Titleist Tour Speed Vs Pro V1
Titleist has just released the Tour Speed golf ball and they are making some very bold claims indeed.
Titleist is stating that the ball speed produced from the Tour Speed is faster than the Srixson Z Star, Callaway Chrome Soft and the Taylormade Tour Response.
From the first look, the Tour Speed does not look like a premium golf ball, the white has a shinier texture than say the Titleist Pro V1.
The writing on the golf ball is also bolder like what is on the Velocity. So from the first look, it does not seem as premium at the Pro V1 range of golf balls.
What Does Titleist Say about the Tour Speed?
Titleist is stating that the Tour Speed has multilayers with a thermoplastic urethane cover. They state that the golf ball should go longer while maintaining short game feel.
Performance of the Titleist Tour Speed
So when I hit this ball, it felt harder than the top of the range Titleist balls such as the Pro V1.
When hitting the Tour Speed into the greens there was more control than I expected and I managed to stop the ball.
It felt a little clicky off the face, but besides that performed well.
One thing I did notice is the cover seemed to cut up more than a ProV1 which I was surprised at.
Playability around the greens
Before hitting the golf ball I didn’t give it much hope and believed it would perform pretty badly, which when chipping the Tour Speed, it did perform a lot better than expected.
I was able to control the golf ball on the green, but I didn’t feel as confident as I would play the more premium Titleist balls.
The only overriding feeling was how clicky the golf ball felt off the face of the golf club.
Verdict
So, would I pay a little less for the performance and the playability of the Titleist Tour Speed? The answer would be a resounding no for me.
The Titleist Tour Speed was better than expected, but I really do not understand why they have brought this golf ball out.
They already have the Tour Soft and Velocity targeting the mid-range market and the Pro V1, V1x and AVX are catering for the premium end of the ranges so I am a little confused as to what they are trying to gain.
In the future, I would like to test the performance against the golf balls that Titleist are stating this ball out performs, but from my personal point of view, I would definitely prefer to game the Srixson Z Star and Chrome Soft over this golf ball.
