65 replies to this topic

[G-Bone]

wooderson419, on 05 April 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

Great info guys! i have never been a real high spin player so i am wondering if i would be better using the tp5 or hex black to gain spin. I hope to get out soon and be able to test the hex chrome and tp3. i was just wondering if anyone else who maybe a lower spin player thinks of these two?

TP3 definitely has more approach spin than Chrome for me on full short iron and wedge shots.

[MRadix]

I havent tried the TP3 but the chrome is a great ball

[Rtallud]

A premium ball with hat pricetag? I really itching to give these a try.

[Go_Blue!]

Played tp3 earlier this year and like it...finally played the chrome today and DAYUM...that ball is nice. The feel is Amazing. Distance was equal to everything else with a penetrating trajectory but the kicker for me was the full wedge shot action...ball had nice movement to it. Lotta controllable action around greens....I can't wait for these to go on sale at end of year when new balls come out cuz ill by dozens....only this g I may want to see is how it produces in summer heat...it may get really marshmalloey.

[SwooshLT]

Not part of the OP's question but if you want spin add the 2012 B'stone 330 RX-S to your comparison list.....

[jonn443]

Go_Blue!, on 06 April 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

Played tp3 earlier this year and like it...finally played the chrome today and DAYUM...that ball is nice. The feel is Amazing. Distance was equal to everything else with a penetrating trajectory but the kicker for me was the full wedge shot action...ball had nice movement to it. Lotta controllable action around greens....I can't wait for these to go on sale at end of year when new balls come out cuz ill by dozens....only this g I may want to see is how it produces in summer heat...it may get really marshmalloey.

Soooo.. does that mean you like the Chrome better?

[Konklifer]

In limited testing, I prefer the TP3.  The Chrome is nice but it's urethane blend cover definitely feels more Surlyn to me.  The TP3 feels and performs like the Pro V1 for me at a much lower price point.   Glad I put my disdain for TM aside and tried this ball.

[enis750]

Played the chrome for a few rounds this yr
Compared it to a TP LDP blk, B330, and HEX blk

For me the LDP blk was a ball i played 3 yrs straight
Best spin, distance and wind performance
Until the chrome....

The wind almost has zero affect on it, it just bored right though it
As long or longer than the LDP blk
Not clicky on the putter
Greenside control (for very early conditions) is outstanding

In was worried about finding an LDP blk replacemnt.... Not anymore
Just bought a few doz of the chromes
Great ball for an even betr price

[Potatohead]

After reading this thread I picked up some TP3's today. I've been dabbling back and forth between the two ProV1 balls for some time. I prefer the regular ProV1 as I am not a super high spin player, and it flies a little lower. I like the original Penta but found it a touch short off the driver and it wouldn't bite hard on 30 - 60 yard pitches for me. Looking forward to the TP3, if it's basically a ProV1 with a couple more yards I will be ecstatic, even with this annoying seam.

Edited by Potatohead, 07 April 2012 - 09:01 PM.

[AV8OR]

According to the latest Golf Digest, Hex Chrome has higher spin rate than B330 ( just a tap), B330-RX, less than B330-RXS and B330S. It's also has the highest spin in the 25~36 bucks range. TM TP3 / TP5 didn't make it to the test though...

[thegrayman]

I played two Chrome's on an an empty Exec course yesterday. I found them to be extremely soft and spin moderately well, with more of a one hop stop than a spin back. Distance off the driver was comparable at 260 - 270 without much rollout (right around my average). The downside was that both balls had nice big scuffs after only nine holes, granted...this was perhaps more of an exaggerated round since there were a lot more full wedge shots on this little course - but the lack of durability was a big turn off.

[Go_Blue!]

jonn443, on 07 April 2012 - 04:42 PM, said:

Go_Blue!, on 06 April 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

Played tp3 earlier this year and like it...finally played the chrome today and DAYUM...that ball is nice. The feel is Amazing. Distance was equal to everything else with a penetrating trajectory but the kicker for me was the full wedge shot action...ball had nice movement to it. Lotta controllable action around greens....I can't wait for these to go on sale at end of year when new balls come out cuz ill by dozens....only this g I may want to see is how it produces in summer heat...it may get really marshmalloey.

Soooo.. does that mean you like the Chrome better?

Sorry...ya I do. It just seems the chrome has that unique feel and control around the green for me. My SS with driver is just under 110 so take it for what it is. I like softer balls with less spin, which is why I am one of the famed followers of the beloved tp red.

The b330 is right up there with the chrome this year for me.

[MarkCPA]

I've got in rounds with both the Hex Chrome and the TP3 here in the early going of the season. I'm a high spin player looking for a good "tweener" ball that's in the $35 price range. I have a step angle of attack and I'm a digger of the golf ball.  I want good distance off of the tee and less spin off of the driver without sacrificing green side performance.   Driver SS = 100 mph. Current index is 5.6. Strengths = short game and scrambling ability.  

I played the TP3 first and thought that was going to be my ball for the season. Coming off of a year of mostly playing the Callaway i(z) and reading some positive comments in a few of the golf magazines, I picked up a dozen of the Hex Chrome balls and got in a full round with it yesterday. This will be my ball for the season. Much like the TP3, the Hex Chrome is a high performance ball without the price tag. Both are freakishly durable.   Has there been some breakthrough in urethane covers that I missed where these newer urethane balls just don't shred to pieces in a few holes like the old ProVs or Callaway HX stuff did?  

These balls are really close in performance right across the board to me.  The only real thing I noticed different was I played some very firm greens yesterday and I got the Hex Chrome to check surprisingly quick on a few short sided L wedges that stood out and sold me.

I'm not sure you going to go wrong with either ball here.

Edited by MarkCPA, 16 April 2012 - 07:44 AM.

[Shadrach]

Most of the major ball manufacturers are offering urethane balls with softer cores for us with less-than-tour-pro swing speeds. My driver SS is about 90, so I thought I'd give these balls a look some day (I'm 63, in good shape, and have index=11). When the Chrome scored high on spin in GD's Hot List, I decided to buy a sleeve, and was immediately impressed with its flight off my driver.

Members here persuaded me to buy a sleeve of TP3s as well. Today, I went to my course to do a little testing. Air temp was only 46°F. I started by chipping and pitching with my 60° wedge this afternoon. These shots carry 16 and 25 yards, respectively, with a V1, the ball I currently play and the ball I used as "control" in today's testing. The results in this phase were very similar with all 3 balls. If forced, I'd say the V1 ran the least, the TP3 a hair more, and the Chrome a hair more still. I could easily live with any of the three.

After supper, I went back to the course and played a two hole loop twice. I was surprised by what happened. I hit 6 balls (2 of each) off driver and then 9 iron into the first hole, then driver and 4 wood into the second hole (I gathered the balls into a cluster at the appropriate distance for the second shots). Here is what happened: all the balls practically dropped on top of one another. Rollout on fairway and stop on green were virtually identical. The Chrome and TP3 feel softer than the V1, but not by oodles, but the Chrome *sounds* softer than the other two by a good margin. I recall reading somewhere that the sound of the strike often figures significantly into an amateur's assessment of a ball's softness, fwiw.

I'm going to inject the Chromes and TP3s one at a time into my bagfull of V1s to see whether they stand out on the random day they come from my bag. If today is any indication, they'll play softer but otherwise about the same. If that proves true, I'll keep using my extensive stash of V1s and wait for a BOGO sale at GG for Chromes or TP3s in a season or so.

[golfdad907]

I went from Tour iS and iZ, TP Red, Z-star, Tour iX to the Chrome.

I have 2 of them played 36 with and still clean up nicely.  I like the feel more than the Black, and spin almost the same (Black is more spinny, if you need it) but I can stop them on a dime (in TX, greens at good courses are pretty firm already).

If could get Black for 36/doz, not sure I would, as Chrome fits my 101 ss just fine.

Haven't played a better balls since LDP Red, and most 'revolutionary' since Titleist Professional and then the Pro V1 based on price, durabilty and performance.

Interesting to see how durable the Yellow will be, as ZStar yellow has a half-life of 100 holes it seems.

[Radagast]

Finished last year using the HX Diablo Tour. Thought I had settled on that ball for awhile, but I'm intrigued by all this talk about the HEX Chrome. Has anyone compared the the two?

If it matters, finished last season at a 11 handicap. Driver SS ~101-103.

Edited by Radagast, 24 April 2012 - 10:40 PM.

[hometeamdawg]

Radagast, on 24 April 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

Finished last year using the HX Diablo Tour. Thought I had settled on that ball for awhile, but I'm intrigued by all this talk about the HEX Chrome. Has anyone compared the the two?

If it matters, finished last season at a 11 handicap. Driver SS ~101-103.

Much better 50 yards-and-in control with the Chrome.

[Dat_Dude]

So am I summarizing this correctly?  The two balls are essentially the same in distance but the TP3 has more green side spin?

If that's the case why would anyone choose the Chrome over it?

[SDL]

Dat_Dude, on 25 April 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

So am I summarizing this correctly?  The two balls are essentially the same in distance but the TP3 has more green side spin?

If that's the case why would anyone choose the Chrome over it?

I play the Chrome and like it a lot.  I'm not sure that the Chrome and TP3 produce the same distance for everyone, so some may prefer the Chrome for distance.  They also differ in the amount of spin off the driver.  I haven't played the TP3, but I have played the TP5, and the TP5 is reported to spin less off the driver and long irons than the TP3 -- and I don't consider extra driver or long iron spin to be a good thing for me.  When I've compared the TP5 to the Chrome off driver, the Chrome is straighter (less side spin) and longer.  The main reason I haven't tried the TP3 is that I don't want a ball that has more driver spin than the TP5, which already spins too much for me off of longer clubs.

Regarding greenside spin, the Chrome is decent for my game and much better than the B330-RX I had been using.  I have also heard that the TP5 has better spin on partial chips/pitches than the TP3, which leads me to believe that the TP3 has more of a spin advantage on the longer clubs (where I don't want it) than on the shorter clubs on partial swings.

SDL

[Dat_Dude]

Thanks SDL.  I am thinking the Chrome may be the ball for me then.  I do not get enough spin with the B330-RX, which is my current gamer, and I got WAY TOO MUCH spin with the Maxfli U4 I bought to test out.  I backed that U4 up about 15 feet yesterday...and my ball mark was about 3 inches from the cup!  

[ceasterb]

crazygolfnut, on 28 March 2012 - 07:39 PM, said:

anyone have any actual spin rates from a monitor?

Look at this month's Golf Digest
There's a great ball comparioson in there with a chart showing spin rates.  Unfortunately,  TM balls were not included, but the Hx Chrome rated well and spinned right in between where a B330 RX and a B330RXS would.  It launched a bit higher than both.

[skaarsgard]

Dat_Dude, on 25 April 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

So am I summarizing this correctly?  The two balls are essentially the same in distance but the TP3 has more green side spin?

If that's the case why would anyone choose the Chrome over it?

earlier in this thread i gave a side-by-side comparison of the two balls and chose the Chrome for a few reasons but the turning point for me was the performance in the wind - the Chrome wasn't affected too much where the TP3 had issues with it.  the other very noticeable difference was the Chrome seemed easier to aim on full shots into the green - got less check back than the TP3.

[skaarsgard]

Dat_Dude, on 26 April 2012 - 08:47 AM, said:

Thanks SDL.  I am thinking the Chrome may be the ball for me then.  I do not get enough spin with the B330-RX, which is my current gamer, and I got WAY TOO MUCH spin with the Maxfli U4 I bought to test out.  I backed that U4 up about 15 feet yesterday...and my ball mark was about 3 inches from the cup!  

while still early in the season, i'd recommend trying out both the MaxFli U4x (for less spin) and the B330-RXS for more spin.   one of them may give you the performance you seek. however, i have a ton of time with the TP3, B330-RX and Chrome and the Chrome keeps on performing consistently and is likely to be my gamer.

[jonn443]

Anyone compare the TP3 to the Burner TP? Used the Burner yesterday and boy it is loooong and decent hop and stop on short irons...shot the best round of the year...81

BTW great wind ball!

Edited by jonn443, 26 April 2012 - 06:11 PM.

[MarkCPA]

I've waffled on this over the past few rounds going back to the TP3. While I can't say there's significant performance differences between these two balls - they are really close right across the board - I'm scoring better with the TP3. So, it's just one of those things that's gotten between my ears. I just don't see anyone going wrong with either ball.

[golfdad907]

ceasterb, on 26 April 2012 - 10:24 AM, said:

crazygolfnut, on 28 March 2012 - 07:39 PM, said:

anyone have any actual spin rates from a monitor?

Look at this month's Golf Digest
There's a great ball comparioson in there with a chart showing spin rates.  Unfortunately,  TM balls were not included, but the Hx Chrome rated well and spinned right in between where a B330 RX and a B330RXS would.  It launched a bit higher than both.

The likely didn't include the TM as they wouldn't have 'charted' very well.  Typical of these golf rags influenced by ad money.

[suwdawg]

Radagast, on 24 April 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

Finished last year using the HX Diablo Tour. Thought I had settled on that ball for awhile, but I'm intrigued by all this talk about the HEX Chrome. Has anyone compared the the two?

If it matters, finished last season at a 11 handicap. Driver SS ~101-103.

Yeah I have simliar ss and played first round this year with the chrome and played the diablo tour last year as well. Chrome is a nice ball played on a windy course and it held its line well like all cally balls.

Now to the comparison, as the other poster mentioned the chrome is better 50 yards and in and greenside. In the other areas I thought it was simliar and I played a few tours thru out the round to compare as well, my longest drive of the day however was with a tour off all the other clubs I though I had simliar distances and usually off the driver it was close. I did notice a little more driver spin with the chrome than the tour as well, especially when I wasnt swinging well. I do have some issues with driver spin (my swing) not the balls fault so could be an issue I'll continue to play the rest of the box and see how it goes.

Chrome is a good ball and for mid tier non urethane balls I still like the tour the best.

Edited by suwdawg, 27 April 2012 - 01:34 PM.

[Terp]

thegrayman, on 08 April 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

I played two Chrome's on an an empty Exec course yesterday. I found them to be extremely soft and spin moderately well, with more of a one hop stop than a spin back. Distance off the driver was comparable at 260 - 270 without much rollout (right around my average). The downside was that both balls had nice big scuffs after only nine holes, granted...this was perhaps more of an exaggerated round since there were a lot more full wedge shots on this little course - but the lack of durability was a big turn off.

My experience with the Hex Chrome is similar as far as performance. However, I found the Chrome to be very durable. I put a sleeve into play 2 weeks ago and lost a ball on my 70th hole. The ball was still playable. 90 holes played and the 2 remaining balls look as good as new. Going for 100 holes+ tomorrow.

[KDiz]

i played both the tp3 and chrome today trying to decide if one is better than the original TP i've been playing. both are nice and notice the chrome has more spin around the greens. the tp3 seems to be more durable. the sharpie line is all but gone after around 18 holes (9 from Thursday, roughly 9 today). sliced a drive and it hit a fence protecting the next hole's tee box and some grey metal color rubbed off onto the ball but is all but gone now. no scuffs, just color transfer. played 7 holes with the chrome pictured below and the sharpie is mostly there still. however, i noticed that the cover of the chrome was cracking just after a few holes. i've made scuff marks from wedge shots but have never seen this before. i'm guessing it's from my driver as it's in a symmetrical pattern. in the second picture, the smaller hex dimple (one that caught most of the flash) and the 5 larger hexes almost touching it are cracked. this ball has 2 spots like this. washing the ball makes it pretty much unnoticeable so i had to put some dirt on it to get it to show for the picture. it was pretty noticeable on the course before i washed it. this may sway me into using the tp3 but won't make a final decision until i play a few more rounds with both.

Edited by KDiz, 28 April 2012 - 07:49 PM.

[J_D]

TP3 is my Gamer right now, I still use Pro V's for my rounds with myself or with a buddy or two, but when it's a tournament or HS Match I'll use the TP3's but I'm not sure they'll make the bag for next years season, I might go back to Pro V1X but I'm not sure right now.. I hit some shots today that should have checked up alot faster than they did, but I'm not going to quit on them.