As a golfer, I’m always looking for the perfect golf ball, one that will give me that extra distance on every shot, without sacrificing the control and feel I like having around the green. The Callaway Tour iX is aimed at golfers looking for Maximum Tour distance with soft feel and superior greenside control. Over the past three weeks I’ve been testing the Callaway Tour iX golf ball and the results are what you come to expect from a premium golf ball.
Callaway Tour iX Golf Ball
Off the Tee
In my tests I compared the Callaway Tour iX to a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball. The Callaway Tour iX is a 4-piece dual core construction golf ball that utilizes inertia technology to deliver breakthrough tour distance. The engineers at Callaway first created a ball that has a Tungsten-Infused Outer Core – meaning the ball’s high-density outer core moves weight away from the center of the ball for increased Moment of Inertia (MOI) resulting in reduced driver spin for increased distance. I have a tendency to produce a lot of sidespin on my drives and I noticed that my drives were much straighter as a result of the high MOI. The amount of carry I had off the tee was comparable to a Pro V1, but not as much as I got with the Nike One Platinum. What Callaway did with the Tour iX, is construct the ball with a dual core and firmer mantle layer, which also provides distance off the tee while still offering spin around the green. The soft inner core provides low spin off the driver for great distance while the firmer outer core provides high driver speed and high chip-shot spin around the green. In my tests the firm outer core provided great feel and control with my irons from the fairway and on those short par 3′s. The final component of the four piece Tour ix, is the soft urethane cover that gives the ball its superior feel and short-game spin. I immediately noticed the soft, yet firm feel of the Tour iX golf ball the first time I hit the ball and the nice sound it produced when I hit it with my irons and wedges. I knew right then, this ball could give my Bridgestone Tour B330-S a run for the money in the feel department.
Short Game
In and around the green the Callaway Tour iX preformed quite well at putting, providing a nice feel on my putts, and good roll on the green. This is attributed to the to the soft Thermoset urethane cover, which also gives the ball a unique texture. When it came to pitch shots and chips, the soft urethane cover provided the right amount of feel you would want from a premium golf ball comparable to a Pro V1. My pitch and chip shots had unbelievable feel and good control around the green, which I loved. Some of my chips and pitches would roll a little more, rather than come to a complete stop when hitting the green . I would have liked a little more spin, like I get from my Bridgestone Tour B330-S golf balls, but the Callaway Tour iX still did a nice job.
Is this the perfect golf ball? No, but the Callaway Tour iX does comes close to being my favorite golf ball in terms of feel and reduced driver spin.
Key Features of the Callaway Tour iX
- Tailored for the player who wants to get more distance on every shot.
- Tungsten-infused outer core redistributes weight away from the center to reduce spin for breakthrough distance.
- 4-piece dual core construction provides better feel and higher ball speeds for maximum carry.
- Superior feel and short-game spin for excellent greenside control.
Callaway Tour iX Golf Balls Retails for $44.99
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice review.
My only comment is that you compared the iX with the V1 and 330-s and complained about less spin on the iX. The iX is more comparable to the V1X and 330 as they have less spin thier thier spin versions.. The Tour i is the spinner version of the two. Maybe try to review the Tour i with the v1 and 330-s, and the iX with the V1X and 330.
Thanks Dave. I’ll look into to reviewing the Tour i next time as you suggested.
Rob