Equipment

2024 Callaway Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, Chrome Soft golf balls — GolfWRX Launch Report

Published

2 years ago

Jan 3, 2024

What you need to know: Callaway’s flagship ball lineup is getting a major reshuffle and substantial R&D infusion. Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X are now the company’s “better player” balls. Chrome Soft continues in name but is aimed at the “aspirational player” seeking a tour-caliber golf ball. Chrome Tour X is for the player who prioritizes control and seeks higher spin in a firmer ball. Softer and lower-spinning than Chrome Tour X, Chrome Tour targets the better player seeking distance and feel. Chrome Soft is the lowest-spinning, lowest-compression offering in the lineup. R&D centerpieces in the redesigned lineup include a Hyper Fast Soft Core, new inner and outer mantles, and a new cover formulation for improvements across all measurable categories relative to previous products.

2024 Callaway Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, Chrome Tour Soft golf balls: What’s new, key technology

HyperFast Soft Core: The engine of the golf ball is constructed from a new rubber system and base polymers to achieve target compression numbers for more ball speed across the lineup.
Seamless Tour Aero: Callaway leveraged in-house computational fluid dynamics to produce a seamless cover design with a configuration targeting optimal flight windows for each ball in the lineup. This combines the company’s hexagonal surface geometry with strategically placed spherical dimples for more stability.
High-Performance Tour Urethane Soft Cover: A new cover design with a reformulated substructure delivers low spin on driver and iron shots while retaining abundant greenside spin.
Tour player feedback: Throughout the design and prototyping process, Callaway engineers worked extensively with tour players, incorporating their feedback at every stage.

Callaway Chrome Tour golf balls: Additional model details

Chrome Tour: Born of a tour prototype softer, more penetrating Chrome Soft X, Chrome Tour’s Hyper Fast Soft Core is designed for better players who seek to balance soft feel and distance. The Seamless Tour Aero aerodynamic package is tuned for consistency and stability. The urethane cover prioritizes soft feel around the green.

Chrome Tour X: This is Callaway’s fastest golf ball, particularly off the driver. Chrome Tour X’s core design is configured for this purpose. The Seamless Tour Aero aerodynamic package is designed for a more penetrating ball flight. The urethane cover delivers the most spin in the lineup and more spin than Chrome Soft X generated.

Chrome Soft: Here, the Hyper Soft Fast Core is designed to deliver maximum ball speed in the lineup. The softest urethane cover in the lineup delivers the most spin for slower swingers of the club and softest feel. In Chrome Soft, the Seamless Tour Aero is tuned to deliver the highest peak height.

What Callaway says

Eric Loper, senior golf ball research & development director…

On more ball speed across the product lineup:

“The entire golf ball is compressed, every layer contributes to the performance of the golf ball on every shot. If you hit a 6-iron or even a full pitching wedge, you would see around the same amount of deformation or deflection. The core is a primary component of how the golf ball is going to perform. It enables us to manage spin rates through the bag, it changes the feel of the golf ball, but ultimately the core is designed to give us ball speed, particularly driver ball speed.

“If you have a slow core, you’re going to have a slow golf ball, so we set out to make our core much faster than we have before, capitalizing on what we’ve done in the past and building on that. We have a completely new rubber system where it’s a new base polymer that we’re using in combination with a variety of ingredients that give us the targeted compression and material properties that we’re seeking. In the end, it gives us more ball speed for each of these new products.”

On uniting better players’ insights with data to create a better ball:

“When you capture better players’ insights, some of the challenges we encounter is matching up their insights with their test data. There’s always a challenge in the industry to continue to bridge the gap between mechanical testing with what players see out on the course. There’s been a significant effort on our part to bridge that gap and to match our test results with what players are seeing.

“In some of those observations and opportunities, we’ve developed new technologies to address some of their preferences. It really comes down to, every little component of the golf ball needed to be looked at. And in these new golf balls, it’s been a complete overhaul on every component of the golf ball. It’s those little details that really matter…”

On tour

Adam Hadwin told our Andrew Tursky this regarding his switch into the Chrome Tour X ahead of The Sentry:

“I was just saying to my caddie, one thing that – again, this has been 18 holes total with it – but this has been the first real wind that we’ve played in, that I’ve played in with the golf ball, and what I have seen so far is potentially in some of the crosswinds, the mishits are still going as far as some of the more well-struck shots. Maybe it’s holding its – not that it’s holding its line per se – but it’s flying through the air on the mishits maybe a little bit better. If I remember correctly…that’s part of what they did. The aerodynamics have changed slightly so that in the air it shouldn’t take off on you. It kind of holds its line…flying a little bit better through the wind.”

Pricing, specs, availability

Pricing: $54.99/dozen
At retail: 2/2

Callaway Chrome golf ball packaging

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

9 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

9 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.