Titleist's Tour Soft and TruFeel are anything but your run-of-the-mill distance offerings.
Titleist
Titleist’s 2024 Tour Soft and TruFeel golf balls are a good reminder that you don’t have to shell out $50 per dozen to get a quality product packed with performance. With Pro V1 and AVX positioned as the “premium” offerings in the lineup, it’s natural to wonder if a lower price point means sacrificing performance in certain areas.
While that might have been the case in the past, the latest Tour Soft ($39.99 per dozen; white, high optic yellow and green) and TruFeel ($24.99 per dozen; white, yellow and red) are anything but your run-of-the-mill distance offerings.
Boasting a springy core technology and redesigned cover system, Tour Soft is made for golfers who prefer a softer feel through the bag. But don’t assume soft means slow. At 1.608 inches, Tour Soft’s robust core — it’s the largest ionomer-covered core in the marketplace — is built for ball speed and more distance off the tee.
“Manufacturing a 1.608 core is not an easy task, but the advantages it delivers to golfers in on-course performance is tremendous,” said Mike Madson, Titleist’s vice president of golf ball R&D. “We’re only able to produce a core that large because of our manufacturing expertise. We have total control over all our processes, which allows us to make the advancements needed to create a core at that size that performs the same from ball to ball and dozen to dozen.”
Enveloping the core is a thin FusaBlend cover which has been reformulated to enhance spin and control going into and around the green. Even though the cover is made from firmer ionomers, Titleist creates short-game spin characteristics by adding softening polymers to the cover recipe to make the ball more lively with a wedge in hand.
To optimize aerodynamics and flight, Titleist’s R&D team outfitted Tour Soft’s cover with a 346 quad dipyramid dimple pattern to ensure the aerodynamic package remains consistent throughout the bag.
If Tour Soft is geared toward those who prefer a soft feel, then TruFeel takes that softer feel to another level with a thicker, more supple 3.0 TruFlex cover for added greenside spin. A new TruTouch core is the engine inside TruSoft that delivers extra distance off the tee with a soft feel at impact.
“With new TruFeel, our goal was to keep what people love about the product and deliver even more performance in the short game,” said Madson. “That softer, thicker cover is going to give golfers a little more greenside spin and performance. The reformulated core gives players long distance and soft feel.”
Titleist’s Tour Soft and TruFeel will be available at retail on January 24th. Yellow TruFeel will be available on March 1 with Matte Red available on May 15.
Jonathan Wall is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s Managing Editor for Equipment. Prior to joining the staff at the end of 2018, he spent 6 years covering equipment for the PGA Tour. He can be reached at jonathan.wall@golf.com.