The Chrome Soft franchise has been a very successful one, being the first ball to make real genuine inroads into the premium ball market share, and winning multiple tour events along the way. So, even with the introduction of the new Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X balls, it was no surprise to see the Chrome Soft remain looking to cement its place amongst the best golf balls on the market.
From a technology standpoint the 2024 Chrome Soft features a new Hyperfast Soft core that has been designed to give as much speed as possible to the new Chrome Soft. Callaway says it has achieved this by using a new rubber system where a new base polymer has been combined with a mixture of other ingredients to create optimal compressions for speed.
The Chrome Soft also has a new softer urethane cover providing a softer feel for increased and more consistent spin profile.
From a testing perspective, I honestly couldn’t feel much of a difference between this ball and the previous iteration in terms of softness. Both feel buttery and have a distinctly muted audio that has made the Chrome Soft very popular for a long time.
What most interested me was seeing how the Chrome Soft stacked up against the new kids on the block, the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X. I also threw in my gamer the Titleist Pro V1x for good measure too.
With testing being conducted indoors on Trackman 4, I think it would be fair to say that the Chrome Soft stood its ground fairly well without necessarily excelling in the data comparisons. In terms of driver ball speed it was within 1 mph of the fastest ball in the test and achieved the same carry for me as the new Chrome Tour ball. Across all of the test clubs (driver, 7 iron and pitching wedge) it was in the top two spinniest balls and maintained its decent distance output throughout.
The Chrome Soft most definitely stood out as the softest-feeling ball of this test sample, which is something that appeals to me, but I do have a slight concern about where this ball is now positioned within the Callaway hierarchy. Whilst Callaway is saying that it sits alongside the Chrome Tour and Tour X, it seems pretty clear that the bulk of the tour usage will be around the two new balls, which is usually the real needle mover in terms of what sells well at retail, and as such potentially leaves the Chrome Soft in no-mans land.
Whilst it undoubtedly remains an excellent golf ball with a uniquely soft feel, when you have another couple of balls in the family that are retailing at the same price but have that tour validation, I feel that only the most ardent of Chrome Soft fans will stay loyal. For me, while not much has changed here in terms of feel or performance versus the prior version, it remains an excellent ball that performs at a high level from tee to green.
