Chrome Soft vs. Pro V1

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Callaway Chrome SoftTitliest Pro V1
MSRP$44.99$47.99
Construction4-piece3-piece
Cover MaterialUrethaneUrethane
FeelVery SoftSoft
Greenside SpinHighHigh
Compression7590
TrajectoryMidMid
Colors AvailableWhite, Yellow, Various DesignsWhite

The Callaway Chrome Soft is one of the latest premium golf balls to hit the market and it is certainly generating some buzz. But can it compete against the current king of premium golf balls, the Titliest Pro V1?

We’ll take a look at them both and see whether you should think about switching in this Chrome Soft vs. Pro V1 comparison.

Overall, the biggest difference between the Chrome Soft and the Pro V1 is in the feel of the ball. The compression rating and the overall construction of the Chrome Soft with a larger core makes it a much softer feeling ball, although it performs almost identical to the Pro V1 in terms of distance, spin and control.

These are both great options and both made it into our list of this year’s Best Golf Balls.

Chrome Soft

Callaway claims that softer golf balls compress better on off-center hits which means less distance loss when you don’t quite hit the sweet spot. The overall compression rating is 75 but Callaway also uses a combination of a very soft outer cover and a larger core which gives a much softer overall feel than you might expect from a ball with a 75 compression rating.

In comparing to the Pro V1, the biggest differences are in the feel rather than performance.

For more, check out our detailed Callaway Chrome Soft Review.

Driving

The driver is where I saw the biggest difference between these two options. The interesting part is that although the Chrome Soft has a significantly lower compression rating than the Pro V1 (75 vs. 90) and felt significantly softer off the face…the distance numbers were remarkably similar (this was with a 105-110 driver swing speed).

According to a few sources, players with 90-100mph swing speeds seem to see the Chrome Soft carry farther than the Pro V1.

As far as feel goes, I personally was not a huge fan of the very soft feel off the driver…but you might love it. Driver feel is very much a personal preference thing.

Irons

Full iron shots were along the same lines as the driver. They felt soft off the face, which was much more appreciated here than off the driver. I did notice that off-center hits still felt decent and I didn’t see a huge distance loss.

The downside of this is the lack of feedback that you would get for hits that were just slightly off the sweet spot.

Short Game

With short game shots (wedges, pitches, and chips) the soft feel of the ball is again obvious (this is going to be a common theme in this review). When you hit a good clean chip the ball grips the green nicely. It also seemed a little easier to keep the chips low when I wanted to (but I don’t really have any scientific evidence to back that claim up).

I did really like the soft feel around the greens. It felt like I had a little more control over this ball than the Pro V1. However, when I hit them side by side, the spin and roll out were very similar.

Putting

Evaluating a golf ball on the putting green is very difficult to do objectively. It is more or less one of those things that you either like how it feels or you don’t. As expected, the Chrome Soft felt much softer off the putter than the Pro V1.

I tried it with a couple of different putters and using the Chrome Soft with a putter that has an insert in the face feels like the ball isn’t there at all! It was probably too muted to give you much control over your speed, so be aware of that if you like insert putters.

Durability

The Chrome Soft has a urethane cover but Callaway claims it is unique to other such covers. After some testing with both balls, the Chrome Soft seems slightly more resistant to scuffing on wedge shots which is usually when that happens (aside from the occasional cart path).

Who Should Play The Callaway Chrome Soft?

This really is the perfect ball for better players who don’t have a 105+ swing speed with their driver. If you don’t mind the soft feel then you will probably see some distance gains AND get great control on the greens.

If you want to check these out, you can CLICK HERE to see the latest price on Amazon.

Pro V1

The Titleist Pro V1 is the standard by which premium golf balls have been measured for many years. Even though the technology of other ball manufacturers has more or less caught up to Titleist, they still have tremendous name recognition and a huge market share among pros and amateurs alike.

The latest Pro V1 is no exception to that reputation. With solid distance off the tee and high spin on wedge shots and pitches and chips around the green, this ball should give a good player all the control they need on the course.

Driving

As far as feel goes, the Pro V1 has a little more pop off the driver. I wouldn’t say that the Chrome Soft was “mushy” but the Pro V1 has a distinctly different feel. I would attribute that to the compression of the core which is probably the most drastic difference between these two golf balls.

Short Game

Feel aside (you can read more about that above), these balls performed almost identically around the greens.

Putting

I give the edge to the Pro V1 for putting. Again, this is a personal preference thing, but the Callaway Chrome Soft was almost too soft for good putting speed control.

I don’t usually play with a Pro V1 but it did feel more in line with what I would expect a ball to feel like off the putter. For that reason, it seemed easier to gauge speed.

Durability

Although they have improved significantly from the scuff machines they used to be, Pro V1s were never the best at durability. The latest version is good but not great. Durability and urethane covers usually don’t go together. Of course, I didn’t test them over a long period of time, but If I had to choose a winner, I think the Chrome Soft outlasted the Pro V1.

Who Should Play The Pro V1

For better players with higher swing speeds (105mph+), the Pro V1 would still be my recommendation, but it is a very close call. Even some players with high swing speeds may enjoy the soft feel of the Chrome Soft.

If you want to check these out, you can CLICK HERE to see the latest price on Amazon.

Conclusion

This is really a tough call. No matter which one I choose, there will be a lot of people out there that will get better performance with the other option. What I will say is that these are both very good premium golf balls.

Better players with high swing speeds are probably going to benefit from the Pro V1. Slower swingers will see some added distance from the Chrome Soft.

That being said, anyone who currently plays a Pro V1 should grab a box of Chrome Soft golf balls and try them out. You may be pleasantly surprised and find you really prefer the soft feel. Even if you don’t, keep them around for cold days as they are perfect for those conditions.

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Author
Pete | Editor-in-Chief
Pete is an avid golfer since he was 10 years old and currently plays to a 9 handicap. He started Under Par Goals to help other golfers all around the world improve their games and learn more about the game.