Since 2015, Chrome Soft golf balls have been a part of the Callaway range and have been played by amateurs, major champions, and everyone in between.
As one of the most popular choices in the golf ball aisle, it would have been easy for Callaway to roll out a 2024 model with little to no changes, but instead, they decided to modernize.
Callaway announced today that its new staple golf balls will be the Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, and Chrome Soft. This trio of golf balls will be available at your local golf retailer beginning February 2nd.
At first glance, the obvious point Callaway is trying to make is that “soft” need not be present in its tour-caliber models from a namesake perspective. However, Chrome Soft is getting an equal share of the facelift to offer an updated model to the many that game them.
“We wanted this to be a moment in time where not only do we have an entirely new branding architecture, but an entirely new product line top to bottom,” said Jason Finley, Global Golf Ball Director at Callaway. “One of the goals for us with this line is to create the most advanced Tour Balls, which comes to life for us in many ways.”
Let’s take a look at each of the shiny new Chrome offerings from Callaway so you can make a well-informed decision on which is right for you.
Callaway Chrome Tour
Chrome Tour As educated consumers, we know that just because you put “tour” in a product’s name doesn’t make it the real deal. But the new Chrome Tour is anything but a fugazi. This ball is intended for skilled players and is equipped to perform at a high level.
Distance and feel for the better player are the hallmarks of the Callaway Chrome Tour. The core, inner mantle, outer mantle, and cover have all been engineered and optimized for speed, ball flight, spin, and control. The new Hyper Fast Soft Core was designed to help players who are looking for the perfect balance of increased ball speed and soft feel.
Aerodynamics was a big design focal point in the new lineup from Callaway, and Seamless Tour Aero is a technology they developed to keep the golf ball more stable in flight, leading to less dispersion.
“One of the key metrics we’ve talked about with the core is ball speed, and looking against our competitors, we’ve seen significant gains relative to the competition,” said Finley. “Faster and longer is the key objective.”
Chrome Tour player profile: The better player who wants a tour-caliber ball without sacrificing a soft feel. Plays aggressive shots, but values a little more forgiveness.
Callaway Chrome Tour X
Chrome Tour X For any of the attributes that Chrome Tour softens on, Chrome Tour X pulls in the opposite direction. Chrome Tour X is designed for the best players in the world. That doesn’t mean that highly skilled amateurs won’t have success with this model, but you better be a stick.
The Chrome Tour X has all of the same engineering as its two siblings, but is designed to benefit players that have a lot of control of their golf shots. For example, its new High-Performance Tour Urethane Soft Cover will be a huge contributing factor to controlling greenside spin, whether you’re trying to hit a high flop or a low checker. Maximum workability is yours for the taking, but higher handicaps might find the Chrome Tour X to be a little above their pay grade.
“Our fastest golf ball, particularly off the driver, but it’s also going to be our highest spinning ball as well,” said Finley. “Players have viewed it as one of if not the fastest ball out there. We’ve worked with our Tour players, and it’s given them a lot of confidence. It’s taken what was already an industry leader in Chrome Soft X, both in speed but also in spin.”
Chrome Tour X player profile: Scratch or low single-digit that knows how to control shot shapes and spin. Has clubhead speed to reap the technology rewards.
Callaway Chrome Soft
Chrome Soft The golf ball you know, now in an optimized package. The Chrome Soft heritage is strong, and hats off to Callaway’s R&D team for not straying too far from what got them here. The Chrome Soft is certainly a tour-caliber golf ball, but for the aspirational player.
When you go through the list of advancements, Chrome Soft has all of the same traits as the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X. Seamless Tour Aero, Hyper Fast Soft Core, Tour Urethane Soft Cover. But the Chrome Soft is going to cater to the player that doesn’t have as much control of every club in his/her bag by giving them, crazy enough, more control. Forgiveness and higher launch are also a part of the Chrome Soft package.
“This is a good example of how Seamless Tour Aero can benefit the golfer,” said Eric Loper, Sr. Golf Ball R&D Director. “We’ve increased the overall peak height to where it’s more optimized – we’re maximizing carry distance and total distance. Where other competitors are increasing their peak height maximizing only carry distance yet losing out on total distance.”
Chrome Soft player profile: A mid to low-handicap player that wants a golf ball to match their skillset without punishing off-center strikes. Wants to experience short-game precision.
The DetailsThe new Callaway Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, and Chrome Soft will be available beginning February 2nd and will retail for $54.99 per dozen. Triple Track, TruTrack, and yellow models will be available. For more information visit callawaygolf.com.