Is soft slow?

[PARETO]

Despite most ball reviews all stating that “soft is slow”, I’m curious who around here sees plenty of performance out of a softer ball. I’m a 103-105 guy speed wise with a driver but really like what I get from Tour Response. Z Star Diamond goes miles for me but I hate the feel. 
What say you? 

[Esage]

I'm right around the same speed and a big fan of the Bridgestone RXS.

[Fairways_and_Greens]

It is slower. Some softish feeling balls are quite firm, like the Tour BX. Scores and enjoyment matter more than speed. Soft balls usually spin less too. 

[Socrates]

The Tour Response is harder than the Soft Response, but less hard than the TP's.  Not a bad compromise.  I like the ball, but I prefer the AVX or the TP5.  If it is hot, it is the TP5 or TP5X or ProV1X.

 

Edit: Soft is generally slower for most people.

Edited September 19, 2024 by Socrates

[awtryau89]

9 hours ago, PARETO said:

Despite most ball reviews all stating that “soft is slow”, I’m curious who around here sees plenty of performance out of a softer ball. I’m a 103-105 guy speed wise with a driver but really like what I get from Tour Response. Z Star Diamond goes miles for me but I hate the feel. 
What say you? 

I'm right there with you. Probably top out at 106 if I swing out of my shoes. Most swings are 98-102 just cruising. I have played the Left Dash consistently for over 2 years. I just always was the best distance ball for me and worked so well in most other areas.. I went though a Titleist fitting for the GT and the fitter recommended I try the AVX. I am completely blown away. I have literally picked up 10-12 yards with the driver and a half club on the irons. I have playing partners that it is much shorter for them so it is swing dependent. It just goes against what is preached. A 77 compression ball is longer than a 102 compression ball. I know it probably is more about the aero package and spin than the compression but they all work in conjunction. I follow Ballnamic on X and they have recently been posting about aerodynamics and that they are the most important aspect of ball fitting.

[grochol17]

22 minutes ago, awtryau89 said:

I'm right there with you. Probably top out at 106 if I swing out of my shoes. Most swings are 98-102 just cruising. I have played the Left Dash consistently for over 2 years. I just always was the best distance ball for me and worked so well in most other areas.. I went though a Titleist fitting for the GT and the fitter recommended I try the AVX. I am completely blown away. I have literally picked up 10-12 yards with the driver and a half club on the irons. I have playing partners that it is much shorter for them so it is swing dependent. It just goes against what is preached. A 77 compression ball is longer than a 102 compression ball. I know it probably is more about the aero package and spin than the compression but they all work in conjunction. I follow Ballnamic on X and they have recently been posting about aerodynamics and that they are the most important aspect of ball fitting.

 

The part I bolded is the key thing... the left dash will give you more ball speed because it is a harder ball, but if the trajectory and spin don't match what you need, it'll be shorter overall.

Edited September 19, 2024 by grochol17

[erock9174]

I’m the opposite. I’m a slower swinger low spin low launch guy. 90 mph ish with driver. Low 70’s mph with 7i. For me the V1x is always the best when it comes to Titleist balls. I don’t mind the firmer feel. 

[hammergolf]

11 hours ago, PARETO said:

Despite most ball reviews all stating that “soft is slow”, I’m curious who around here sees plenty of performance out of a softer ball. I’m a 103-105 guy speed wise with a driver but really like what I get from Tour Response. Z Star Diamond goes miles for me but I hate the feel. 
What say you? 

While it is true that firmer balls have more speed, that’s only one factor of ball performance. For some depending on delivery the reduced spin from softer golf balls may give them more distance even though it has less ball speed. There are so many great golf balls on the market. It’s really just a matter of finding what works best for you and gives you the feel you want. 

[Archimedes65]

I play the Pro V1, but I got a sleeve of Tour Response balls in a tournament once and tried them out.  Seemed to go like a rocket, but felt like I was hitting a rubber super ball compared to the Pro V.  IIRC, they were actually just as long if not longer, but had less feel on the club face. No idea what my swing speed is, but my ball speed off the tee with range balls is in the low to mid 140s typically.

 

Edited September 19, 2024 by Archimedes65

[me05501]

2 hours ago, erock9174 said:

I’m the opposite. I’m a slower swinger low spin low launch guy. 90 mph ish with driver. Low 70’s mph with 7i. For me the V1x is always the best when it comes to Titleist balls. I don’t mind the firmer feel. 

 

Have you tried the AVX? 

[MGN01]

I generally will fail a ball if I cannot get the right 'feel' during putting.  I'm not a fast swing person and I game the Srixon QST currently.  I've tried the Z Star XV but thought it was a much harder feel than the QST.  The softer QST does provide me adequate distance and green side spin apart from good feel while putting.   

[bluedot]

If you look at the testing really carefully, the general rule is that a softer ball is a slower ball. That said, there are some variations, both with particular low compression balls, as well as at different swing speeds.  For the most part, the only good reason to buy a softer golf ball is that they tend to be a LOT cheaper.

 

But I just don’t think the distance differences ball to ball are especially significant anymore; all the manufacturers are working under the same USGA rules and the same laws of physics, and nobody would be able to sell a ball that was significantly shorter.

 

Really, what you have to decide is how much spin off irons you are willing to pay for, and then refine it down to a sound (feel) that you like.  The big difference is in golf balls isn’t distance anymore, or how straight they are in flight; the big difference is what happens when they hit the green because of the spin rate, and that’s really where  cheap balls tend to be lacking.

[Hat Trick]

I've played the V1X and now trying Chrome Soft and seem to hit the CS a bit longer (4-6 yards) depsite the ball being a softer ball... age 62, SS low 90s.

[GHIN n Juice]

I’m a 100ish SS off the driver guy and really bought into the softer is slower mantra so I played the Prov1x and Bstone BX for years.  Recently I went and bought sleeves of the more Callaway offerings and the Vice Pro+.  Pro at the shop is a Callaway guy so he threw in a sleeve of Chrome Soft just for me to try.  I’m glad he did.  The Chrome soft seems to be just as long off the entire bag with more spin.  The only adjustment I made was to drop my driver down 1 degree and so far things are great.  Unfortunately Callaway will probably do away with the Chrome soft now, but it was a good experiment.

[erock9174]

On 9/19/2024 at 1:48 PM, me05501 said:

 

Have you tried the AVX? 

Yeah too low launch and low spin for me. 

[awtryau89]

18 hours ago, erock9174 said:

Yeah too low launch and low spin for me. 

The AVX is really weird like that. For me, I actually hit the ball higher than the Left Dash. Not sure why but again to my previous post, I see things with the AVX that I'm not supposed to see and its working.

[erock9174]

31 minutes ago, awtryau89 said:

The AVX is really weird like that. For me, I actually hit the ball higher than the Left Dash. Not sure why but again to my previous post, I see things with the AVX that I'm not supposed to see and its working.

My buddy just did a test with an AVX and V1x on his GC2 and for him the AVX flew higher and high higher launch angle too. 

[RolandofGilead]

On 9/18/2024 at 10:08 PM, PARETO said:

I’m curious who around here sees plenty of performance out of a softer ball.

I play the Maxfli Tour S “even though” my swing speed numbers are 110 with driver and 91 with 7i. I tried it against the Tour and liked the softer feel off of putter and driver enough to sacrifice some distance. I hit the ball high and far enough to the point where chasing distance would make my local courses a real wedge fest.

[Mookie91]

Driver SS around 100 and have been playing Left Dash for a few years.  Curious as to the opinions in here on a softer tour tier ball.  I love everything about the Left Dash but the clicky feel from the putter…HELP!!!

[awtryau89]

On 10/8/2024 at 8:42 AM, Mookie91 said:

Driver SS around 100 and have been playing Left Dash for a few years.  Curious as to the opinions in here on a softer tour tier ball.  I love everything about the Left Dash but the clicky feel from the putter…HELP!!!

I’ll continue to play the LD in hotter weather but the AVX in the winter. My comments above still remain constant but the short game performance of the LD is better overall. In the winter, any separation in long game is negated and the short game too because our greens stay so soft. 

[Pepperturbo]

I've tried soft balls.  They go far, but don't talk at impact, just feel like mush.  The softest in my bag is AVX, mostly used for ugly or colder weather. 

 

The AVX has been replaced with Callaway's Chrome Tour.  Maybe some of the change was motivated by Titleist changing the composition of AVX and downgrading it.  That's not to say I can't smack long it confirms I can't feel the ball at impact.

Edited October 10, 2024 by Pepperturbo
Updated

[AusGolf22]

On 9/26/2024 at 2:26 AM, erock9174 said:

My buddy just did a test with an AVX and V1x on his GC2 and for him the AVX flew higher and high higher launch angle too. 

I'm sure I've seen other comparisons with similar results, eg. Cally Chrome Tour launches/flies higher than the higher spinning Chrome Tour X. I'm helping my father with his game currently, and reading plenty on ball recs for slow/low/low players. I assumed a V1X might solve all issues, but I think I'll buy some AVX for him!