The Tour Response offers premium-like performance without the price tag. It is great for those who have a faster-than-average swing speed and want good control around the greens too.
For
- Great all-round feel
- Good spin around the greens
- More affordable price
Against
- Slightly quicker swing speed needed
From tee-to-green, it offers superb, but distinct, all round performance. We were seriously impressed with the strength and consistency of the flight, particularly in the wind.
For
- All-round performance
- Impressive in the long game
- Excellent control
- High levels of consistency
- Soft, responsive feel
Against
- Premium price tag
- Low spin players will need Pro V1x
TaylorMade Tour Response vs Titleist Pro V1
In this review of the TaylorMade Tour Response golf ball, we compare it to the Titleist Pro V1, an established favourite on Tour and widely regarded as one of the best golf balls on the market today.
TaylorMade surveyed large numbers of amateur golfers to find out what they wanted from a golf ball, especially in terms of performance and budget, and found many playing expensive premium balls that weren’t ideally suited to their skill level or physical ability.
The solution was to create a three-piece ball that could offer tour-level performance, at a lower price point with a lower compression. The softer core, rated as a 70 compression, makes it easier to hit and delivers comparable distance and feel benefits to more golfers across a wider range of skill level.
TaylorMade wanted to tempt golfers to look beyond market leading tour balls and so it launched Tour Response.
We tested it out on the golf course and on a launch monitor to see how it compared to Titleist’s market leading Pro V1.
Looks
The TaylorMade Tour Response has a premium look and feel. Its 322 dimples form a clean uniform pattern and it has a quality soft and tacky feel thanks to its 100% urethane cover, a feature usually reserved for only the best premium golf balls.
The number on the Tour Response is a subtle red and its branded alignment arrow shows the ball name as well as offering alignment options for tee-shots and putting.
The Titleist Pro V1 has more dimples (388) in a neat pattern with a black number and classic Titleist scripting. The alignment arrow carries the Pro V1 model name.
Feel
The TaylorMade Tour Response feels firmer than the Pro V1 on strike, especially off the putter face and wedges. It’s less noticeable in the long game.
While centre strikes and good shots respond well with the Tour Response, mishits felt dull and a little lifeless – at times the ball felt heavy off the face.
The Pro V1 felt superior around the greens, more responsive, generating more spin in short game tests and especially on short to mid-range low flighted pitch shots. On higher softer shots, like lobs and greenside pitches, both balls responded well on landing.
- Read our full TaylorMade Tour Response Ball review
Ball Flight
The flight and spin profiles of the TaylorMade Tour Response and the Titleist Pro V1 are quite different and this bore out in testing, especially with the driver and irons.
The Tour Response is a high launch low-spin ball with a softer compression core. The Titleist Pro V1 is designed to launch lower and spin less, flying with a penetrating trajectory.
Both balls stopped quickly on approach shots into greens but the Pro V1 had a noticeably lower flight. Tour Response had a similar flight profile to the best TaylorMade golf balls like the TP5 and TP5 X, launching mid-high with less spin and a straighter flight.
- Read our full Titleist Pro V1 ball review
Distance
In driver testing, TaylorMade Tour Response launched high and flew with a stable consistent flight. Launch monitor testing returned spin rates just below 3000, high ball speeds and distances close to those recorded for the Pro V1.
The Titleist Pro V1 was longer on the launch monitor tests, by 7 yards on the best struck driver shots and by up to four yards with 7 iron.
Despite this, the Tour Response is plenty long and averaged over 170 yards with 7-iron on the launch monitor – which compares well to my stock yardage of 169 – achieved during gapping testing on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor.
Given its lower price point, TaylorMade’s Tour Response does deliver the distance it promises, the stability of flight and the control and spin on hitting the green.
Control
Both balls span plenty on a variety of short game shots around the green, the Pro V1 edging it slightly because of its combination of softer feel off the face and consistently high spin reaction.
Launch monitor testing showed that I got more short game spin with the Pro V1 than the TaylorMade Tour Response.
Both balls were consistent in flight and performed well in a cold 20-mph wind during on-course testing with Pro V1 standing out as the more penetrating option. I’d class both as reliable options for golfers seeking to improve accuracy in their long game.
Which ball should you choose?
Choose the TaylorMade Tour Response if...
- You want a value-for-money three piece golf ball that performs like tour models
- You want more high launch, good distance and stable flight in the long game
- You prefer a firmer feel green side
- Value durability over time
Choose the Pro V1 if…
- You spin the ball too much with your driver
- Want a more penetrating ball flight
- Prefer a softer feeling ball for the short game and putting
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