The Titleist NXT Tour S ball first came out in 2012 following testing for that year's NXT golf ball during which golfers said that they liked the NXT Tour, but could they also have the softer version they were trialing.
Four years later and Titleist has refined the offering further and the 2016 version keeps the two piece construction, but now has a lower compression core in the same 1.585 inch diameter size.
This is what sets it apart from the 3-piece Titleist NXT Tour ball as the two piece design and lower compression makes it feel softer on and around the greens.
Softness can be created and defined in lots of ways as I found out during my golf ball interview with Titleist's Matt Hogge.
It can also come from the make up of the core or the depth and type of material used in the cover. The NXT Tour S has the same 302 dimple Fusablend cover as it's sister ball, so really the difference is just in the feel.
The ionomer based Fusablend cover is made by Titleist in house and is pretty durable in general play and an excellent alternative to the thermoplastic urethane covers usually found on soft compression balls in this category.
Not surprisingly it did sound and feel softer on and around the greens than the NXT Tour, but performance wise with a full wedge it was spinning less and only a couple of yards behind in carry.
Even with a driver the results on SkyTrak were as claimed on the box, with the NXT Tour just edging it in terms of distance, but with that firmer feel.
However this is all at my swing speed with a driver which is probably a bit too high for a ball of this compression. If your swing speed is around 90mph or less then a softer ball like the NXT Tour or NXT Tour S is going to be a cheaper alternative Pro V1.
With the NXT Tour S you also have the option of getting that performance in a softer feel than NXT Tour, but in a ball that feels a little better to putt and chip with than the DT TruSoft or Velocity which are the other soft balls in Titleist's range.