Equipment
TaylorMade launches ultra-low compression Tour Response and Soft Response golf balls
TaylorMade Golf has introduced its new Tour Response and Soft Response golf balls – both of which feature an ultra-low compression.
The Tour Response ball contains a soft 100% cast urethane cover designed to allow grooves to better grip the ball for increased wedge spin. At the same time, a crosslinking chemical reaction forms the urethane material and creates an irreversible link in a bid to provide for improved shear resistance and maximum durability.
The new addition is the first non-Tour ball to offer this 100% urethane cover from a major manufacturer. Per the company, the use of a urethane cover also aims to provide golfers with effortless compression and Tour-quality performance at an affordable price.
Speaking on the new Tour Response ball, Eric Loper, TaylorMade Director of R&D, Golf Ball stated
“Urethane is simply the best performing cover material you can use on a golf ball. That’s why it’s found on 100% of the balls used on the PGA Tour. It’s that good. We’re bringing that same innovation to our Tour Response line – essentially making a softer version of our TP5/TP5x that utilizes multiple Tour technologies.”
The Tour Response from TaylorMade contains an ultra low-compression of 40 and features the same technologies found in their TP5/TP5x pix balls. The brand’s Speedmantle with HFMq aims to produce faster ball speeds while the firmer second layer of the ball surrounds the soft inner core in a construction designed to deliver an explosive transfer of energy.
In the brand’s new Soft Response, the company utilized a specialized Extended Flight Dimple Pattern in a bid to protect distance in a softer golf ball. The shallow u-shaped dimples are designed to promote decreased drag and increased lift, ultimately allowing the ball to stay in the air longer at a lower spin rate.
Aimed at players who possess average swing speeds and who struggle to keep the ball airborne, the Soft Response balls contains a soft ionomer cover.
The soft ionomer cover aims to add to the feel of Soft Response, but also provide improved scuff-resistance, shear resistance and overall durability.
Equipped with an ultra-low compression ZnO Flex Core (a compression of 35), Soft Response is designed to meet the needs of golfers seeking an extremely soft feel without diminishing distance.
On the new Soft Response, Loper said
“Soft Response is a multi-layer golf ball designed for even softer feel, and with our new Extended Flight Dimple Pattern the player can obtain explosive distance.”
TaylorMade’s Tour Response arrives in white and yellow, while Soft Response will be available in white, yellow and matte red.
Tour Response ($35/dozen) and Soft Response ($25/dozen) will be available at retail on 2/28/2020.
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- Pavon’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 Max (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Ping i230 (3-PW)
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: Ping Si59 (52-12S, 58-8B)
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Ping Cadence TR Tomcat C
Grip: SuperStroke Claw 1.0P
Grips: Golf Pride MCC Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Pavon’s gear here.
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Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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We enter week 4 of Thursday night men’s league feeling a little more confident in the game. BK is hoping to go a little lower and reduce the mistakes out there with these clubs in the bag. Watch the video for the full breakdown of why these clubs are getting the starting nod this week!
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 63 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Blue 7F5
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (-1 degree, flat Ssetting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 S
Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi 4
Shaft: Aerotech Steelfiber hls880 S
Irons: PXG 0317 Tour (5-PW)
Shaft: LA Golf A-Series 105 Low (4)
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50-08F)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F4 Wedge
Wedge: Ping S159 (56-10H)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Wedge: Ping S159 (60-08B)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Brandon
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Spec One
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
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Christher
May 22, 2020 at 1:42 pm
How does this compae to the Bridgestone Tour B XS ball?
Kevin Ricciardelli
Feb 4, 2020 at 7:22 am
As Dean Snell has said: soft = slow.
Bushwood Caddie
Feb 3, 2020 at 9:20 pm
This is their replacement for the project (a). I like the project ball will definitely try this one out.
chisag
Feb 3, 2020 at 2:31 pm
… I am a fan of marketing getting our attention because it provides information that gets us in the ball park for any given product. It is obviously then up to us to explore further and find what works best. So I rarely point a finger at any OEM for engaging in misleading hype. But Taylor Made has gone off the rails with this one.
“Utilizing a technology similar to the hottest Tour ball in golf (TP5/TP5x), the 3-piece Tour Response ball is designed to deliver fast ball speeds.”
… You just can’t get more misleading than this claim. A 3 piece ball with a soft 40 compression core has almost zero in common with a 5 piece ball with a firmer core.
Michael
Feb 3, 2020 at 9:34 pm
What is misleading about The statement ““Utilizing a technology similar to the hottest Tour ball in golf (TP5/TP5x), the 3-piece Tour Response ball is designed to deliver fast ball speeds”? You have actual knowledge or proof they didn’t utilize a similar technology or design the ball as they said? I don’t think so.
Gunter Eisenberg
Feb 3, 2020 at 10:29 am
35 Compression? That is soft. Any softer you would put it on a stick and roast it over a campfire.