50 Words or Less
The Callaway Chrome Soft golf ball is the softest feeling Tour-caliber ball I’ve ever played. Solid performance in every area.
Introduction
The choice in golf balls has always been this: do you want the best feel or do you want low driver spin? While there are balls that are decent at both, there haven’t been any with really soft feel and really low driver spin. Enter the Callaway Chrome Soft. With a compression of just 65, this ball is unbelievably soft while retaining all the other things you want in a Tour-level golf ball.
Feel
The name doesn’t lie: the Callaway Chrome Soft is the softest tour ball I’ve ever played. Off the putter, it’s absolutely marshmallow-soft, and with a wedge it’s so soft it actually feels heavy. That may be a bit of an odd word choice, but it’s accurate: the ball feels like it compresses and sits on the club face even on pitch shots.
What surprised me is that the soft, heavy feeling is barely present with the driver. I was a little concerned that the Chrome Soft would feel slow with the driver because of it’s softness, but it actually feels as hot and explosive as any other tour ball.
Long Game
From the tee, the Chrome Soft delivers exactly the low spin performance that Callaway claims. It’s not the lowest-spinning ball I’ve ever tested, but it’s firmly in the middle of the range for Tour-caliber balls.
With the mid to long irons, the Chrome Soft feels great and has plenty of stopping power. Again, the spin rates that I observed were exactly what I expect from a Tour ball.
Short Game
Thanks to its urethane cover, the Callaway Chrome Soft delivers plenty of spin around the greens. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the spin is right in the middle of the range I would expect from a Tour ball. One thing I found was that, because of the extremely soft feel, I did need a little adjustment time to get my distances dialed in with my wedges and the putter.
Conclusion
If you like the performance of a tour ball – low spin off the tee, high spin around the green – but want softer feel, go buy a box of the new Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls. For many golfers, it will be the first time they’ve gotten that great “compressed” feeling from a top tier ball.
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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14 Comments
Hi Matt. Very good review. How does Chrome Soft compare to Pro V1. In your opinion?
Thanks,
John
The Chrome Soft is *much* softer. Beyond that, they’re very comparable.
Best,
Matt
GREAT read Matt, I am a former low handicapper recovering from 2 Knee replacements in the same knee and an infection in the same joint,
I decided to make a fresh start and go for my PGA Pats, I am now gaming Taylormade RBZ irons and The New Chrome soft.
I will be taking my Pats next summer, Played this past week and the biggest surprise was the spin I was able to get out of the sand.
I have always been blessed as a great bunker player and good short game player but I was totally SHOCKED how the Chrome soft acted out of the sand, No matter what shot I had it out performed the Pro V1….
HIGHLY reccomend
Matt,
What is one of the lower spinning golf balls that you have tested in the past? How does the Taylormade Tour Preferred match up to the Chrome Soft?
Braden,
Low spinning off the driver? I would look to the Nike RZN balls.
I don’t have much experience with the TMAG TP ball, so I can’t really comment.
Best,
Matt
Super. Thanks Matt. That’s what I am looking at.
Aside from “high” and “low” compression, what do the compression numbers refer to? Could it be thought of as minimum swing speed in order to compress. i.e. 65 compression = minimum 65 mph swing speed to compress?
Phil,
Compression simply refers to how much force is required to deform it. I don’t think that the 1:1 correlation you suggest is the best way to think about it. While compression is an important part of picking a golf ball, with the different materials and constructions used today, it’s not the only thing to look at. Ultimately, if you want the best ball, you need to be fit and/or bring different balls to the course to see how they actually perform.
-Matt
Hello Matt:
Thanks for the great review. I have read both reviews from Project a and Chrome Soft. How would you rate the Project a against the csoft? I am a Project a user and I think is great, specially with spin of the green. Which ball do you think would spin less of the tee?
Greg,
The Project a is the highest spinning ball I’ve tested, but that includes high spin on the driver. The Chrome Soft is more like a normal tour ball, but with softer feel.
-Matt
Hey Matt,
I’ve bounced between the Pro V1, Pro V1x and Z-Star for a few years.
I do notice that into the wind the Z-Star seems to perform best and longest, but on calm days the Pro V1x seems to be longer for me. The Pro V1 has been very prone to drifting up into wind for me.
My driver swing speed is 110MPH and my AoA is +5 , do you think the Chrome soft might spin too much at that speed?
Adam,
The only way to know is to try. If you hit up 5 degrees, I doubt you’d spin it too much.
-Matt
Thanks Matt!
I’m gonna give these a go tomorrow.
You guys are awesome!
this is a very good and more necessary idea. thanks a lot for this best idea