Titleist’s slogan claims they are “the number one ball in golf”.
All of their adverts on TV feature tour players using the Pro V1. It can get lost on the consumer that the company actually sell other styles of golf balls too.
I am here to find out more about their Tour Soft, which is said to be a softer distance ball.
The Tech
Titleist have released two balls this year which sit at a slightly lower price range than the Pro V1, the Tour Speed and the Tour Soft, with the TruFeel and Velocity in the category below as a budget option.
The Tour Speed and Tour Soft are the competitors of the Tour Response and Soft Response balls from TaylorMade, and try to provide a soft feel with tee-to-green performance.
This is the third generation of the Tour Soft ball, and the latest model has a new larger core to deliver long distance and a responsive feel, with the same compression as in the previous generation.
Such a large core means that an extremely thin cover is required, so Titleist developed a thin 4CE grafted cover formulation for 'reliable short game control', whilst the 346 quadrilateral dimple design encourages a penetrating ball flight and tighter dispersion.
Finally there's a Tour Soft alignment stamp with a vertical black line to help square the putter face at address.
You can watch my full review via the Golfalot YouTube channel here:
If you like what you see, please make sure you SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel to see all Golfalot video reviews and features first.
Titleist Tour Soft 2022 Golf Ball Review
Looks and Feel
The Tour Soft looks like a premium golf ball with a bright white cover, and it is also available in Yellow too. It is similar to a Pro V1, although it stands out quite clearly thanks to the significant alignment aid which is shaped like a capital T.
To be honest I was a little underwhelmed with the feel, as it felt a little slow coming off the face on the longer clubs compared to a Pro V1 or even the Tour Speed, whilst it wasn't as soft as I expected on shorter shots around the green.
Performance
To test this golf ball I hit both 7 irons and drivers at Stockport GC, tracking the data with the FlightScope Mevo+ Launch Monitor.
I then hit a number of chips and putts on the course, comparing it to both the Tour Speed and my current ball, the Pro V1x.
The launch monitor data showed that the Tour Soft spun considerably more than the Tour Speed, close to 1000rpm more with both the 7 iron and the driver, with a higher launch too.
Because of this, my ball was flying around 8 shorter on average with the driver than the Tour Speed and the ProV1x, whilst the ball speed was also down by a couple of miles per hour.
With the 7 iron the spin numbers didn't seem to affect the yardage much, and I actually gained a little bit of distance although my club head speed was a little bit higher during those shots which may go some way to explaining it.
Around the greens I was expecting the ball to be soft as the name suggests, but it just didn't quite live up to expectations.
Titleist Tour Soft 2022 Golf Ball Verdict
Unfortunately the Tour Soft just didn't perform to my needs, despite Titleist claiming that it was soft feeling and low sinning I actually found that it was far too spinny for my needs.
Anything over 3500rpm with a driver, and I struggle to hit the ball over 200 yards these days!
This ball just wasn't right for my game, and proves why getting a proper ball fitting is so important. If I was buying blind in a Pro Shop, I would think 'Tour' and 'Soft' is exactly what I want in a ball, when in reality I would be putting myself at a disadvantage due to the lack of distance and feel around the greens.
Would I Use Them?
This ball just spun too much for me to use it, I don't want to give away any more distance!
Who Should Use Them?
Somebody who wants a good value golf ball with plenty of spin which looks premium.
If you enjoyed this, you may also like:
Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1x 2021 Golf Ball Review
TaylorMade Tour Response Stripe Golf Ball Review