Callaway have re-worked their golf ball lineup for 2024 in an attempt to improve their reputation at the top end of the market, both with amateur golfers and tour pros.
They have raised their game this year in order to produce a new four-piece Chrome Tour line, which they describe as the "best ball in the world", with the Chrome Soft sitting alongside as a three-piece, slightly lower compression option that may be more suited to the everyday golfer.
Watch Georgina's review of the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X here:
This year's Chrome Soft has an updated look and features enhanced to the core, mantle and cover which is said to deliver better performance and faster ball speeds.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Whilst the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X are the balls that you are more likely to see used by Callaway's Tour players, the Chrome Soft still provides that option for golfers seeking top of the range performance but with a softer feel than most.
The Chrome Soft has a relatively low spin rate too, if that is something that you struggle with, whilst a range of different colours and alignment options make it perfect for golfers who like a bit of extra visual feedback from their ball on the course.
The Tech
One of the keys to Callaway's new ball lineup is improvements in ball speeds, and with the Chrome Soft this comes in the form of a new Hyper Fast Soft Core, with an entirely new rubber system which helps to produce the targeted compression and material properties for each ball, providing more ball speed across the range.
A new Seamless Tour Aero design sees a unique design for each ball to match the launch characteristics, for a more consistent and accurate flight window from impact to landing. Callaway says that in the Chrome Soft this means a consistently high ball flight, with low spin.
A Tour Urethane Soft Cover creates a softer feel for increased and more consistent spin, giving you more bite on shorter shots around the green.
The balls also benefit from what Callaway are calling Precision Technology, where they go through over 100 million proof points during the manufacturing process in order to ensure the most consistent performance possible.
As well as a standard White or Yellow finish, Callaway also offers the Chrome Soft ball with Triple Track, TruTrack and Truvis technology.
I tested the ball with TruTrack, which is said to provide a combination of both TruVis and Triple Track for better roll feedback, visible spin, and alignment. The hexagonal pattern comes in a new multi-coloured design which is said to make it even easier to see the ball reacting to your shots.
Callaway Chrome Soft 2024 Golf Ball Review
Looks and Feel
As you can see from the images in this review, I tested the new Chrome Soft in the yellow TruTrack model. This won't be for everyone, and Callaway offer a host of different colours and patterns as well as just a plain white if you prefer to keep things simple.
Whilst I don't usually tend to use yellow balls, I do find that the TruTrack technology can be quite a helpful aid particularly around the green, when you can get a bit of extra visual feedback on your chips and putts. At this time of year, when preferred lies are in place, you can also position the ball so that the lines are aiming towards the hole on your approach shots which is a handy benefit.
There's also a slightly updated design on the side-stamp, with new arrows added next to the Chrome Soft lettering, as well as a slightly different font which looks a little cleaner in my opinion.
The ball looks and feels good, with the same typical soft feel that you get from a Chrome Soft ball that does feel great off the face, and especially around the greens for me.
I have also always been a fan of the softer, quieter sound that the ball produces too. I prefer my golf clubs to have more of a muted feel and sound and this is the same with the ball, for me it just makes everything feel a little more premium and more controlled.
Performance
I tested the new Chrome Soft balls on the Foresight GCHawk at Hukd Golf against my Titleist ProV1 ball.
I have used Chrome Soft balls in the past and I really enjoyed using them, and testing out the latest version of that ball only reinforced that memory as the numbers produced were really impressive.
As Callaway suggested you are going to see some slightly lower spin numbers, and both the spin rates with the 7 iron and the driver were a few hundred rpm lower with the Chrome Soft than with the Pro V1. I was reassured to see that with the 100 yard wedge shot the spin rates were still similar though, so you're not losing out at the bottom end of the bag.
My ball speeds were pretty consistent throughout the test with the two balls, as were the carry distances, although I did see one drive with the Chrome Soft at 257 yards carry which was my longest in the test and right at the top end of what I can produce which was impressive.
Out on the course, I found that the Chrome Soft was almost identical in its performance compared to the Pro V1, with the ball flight and distances produced both being extremely similar.
I did find that the Chrome Soft felt softer around the greens, which I preferred, and the this seemed to encourage me to be a bit more aggressive on my pitches and chip shots which led to me generating a bit more spin at times.
This soft feel did impact my putting a little bit though, which is something that I found when I used the ball a few years ago. I tended to miss more putts short than usual, perhaps because I was using the soft ball alongside my own putter which has a milled face insert.
This is something that you should bear in mind if you also have a putter with a soft insert, as it may take you a bit of time to get used to.
I also enjoyed using the TruTrack technology whilst hitting shorter shots around the greens, as it's useful to see how the ball reacts off the face and when it hits the green.
Obviously it's not going to be for everyone, and if I was playing more serious golf I think I'd rather just keep it simple with a plain white ball, but you could almost use the TruTrack as a training aid to learn more about your own patterns when chipping and putting.
Callaway Chrome Soft 2024 Golf Ball Verdict
The Chrome Soft has been one of the most popular balls among golfers for a number of years now as it performs really well and offers that soft feel that lots of us crave.
The latest update to the line is just as impressive as usual, and produced some of my best numbers when compared head to head against the Titleist Pro V1.
On the downside, it has a price tag of £55 which I think is pretty steep this year, especially when you consider that Callaway have also brought in the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X which are supposed to be their Tour-level ball.
The Chrome Soft is probably more of an 'aspirational golfers' ball, but if it's the same price as the Chrome Tour models then are people still going to bother buying it?
The TruTrack technology is not for everyone but I did enjoy using it. If you've not tried this kind of visual technology on a golf ball before then it's well worth a go.
Would I Use It?
If it was my money then I think I would struggle to justify £55 for a dozen, particularly if the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X come with the same price tag.
Having said that, the performance was as good, if not better, than the Pro V1 for me so I would definitely be tempted to give them another go, even if it meant I'd need to do a bit more putting practice with them first!
Callaway Chrome Soft 2024 Golf Ball Pros and Cons
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