practice routine and really focusing on the short game and putting is a priority this season.

MY GAME: Off the tee, I’d say that I’m a little above average in distance and my driver swing speed is 114 mph (last time I was on a Trackman.)  I’ve been working to get rid of my Over-the-Top Swing with Driver at times and have noticed when I took the Callaway Balls out to test, I immediately noticed a straighter ball flight that seemed to explode off the face of my driver.  I typically favor a ball that feels softer off the face of my clubs, which is why I usually play Callaway Chrome Soft balls.

EQUIPMENT: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus 9*, 3 Wood: Stealth Plus, Hybrid: Ping G410 4*, Irons: Mizuno JPX Forged 919 5-PW, Wedges: TaylorMade Hi Toe 52, 54, 60 and Putter: TaylorMade Spider with BGT shaft, Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft. 

EXPECTATIONS: I’m really open to seeing how this ball performs in the current weather conditions here in Georgia (Metro Atlanta.)  The weather has its ups and downs as one day we may be in the low 60s and the next day it can be wet and a high in the 40s, either way, very excited to see how it performs at my local club.  I’ve read the marketing on the new balls but really want to see how the Chrome Tour compares to the Chrome Tour X. 

TESTING: So I decided to go out and play 9 holes with the balls to see how they hold up on the course with Winter rules in place.  I’m also going to attempt to capture some pics and video where possible of the testing.  After a few holes, I definitely like the Chrome Tour X ball better than the Chrome Tour. I usually don’t like the firmer feel of golf balls but I have to admit the Chrome Tour X feels amazing off the face of the clubs, especially my Driver. I hit the Chrome Tour first and my drive went about 252 yards, then I teed up the Chrome Tour X and it went about 8 more yards which was a noticeable difference on Hole 1. I thought this is a great sign of things to come. My approach shot for both balls I chose my 9 Iron which was about 157 yards to the pin.  Chrome Tour was just short of the green a little to the left. The shot felt good but I didn’t hit it as crisp as I’d like to. With the Chrome Tour X, I hit a great shot and the ball checked up on the 2nd hop on the green and left me with a try for a Birdie putt (Hole 1 is a Par 4.) The way the ball checked up, really surprised me as I’m not use to playing the X. Felt good, looked good, loved the results so far. Really had me excited for the next 8 holes. I’m attaching some pictures and will continue with the review as we move forward.

Welcome to the forum and your first product test Mario.  It won't be long before spring arrives in your region providing vibrant green background to the photos.  Have fun.

[Randall Robbins]

Here are thoughts after 2nd round of testing:

The balls continue to hold up well, with the only thing noticed so far was minor marking from a sand wedge shot on the chrome tour, but not on the X on a similar shot.  Pretty good stopping power on greens, and control with chips has been excellent.  Noticed that I'm getting quite a bit of roll with both balls on drives and fairway woods/hybrids.  Feel with putting took a bit of time to adjust to the firmer feel of the ball, but I have adjusted pretty quickly.  The couple of bunker shots that I've had spun very nicely and stopped quickly allowing e to make saves.  I have a preference between the two, but I will hold that until I do a little more testing to finalize that.  More to come as I play more and can organize allot this into a formal report after next week or

Third day of testing:

The balls continue to perform as previously mentioned.  They do come off the face of the club really well, and I have been able to do run ups to greens where I needed to keep the ball low and let it run.  Someone asked about durability, so I have attached the photos of the tour ball with the wedge scuff mark (18 holes) and the tour x ball ( 36 holes).   Both are holding up well.  Next test will be Monday, in cool and wet conditions, as we've had 2 days of rainy weather, and temps in the 50s.  Will see how they do in these conditions.  Later!

[TylerC31]

Combined Updates 3 and 4: Durability Check-In and More Testing Numbers

Because of some simulator repair work being done by my apartment complex, I am a little late in getting my most recent testing session in. Fortunately I was able to do it last night and get some updates today!

First and foremost- durability check in. 

I've put A TON of swings on these at this point. Between pure testing sessions and just using the simulator, each ball has at least 125-150 full swings now, with another 50 or so greenside shots. In general, the new covers are in fact holding up better than the previous generation covers. I'll post a picture of them all side-by-side and then show the cover conditions of each. As a whole, the primary thing wearing down is the triple track paint. Because it still held up well enough to line up putts, this is largely inconsequential. The pain on the logos is another area showing wear for each ball, though this is another thing that matters much less than the actual cover durability. None of the covers look bad, I would just say that the new ones are better. 

Chrome Tour X

You can see here that the cover has held up remarkably well to a lot of full shots and wedges. There's a little wear in a single spot from a particularly steep wedge shot with newly-sharpened grooves, but otherwise is great. 

Chrome Tour

This cover is largely the same as the Chrome Tour X. Still, in general holding up quite well for the number of swings. 

Chrome Soft X

Despite hardly being bad, the cover is definitely more beat up than the others. I think the durability is just a touch less robust than the new model, so props to Callaway for producing a noticeable improvement in the cover. 

Bulk Testing Session:

 

Below are an aggregation of numbers from my latest testing session. This time around, I feel like I got a less noticeable difference in launch between the balls, but the speed difference still persists. My 6i spin numbers for the chrome soft x were weird so I will chalk that up to an outlier for now. The Chrome Tour X seems to have a much more ideal spin profile for my game than the Chrome Soft X I had used previously. Whereas I got slightly too much spin from the old model, the new Chrome Tour X seems to hit the sweet spot of spin where I don't balloon up as much/rip the ball back uncontrollably on greens. I believe this, in addition to the cover, will lead to improved performance in the wind when I take the balls outside next week. One final thing worth pointing out about the Chrome Tour X- I hit my highest ball speed since switching from my Cobra LTDx LS to the Paradym TD last year! I continue to see great speeds off the face with this ball, all coming out of nice windows. Still early in testing, but most certainly a ball I think I am going to go to full-time. 

[2puttbogey]

Used only the tour model on my last round. Definitely lower trajectory for me. Distance with both models has been consistent along with spin and control route green. Feel off the putter to me feels identical. What I’m getting from these balls is identical performance with just different ways of getting it done.

[Rob Person]

41 minutes ago, 2puttbogey said:

Used only the tour model on my last round. Definitely lower trajectory for me. Distance with both models has been consistent along with spin and control route green. Feel off the putter to me feels identical. What I’m getting from these balls is identical performance with just different ways of getting it done.

So the X flies higher for you?

[2puttbogey]

24 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

So the X flies higher for you?

Yes. I haven’t looked through the whole thread here to see what others are seeing to avoid any bias, but I assume that the X is supposed to be the higher trajectory ball of the two. I came into this thinking the X would be the better fit for me and so far that has been the case.

[Pingzingny]

Played 2 rounds with the Callaway Chrome Tour X.  Each round only one ball was used and on a course with 17 holes of water is a feat of its own.  The golf ball performed pretty well having played both rounds in the upper 70’s.  It has been windy here in SW Florida and solid hits went through a substantial wind in your face with a nice ball flight.  The ball responded well around the greens with good feel and stopping power.  The only issue I had was that the ball cut too easily with my wedges. I play a 64* wedge and I do keep the grooves sharp but they definitely don’t have the durability of a Pro V1. That appears to be the only downside of the ball so far. The sound and feel of the ball is what you would hope for.  Here’s another picture of the cover on a second ball with durability issues. 

[JC from SA]

Played my second round with the Callaway white box balls today. I teed up the Tour exclusively today. Conditions were not ideal to test the “feel” of any ball. Teed off at 35 degrees and it never got out of the 40s by the time we finished.

The greens we played on were essentially painted green dirt. But I was very pleased with the stopping power of the Tour. Well-struck shots routinely stopped within a few paces of the initial ball mark.

Overall, I really like the balls. Looking forward to some warmer weather to see if the distance off a driver is better than my usual ball (Srixon Z Star Diamond). That will be the decider.

I’m sure I’m the weird one, but the triple track has not been a net positive for me on the greens. While I like the visual cue from the tee box, I feel like I get too focused on the lines while putting. I found myself marking and re-marking to line up the lines. And then I tended to make a more mechanical stroke because I was so focused on the line. 
Maybe it just takes some getting used to.

Lastly, the durability has been excellent. I used the same Tour for all 18 holes and it’s still in good shape. Just minor blemishes.

["Mr. 72"]

Ball Tested: Chrome Tour

HDCP - 8, Swing Speed - 90ish, Strengths - Iron Play and Putting

Second Day On Course Test - WIND: I did a simulator test at PGASS on Friday, but the sim timed out before I could get the data. Uggghh. I may try again.

My round started today with a temperature of 34°, 17 mph wind with a wind chill in mid 20s - a 4 layer day. When you love the game, and I don't want to be hyperbolic here, but when you love the game more than anybody in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD, you play in conditions like this!

It was a good day to test the Callaway balls in windy conditions. I used the same CT that I used the other day to further test its durability. I also hit a few shots with the CTx as well to see how it performed in the wind.

Durability: The cover of the Chrome Tour IS durable. After 36 holes of golf, I could still start the next round with is ball. However, I probably wouldn't because I blocked a drive into a huge oak tree about 75 yards off the tee which left a big yellow mark on the ball.

There are also a couple minor marks that are barely noticeable.

The only caveat is that I wasn't in any sand, particularly greenside bunkers. Sometimes, while hitting out of a greenside bunker, I'll get a bad cut on a ProV1x. Bad enough, that I take the ball out of play. Quite frankly, I expect that same will happen with the Callaways, so I wouldn't knock them for that if it does happen in the future.

Wind: Both models held up superbly in 15 - 25 mph winds throughout the bag. Drives were not thrown way offline in crosswinds. Iron shots were penetrating the wind. The only issues were a couple of weak, flared wedges, but even they weren't horrendous. With a left to right crosswind coming into me a bit, I hit a nice 2 yard (maybe) draw 235 yards. I'll take that in these conditions all day long.

On this Par 3, I took 3 extra clubs to a back pin trying to flight it low into the wind.

 

Granted, I should've hit one club less, but the ball didn't move off its starting line. The ball used was a CTx, so that could be part of the reason for a higher than expected ball flight into the wind.

Odds and Ends: The Triple Track is growing on me. The ball held well on the greens again today. Two mid iron shots had minimal roll out on the green. I REALLY like this ball.

Next Up: Chrome Tour X on course test

[JeremyD]

First Impressions (10 out of 10):

Yes, this is a little late. I've completed some testing and will update in the next few day, but I've found my phone doesn't do well with adding photos. 

I was excited to see both the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X in the box.

Initial impressions are very good. I used my fingernail to make a mark. It didn't make one. The outer cover feels of high quality materials, that appear on the surface, that they can take mishits.

I like the lettering. Callaway is very prominent, while the words Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X are very small. When placed on the ground, I actually had difficulty seeing the difference. To me, this means that wording isn't an annoyance when over the ball. I was expecting the triple track to be distracting, but the lines are so thin, they don't appear that they will bother me when over the ball as well.

I'm not familiar with Callaway balls, other than what I find in the woods. It's interesting they use a mix of hexagonal and round dimples. It'll be fun to test these.

 

Edited March 13 by JeremyD

[Indy_Oz]

On 2/16/2024 at 10:55 PM, Indy_Oz said:

Sim Ball Comparison Test 2/16/24:

Managed to dip out of work this afternoon and get almost two hours of sim time in the book with the Chrome Tour and Tour X balls. This is my second session on the sim- last Sunday I had an hour of trying out both Tour and Tour X alongside a selection of other balls. Too many for anything meaningful other than initial impressions. My first ball test, so I've learnt I need to narrow down comparison testing to smaller group tests with the time I have available.

Sim: Flightscope rear-positioned radar launch monitor.

Balls Selected: For today's session, I focused on the "low spin"/ "distance" models:

- 2x Chrome Tour

- 2xBridgestone Tour BX

- 2x Taylormade TP5X (one from last year, one of the new '24 ball)

- 2x Titleist ProV1s (not sure of vintage, but likely from a year or two ago).

In my warm up I developed a little shankitis with the short clubs,lol, so quickly moved on to long irons, fairway woods and driver to get some swings in to gauge feel and sound.

It'll take a few days for the data to be available online, but for now...

Test plan:

Each club- 5 shots per ball, in the following order (top to bottom, L then R columns in pic above):

Tour BX - '23 TP5X - Chrome Tour - ProV1

T BX - '24 TP5X - CT - ProV1

When the data is in, I'll pick best/ most comparable three shots from each set of 5 and use that for the average. I'll edit this post with the findings.

Clubs used and CHS for those with similar:

- Driver (Callaway Rogue ST Max LS, 9* head set to 8*, Ventus Blue TR 6X Velocore shaft)

  - For the first set of four balls I tried to hit my 'cruising' (regular on-course) swing speed, which is around 105mph CHS (give or take). Second set of four I swung a little harder, but still not quite all out. I hit a couple >110mph, but not regularly enough for good comparison this time.

- 7-iron (Taylormade P790, w KBS Tour C-Taper Lite XS shaft)

  - Full 7-iron (30.5* loft for a P790). Approx 90-92mph CHS, I believe.

- 60* lob wedge (TM MG2 TW grind, w S300 shaft)

  - Not quite a full shot. Aiming for a good solid swing to gauge how the CT behaved and felt.

Initial feel/ sound:

I never really liked the Chrome Soft, or Chrome Soft X LS as (to me) they felt almost heavy on contact with how soft they are. I much prefer the Chrome Tour. It has a lighter, crisper sound and feel on impact compared to last year's model- getting closer to the TP5X I game. The CT is maybe a lighter sound, but pleasing to the ear and a nice feel. Really liked the sound off the driver face. The Tour X is firmer based on last week's few swings, so it'll be interesting giving that a better test next with the other higher spin balls.

I can't be definitive until I have the data, but I was impressed with the distance and flight numbers I was getting for the Chrome Tour. Pretty happy.

Callaway may now have a ball I'd consider buying. More to follow...

Test update 2/18/24: I could only squeeze in an hour on the sim this morning, so got there early to stretch and warm up and played a straight round and finished just within my allotted hour.

I used both Tour and Tour X balls, alternating which model I used each hole. Tour X on odd holes, Tour on evens.

(I'm still waiting on sim data to be available for me to interrogate ball numbers from last couple of sessions, so still no numbers... sometimes it's a couple of weeks before their sims sync to the cloud!)

With the driver and woods, I couldn't really feel or hear any notable difference between the two ball. But both seemed to fly really well. I was very happy with ball speed, smash factor, carry and spin. I was hitting my driver really nicely today- face squared up well and good swing path... I only sliced one tee shot and didn't have any nasty snatched pull/ hook. Both the Chrome balls seemed to fly well and felt great off the face. From what I could see on the screens, I think the spin with the driver stayed pretty low for both balls. Certainly most were right in the range I like to see. I'll repeat this form of play over the next few weeks to increase overall data set.

There was definitely a discernibly higher pitch 'pop' off the face with the Tour X when using wedges and irons. I slightly preferred the sound and feel of the Tour X, but both sound and feel good. Both seem to rip with the wedges and there is nice feel for the shorter/ more delicate chips. I look forward to seeing the data and trying them out on the course.

 

Putting:

After the sim, when I returned home I spent a short time on the garage putting mat. I will be spending more time on the mat in the coming weeks as well as an indoor putting green at the sim place I go to and - when it warms up - a proper putting green soon.

Feel and Sound:  It was hard to discern whether I was hitting the Tour or Tour X, as they sound and feel very similar on these short puts. They both feel, sound and roll nicely though. They don't feel as soft as last year's models and they come of the face of my Sik putter nicely. A notably lighter sounding pop off the face. Not too dissimilar to the TP5 and TP5X I game and like for that reason. I'll have to given them a try with a putter with a softer insert too. If anything, the Tour X is a fractionally higher pitch sound, but I would expect that as it's the firmer of the two balls.

Alignment and roll: As I think I previously stated, I'm a fan of the triple track markings and I add similar triple lines to plain white TP5/5X balls I game. I like to use it for initial alignment of the put to get the putter squared up in position. Once the putter is in place I don't reference back to the lines and more focus on my vision of how I think the ball is going to roll and the planned outcome. I like the idea of the triple track 360, to see the rings of lines roll end over end to give the visual confirmation of a well-rolled put.

Putting is a very personal thing and while I was hopeful I would like these, I was expecting to not find they suit me based on past experience with the Chrome Soft and CS X LS. I played a few holes with Chrome Soft X LS two weekends ago and just didn't like the feel off the putter face at all. Can't wait to try these out on the course.

TL/DR (putting): Nice feel and sound. Both roll well and I like the alignment markings. Need to hit some longer/ firmer puts next.

 

 

 

[Erin B]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:03 AM, GolfSpy_SHARK said:

For the testers that have the balls in hand and have gotten a few rounds in without losing it, how are the covers holding up?

Covers are more durable than the pro v. 

[Erin B]

3 hours ago, 2puttbogey said:

Yes. I haven’t looked through the whole thread here to see what others are seeing to avoid any bias, but I assume that the X is supposed to be the higher trajectory ball of the two. I came into this thinking the X would be the better fit for me and so far that has been the case.

The X is the one I’ve found to be better for me. On the sim measurements for me and @Derek Eskam we both saw similar results with lower spin, straighter flight, and more distance than the Chrome Tour. For both of us X just felt more lively.

[JRDuck40]

Morning everyone! Excited to start my first official MGS test. 

Short bit about myself / game. Live in southeast WI... So almost zero chances for outdoor golf between November and mid-March. But, when I can, I do make it to a local heated outdoor range. 
Going on 41 in April and I have been playing for 30+ years. I play competitively on WSGA (WI Amateur) with quite a few single or two man events. Current handicap at the end of 2023 is a 6.1. I am not a long hitter by any means, avg. drive is 245 yards. But I'm pretty darn accurate and any misses, I make up with an above average short game. Current setup is; 

D-  Titleist  TSR2 w Mitsubishi Tensei 50g Stiff 

3w - Titleist TSR2 w/ Mitsubishi Tensei 65g Stiff

5w - Titleist TS2 w/ Mitsubishi Diamana 65g Stiff

HYB - Titleist TSi 18* w/ Mitsubishi Diamana 65g Stiff

DI - Mizuno FliHi 3i w/ UST Mamiya ESX Hybrid Stiff 60g

Irons - 4-PW Takomo 101T w/ KBS Tour Stiff 

Wedges - Cleveland RTX ZipCore 54/10 60/10 w/ TrueTemper T100

Putter - Scotty Cameron Select GoLo S

The way I will be tackling this test is 4 levels. First and foremost is putter feel. If it doesn't feel great on the flat stick. It will for sure not make it in the bag.

Second, I will test it against my current gamer on the TSR2 Driver, 3w and TS2 5w. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a long hitter, but I hit fairways, keep it out of hazards and I do not deviate on my trajectory all that much.

Third, iron play. Again, I'm accurate with my Takomo's and any large deviation on ball flight, spin, feel, this is going to be a hard no go. 

Lastly, wedge / green side feel and spin. 

My current gamer ball is the Sirxon Z Star XV. I made the switch from AVX around mix-summer last year and had some great success with the Sirxon. I've noticed a more consistent piercing ball flight with the same, if not a tic better greenside feel and spin rates with my irons. If the Callaway is going to stand ANY chance, it has a BIG hill to climb.  

I'm excited to share what I find and I have to be honest, all the hype behind the new Chrome line, and Callway in general, I'm excited to give them another shot. I have played Callaway in some way or form over the past 10 years. I've owned a few Callaway drivers (Maverik, Epic, Steelhead, War Bird and one of my firsts being a Big Bertha). My prior iron set before I switched to Takomo was the 2020 Mavrik 4-AW. The equipment has been stellar with quite a few friends playing their latest and greatest. (Paradym Driver, Mavrick Irons, Apex Irons, Jaws wedges) and I've tried them a few times and did like the looks / feel. With the exception of the name (Paradym). IMO = not a great pivot from EPIC and Mavrick line names. 

Onto the Unbox! 

 WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE! White box testing is legit cool. Came in a heavily padded box with the famous all white box and sleeves. 

First impressions - I LOVE the triple track alignments. I always mark my ball with a straight line for putting / alignment. I'll still put my personal mark on them (small shamrock near the manufacture name), but won't have to put my straight line of the ball. Look at that Callaway! You're already saving me $$$ by not having to purchase a new alignment marker tool. 

Next test... and the MOST crucial is putting and initial feel. I'll be sending this later on this week. 

Overall rating for unbox = 9.5/10  - only thing that would put this over the top would be a signed letter from Callaway saying something to the effect - "Welcome to the party" or "BOMBS AWAY!" haha... But in all seriousness, a full box of balls for a test is crazy. This is a HUGE gesture and thank you from Callaway to give the new Chrome Tour a run. 

Thanks for reading! 

Edited February 19 by JRDuck40
did not include the 1 out of 10 rating.

[Bohnson]

Did another trackman test yesterday! Everything jumped up on the Chrome Tour X for my mid iron test. I was a little baffled! Will show the results in a video later today! 

Love the feeling off of the flatstick 

[Randall Robbins]

4th time out - 

Very wet day, casual water everywhere, cart paths only.  Balls performed very well in wet conditions, with no loss of distance - in fact, with the spin of the ball, it would Hydro plane and get normal yardage.  Didn't catch any fliers or get funny spin.  Even with wet greens, ball rolled true on both putts and chips/pitches and able to get balls to stop pretty well as expected. Both models played well out of the wet sand, again stopping pretty quickly to allow for par saves. More to come after Wednesday's round!

 

[Erin B]

On 2/18/2024 at 6:48 AM, manderson831 said:

As others have mentioned, I love the explosiveness of the Chrome Tour X off of the face of the Club. Funny enough, I've been able to compare the Tour X to Bridgestone's new BX ball and they check up really well on the Greens and the ball flight is something I'm loving as well. 

 

Can anyone point me to the link where I can use the Template for the Review? Thanks and will continue testing providing more info!! 

Yeah, I have been impressed with the X as well, I think it is just as good as the Pro V1X and better than the OnCore Vero. I asked Jamie to send me the template via email. I hope I get it. 

[Erin B]

Hi MGS Troops! Another test session down at the sim. @Derek Eskam and I played a round at St Andrews Links Castle Course on Saturday. If you have been following me, you know I have been struggling in the sim but I think I am over that now. I actually played very well. Distances are still off about 20 yards on my driver, but my ball speed tells me I am close to what I measure on the range. We both think the reasons why are that I have a steeper swing so there is something the trackman isn't picking up with me. Anyway, we tested the Callaway balls again and confirmed that we both LOVE the Callaway Chrome Tour X. The liveliness of this ball was still evident and the spin, feel, launch and distance was still the same as the last test. The Chrome Tour still felt heavy for both of us and the spin was still higher than the X. Now, mind you, when I did my initial review I measured and weighed both balls and they were exactly the same, so when I say the Chrome Tours feel heavy, I really feel like they are heavy. They just don't feel alive off the clubface like the X's do. We are just not fans of this ball. The durability of these balls are fantastic, only used one ball from each type so they have been hit a couple 100 times and aside from a few marks, no scuffs. From the match, I ended up with a score of 80 and Derek ended up with a 78, so not bad. On a side note, Derek ended up with my Cobra Aeromax driver and I ended up with his Ping 425. I think he got a better deal, but once I change the weight in the 425 I think it will even out. Derek was playing PXG 311 irons and I was playing my New Level 902s. He loved my New Level irons. (No, he could not negotiate a trade for those as I have the same set of PXGs and the New Level irons are an upgrade.) I hope to get on the course this week so I can finalize my testing. As always Happy Birdie Hunting!!!

Edited February 19 by Erin B
Photos and video

[2puttbogey]

Played with them again today , and was very pleased with how it played again. I tried to get a shot tracer on a drive, but of court didn’t perform well under the pressure. I did get a coupons of the spin out though.

The second picture is a SW into a par 3. It had a little bit of comeback to it, and I’m not much of a high spin player.

First picture is a GW to a downhill green with the wind. This one had much more rollout. 

 

This is the first ball to survive all 18 holes for me, and I was impressed with the durability. I wiped the grass stains, and the ball still looked brand new. 

Edited February 19 by 2puttbogey
Format and added pictures

[Madden B]

On 2/2/2024 at 12:16 PM, Madden B said:

First Impressions

Right off the bat, I love the look and feel of these balls. I am a huge fan of the Triple Track and have been since Callaway introduced it. I think that it is the single alignment aid that any company does, so I am fully onboard with these balls. They have a nice shine to them and I love the simple look of the logo.

The only issue or thing that I don’t love is the writing of the words Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X, it seems like it isn’t straight across and has a slight bend to it, sort of upside down smile??? Maybe I am just being picky but it is a little off-putting to my eye. Oh well, let’s see how these bad boys fly!

And my little sister was helping me take some photos and wants to be famous, so here she is! She is going to tell her 2nd grade class that she is famous because she is on a golf website now!

The Numbers

Okay, I couldn’t wait to get into the garage to start hitting balls. And I was a little bit shocked at some of the results and how the numbers came out. I went right to my 8 iron (Callaway Rogue ST Pro,34.5°), sort of to warm up and start to get a sense of how these balls feel. I hit about 15 shots with a Chromesoft, ProV1, Chrome Tour, and Chrome Tour X. I then got rid of any outliers or what I felt might have been a misread from the SkyTrack+. Here are the results:

Carry distance was within 4 yds, but the Chromesoft did carry the furthest at 166 yds, with the Tour X at the bottom at 162 yds. Total distance was within 6 yds with again, Chromesoft at 180 yds and the Tour X at 174.

Spin rates were interesting to me because the Tour X spun the most for me. I am a low spin player and the Tour X came. In at 5997 at the top and the Chromesoft the lowest at 5182.

But everything else was pretty similar, with the ball speeds within 1 MPH of each other, launch angles identical, max height exactly the same (Chromesoft 1yd higher) and the smash factor very similar across the board. I even felt like I could work the balls both ways and they all responded pretty much the same. And after hitting them, scuff marks were about none and every ball held up very well and looked brand new still.

The biggest shock to me was that the Chrome Tour and the ProV1 were almost identical in every single category. They felt very similar in how they came off the face even though the Tour is supposedly a little firmer. Based on the numbers, I personally could swap them for each other and feel like they perform about the same for me and my higher irons and wedges.

Favorite ball with an 8 Iron??? Chromesoft is the winner for me! Now, that may be because it is a softer ball and my swing speed (82MPH with an 8 iron) is still in that range where a slightly softer ball is the better choice, but I liked the way it felt the best. And maybe there is just a bit more familiarity there because I have played that ball for so long, but that was my favorite feeling ball.

BUT,,, I would play any of these golf balls any day of the week. They all felt great off the face, I feel like I could move them left of right with ease. The launch angle and descent was spot on for how I like to play. I feel comfortable standing over all of them and would game every single one of them!

Next up was Drivers, and that is a different story on the ball that I liked the best. Here are a couple of videos that show 2 swings of each ball. I will upload more data and pictures as soon as I can, but take a look at my preview videos!

 

 

 

Just added an update! This update is of my session in the sim hitting 8 irons. Surprising result for me, but the numbers were very close across the board! Check out the full review here - https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/62621-forum-member-reviews-callaway-whitebox-testing/?do=findComment&comment=1009315

 

Edited February 19 by Madden B

[TG8]

Got internet back and first impressions were great with both balls. 
Early testing is fitting me into the chrome tour as my driver spin numbers are better (lower spin)

["Mr. 72"]

Callaway White Box Review 

Ball Tested: Chrome Tour X

HDCP - 8, Swing Speed - 90ish, Strengths - Iron Play and Putting

First Day On Course: A much warmer day today as the temps reached into the 40s with a pretty steady 10 mph wind. A great day to be on the course!.

I had hit some shots the other day with the Chrome Tour X, but this was the first round in which I used it exclusively. 

Durability: The cover of the Chrome Tour X was not as durable as the Chrome Tour. I found a fairway bunker with my first drive and hit a solid full pitching wedge from there. This was the first sand bunker I've been in with these ball. After the 4th hole hole I took a good look at the golf ball. 

I hadn't notice these marks until then. I wish I would've taken a closer look right after the bunker shot, but I assume one of these marks was made then. I'll know better to check right away next time. Also, I was surprised to see the yellow mark because it had to be from a glancing blow. (BTW, why does a tree leave a yellow mark?) I knew I hit near trees, but wasn't sure that I actually hit one. So after a handful of shots the prior round and 4 holes into the round, the ball is already looking beat up. I did keep the ball in play for the rest of the round, and notice another mark, but that's from the ball falling straight down from a tree and bouncing on a cart path three times. I'll start with a new ball for the next round. 

The marks aren't horrendous, and I would still play this ball, but it's about ready to go into the "bad ball pocket".

Feel: This CTX feels good around the green and putting. It's relatively soft - about the same as the CT and certainly softer than a ProV1x. 

Wind: I wasn't quite as impressed with the CTX in the wind as I was the handful of times I used it last round. The ball moved a bit more today in a lesser wind. Nothing drastic here, but more of what I would expect. Quality of ball strike is most likely the reason. 

Distance: I hit my short and mid irons the same distance that I normally do. I wasn't hitting my driver particularly well, but one specific hole confused me a bit. I hit a really solid drive on 18 that only went 202 yards into a 10 mph wind. My friend and I were both surprised. I had hit solid drives on the same hole the other two rounds with a CT in colder temps and stronger winds in the 225 range. Maybe this side of the fairway was softer or wetter, or maybe the CTX just spins that much more than the CT. I'm not sure the reason, but I've downgraded this ball on distance for now. I stated in a prior post that I don't normally use a higher spinning ball in these conditions for this exact reason but 202 was shockingly short.

Final Take: The jury is still out on the CTX. Unlike the CT, it didn't jump out and scream, "BUY ME!" My early guess is that this ball will perform better for me in warmer firmer conditions. 

Next Up: Chrome Tour X Day 2 on Course Test

[golfinnut]

On 2/16/2024 at 11:58 PM, climberboy2000 said:

Got a little more time in this morning on the SIM with my 50 degree wedge.  I hit both the Tour and TourX, but somehow at the end I reset the Tour data so lost it for today.  But the TourX had at least 4-5 extra yards per shot.  My shots were all fairly grouped together and the TourX definitely were going further.  I have a video of one of the shots, but need to figure out how to upload correctly. Below are the results:

Did you take out the anomalies on the ProV1 with the driver?  I find that hard to believe those numbers, especially the carry.  18 yards less 

[golfinnut]

I would have come back today with some numbers but my tee time was cancelled today because of the weather.    The snow is still covering spots on the course I guess 

[climberboy2000]

56 minutes ago, golfinnut said:

Did you take out the anomalies on the ProV1 with the driver?  I find that hard to believe those numbers, especially the carry.  18 yards less 

If I had a bad swing I would take a mulligan (which excludes it from the stats).  I'm going to go tomorrow and hit some more, this time with ProV1x, which is what I normally play.

[Thegolferdude]

Hi everyone my name is Juan aka thegolferdude here to give an update on my testing of the Calloway tour and tour x balls. 
 

Feel and sound:

I’ve alternated hitting these ball for a week now  both ball are preforming well. I can pretty much tell which ball is being hit by sound.  The tour x is definitely louder little firmer feeling.  The tour is has a nice softer sound and feels a bit softer. I prefer the tour ball so it wins this round.
 

Durability:

I have been hitting these balls ofo of a mat into a net in my garage.  That being said the only damage to the balls is from the strikes, 3,7,9 irons used. The tour ball is definitely holding up p better than the tour x for some reason. Check out the pictures below. Overall  think both balls are holding up better than others have in my home setup.  Durability test the tour ball wins this round.

Putting

i like how these balls roll, I was surprised they had a very similar sound and fell tho. I had a difficult time telling which was which. Putting is great with both balls on an indoor putting surface. Putting test is a tie.

Weather 

The weather has been crappy lately hopefully I’ll get to do some  outdoor test soon. Stay tuned for those test. Later this week i plan on getting some simulator data for y’all.