Callaway Chrome Soft vs Titleist Pro V1: Compared

If you ever watch or read any golf-related media then you’ll know that “Titleist is the number one ball in golf!”. From its launch, the Pro V1 quickly became the de facto choice of the majority of professional golfers. Elite amateurs and low-handicap players mostly followed suit.

Can Callaway’s Chrome Soft tour ball compete?

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Callaway Chrome Soft vs Titleist Pro V1
Photo Geoffrey Baker

Chrome Soft And Pro V1 Features

Chrome SoftPro V1
Price$49.99$50
Construction3 piece3 piece
CoverUrethaneUrethane
Dimple Count332388
Dimple ShapeHexagonalCircular
Compression7087
FeelSoftMedium
Chrome Soft and Pro V1 features

Pick up some now to test for yourself.

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Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls

Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are designed for serious golfers looking for high-performance balls. They feature a soft feel, low spin off the driver, and consistent flight. The Pro V1’s multi-component construction includes a soft compression ZG process core, an ionomeric casing layer, and a urethane elastomer cover. These features work together to provide excellent distance, control and durability. Whether you’re looking to improve your game or play at a high level, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are a great choice.

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Chrome Soft Golf Balls

Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls are designed for golfers looking for a premium ball with a super soft feel.

The Chrome Soft also comes in two additional flavors the Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X LS. The Titleist Pro V1 comes in a number of different versions now, the Pro V1x, Pro V1x left dash and Pro V1 left dot. Each looks to address a particular segment of the market.

Callaway also makes several different colored versions along with Triple Track and TruVis options. Triple Track has a pattern of parallel lines to help you line up putts while TruVis incorporates a pattern of images on the cover to make the ball stand out more to the golfer.

Users of the Pro V1 have a much simpler choice of white or yellow!

Since the Chrome Soft and Pro V1 are the softest premium balls produced by both companies I will compare these models.

Titleist Pro V1 & V1x testing

Differences Between Callaway Chrome Soft & Pro V1

Although the current generations of both golf balls are 3-piece with a urethane cover their construction means that they perform slightly differently.

The obvious difference between the two balls is how firm they will feel off the clubface. The Pro V1 is probably a medium-firm golf ball while the Chrome Soft is definitely at the softer end of the spectrum.

Slower swingers will probably appreciate the Chrome Soft more than moderate to fast swingers. Certainly, if your clubhead speed is above 95 mph you may find the feel of the Callaway Chrome Soft a little too stodgy.

Callaway is the only major brand that uses hexagonal dimples. They prefer that shape since it manages to cover a greater proportion of the ball’s surface area than you could do with circular dimples.

In my own testing, I found the Chrome Soft had a tendency to spin slightly less with the driver and also launch a little lower resulting in a slight loss in distance. It’s not totally surprising as softer balls tend to be shorter off the tee. The Pro V1 also tended to have a slightly higher ball flight compared to the Chrome Soft. Although with my swing speed, the difference is probably not statistically significant.

With mid irons, the Callaway ball again offered slightly less spin but produced similar ball speeds and launch angles which resulted in a slight yardage gain.

With wedge shots, there was around a 10% reduction in the spin rate compared to the Pro V1 which could have a significant effect on your ability to stop the ball on the green.

Chrome Soft family testing

Who Should Play Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Ball?

Anyone who wants the performance of a tour-caliber golf ball but would prefer a softer feeling ball. However, looking at the performance data it is hard to see why someone even with a modest swing speed of around 90 mph would make the switch since you are losing some distance off the tee and also likely a fair bit of control around the green.

If you tend to generate too much driver spin when using a Pro V1 then switching to the Chrome Soft should bring it down slightly and might make a difference to your driver carry distances.

Who Should Play Titleist Pro V1?

While the Pro V1 is designed to work with a wide variety of golf swings it probably favors players with moderate to fast clubhead speed due to its firmer feel. To get the best out of the ball you will need to have a reasonably fast swing. However, despite my modest driver speed of 85-90 mph, I think I would pick the Pro V1 over the Chrome Soft.

Titleist Pro V1 And Callaway Chrome Soft
Photo Geoffrey Baker – Titleist Pro V1 And Callaway Chrome Soft

Which Professionals Play Callaway Chrome Soft?

While there are some players using the Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X LS I couldn’t find any evidence of male professional golfers using the standard Chrome Soft. given the swing speeds of tour professionals, they wouldn’t take to the lower compression offered by the standard Chrome Soft. They also wouldn’t be too keen on the lower short-game spin either.

Which Professionals Play Titleist Pro V1 Golf Ball?

There are too many to name. Roughly 2/3 of the players who tee it up every week on the major professional tours are playing a Titleist ball and the majority of those will be either the Pro V1 or Pro V1x.

Alternatives To The Titleist Pro V1

Aside from the Chrome Soft family, here are the other major competitors to the Pro V1:

BridgestoneTour B X
Tour B XS
Tour B RX
Tour B RXS
Tour B XS – TW Edition
SrixonZ Star
Z Star XV
Z Star Diamond
TaylorMadeTP5
TP5x
Pro V1 alternatives

Bridgestone Tour B RX golf balls
Photo Geoffrey BakerBridgestone Tour B RX golf balls

In addition, direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies like Snell, Vice and Cut all make Pro V1-like balls as well, usually for slightly less money too!

Callaway vs Titleist Golf Balls

Titleist is the 800-pound gorilla of the golf ball world. Racking up 80% or more in the ball count stats at professional events around the world translates to a lot of sales for the “No. 1 Ball in Golf”.

I’m a fairly decent player (based on my handicap of 5 anyway) but even I struggle to see much difference in performance between the top balls from the major manufacturers.

While there are instances of balls coming out of the factory with off-center cores or wide disparities between the compression of two balls that are meant to be the same I would argue that for probably 95% of golfers bad shots are caused by poor technique, poor mental discipline or poor strategy rather than issues with the modern golf ball.

If you are on tour or seriously trying to get there then maybe you should be checking to see if your balls are correctly balanced but for the rest of us, I think the Chrome Soft vs Pro V1 battle comes down to personal preference.

If Jon Rahm trusts the Chrome Soft then maybe you could give it a fair try.

How To Choose A Golf Ball

Make a short list of balls that meet your basic criteria. Do you want to maximize greenside spin or driver distance for example?

Do you have a budget in mind? It’s no good wanting to play premium golf balls if you can’t really afford them or you lose 5 or 6 balls per round.

Once you have a short list you need to try the balls on the course to see which you prefer.

Start with putting, chipping and pitching to find balls that you like the feel of and that perform the way you’d like. Then move on to your irons and fairway woods to see if they give you the distance, flight and spin that you require.

Finally, look at how they work with your driver. Whichever balls work the best in all scenarios are the ones you should consider putting in your bag permanently.

If you already know which ball you prefer then you can pick some up below.

Top Pick

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Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls

Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are designed for serious golfers looking for high-performance balls. They feature a soft feel, low spin off the driver, and consistent flight. The Pro V1’s multi-component construction includes a soft compression ZG process core, an ionomeric casing layer, and a urethane elastomer cover. These features work together to provide excellent distance, control and durability. Whether you’re looking to improve your game or play at a high level, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are a great choice.

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Chrome Soft Golf Balls

Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls are designed for golfers looking for a premium ball with a super soft feel.

Chrome Soft X vs Pro V1x

Generally for players with more swing speed or someone looking for more spin or a higher trajectory the Pro V1x is played by a large number of PGA Tour players.

The Chrome Soft X is one of the Callaway balls that Tour players use. The standard Chrome Soft is too low compression for them. Despite the name, it does feel like a fairly firm ball. It should produce a slightly lower launch than its sister ball with a little more spin.

You really need to get on a launch monitor to be sure which ball performs best for you in terms of distance and stopping power. Don’t forget that descent angle on your irons can be as important if not more so than spin in terms of stopping the ball.

Callaway Chrome Soft vs Titleist Pro V1: Conclusion

Whether you are looking for distance or spin you are likely to find that the Pro V1 probably does it better no matter what your club head speed.

If you are prepared to sacrifice performance for a soft feel then you could try Chrome Soft.

Unfortunately, Chrome Soft isn’t any cheaper either which might have made it easier to recommend.

It is among the softest of the tour balls.

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]

Which Callaway ball is like Pro V1x?

Callaway Chrome Soft X

Based on its spin performance you could argue that the Chrome Soft X is most similar to the Pro V1x since they are the higher spinning versions of their respective models. The X is also a fairly firm ball with a similar compression rating to the Pro V1x.

However, the Chrome Soft is the higher launching model and so probably has more of a similar trajectory to the Pro V1x.

Which Titleist ball is like the Chrome Soft?

In terms of feel (compression) probably the closest urethane ball would be the AVX which is significantly “softer” than the Pro V1/Pro V1x.

Is Callaway TruVis worth it?

Some players find that the patterns on the ball make it “sit up” more instilling more confidence and golf is often all about confidence!

Which Callaway Is Equivalent to Pro V1?

You could argue that the Chrome Soft X LS is the closest match. It’s difficult since the Pro V1x is higher spinning and higher flying than the Pro V1 and none of the Chrome Soft balls match those parameters.

In terms of feel it will be down to the X or X LS as the standard model is among the softest urethane balls available.

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