Titleist Tour Speed Golf Ball Review

For some golfers the new Titleist Tour Speed golf balls will be close to or even better performing than the Pro V1 or AVX.  Yes, you read that correctly.  And at an even lower price comparatively, Tour Speed is going to be incredibly appealing.

Tour Speed is not a replacement for Pro V1 or AVX, and honestly I'm not sure where Tour Speed fits in the Titleist line up.  In some ways Tour Speed will be a better ball for certain kinds of performance.  In other ways, the Pro V and AVX line-up remains king.  I've played and tested Tour Speed for about a month now, and here's how they all stack up on a variety of tee-to-green shots.

The first thing you notice about Tour Speed is it's a long ball off the tee.  You're likely going to see at least as much distance as Pro V1 or AVX, with similar trajectory.  And a handful of times Tour Speed was the longest ball for me of the three.

Titleist isn't calling Tour Speed a pure distance ball, but you can't help but compare it to the low spin easy distance of a Tour Soft.  Tour Speed is low spin off the driver, straightest of the bunch, and a little lower in flight than Pro V1 but a little higher in flight than AVX.  Tour Speed is a soft feeling ball overall, but feels firmer than both Pro V1 and AVX with driver.

I suspect the biggest distance gains off the tee will be for players with swing speeds of around 100 mph or less.  Not the most scientific of tests here now, but when I put more casual (slower) swings on each of the balls, that's when I saw the largest distance gains with Tour Speed compared to Pro V1 and AVX.

Results with irons were somewhat surprising given what I saw with driver.  Tour Speed actually flights higher than both Pro V1 and AVX.  This will likely mean more distance for some with slower swing speeds or lower launches, but less distance for those with higher speeds or higher launches.  Also worth mentioning, when I stepped on full irons harder the Tour Speed seemed to just go higher but not longer.  Granted, it's not often you put everything you have into an iron swing, but for those times you do Pro V1 and AVX are better.

On shots 150-yards and in Tour Speed did a good job of not rolling too far from ball marks (where they initially hit the green), but comparatively Pro V1 and AVX ended up closer to those marks (most of the time) by about a few yards.  For the best players in the world this is significant.  For everyday players like myself it's still plenty good enough.  And although this next comparison is a bit of apples to oranges, Tour Speed does have more bite and less roll-out than Tour Soft on these types of shots.

 

With all that said (and maybe most importantly), even with more roll-out than Pro V1 and AVX, Tour Speed balls were consistent in cluster.  And this is why I'd consider Tour Speed to still be a Tour or at least Tour-ish kind of ball.  You want consistency more than anything else on full approach shots, and Tour Speed delivers great control in that regard.

As good as Tour Speed was from 150-yards and in, they were even better from 75-yards and in, on half-swings, and on chips.  This surprised me a bit as I expected spin and check would be more similar to Pro V1 and AVX on full swings from farther away (faster swing is going to generate more spin after all).

Pitches and chips with Tour Speed don't produce world class spin, but they check up very nicely and compare most favorably to Pro V1 and AVX on these types of shots (both low and high trajectory shots).  Also in terms of feel, Tour Speed feels comparably softer like Pro V1 and AVX on pitches and chips (and putting), than it does for long irons shots and with driver (though you don't get the same grip sensation with Tour Speed off your wedges like you do with Pro V1 and AVX).

And speaking of wedges, Tour Speed durability is not an issue, but it does scuff easier than Pro V1 and AVX.  They're minor abrasions that you'll likely only see if you play the same ball for an entire round, but still have to point that out.

 

Feel in putting is not as firm as Pro V1x but not quite as soft as Pro V1 or AVX.  There's no click sound like other mid-range priced balls despite having a harder cover than Pro V1 and AVX.  But unlike many distance balls, there's also no rubbery feel to Tour Speed when putting.  Distance control is just as good as Pro V1 and AVX, it's really a matter of adjusting to a different feel, but still one that gives you great feedback.

I think ideally Tour Speed is a great ball for someone who wants more distance and straighter shots off the tee, but doesn't want to sacrifice consistency on approach or greenside control on chips around the green.  But it's also a ball with no surprises that performs well enough to very good for every kind of shot you need to hit.  And that's something that will appeal to almost every skill level of player.