Callaway Golf's flagship golf ball line is Chrome Soft, and the lineup has done well at retail with golfers buying into the performance of a softer ball with tour-caliber benefits.
For 2022, the company has made changes to all three balls in the lineup -- in particular, touting the improvements and investments they've made in manufacturing and quality control to ensure golfers don't see erratic performance changes due to the production process.
Callaway has invested $50 million in equipment and processes that allow them to examine every Chrome Soft ball they make, allowing them to identify and remove balls that don't meet their standards. They've stamped Precision Technology on every box as a call out to that commitment to quality, recognizing that off-center cores and components call mean dramatically different ball speeds, launch angles and spin. Golfers want and need consistency to perform their best.
Chrome Soft
For the 2022 Chrome Soft model, Callaway has taken the SoftFast Core and upgraded it to the Hyper Elastic SoftFast Core. The secret sauce? Making the core bigger by eliminated a layer. Chrome Soft is now a three-piece ball and is actually softer than the last generation. However, the bigger core allows Callaway to mildly increase speed without making the ball harder.
The new model utliize a Tour Aero cover pattern that spins slightly less and flights lower, which is a way to gain some yards while sacrificing a little bit of stopping power.
Chrome Soft X and X LS
While Chrome Soft does well at retail, a softer ball is a trickier proposition for players with faster swing speeds. They need something firmer. That's why Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X LS exist, offering higher-compression balls under the flagship moniker.
In the 2022 lineup, neither the X or the X LS get a total rework. They both get some tweaks, including the Tour Aero cover pattern and a reformulated core -- although both of these balls retain four-piece construction. Golfers should see a couple of 1-2 extra yards per shot (although most of us aren't good enough to notice that).
The X LS is the lowest-spinning model of the three and is for a player who generates plenty of spin as it is. This second-gen model is a little softer, which is probably a good thing, and spin has been cut about the same as Chrome Soft standard. Golfers should expect similar distance gains with the X LS compared to the X, and a softer cover formulation will mean more greenside spin, which is a nice upgrade for a lower-spinning ball.
All three Chrome Soft models are released on Jan. 28 for $50 per dozen and available in white, yellow and Triple Track designs.
