TaylorMade Tour Response golf ball review
The new TaylorMade golf ball that does everything you need at a more affordable price...
Fancy saving yourself some dough on what is effectively a softer version of TaylorMade's popular 5-layer TP5 ball? Let us introduce you to the brand's new 3-layer Tour Response.
Highlighted by a 100% cast urethane cover, TaylorMade Tour Response delivers effortless compression and Tour-quality performance at a more affordable price of £40 per dozen.
Utilising the same technology that powers the hottest Tour ball in golf (TP5/TP5x), Tour Response relies on Speedmantle with HFMq to produce fast ball speeds. The firmer second layer surrounds the soft inner core and delivers an explosive transfer of energy.
"Urethane is simply the best performing cover material you can use on a golf ball," TaylorMade's director of R&D golf balls Eric Loper tells us.
"That’s why it’s found on 100% of the balls used on the PGA Tour. It’s that good. We’re bringing that same innovation to our Tour Response line – essentially making a softer version of our TP5/TP5x that utilises multiple Tour technologies."
Ball out the sleeve and in hand, the Tour Response looks and feels every bit like a TP5 or TP5x ball.
The difference, however, is that the 3-layer Tour Response with its 100% urethane cover, has an ultra low 40 compression soft core and a firmer Speedmantle layer that generates increased ball speed and a little more distance.
This golf ball will not only help you max out your distance on every tee shot out there, but you will also improve your level of backspin with the wedges.
Control with the irons, certainly when the wind picked up, felt nice enough. The only problem is that when you've used a TP5x in the breeze before, everything else feels like it is playing for second place.
We are very confident, however, that you could put the Tour Response up against many in the £40 category right now and few (if any) will travel further off the tee or spin more with a wedge.
The use of cast urethane puts Tour Response a step above other balls in this category and at this price point, as it’s the only non-Tour ball to offer this premium cover from a major manufacturer. It’s a blend of Tour-quality materials with performance specifically engineered to benefit all golfers.
VERDICT
Tour Response is a great golf ball for just about every amateur looking to get the most out of their game.
If you are a fan of TaylorMade golf balls then we highly recommend you give the Tour Response an outing this summer. We believe that even the most ardent TP5 or TP5x fan might even consider a switch, especially given the slight price drop.
TP5x will certainly give you much better control with the irons, however, and TP5 will give you that little more workability.
Tour Response, which is also available in yellow, excels most from the tee with bundles of distance and it spins a load with every wedge in the bag.
Its alignment aid also adds to its appeal, especially on the greens, and we have found it to be incredibly durable over a couple of rounds now.
TaylorMade's category director of golf balls and accessories, Michael Fox, said: "In this class where performance meets value, why would anyone play an ionomer ball when cast urethane is available? Every manufacturer agrees that it makes a better ball."
We could not agree more with that statement.
