I’ve been training on the new Elyte family. I played 2 rounds of golf last week on a work trip to Mexico. I played with the new driver. It’s long. It’s straight. It hits it high. I missed a fairway – yep. One in two rounds. Nice!! Granted, they were generous, but I missed one trying to get greedy. There were holes where I should have hit a FW Wood, but there was no need to NOT hit driver. I hit it that straight. The guys I played with? Same story… Enjoy this one with your members this season. It’s special. Things like this don’t come along that often.

Let’s switch gears. I also played the Chrome Tour Triple Diamond golf ball. First, let’s clear the air – what is this ball? Essentially, it is similar to the Chrome Tour, but it has a firmer feel. A feel more like Chrome Tour X. It’s more of a Mid launch, mid-low spin ball with a firmer feel. Think of combining parts of Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X.

For reference… When I hit a Chrome tour into a green with a mid-iron, it will hit, bounce, and check up. The ball will generally be about 15 feet from it’s ball mark with a 7-iron, and get closer to the ball mark as I add more loft. A full swing with my 54* wedge might leave the ball a couple feet from the ball mark. With Chrome Tour X, the ball will be at the ball mark with a 7-iron, and spinning back with a wedge. This isn’t my preference, so I opt for the Chrome Tour Ball. Around the greens, I can put a little more spin on it with the Chrome Tour X on short pitch shots, but for as often as that helps me, it hurts me too (because it stops sooner than I want it to). Again, I opt for Chrome Tour. The messaging here is simple:

When you are trying to fit a player for a ball, re-read that last paragraph. This is how you fit a player for a golf ball. If the player generates enough spin on his own, put him into a Chrome Tour. If he wants/ needs MORE spin than his golf swing can produce, put him in the Chrome Tour X. If greenside spin is more important, fit the ball there. If it’s a toss-up, use greenside spin to settle the score. Simple.

On to the Chrome Tour TD. I got a few prototypes of this ball last fall (which meant 2 balls – one to show, and one to go toy around with). I liked it quite a bit when I played it in the fall, but it was difficult to get a read on exactly how it performed. It seemed like a good match for me spin-wise, and maybe a little longer than my Chrome Tour. Hard to tell though.

So, last week I was off to Mexico. I cleaned all the Chrome Tour balls out of my bag and put in a dozen CT TD balls. Cut the cord. Cold turkey. At least for a week in January. At first glance, the ball flies straight. Really straight. I tried curving it a few times, and it seems less affected by things that would cause it to curve. Could I? Yes, but I had to really over do it. I actually had trouble hitting the driver not straight. I know, woe is me, but when you want to curve it, and it doesn’t, that can be a challenge. As I got used to that, I just aimed it and hit it. Easy, peasy. Around the greens, it seemed to lack a little control, but it could have been the greens. I didn’t have any Chrome Tour to compare it to, so I can’t say for sure. Iron shots spun about the same as the Chrome Tour, but I did have a couple that went longer than I thought and went over the green. As I think about this trip, I really didn’t have anything that went shorter than I expected, but I did have a couple that went longer than I expected. Putting with it was fine. I would have expected a more audible click off the putter, but I didn’t hear that. Feel was firm. Perhaps firmer than I like, but it didn’t bother me, and I got used to it.

I’d say this ball is very close to a Chrome Tour. It might be a little straighter than the Chrome Tour (I can’t say if it was more the Elyte driver or the CT TD ball). It might spin a little less than the Chrome Tour. It might be a little less spinny or responsive around the greens. It definitely has a firmer feel than Chrome Tour. It almost reminds me of a “Tour Quality Players Distance ball” if there were such a category. Remember playing with a Pinnacle or a Top Flite? Hard. They went long and straight but were hard to stop. This ball is no Top Flite, but some of the playing characteristics reminded me of how those were. This one feels like a Tour quality ball that flies straighter and long, but you might have to work it a little harder around the greens. It’s a pretty intriguing package. It’s a very, very intriguing package to a player who hits it harder than I do where spin (especially side spin) gets magnified and amplified.

For me, I really liked it. I may play it. I will tinker with it for sure. If it flies as straight all the time as it did in Mexico, it will be hard for me to walk away from that. I’ll be able to figure out how to use it around the greens. I give it an A. To be an A+, it would need to have more greenside spin and a little more mid iron spin. On softer, slower greens, this ball would be an A++. For me, for now at least, Chrome Tour is still my A+.

Have a great week!!