Golf Balls – Page 9 – Syndication Server

Titleist Tour Soft golf ball (2020)

The second version of the Titleist Tour provides more distance off the tee and control around the green while maintaining soft feel.

Gear: Titleist Tour Soft golf ball (2020)
Price: $34.99 per dozen
Specs: Two-piece, Surlyn-covered ball. Available in white and yellow.
Available: Jan. 22

Titleist debuted its first Tour Soft golf balls in 2018 to replace the NXT Tour and NXT Tour S in the company’s stable. According to the company, golfers who bought the Tour Soft liked the soft feel at impact and the distance produced with their irons.

Still, company research showed that if there were areas where players wanted to see improvement, it was distance off the tee and control around the greens. For 2020, with the release of the updated Tour Soft balls, Titleist made a point to address those two areas.

The spherically-tiled 342 cuboctahedron dimple pattern has not changed for 2020, but the edges and depth of the dimples were modified slightly and the Surlyn blend used to make the cover is subtly firmer. As a result, the Tour Soft now has a lower, more penetrating trajectory.

The ball also should deliver more greenside spin because the cover is thinner, so the grooves in wedges and short irons can bite into it and generate spin more effectively.

Titleist Tour Soft balls — The Tour Soft has a bigger core plus a new side stamp and alignment aid. (Titleist)

To make the ball longer off the tee, the core has been enlarged to 1.61 inches in diameter (by rule, balls cannot be smaller than 1.68 inches in diameter including the cover). It’s the largest core found in any Titleist ball, and the company said it delivers more speed off the tee and with long irons. The softness of the core also helps offset the slightly firmer cover material, so the ball still feels soft at impact.

Finally, Titleist gave the Tour Soft a new side stamp, modeling it after a popular custom offering the company had made available online. The perpendicular lines are designed to boldly stand out against the white and yellow balls and make it easier for golfers to align putts and square their putter at address.

Titleist Velocity golf ball (2020)

The fifth-generation Velocity is still long off the tee, but now it has more stopping power on approach shots.

Gear: Titleist Velocity golf ball (2020)
Price: $27.99 per dozen
Specs: Two-piece, Surlyn-covered ball. Available in white, matte green, matte orange and matte pink.
Available: Jan. 22

There is nothing subtle about the updated Titleist Velocity golf balls. They are an unabashed attempt by the Fairhaven, Mass.-based company to help golfers who want more distance off the tee and more style in their game. However, after conducting research and gathering feedback from Velocity players, Titleist has added more stopping power on approach shots.

To help golfers add yards off the tee, the fifth-generation Velocity has been designed with a slightly larger core for more speed. It also has an updated cover pattern. The tiled 350-dimple octahedral pattern was developed to give the ball more lift. Coupled with the larger core, that should aid in creating more carry distance with the driver.

The added lift also will help golfers hit their long irons and hybrids higher, which means those shots should come down on a steeper angle and stop faster after landing.

For 2020, Velocity is available in white, matte green, matte orange and matte pink. The white and pink balls are available with single-digit numbers (1-4), while the green and orange balls are available in double-digit numbers (00, 11, 22, 33).

Wilson Staff DUO+ golf balls

The Wilson Staff DUO+ golf balls combine a new core with low compression to provide golfers with more distance and softer feel.

Gear: Wilson Staff DUO+ golf balls
Price: $19.99 per dozen
Specs: 36-compression, two-piece ball with Surlyn cover
Available: Jan. 27

Wilson has made some of the lowest-compression, softest-feeling golf balls for several seasons, and for 2020 the Chicago-based company has released another: the Staff DUO+ Soft.

The Staff DUO+ Soft is a two-piece ball designed to provide golfers with more distance thanks to its new VelocitiCor, a new core formulation. The company said it helps the Staff DUO+ Soft produce 1 to 1.5 mph more ball speed, which translates to about 4 to 6 more yards of distance.

Wilson Staff DUO+ golf balls — The Staff DUO+ Soft has a new core formulation to provide more distance. (Wilson)

Wilson also said the Staff DUO+ Soft is the lowest-spinning two-piece ball on the market. That could make it ideally suited for golfers who battle a slice or a hook because lower overall spin should translate to decreased sidespin and straighter shots.

While the Staff DUO+ Soft does not produce as much greenside spin as other Wilson offerings, it does produce a higher launch angle off irons and wedges, so approach shots should come down with a more vertical angle of descent, which will add stopping power.

Srixon Q-Star golf balls (2020)

The third generation of the Q-Star balls have been given a new core designed to provide more distance off the tee with soft feel.

Gear: Srixon Q-Star golf balls
Price: $32.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball available in white and yellow
Available: Jan. 17

This is the third generation of the Q-Star ball, and thanks to the addition of a new core design, Srixon said it is the best performing yet.

Last year the company debuted the FastLayer core in its Z-Star and Z-Star XV balls, premium offerings used on the PGA Tour by golfers such as Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley and 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry. Now that core design has been added to the Q-Star.

The FastLayer core in the Q-Star is soft in the center and gradually grows firmer toward the outer areas. While many balls have a single or a dual-core design, Srixon said the FastLayer core is like having thousands of layers, giving golfers a softer feel at impact with better energy transfer for more distance.

The Q-Star’s urethane cover features an aerodynamic 338-dimple pattern that the company said helps make the ball more stable in windy conditions. At the same time, the urethane should help golfers generate more spin and enhance feel around the green. It is complemented by a SpinSkin coating that helps short iron and wedge grooves grab the ball more effectively for increased spin.