Forum Member Reviews: Callaway Whitebox Testing

[ZackS]

On 2/18/2024 at 5:26 PM, JC from SA said:

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.

I felt the exact same way when I tried the triple track in the past. 

[Mike10487]

On 2/15/2024 at 9:09 AM, Mike10487 said:

Chipping day for the chrome Tour and Tour X. 

First thoughts- I had no real expectations. I thought the balls looked great, although I am not a huge fan of the Triple Track. Unless you are playing lift clean and cheat, the lines annoy me. For todays test, I aligned every shot.

Tour- Definitely the softer of the 2 balls.  It was firm enough though to not be a turn-off (ie Supersoft), but softer than I prefer. This ball performed very well on the low driving (one hop and stop) chip shot. Actually, surprisingly well. I left nearly every shot short due to the spin.  I had 2 shots that actually came back a couple inches (this never happens).  Using the alignment aid was crazy good. I didn't have a chip more than 3' offline throughout the 20 sets. Like I said, "Lift clean and cheat" lining this up this is a great tool! 

Tour-X-   Firmer ball which was to be expected. I really liked the feel of this ball.  Now for the crazy part. This was a little eye opening for me, side by side on the 10-20 yd chips, the Tour outperformed the X.  The 3-4' of roll out that I expected from the Tour was happening on the Tour X. I wasn't disappointed with the way this ball performed at all. It was very similar to what I am accustomed to with my gamer (Maxfli). A little shocked by this, I moved back to the 35-40 yd range. Eureka!! It seemed like the X needed a little faster swing speed to generate the lock down spin. I only hit a few shots from this range due to time constraints. The Tour had about the same amount of spin and the X definitely picked up in spin rate from that distance. 

I went to the practice green and rolled a few lag putts. The X felt "poppie" and seemed to travel further on 40-50' putts. the Tour was a more muted feel and didn't seem as "hot" off the face. 

 

To be continued...... Friday is the first on the course test.

Friday was a member/guest 9-hole, better ball event. (strange) I played the Chrome Tour. 

Driver/ tee box- From the opening tee shot this ball felt very stable with a slightly lower trajectory. I really felt in control of this ball. I hit a couple of stinger 2 irons that were nothing short of spectacular. Distance off the driver was normal to slightly above average with the workability being exceptional. I don't know if it was the ball or me at this point, but everything off the tee was exactly what I was trying to do. 

Approach shots- These greens are rock hard and normally requires a high trajectory to hold them. The Chrome Tour feels "soft" but, extremely solid off the irons. I noticed I was 2-5yds over my target on nearly every approach. I had one PW from 117 that flew 127 to the back collar. So, I would say they are longer off a well struck iron. Once again, extremely easy to lower the flight.  The Chrome Tour has just enough spin to hop and stop. Nothing spun back on any approach shots.

Chip shots- I only missed 2 greens so not many chips to report. 

Putting- This is my concern with this ball. The triple track seems too "busy" for my liking. The single line seems easier to line up. The Tour seems really soft off the putter and I left the first 3 putts short. After dialing this in, I did make 2 birdies. If this were your gamer ball, you would get used to it. If you switched back and forth with the Tour X, I would expect you to have a little trouble adjusting to the differences. 

Durability- One small blemish, I'd give it an A+.

Saturday- D.A.R.E. scramble at Vista Plantation (par 62) executive course.  16 of the 18 holes are water holes.  Played the Tour X for the first 2 holes, I went back to the Tour from Friday due to the X ripping off the front of the greens. These greens are very soft. Once again, the Tour performed pretty damn well in all facets of my game. Very solid. 

I am out of time, Sunday round to follow.    To be continued!

 

[gregh729]

I posted a short intro a couple weeks ago, so this will be a bit more in depth. I’ve been a little quiet so far dealing with some real life stuff.

About me:

I'm 63 years old living in Maryland. I have been playing golf since I was 13 averaging 30-35 rounds a year. I retired a year and half ago and played 70 times last year! I am very lucky to live in an area that I have about 15 courses within ½ hour from home. I have always loved buying/testing/selling clubs and equipment (especially putters). I very much prefer to play instead of practice when I get time. As I mentioned before, I don’t have easy access to monitors so my testing will be done on course.

My game: 

My current handicap is 9.1. I had a nice hot streak in the summer and got it down to 7.6, but slumped in the fall. I am very consistent off the tee and solid with my irons. The carnival music usually starts up when I get inside 100 yds. Driver swing speed has dropped to 95 mph these days

Stock Yardages (Carry):

Driver: 245 yards, 3 wood: 225 yards, 2 wood: 210 yards, 4 hybrid: 190 yards, 5 iron: 175 yards, 6 iron: 165 yards, 7 iron: 155 yards, 8 iron: 145 yards, 9 iron: 130 yards, PW: 120 yards, AW (48*): 100 yards, GW (52*): 85 yards, SW (56*): 60 yards

Equipment:

Driver:  Callaway Mavrik Max, 9*, Project X Riptide 60, stiff
3 Wood: TaylorMade Stealth, 15*, Ventus Red 6, Stiff
5 Wood: TaylorMade Stealth, 18*, Ventus Red 6, Stiff
4 Hybrid: Callaway Rouge, 21*, KBS Prototype 85, stiff
5-AW: Callaway Steelhead Plus (7 YEARS OLD), UST Recoil 110, stiff
GW: Cleveland RTX ZipCore, 52*
SW: Cleveland RTX ZipCore, 56*
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa 7s, stroke lab red

Current Ball:

My current golf ball is usually a Titleist ProV1 (I get them for Christmas and birthday) but also use Callaway Chrome Soft and occasionally Bridgestone RX. I prefer a softer feeling ball with less spin.

What I Want From This Test:

Like everyone else, I'm looking to see how this new Callaway ball will compare to the gold standard ProV1 and ProV1x. I am always looking for a ball that gives the same performance. I am tall and at 63 yrs old, not that flexible anymore. My swing tends to get steep and produce higher than ideal spin. I benefit from a golf ball that gives me lower spin with a lower flight. I prefer a ball that has a soft feel around the greens to reduce some of my wedge spin and give me a softer feel off the putter.

How I'm Going To Test This:

Outside! I don’t have easy access to monitors or take the time to go to a facility to use theirs. The weather in the Washington DC area is schizophrenic this time of year. Its been fairly warm 40s and 50s, but very wet. I’ll be trying to get out twice a week as weather and other commitments allow.

[Rob Person]

For those who are gaming these on course,  how many rounds do you think you will get out of each ball ?

["Mr. 72"]

8 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

For those who are gaming these on course,  how many rounds do you think you will get out of each ball ?

So far, the CT cover (2 rounds) seems more durable than the CTX cover (1 round). At some point I will bring both of the balls back in play to find out, assuming I don't loose them first. My early guess is that I could get three, maybe four, rounds out of the CT and two rounds out of the CTX. Three rounds is doubtful.

After that, if the balls still don't have any major cuts or road rash, I move them to my "bad ball pocket". Those balls are used for out of season play, or maybe holes where there is higher probability of me losing them.

[Indy_Oz]

Temps have warmed up a little and the snow is melting. This weekend should hit high 50s and maybe 60f, so I have a tee time booked for Sunday morning. Fingers crossed the forecast is right.  That will be my first time gaming these Callaways. I'll take three of each and plan to switch at the turn.

Thought I'd share this pic with a number of comparison balls cut up alongside the sacrificial single Chrome Tour and Tour X. The ProV1 and X are unknown vintage as they're course finds from last year, but both were in decent conditions. ProV's aside, the rest were bought last year or picked up recently. I will add in a '24 TP5X, but that will have to wait til the freebies from Taylormade turn up. I do have some, but they're MyTM personalized balls that I'm not willing to cut up.lol

Always interesting to see how the different manufacturers vary thickness of each layer.

Edit: What I did notice is the Chrome Tour and X sections/ layers seem pretty well centered, but so are the others I cut up. I saw a social media post with a 2024 TP5 or TP5X that was badly made- off center core/ mantle and defects in the thin mantle layers. I don't see that on these.

 

Edited February 20 by Indy_Oz
Added note about layer centering etc.

[Jeff in the Mitten]

ON COURSE REVIEW (1 round):

COURSE:  TPC Danzante Bay in Loreto, Mexico

FRONT 9:  Callaway Chrome Tour

BACK 9:  Callaway Chrome Tour X

OTHER:  I hit 4 tee shots (2 on each side) with my gamer (Pro V1x Left Dash) against each Callaway 

 

SUMMARY:  I LOVED the Tour!  I think Callaway has come close to competing with the Pro V1 series in the past, but never REALLY got all the way there.  Now, that's changed!  The Chrome Tour provides so much speed and lower spin control off the driver I was shocked!  Don't get me wrong, it won't fix a bad swing, and I had a few of those, but I was genuinely taken aback on a couple drives where I think I gained 10+ yards.  I was outdriving my playing partners that I'm normally neck and neck with, sometimes by 30+ yards!!!!

The Chrome Tour X isn't for my swing.  It's likely going to be a GREAT ball for someone with a 90-100 mph driver swing if I had to guess.  For me personally, it was noticeably higher spin and thus ballooned a few times on me so I just lost some distance.  I wouldn't say I was unhappy with it, but after hitting the Tour on the front 9 I kept being a little disappointed on the back off the tee in particular. 

With full iron shots, I think the balls are actually quite similar.  I maybe generated a touch more spin the the X, but honestly I didn't notice that I was missing short on the back 9 after switching balls.  The course had a lot of elevation changes though, so I will be very interested to see data on Trackman next week.

Greenside is where I also noticed the improvements to "catch up" to the Pro V1 status in my books.  Both of these balls are so predictable off a little pitch wedge shot. I got that "hop 'n stop" consistently with both so I have no complaints on greenside wedge game.  The only wedge shot I noticed spin hut me was a very full 56* into one of the greens with the X.  I pinched it and it went VERY high on me and ended up backing up a few feet to miss well short of my normal carry/total with that club.  I was actually glad to see it didn't spin way off the front of the green, so I think it was more the height that hurt the distance in that case. 

Putting I honestly never got on a hot streak to fall in love with either, but that's all on me.  Mid summer rounds I think I might have more "feel" to say I prefer one or the other putting, but after 1 round I see them at total equals with the flat stick. 

Durability was actually impressive for a premium golf ball construction.  I yanked one drive into the rocks and got a lovely bounce into the fairway.  After looking at the ball the "scuff" wasn't nearly what I was expecting to see.  Kudos to Callaway for not making a good ball that only lasts 3 swings!  See pics. 

 

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING:  I'm not a physicist or a psychic mind-reader, but if you have a driver clubhead speed of 105+ I think you'll love the Chrome Tour like I did.  If you're below 105 I think the Chrome Tour X will likely give you the best results.  And lastly, for the first time in my opinion, Callaway has a ball that truly goes toe-to-toe with the Pro V1 series. 

 

RATINGS AFTER 1 ROUND: 

Chrome Tour:  10/10   It checked every box I'm looking for in a ball.  So much so that I'm very confident I'll be buying these this summer. 

Chrome Tour X:  8.5/10   It's a solid ball, but this is where fitting matters!  It's just not right for my swing.  I'm looking forward to catching up on the conversation here and hearing what guys with sub 100 mph swing speeds have to say about this one. 

 

Next up is a long session on the Trackman to get some good numbers for data comparison. 

 

PICS & VIDEO:  

 

 

Edited February 20 by Jeff in the Mitten

[Indy_Oz]

13 minutes ago, Jeff in the Mitten said:

ON COURSE REVIEW (1 round):

COURSE:  TPC Danzante Bay in Loreto, Mexico

FRONT 9:  Callaway Chrome Tour

BACK 9:  Callaway Chrome Tour X

OTHER:  I hit 4 tee shots (2 on each side) with my gamer (Pro V1x Left Dash) against each Callaway 

 

SUMMARY:  I LOVED the Tour!  I think Callaway has come close to competing with the Pro V1 series in the past, but never REALLY got all the way there.  Now, that's changed!  The Chrome Tour provides so much speed and lower spin control off the driver I was shocked!  Don't get me wrong, it won't fix a bad swing, and I had a few of those, but I was genuinely taken aback on a couple drives where I think I gained 10+ yards.  I was outdriving my playing partners that I'm normally neck and neck with, sometimes by 30+ yards!!!!

The Chrome Tour X isn't for my swing.  It's likely going to be a GREAT ball for someone with a 90-100 mph driver swing if I had to guess.  For me personally, it was noticeably higher spin and thus ballooned a few times on me so I just lost some distance.  I wouldn't say I was unhappy with it, but after hitting the Tour on the front 9 I kept being a little disappointed on the back off the tee in particular. 

With full iron shots, I think the balls are actually quite similar.  I maybe generated a touch more spin the the X, but honestly I didn't notice that I was missing short on the back 9 after switching balls.  The course had a lot of elevation changes though, so I will be very interested to see data on Trackman next week.

Greenside is where I also noticed the improvements to "catch up" to the Pro V1 status in my books.  Both of these balls are so predictable off a little pitch wedge shot. I got that "hop 'n stop" consistently with both so I have no complaints on greenside wedge game.  The only wedge shot I noticed spin hut me was a very full 56* into one of the greens with the X.  I pinched it and it went VERY high on me and ended up backing up a few feet to miss well short of my normal carry/total with that club.  I was actually glad to see it didn't spin way off the front of the green, so I think it was more the height that hurt the distance in that case. 

Putting I honestly never got on a hot streak to fall in love with either, but that's all on me.  Mid summer rounds I think I might have more "feel" to say I prefer one or the other putting, but after 1 round I see them at total equals with the flat stick. 

Durability was actually impressive for a premium golf ball construction.  I yanked one drive into the rocks and got a lovely bounce into the fairway.  After looking at the ball the "scuff" wasn't nearly what I was expecting to see.  Kudos to Callaway for not making a good ball that only lasts 3 swings!  See pics. 

 

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING:  I'm not a physicist or a psychic mind-reader, but if you have a driver clubhead speed of 105+ I think you'll love the Chrome Tour like I did.  If you're below 105 I think the Chrome Tour X will likely give you the best results.  And lastly, for the first time in my opinion, Callaway has a ball that truly goes toe-to-toe with the Pro V1 series. 

 

RATINGS AFTER 1 ROUND: 

Chrome Tour:  10/10   It checked every box I'm looking for in a ball.  So much so that I'm very confident I'll be buying these this summer. 

Chrome Tour X:  8.5/10   It's a solid ball, but this is where fitting matters!  It's just not right for my swing.  I'm looking forward to catching up on the conversation here and hearing what guys with sub 100 mph swing speeds have to say about this one. 

 

Next up is a long session on the Trackman to get some good numbers for data comparison. 

 

PICS & VIDEO:  

 

 

Looks like a pretty epic course to test at!

Nice write up. I expect to have the same view of preferring the Tour after this Sunday's round, as I have a driver CHS >105mph (summer around 110-112).

[Jeff in the Mitten]

14 minutes ago, Indy_Oz said:

Looks like a pretty epic course to test at!

Nice write up. I expect to have the same view of preferring the Tour after this Sunday's round, as I have a driver CHS >105mph (summer around 110-112).

It was a boys trip planned well before the white box testing was a twinkle in my eye!  I got lucky with timing and thoroughly enjoyed it.   I can't say enough about how impressed I was with the Tour ball as compared to prior generations of Callaway balls...they've made REAL progress with this one IMO. 

[Randall Robbins]

4 hours ago, Rob Person said:

For those who are gaming these on course,  how many rounds do you think you will get out of each ball ?

So far, 2.5 with the tour x, and 2 with the tour and both are still very playable.

[Guest-0]

51 minutes ago, Indy_Oz said:

Temps have warmed up a little and the snow is melting. This weekend should hit high 50s and maybe 60f, so I have a tee time booked for Sunday morning. Fingers crossed the forecast is right.  That will be my first time gaming these Callaways. I'll take three of each and plan to switch at the turn.

Thought I'd share this pic with a number of comparison balls cut up alongside the sacrificial single Chrome Tour and Tour X. The ProV1 and X are unknown vintage as they're course finds from last year, but both were in decent conditions. ProV's aside, the rest were bought last year or picked up recently. I will add in a '24 TP5X, but that will have to wait til the freebies from Taylormade turn up. I do have some, but they're MyTM personalized balls that I'm not willing to cut up.lol

Always interesting to see how the different manufacturers vary thickness of each layer.

Edit: What I did notice is the Chrome Tour and X sections/ layers seem pretty well centered, but so are the others I cut up. I saw a social media post with a 2024 TP5 or TP5X that was badly made- off center core/ mantle and defects in the thin mantle layers. I don't see that on these.

 

Always enjoyed cutting them and I have the exact pvc cutter myself. Those are fairly old ProV1s??? I cut a couple last week from last year and they looked much different??? Glad to hear you have found no bad ones as I haven't either in the premium ball line.  Thanks for sharing this!! Love the mad scientist data

[Bob Jerabek]

6 hours ago, Rob Person said:

For those who are gaming these on course,  how many rounds do you think you will get out of each ball ?

I have played 36 with the same ball the only real wear I see is my sharpi marks

[Bob Jerabek]

Did some chipping, pitching and sand practice.  The balls felt a little hard. I was getting very little grab from the balls.

Found that the Chrome Tour stopped better with mid to high iron shots.  
 

I will say both balls are long and feel good coming off the tee shots.

[Rob Person]

@Jeff in the Mitten. I'm surprised that the X wasn't closer to the prov1x. I was under the impression the CTX was for a higher swing speed and the CT was for lower.  Good to read that it works for you!

And what a beautiful course!!

[Jeff in the Mitten]

3 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

@Jeff in the Mitten. I'm surprised that the X wasn't closer to the prov1x. I was under the impression the CTX was for a higher swing speed and the CT was for lower.  Good to read that it works for you!

And what a beautiful course!!

@Rob Person I do think my results jive with Callaway’s marketing of the ball, in particular how it relates to spin. That’s always been the main contributor to my tee results when comparing one ball to the next. 
The Tour was lightning off the face and just got to a height that f about 110’ and stayed there if that makes sense. Never “ballooned” on me. So that also improved the decent angle adding roll to maximizing my carry. 
 

Callaway’s comparison chart for reference:

 

[Indy_Oz]

6 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

@Jeff in the Mitten. I'm surprised that the X wasn't closer to the prov1x. I was under the impression the CTX was for a higher swing speed and the CT was for lower.  Good to read that it works for you!

And what a beautiful course!!

Someone else in here shared this in the past. The Tour being lower long game spin should be better for higher swing speeds.

[Wicki]

I made it out the putting green with the limited time I had today!  I was mainly going on feel of the ball of the face.  I did notice a difference between the balls.  The Chrome Tour felt softer coming off my putter face.  

I did mention that the alignment lines mess with my head.  So of course I had to gave it a try since I am testing here.  I actually was able to use these triple line alignment without looking down second guessing my line I want to putt.

Today I used 4 different putters, putting 3 Tour and 3 TourX.  These are the putters I used in different weather conditions and green speeds. I had most putts cluster together.  One thing I noticed was that all the balls came off the putter face and were rolling.  I didn't notice much slide before the rolling.  

I can say that I could change ball on the green every time, Callaway would be high consideration because I am able to stay focus and not second guess my line of putting.  I am even thinking possibly for tournaments, so I will have them for putting!  I am looking to when I can get out on couple holes at the club I can test the short irons, long irons, and the tee shot (where it is reachable going over trees).   So if scored them out of 10 for just putting, I would give a solid 9.  

[Bohnson]

Had a friend of mine come test the balls in the sim with me and he made a significant jump in distance from the left dash to the Chrome Tours. I’ll post some data and video later. 

[climberboy2000]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:44 PM, climberboy2000 said:

Took the balls to the indoor putting green (still too cold up here) yesterday.

The Tour and TourX didn't have any noticeable differences between the two balls.  Both felt softer than the ProV1x, but very similar to the Sugar Pure.  Loved the sound and the feel off the putter face.  I really like the lines, because now I don't have to draw a big line (that eventually rubs off in about 9 holes).  I've always used a line on my ball and I get down and line my putt up with it.  So this is a bonus.  Overall GREAT balls for putting!

 

IMG_0142.MOV 25.86 MB · 2 downloads  If this video doesn't work I'll have to figure out how to properly upload videos  

 

Took a long "lunch" today and hit some balls in the SIM (we still have snow on the ground).  Had some interesting results today.  Someone asked if I threw out the outliers in my data.  So I'm not a robot and hit every shot perfect    But if I hit one fat or shank it then I take a "mulligan" so that the shot doesn't show up in the results.  

Today using my 8 iron, the results for the five balls I used were pretty similar.  Didn't really notice much of a difference.  But when it came time to hitting my driver, I could not hit the Callaway Tour for the life of me!  I hit my first set of 3 balls each with the driver and the Tour was significantly shorter.  Rested for a little bit and came back to start the second round.  The Tour was my first ball.  They kept coming up short....like 20 yards+ short of the others.  I must have hit 10+ shots with the Tour and even shots that felt good were not flying.  Then I switched to the TourX and immediately increased 20+ yards.  I went through the other balls and they all were good.  So then I decided to give the Tour a few more hits...and the same thing.  Immediately lost yardage.  My swing speed today varied between 93-100, and even when both my swing speed and smash factor were identical to the other balls, the Tour did not fly as far.  

I noticed my launch is significantly higher today than the other day, but that might be because I adjusted my TSi3 driver a week ago.  Or it could be the SIM??  Guess I'll watch it the next few times I go as I play on different SIMs to see if it's consistent.

Balls are holding up well as far as wear and tear (for indoors).  My buddies and I have played multiple rounds on the SIM with them and they still look almost brand new.  Hoping to head to Salt Lake next week if the weather warms up to get a round in outside.

[JRDuck40]

VERY excited to say. There WILL BE outdoor testing in WI! Tee time for 1030 a tomorrow for me! Super excited to test the ball vs my sirxon z star xv. Currently at virtual leave. Liking the spin and response on the irons so far. No so much on the driver / fairway woods. 

[Digiburdie]

Review - Part 2: Putting

I decided to put these up against my current gamer, the Titleist AVX, and some other random balls I had lying around. I based the test on things that I find important in a ball when on the green: Alignment, sound, and feel off the putter's face. 

Balls In Play:
Bridgestone e6 with a (surlyn cover), Callaway Chrome Soft X LS (urethane), Titleist ProV1x (urethane), Titleist AVX (Yellow urethane), a Srixon Soft Feel (ionomer cover),  and of course, our test subjects the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X (both urethane).

The Tools:

I wanted to see how the sound and feel of these balls would differ using different face materials and milling. So I used 3 very different putters (and a special surprise at the end of the post). 

Putter #1 -  The Queen Bee #6 with honeycomb milling. 

Putter #2 - Ping PAL 2 with no milling solid face.

Putter #3 - Scotty Cameron PHANTOM X 12 with fly-cut precision milling. 

Alignment:
I used the QB6 to show the alignment marks for each of these balls. 

I think we can all agree that the triple track is the best putter alignment aid in the industry. Nuff said about that, just look at the pictures.

Alignment Score: Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X - 10/10 
 

The Sound and Feel of it all: (Volume UP)

Bettinardi Queen B #6:

Ping Pal 3: 

Scotty Cameron Phantom X: 

And the Putter went... PING - Thanks for making it to the end of this post. Here is a fun one! Hit these with the pride of my collection, the  Ping 1-A 

"Sound and feel" is a personal preference. I for one like a firmer feel and I don't mind a "click" off the putter face. It gives me the confidence to know how hard I'm hitting a putt. When they are too soft I can't control the distance. Because of that when it comes to putting I am leaning toward the Chrome Tour X as it feels a tiny bit firmer with my current putter, the Queen B 6. 

Sound and Feel Score:
Chrome Tour - 9/10
Chrome Tour X - 10/10

Up next: Part 3: Chipping/Short Game 

Edited February 21 by Digiburdie

[Thegolferdude]

Hi all I’m Juan aka thegolferdude I’ve got a cool update today. Not sure if anyone has cut these balls open yet. I’ve uploaded pictures of the inside of the tour and tour x ball. Both look to be a 4 piece ball. The tour has a blue core and the tour x has an orange core. Thanks for checking out this testing update.

[OdinSnipes414]

9 hours ago, JRDuck40 said:

VERY excited to say. There WILL BE outdoor testing in WI! Tee time for 1030 a tomorrow for me! Super excited to test the ball vs my sirxon z star xv. Currently at virtual leave. Liking the spin and response on the irons so far. No so much on the driver / fairway woods. 

Maybe I can tell my boss I have a family emergency……. Then I’ll come join you! Grant park at sunrise is truly amazing! And I mean almost 60 and mostly sunny! Come one now it’s February! I’ll have to meet you out on the chipping area and shoot the breeze! One of these days! 

[Mike10487]

23 hours ago, Mike10487 said:

Friday was a member/guest 9-hole, better ball event. (strange) I played the Chrome Tour. 

Driver/ tee box- From the opening tee shot this ball felt very stable with a slightly lower trajectory. I really felt in control of this ball. I hit a couple of stinger 2 irons that were nothing short of spectacular. Distance off the driver was normal to slightly above average with the workability being exceptional. I don't know if it was the ball or me at this point, but everything off the tee was exactly what I was trying to do. 

Approach shots- These greens are rock hard and normally requires a high trajectory to hold them. The Chrome Tour feels "soft" but, extremely solid off the irons. I noticed I was 2-5yds over my target on nearly every approach. I had one PW from 117 that flew 127 to the back collar. So, I would say they are longer off a well struck iron. Once again, extremely easy to lower the flight.  The Chrome Tour has just enough spin to hop and stop. Nothing spun back on any approach shots.

Chip shots- I only missed 2 greens so not many chips to report. 

Putting- This is my concern with this ball. The triple track seems too "busy" for my liking. The single line seems easier to line up. The Tour seems really soft off the putter and I left the first 3 putts short. After dialing this in, I did make 2 birdies. If this were your gamer ball, you would get used to it. If you switched back and forth with the Tour X, I would expect you to have a little trouble adjusting to the differences. 

Durability- One small blemish, I'd give it an A+.

Saturday- D.A.R.E. scramble at Vista Plantation (par 62) executive course.  16 of the 18 holes are water holes.  Played the Tour X for the first 2 holes, I went back to the Tour from Friday due to the X ripping off the front of the greens. These greens are very soft. Once again, the Tour performed pretty damn well in all facets of my game. Very solid. 

I am out of time, Sunday round to follow.    To be continued!

 

Sunday was a horrible weather day (for Florida) with temps in the low 60s, rain and 20 mph wind that seemed to be in our face on every shot. But I stuck with the plan to play the X all day. That didn't last long. Opening tee shot the X ballooned nearly straight up into the wind leaving me 30 yds short of my playing partners. I hit a decent 2nd shot and escaped with a par. Off to number 2 a longish par 5. My thought here was swing easy, and it shouldn't get out of control. Well, I was here to test balls, not to preserve a score! I "tried" to play a low draw to get a little more run out. I ended up with a low snap hook resting just under a saw palmetto frond. I was able to get a solid punch out and left myself 172 to the green. I pulled 4 iron and choked down a half inch to adjust for the wind. I struck it as pure as I could. The X ballooned into the wind again and plugged into the front bunker. This was perhaps the highest I have ever hit a 4 iron.  Thanks to a 40' putt, I walked away with a smooth par. This is where things went really wrong. skip to #4. Par 5 left to right wind and at our backs.  I aimed down the left side of the hole to play a cut and "Tee it high and let it fly"! Well once the ball got up into the wind it was like it pulled full flaps! My normal butter cut turned into OJ Simpson. The ball sliced 70+ yards. I reteed to play the same shot and did it again. For giggles I hit a third with the Tour, noticeably lower flight, 20 yd cut and right in the center of the fairway. I managed to find the 2nd ball, took my penalty drop. 240 out with no trouble in the front I pull 3 wood and proceed to slice it OB again. I just couldn't seem to control the X. Granted I switch back and forth between my gamer Maxfli Tour and X given the wind conditions, so I kind of set myself up for failure with this wind. Carded a smooth 11 on my way to a solid 92!! I stopped any thought of further testing at that point due to the "I don't care " attitude.  The X driver spin rate seems to be very high for me. I play the Cobra Aerojet 9.0 LS adjusted to the -1 draw setting. My normal spin rates are 1700-2000 range.  I will go to my local golf shop and hit a few shots with the X to determine the spin rate. But it seems very high to me. I don't feel as though the Tour X is the right ball for me. Once again, the ball feels very solid, but I feel it needs more iron swing speed than I can produce to make it shine. I wouldn't think off the driver it would make that much difference, but clearly it isn't the ball for me in the wind! 

 

I will be taking a few days off from further testing as I pulled a slick move and substantially burnt my left hand while working yesterday. 

[climberboy2000]

1 hour ago, Mike10487 said:

Sunday was a horrible weather day (for Florida) with temps in the low 60s, rain and 20 mph wind that seemed to be in our face on every shot. But I stuck with the plan to play the X all day. That didn't last long. Opening tee shot the X ballooned nearly straight up into the wind leaving me 30 yds short of my playing partners. I hit a decent 2nd shot and escaped with a par. Off to number 2 a longish par 5. My thought here was swing easy, and it shouldn't get out of control. Well, I was here to test balls, not to preserve a score! I "tried" to play a low draw to get a little more run out. I ended up with a low snap hook resting just under a saw palmetto frond. I was able to get a solid punch out and left myself 172 to the green. I pulled 4 iron and choked down a half inch to adjust for the wind. I struck it as pure as I could. The X ballooned into the wind again and plugged into the front bunker. This was perhaps the highest I have ever hit a 4 iron.  Thanks to a 40' putt, I walked away with a smooth par. This is where things went really wrong. skip to #4. Par 5 left to right wind and at our backs.  I aimed down the left side of the hole to play a cut and "Tee it high and let it fly"! Well once the ball got up into the wind it was like it pulled full flaps! My normal butter cut turned into OJ Simpson. The ball sliced 70+ yards. I reteed to play the same shot and did it again. For giggles I hit a third with the Tour, noticeably lower flight, 20 yd cut and right in the center of the fairway. I managed to find the 2nd ball, took my penalty drop. 240 out with no trouble in the front I pull 3 wood and proceed to slice it OB again. I just couldn't seem to control the X. Granted I switch back and forth between my gamer Maxfli Tour and X given the wind conditions, so I kind of set myself up for failure with this wind. Carded a smooth 11 on my way to a solid 92!! I stopped any thought of further testing at that point due to the "I don't care " attitude.  The X driver spin rate seems to be very high for me. I play the Cobra Aerojet 9.0 LS adjusted to the -1 draw setting. My normal spin rates are 1700-2000 range.  I will go to my local golf shop and hit a few shots with the X to determine the spin rate. But it seems very high to me. I don't feel as though the Tour X is the right ball for me. Once again, the ball feels very solid, but I feel it needs more iron swing speed than I can produce to make it shine. I wouldn't think off the driver it would make that much difference, but clearly it isn't the ball for me in the wind! 

 

I will be taking a few days off from further testing as I pulled a slick move and substantially burnt my left hand while working yesterday. 

I would take low 60's...woke up to this today!  Does Callaway make a flashing/glowing Tour ball so I can find it in all the white?  

[Rob Person]

1 hour ago, Mike10487 said:

I will be taking a few days off from further testing as I pulled a slick move and substantially burnt my left hand while working yesterday. 

Hope you heal up and it's not too bad!!

[Ryan Luke]

Hello Ladies and Gents!

Weather in the Northeast looks to be improving a bit and I'm hoping to get outside on a real course and test the Callaway Chrome Tour X as I did the Chrome Tour.  Really loved the Chrome Tour and hoping the X for me is as good or maybe better for my game but time tells all!

I will be doing some chipping to add to my putting review I posted earlier this morning.  So far, I find the Callway Chrome balls to be really high quality and I could see myself potentially switching to one of them. 

Hope Everyone is enjoying the new balls and testing process as I am and more reviewing to come soon!  

[David Staller]

Good morning MGS peeps,

 

It is a glorious day in the Atlanta metro area! I played a full 18 Sunday on the Old Course at White Oak Golf Club with the Tour X ball.  First victory was that I played the whole round with the same ball. Second, I shot 76 while only hitting 7 greens. A double and 5 bogies was offset with 3 birdies and only 27 putts.  Currently, I am not able to give much feedback on the ball for full shots, as I am not making anywhere near center of the face contact on anything outside of 110 yards. That being said from 110 yards in, I really like this ball.  It feels soft off the face and has plenty of spin without spinning too much. I feel that I can get up and down from just about anywhere. Such as short- sided flop shot out of the rough to 5 feet, or short sided downhill bunker shot from 50 feet to 3 feet, or a knock down lob wedge off a tight down hill lie from 70 yards to a front pin that took one hop and stopped 3 feet for birdie. Which I did make by the way. It rolls great too as I made putts from 3 feet to 30 feet  going up or downhill, and breaking in either direction.  Mind you, I do not use the triple track feature to line up my putts as trying to line it up that way screws with my head. 

As for the durability question, the ball in the picture lasted the whole round including hitting 2 trees, being in to bunkers and being struck on the thin side on multiple occasions. Hardly a scratch. Big points for durability! I am planning on having a pure bunker session later in the week with both balls.

Edited February 21 by David Staller

[GolfSpy_APH]

Great updates so far! 

Anyone get much time in the wind and see how they perform there? 

[Erin B]

The weather is getting better here in Cheyenne WY and I have a tee time for Friday down in Fort Collins CO so I will be able to get some course play with these balls. I am working on my formatting and hope to have it done sometime next week. As far as the ball, I am still liking the X more than the Chrome Tour. I haven't noticed any difference in putting other than these balls are more firm than the balls I play. If you have any questions for me, don't hesitate to reply to my posts. I am on daily and try to reply promptly. Thanks everyone and Happy Birdie Hunting!

Edited February 21 by Erin B
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