I put the Titleist Tour Speed to the test – it didn’t disappoint! Great distance, great overall performance. It is a premium golf ball without the premium price.
I’ve hit thousands of golf balls in the simulator, and I recently compared the Titleist Tour Speed to the ProV1. After getting data from the GC3 and playing a round on the course, here is a summary of what I found.
The Titleist Tour Speed travels further with mid-irons and driver
They have similar spin performance with shorter wedge shots
The ProV1 spins a bit more with mid-irons and driver
Ball speeds are higher with the Tour Speed
The ProV1 feels a little better in the short game
Overall, compared to the ProV1, the Tour Speed golf balls will give you more distance throughout the bag, similar spin around the greens, and they cost about 33% less.
Titleist Tour Speed Golf Balls Review
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In this Tour Speed review, I put them head-to-head with the Titleist ProV1. I also put them up against the Titleist AVX and my usual gamer, the Vice Pro.
Based on the numbers, golfers of all swing speeds will benefit from some added distance with the Tour Speed. The overall feel was good, but the Tour Speed wasn’t quite as soft as any of the others I tested against. It is a soft feel ball, but it does “click” a bit more in the short game.
Although I’ve been playing golf for 30 years, I wanted to get another opinion, so I had one of my friends from the club test them out as well. Fitz is 75 years old, has been golfing for well over 50 years, and has been the club champion 5 times.
Fitz immediately saw about 10 yards of added distance with his driver. He normally hits the ball about 220 and was consistently getting 230 or more with the Tour Speed golf ball. He was so happy with their performance, that they are now his full-time gamer.
Quick Facts
The Titleist Tour Speed golf ball is made with 3 piece construction and a new proprietary Titleist urethane cover. They are rated by the USGA as low spin with a driver and medium spin with short irons. They have a 346 quadrilateral dimple design and a soft feel.
You can get the Tour Speed golf balls in white or yellow.
They are currently rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon from about 500 reviews. Here’s what customers have to say about them.
“Love the feel of this golf ball, a little harder than a Pro V but still has great feel around the green.”
“it’s longer than any other 35-40$ ball”
PROS
- Great Distance, no matter what your swing speed
- Offers great greenside spin
- Soft feel
- Price
CONS
- Slightly firmer than other “soft” golf balls
- Reduced spin with longer irons, making it a bit harder to hold the green on those 175+ yard shots
Who Should Use the Titleist Tour Speed Golf Balls
I would recommend the Tour Speed to any Low or Mid-handicappers. Seniors, or other slow-swing speed golfers looking to add a few yards of distance will certainly benefit from the Tour Speed as well.
I would not recommend the Tour Speed to MOST high-handicappers. If you are a high handicapper looking to improve your game and perhaps get a bit more distance, you certainly may consider the Tour Speed. However, if you are a high-handicapper who is just starting out, or really has no interest in improvement, you’d be far better off going with a cheaper option.
The Tour Speed is a great ball overall and is my “Best Overall” pick in my post on the best distance golf balls.
Performance – Titleist Tour Speed vs. Titleist Pro v1
The Titleist Tour Speed gets greater distance compared to the ProV1 when used with mid-irons and the driver.
With shorter wedge shots, you’ll see similar spin performance with both balls. You’ll see slightly higher spin rates with the ProV1 with mid-irons and driver, likely the reason for the shorter distance with those clubs.
For someone wanting to get their ball to stop as fast as possible with a 175+ yard shot, you may want to stick with the ProV1.
Ball speed was clearly higher with the Tour Speed. Here is a chart with the raw numbers
Ball Speed | Spin | Carry | Total Distance | Peak Height | |
Tour Speed | 165.5 | 1826 | 285.6 | 310.6 | 33.3 Yards |
ProV1 | 162.8 | 2151 | 272.2 | 297.4 | 35.2 Yards |
Vice Pro | 161.7 | 1936 | 277.1 | 301.5 | 35.8 Yards |
Ball Speed | Spin | Carry | Total Distance | Peak Height | |
Tour Speed | 121.2 | 4028 | 181.3 | 196.2 | 29.2 Yards |
ProV1 | 120.9 | 4743 | 176.8 | 190.5 | 28 Yards |
Vice Pro | 119.3 | 5213 | 177.4 | 191.3 | 28.3 Yards |
Average Spin | Highest Spin | |
Tour Speed | 6312 | 8002 |
ProV1 | 6336 | 8180 |
Vice Pro | 6410 | 8209 |
Highlights of my Best Tee Shots With the Tour Speed
The Tour Speed takes off like a bullet off the tee. Here are two of my better drives, one traveling 331 yards and the other at 341 yards. Although my swing speed was the same (118mph) with both shots, ball speed was significantly higher on the one I actually hit well.
My smash factor, or efficiency rating was 1.47 vs 1.39 between the two. Anything near 1.5 is great, but anything below 1.4 is an inefficient strike. Ball speed was 9mph higher on the better hit.
Both went well over 300 yards, and all of my drives with the Tour Speed were longer than the ProV1. In fact, my longest drive with the ProV1 was 327, but most were closer to 320.
Final Thoughts
The Titleist Tour Speed is a premium golf ball without the premium price! When comparing it to the ProV1, you’ll get greater distance with your irons and driver, but you won’t compromise short game spin.
The only downsides to the Tour Speed that I could find are
It has a slightly firmer feel, emphasis on “slightly”.
You’ll get less spin with 8-iron on down, making it a bit harder to hold the greens with those longer irons.
Most golfers won’t notice the lack of spin when hitting a green from 175 yards. It may actually be a blessing in disguise as most amateur golfers end up coming up short on most long game shots.
I mentioned the “slightly firmer feel”, this is something most won’t mind as well. It is a very subtle difference in sound when you are comparing the Tour Speed to a ProV1 side-by-side. I think if you simply pull out a fresh box of Tour Speeds, you probably wont even notice the difference at all.
I think the Tour Speed is a great ball for anyone looking for performance at a discount. Especially if you are trying to get a bit more distance.
Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below. Good luck on the golf course.