In the world of golf balls, no brand name carries the weight Titleist does. Whether we are discussing the legendary Pro V1 family or their more value driven offerings, they have used innovation as well as performance to build and back up the brand’s reputation. Sitting in the middle of that lineup spectrum is the Tour Soft, a golf ball which is designed to bridge the gap between premium feel and everyday playability, all while living up to the consistency expected from a product carrying the Titleist script.
As always however, the intent and promises that are put on paper are fun to dive into, but it is the performance which makes or breaks a release. Fortunately, THP Community Testing exists for the very reason of putting products through their paces across various abilities and skills within real world environments.
Over multiple weeks of play, eight members of the THP Community were provided the Titleist Tour Soft golf balls in order to put them to the test. Across all conditions and scenarios, it was their job to find out if Titleist has managed to carve out a space in the middle of the golf ball segment with the Tour Soft.
While you can see all of their feedback and testing within the Tour Soft thread, we also asked each participant to distill their experiences into a one shot breakdown which you can read below:
Ghostbeezy – THP Forum Member – 12 Handicap
I have to be totally transparent, I did not expect this ball to overtake my Srixon in terms of a ball that feels comfortable to me. The distance has been impeccable for my skillset, and the ball feels almost as if it pops off the face. The ball gives tangible feedback allowing you to feel the slice and hook of a shot, but you can still see this ball was made with the middle skillsets in mind.
You’ll find it doesn’t rip sideways like the standard golf ball. Some golf balls are made for force, and they fly like it, aggressive, direct, you can hear them sail. The Tour Soft has an elegance to it, the kind of whistle you expect from a Tour ball, without all of the terrors of hitting a ball that requires that deft touch.
Since it launches high, I found myself having to go at pins a bit more and challenging my game. Where I’d lay a ball to run previously, when approaching with the Tour Soft I would come in a little steeper, allowing for a checkup and stop, which is something I didn’t fully have in my game before.
Ironically, the first time I broke 80 with was with a ball from this test. It is the most consistent ball to ball experience I’ve had.
Will – THP Forum Member – 13 Handicap
The Tour Soft is just a good golf ball that really does everything well and nothing poorly. It’s on the firmer side for being labeled a “soft” ball but still feels great. Distance has been consistently good, and it has a high ball flight that really suits my game. That height, along with impressive spin for a 2 piece ionomer ball, makes it super easy to hold greens.
Does it spin like a urethane ball? No, but that gap isn’t as wide as you might expect. It does surprisingly well around the greens, and I’ve made no real adjustments to how I approach short game shots, despite previously playing urethane balls.
Titleist has done an excellent job of squeezing as much performance as possible out of the Tour Soft and it’s a legitimate competitor to anything in its price range. Add in one of the best alignment aids on the market and the option for the AIM360 aid and this has the potential to be my new gamer.
JimmyDee – THP Forum Member – 9 Handicap
After 4 weeks of in-depth testing the Titleist Tour Soft (TS) golf ball, the review for me ended in the same way it began. From the get-go it was consistent from ball to ball in every one of its attributes. The TS ball quickly demonstrated its strengths like bulletproof durability, wind-cutting flight and being long and straight. All in a lower cost package.
Including “Soft” in the naming of this ball was not a misnomer. Off the face from woods to irons the feel was soft, not in a negative way, but just a different one. I was afraid that performance would be impacted by the softer feel, but in reality, I felt that there was no apparent difference due to the softer feel of the ball.
Overall compared to its big brother the ProV1, the Tour Soft ball demonstrated slightly less spin on approach shots into the green but in experience really didn’t impact scores. For the everyday golfer when compared to the ProV1, the Tour Soft’s 36% price advantage is a huge plus. The average golfer won’t be disappointed with the Tour Soft’s performance. It lives up to the Titleist standards of performance and delivery.
JHolt – THP Forum Member – 14 Handicap
The Titleist Tour Soft is a two piece ionomer ball which I found feels great off of all clubs, with no negatives to mention. It straddles a middle ground of being not too soft and not too hard, which is difficult to do.
After multiple rounds with the Tour Soft, the overall distance for all clubs was similar to the Volvik XT Soft and Pro V1 for my game. On approach shots the ball holds the greens just fine and it’s easy to adapt to any rollout. With gained chipping experience I didn’t feel I had to play it really any differently than the other two options. That is, any adjustment I had to make based on spin differences between balls was fairly minimal and easy to do.
On greens the Tour Soft shines. It behaved just as predictably and as well as the 3-piece urethane balls. The Tour Soft is a very durable ball, and you’ll probably lose it before it gets too banged up to play.
In sum, the Titleist Tour Soft is an excellent two piece ionomer golf ball that surprisingly holds its own against three piece urethane balls. It performs well in all areas, but the big question is its $40 per dozen cost. At that price point it’s up against a fair number of high quality three piece urethane balls. Having said that, the Tour Soft golf ball punches well above its weight so you won’t go wrong if you choose it.
In my opinion the ball outperforms the two-piece competition and even much of the three-piece ball market.
cmon man – THP Forum Member – 13 Handicap
The Tour Soft delivers on the Titleist promises in driver distance, straight flight, green side spin, and other performance attributes. I love the feel from driver to putter, and although it is deemed a “soft” ball it seems more “firm” to intermediate.
The Tour Soft shines off the tee as I was seeing solidly struck drives achieving distances rivaling the Pro V1 series, and well beyond other “soft” ball offerings. The ball also launched and flew higher than I thought it might, yet still flew consistent distances through my entire set. Tour Soft also seemed to fly straighter with less side spin, which helps accuracy.
Green side spin is advertised as dependable, and that is 100% true. The Tour Soft does not spin as much on wedge shots as premium three-piece balls, but it still handles that task pretty well. Most golfers will never notice much of a difference, and it still spins better than the competition. The firm feel is very pleasing, and you have a good amount of feedback off the putter.
The Titleist Tour Soft is a very good ball! It excels in feel off of all clubs, being on the firm side of soft.
In playing the ball for numerous rounds, I consistently hit the distances I expect, and in the launch window I’m used to seeing. Side spin seemed to be pretty minimal and the ball really does like to go straight, only moving way off line on those swings you wish you could do over.
Back spin is pretty good for a two-piece Ionomer cover ball, maybe the best I’ve played, but it is not in the same class as the three-piece Urethane balls that can be found at the same price point. On approach shots it depends more on descent angle than spin to control rollout, rarely ending up as near the ball mark as a Urethane option for me.
OldeDude – THP Forum Member – 17 Handicap
FKN3PUT – THP Forum Member – 19 Handicap
In testing, the Tour Soft was a very durable golf ball which has a good firm feel with driver and irons and a nice “click” with the putter. The alignment aid design certainly comes in handy on the greens and was surprisingly useful off of the tee as well.
All in all, I saw a nice amount of spin around the greens which allowed me to maintain good stopping power to keep it near the hole. The Titleist Tour Soft is a very competitive ball in its price range.
JW Smoove – THP Forum Member
14 Handicap
The Titleist Tour Soft golf ball really wants to go straight. During testing I saw good swings go further than I was used to and even saw poor strikes travel further than expected.
As a bonus, for me, a golfer who used to loathe alignment aids, the “T” has really helped me a lot, on the tee and the green.
The Titleist Tour Soft was a really pleasant surprise. Not to mention, barring any cart paths or trees, it held up much better than just about any ball I’ve played in the last year or more.
This wraps up our Titleist Tour Soft forum testing. I encourage you to head over to our forum thread to read more detailed feedback if these testers sparked your interest in the Titleist Tour Soft. Of course, if you want to purchase right now you can head over to Titleist.com where they even offer customization and get yours today.
