The previous Tour Response ball from Taylormade was an extremely popular model with club golfers all over the globe. I have lost count of the number of players I was paired with in Pro-Am competitions who chose to put this ball into play, so I was very keen to see what the 2025 remake had to offer. Looking to sit amongst the best golf balls of 2025, I took the new Tour Response for a thorough workout.
In terms of the technology, I feel I can speak fairly authoritatively on this, having been fortunate enough to have visited the TaylorMade ball plant in Liberty, South Carolina, and seen the construction process firsthand.
The 2025 Tour Response golf balls now feature the same Speed Wrapped Core Technology on offer in the tour-validated TP5 and TP5x models. The material used in the process effectively reduces the density of the core, dampening sound and promoting a faster construction for enhanced ball speed and distance. The Tour Response balls are constructed with a 100 per cent cast urethane cover looking to reap the benefits of spin while promoting durability.
The Tour Response is a 70-compression ball, which aims to provide a seriously soft feel while reaping all the benefits of materials proven at the highest levels of the game.
“The Speed Wrapped Core, which has had incredible success in our TP5 and TP5x product, is even better in Tour Response because it enables more ball speed and more feel within a single product,” says TaylorMade's Mike Fox, Global Senior Category Director for golf balls.
The Speed Wrapped Core is surrounded by something TaylorMade is referring to as High Flex Material (HFM) which it says allows more ball/face interaction, further enhancing feel and speed.
In terms of the performance, I was seriously impressed with this golf ball. For context, I am a TaylorMade TP5x player, and there are a few notable differences starting with the feel. The Tour Response is a lot softer at impact than the TP5x, for example, and I thoroughly enjoyed that sensation, particularly on the green with my putter. The softness seemed to suit me well and I liked that the ball seemed a touch slower off the blade meaning I could put a slightly more aggressive stroke on my putts.
Similarly, with chipping, the ball seemed to stay on the face a touch longer than I’m used to, once again allowing me to be a touch more forceful at strike. There was a notable difference in flight with my pitch shots however where I noticed a little higher launch window than I am used to, and a touch less bite on the green. When I say ‘less bite’ you must bear in mind that the TP5x I normally use is a pretty responsive ball with the wedges so it’s all relative, the Tour Response would still provide ample spin in most conditions for most players.
Predictably, as a relatively quick swinger of the club (around 120mph with driver), I noticed a little drop off in ball speed with the driver, but the 70 compression of this ball isn’t necessarily designed for high-speed players like me, and when I measured a couple of my slower-swinging buddies against various models, including Callaway Chrome Soft and my own TP5x, the numbers were very comparable.
The Tour Response is available in block colors of white and yellow, both of which are beautifully finished, but the model that really intrigued me was the Tour Response Stripe. Now available in brighter, easier-to-align colors (neon orange, neon pink, neon yellow, neon blue, and navy), the 360˚ clear path alignment stripe not only looks cool but is incredibly useful on the greens. Obviously, there are still the tricky elements of reading greens and applying the correct pace, but the stripe makes things an awful lot easier to hit your start line and is something I found fantastic on those short putts in particular.
Overall, I really like this golf ball. Exceptionally soft feeling, plenty durable, consistent, and with the option of some genuinely effective visual technology, there are a lot of golfers who will be choosing this as their ball of choice in 2025.
The standard Tour Response balls will be retailing for $42.99/£37.99 per dozen, while the Stripe option will be $45.99/£39.99 per dozen.
