The Callaway Chrome Soft range is the company's premium, tour-level golf ball offering produced out of its state-of-the-art ball plant in Chicopee, Massachusetts, which has benefited from significant investment in recent years. Regardless of your golfing ability, Callaway believes its Chrome Soft range is ‘Better for the best, better for everyone’. The latest trio of balls features Precision Technology comprising a three-dimensional X-Ray process ensuring the construction and core concentricity of each and every ball is up to the extremely high standards set by Callaway before hitting the shelves.
WATCH: Four golfers share their first experiences with the Chrome Soft ball range
There are three models within the Callaway Chrome Soft range. The Chrome Soft is softest in the range designed to produce a powerful ball flight through a combination of high launch and low spin. If you seek a slightly higher flight with a touch more spin, the Chrome Soft X delivers this and is the most popular among the Callaway tour professionals that include Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele. If you spin the ball excessively, there is also the Chrome Soft X LS golf ball, which has a slightly different dimple pattern. Firm in feel and designed for those seeking a straight, powerful ball flight, this would be the ball in the Chrome Soft range for those prioritising distance.
As well as the three models, Callaway also offers plenty of visual options within the Chrome Soft range including TruTrack, Triple Track and Triple Track 360 aside from the classic all-white. TruTrack makes the ball easier to see through the air and find in the rough. It also gives good feedback on how the ball is spinning around the green but it's the Triple Track 360 that is sure to resonate with golfers the most with the red and blue lines extending all the way around the ball.
"The Triple Track 360 removes the need for golfers to draw lines on their ball for alignment, it's done for them and done perfectly," says Chris Courtneidge, Callaway's Head Fitter and Product Trainer. "It obviously helps with aim on the greens but we see a lot of golfers doing it on the tees of par threes. With it now going all the way around the ball, it gives golfers great feedback as to how their putts are struck and the subsequent roll."
To put these balls fully through their paces, we invited three Golf Monthly readers to join Sam De’Ath, former mini-tour professional turned equipment writer, for a round at the beautiful North Hants Golf Club in Hampshire, to try the Chrome Soft range for the very first time. Here's what they thought...
Harry McGill - Handicap 0
Harry McGill has used the same golf ball for the best part of 15 years and hasn’t changed purely because it’s a ball he’s familiar with and hadn’t been exposed to many other options on the market. To him, as a scratch golfer, he seeks consistency from a golf ball, the ability to predict how much wind will move his ball in the air and how much spin he can create around the green.
“We did three holes with each different ball and you could really see the different flights in the wind," Harry explained. "I started with the Chrome Soft X LS and you could really tell the difference, as It cut through the wind much better.”
“My favourite ball was actually the Chrome Soft. It was similar to the ball I normally play and because of its soft feel and the familiar characteristics, I was drawn to it pretty quickly. Having a ball you can trust around the greens is so important and the Chrome Soft definitely gave me that feeling. I felt like I knew how it was going to react because it was that little bit softer than the other balls and that’s something I really enjoyed.”
“I would definitely consider switching into the Chrome Soft, especially with the added benefits of having the Triple Track lines that give you such immediate feedback and assistance on the greens. It’s a ball I would highly recommend to golfers who haven’t tried it before.”
Simon Rowland - Handicap 8
Our next tester was Simon Rowland who has always liked using a premium ball, yet has never been sold on one particular model and has struggled in the past to justify the premium financial outlay.
“Price is a big factor, other than that I’m looking for good control and spin and something that is really important to me is how a ball feels off of the clubface. I do really like the Triple Track, I normally use a single line on my ball and these lines certainly made putting feel a little easier. I like the finish on all three balls - they look really smart like a premium ball should.”
“I’ve never noticed such a difference between other brands' premium ball models but that was not the case with the Chrome Soft balls. I really enjoyed the regular Chrome Soft ball around the greens as I noticed I managed to generate a lot of spin”
“I thought the TruTrack pattern made the ball easy to see in the air and also was very helpful in finding my ball in the rough today. The soft feel of the Chrome Soft felt better than the balls I normally play and so I was really happy with those and I will certainly be looking out for these balls in the future.”
Phil Coumbe - Handicap 3
Our third tester was Phil Coumbe who wants a ball that is not only going to perform in a way that benefits his game, but also withstands scuff marks and can be played for multiple rounds.
“When looking for a golf ball, I really want it to be durable as well as launch pretty high as I have a tendency to hit it fairly low,'' he said before the round. "I’ve used the same ball for the past six or seven years just because I found something I liked. I’ve not previously used a Callaway ball because it hasn’t been stocked in my local pro shop, but I’m looking forward to testing these and seeing if I can gain a little distance out of using one of these balls.”
“Having tried all three balls, the Chrome Soft X LS performed the best for me, It gave me a slightly higher ball flight and felt good off the putter. It certainly opened my eyes up to different balls out there instead of just using the same one I use every week. I would definitely switch to the Chrome Soft X LS to give it a longer testing period and see if there was better performance to be had from it.”
Sam De'Ath - Handicap +3
After recently being reinstated as an amateur golfer following a four year spell playing professionally, Sam De’Ath wants a ball he can fully trust to perform as he expects, particularly when playing under pressure. As someone who loves the competitive nature of golf, Sam will still look to compete in big amateur golf tournaments and therefore is looking for a ball that could give him some improvement in performance over the ball he is currently playing.
“When looking for a golf ball, I’m look for something that performs consistently well, I want to see it launch in the right window, with the right amount of spin. I'm fairly particular about how a ball feels when chipping and putting. I look for a ball that’s fairly firm, but still produces a good amount of spin.”
“I was pleasantly surprised out there, I have used the same model of ball for some time now and so playing a different ball I was curious to see if there were going to be any major differences.”
“I naturally gravitated towards the Chrome Soft X. I loved the spin characteristics around the green. I’m someone who likes a clicky feel with the wedges and putter and this ball delivered in the short game while also providing distance and a powerful flight in the long game. I would definitely continue to use the Chrome Soft X. It hit the window I look for with its trajectory and provided really good short game control.”
All players gave a great indication that each of the balls had distinct differences in feel and performance. This was clearly evident in the fact that four good golfers, who all have slightly different preferences when it comes to balls, chose each of the three models on offer.
FINAL VERDICT
In summary, it was clear that all four golfers saw there were performance benefits to be had by playing the correct ball from the Chrome Soft range and said they would happily switch into it long term based on their first hands-on experience. This is testament to the technology and innovation that has gone into creating one of the most comprehensive tour-level balls money can buy. For more information on Callaway Chrome Soft ball range, visit the Callaway website.
