We all adopt different strategies when it comes to the golf ball we play, ranging from “anything I find” to “only what the tour pros play”. Until not that long ago I would have put myself fairly firmly in the latter camp. But things change – I’m getting older and ball technology has progressed. Although I’ve played to a handicap of between 5 and 7 for a quarter of a century, I’ve never been blessed with a tour swing speed and certainly am not now as the big 6-0 looms ever closer.
Realistically, I, like many others, don’t swing it fast enough to reap the full performance benefits of the best tour-calibre, premium balls in the long game, while simultaneously craving and relying on the short-game feel and control of their multi-layer constructions and urethane covers. Until relatively recently, this combination meant a bit of a compromise one way or the other for those with sub-tour swing speeds but, put simply, if I can’t perform on and around the greens, I have little chance of playing to handicap, hence leaning towards tour balls for their short-game benefits.
Tour-calibre balls have long offered the best in feel and control around the greens
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
Urethane has long been the tour ball cover of choice and that is where premium balls have had their most tangible edge – the optimum in feel and performance around the greens. But more and more of the best mid-price golf balls now also feature urethane covers and multi-layer constructions that have taken their performance much closer to that of tour models. Not only that, but they also often specifically target those not blessed with the swing speeds certain tour models really require. They have formed part of a mid-price ‘superbreed’, if you like, although admittedly some are significantly more ‘mid-price’ than others.
TaylorMade’s Tour Response comes in three different options
(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)
One such ball is the latest TaylorMade Tour Response, a three-piece model with a 70-compression, Hi-Spring Core designed to help those with…
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