Titleist Tour Soft vs Tour Speed Golf Balls: Read our Head to Head Verdict

Titleist Tour Soft vs Tour Speed Golf Balls: Read our Head to Head Verdict

One of the biggest advancements in golf technology over the last decade or two has been to the simple golf ball. It's not so simple anymore, which partially explains the massive distance gains seen in the professional ranks that led the game's governing bodies to propose a Model Local Rule for 2026 where elite players would use different golf balls to recreational golfers.  

That's an issue for the pros to deal, the rest of us can just crack on and continue to benefit from the great products on offer from the leading brands. The modern golf ball is jam-packed with technology that aims to improve your game and make it as easy as possible to play, no matter what your handicap is.

Currently, on the market, there are a number of golf balls available that will suit your game or even help improve certain areas. Whether you want the best golf balls for distance, or perhaps the best soft feel golf balls, there is something available from a wide range of companies. 

A brand that is known for producing some of the best golf balls on the market is Titleist. We all know about the ProV1 but the brand has some fine alternatives at a lower price point, including the Tour Soft 2022 and the Tour Speed 2022 which both feature on our list of the best Titleist Golf Balls.  

Here, after thoroughly testing both, we take a look at main comparisons between the two and find out which one is better suited to your golf game.

Looks

The Tour Speed has a slightly duller finish than the Pro V1 models and the logo is a fraction thicker, as you can see above. It also features a blue and black side stamp to aid alignment.

The Tour Soft is similar but one major difference is the that it features a newly designed T-Shaped side stamp to aid with alignment.

Feel

Of course, feel is a very subjective element of performance but I thought the Titleist Tour Speed 2022 was similar to what I’m used to with the Pro V1x. It offers good levels of feedback and feel without being too soft. I think this makes the Tour Speed a good year-round ball versus some of the softer feeling, mid-priced urethane balls, like the Wilson Triad, which is more suited to fast greens. 

The Titleist Tour Soft offers a good balance. For me, it was responsive but without being too soft. I liked the feel here but it didn’t feel as soft as some of its competitors such as the TaylorMade Soft Response 2022 in this department. This might be worth considering for those in search of an all-out soft feel golf ball. 

Ball Flight

As a faster swinger (my driver head speed is around 112 mph), my worry with soft feel golf balls is that they’ll have a tendency to dip out of the air in the long game and I’ll lose out on distance. This wasn’t something I noticed with the Tour Soft 2022 though and the flight was impressive. I did notice that it had a slightly lower flight than the previous model of Tour Soft, although there was no real difference in distance.

Just as importantly, the mid-height ball flights were very consistent. With some soft feel golf balls I tend to see a few shots that will dip out of the air and come up short. That wasn’t something I noticed with the Titleist Tour Soft. 

As for the Tour Speed, throughout my on course testing it was clear that well-struck shots were rewarded with strong ball flights that hung in the air. Compared to the Tour Soft, there was a noticeable increase in spin with iron shots and a significantly higher flight.

Distance

During my on course testing I was impressed by the overall performance on offer from both golf balls. My distances in all areas of the game were within a few yards of what I’d expect from my usual golf ball, the Titleist Pro V1x.

The key technology in the new Tour Speed is the reformulated core with its high flex casing layer. Titleist says this should provide high speed and low spin in the long game. The data from my launch monitor testing would back this up. As far as the long game performance goes, I’d be hard pushed to notice much difference between the Tour Speed and my usual golf ball choice. 

Off the tee, I gained an extra 2 mph of ball speed over the previous generation of Tour Speed and yet the new version spun a fraction less. This translated into a fairly modest but noticeable 3-yard gain in carry and total distance. Interestingly, the new Tour Speed launched and flew a fraction higher than the previous version.

The Tour Soft compares very favorably to other soft feel golf balls when it comes to distance, and it delivered five yards extra carry over the TaylorMade Soft Response 2022 golf ball. However, I didn’t see much difference in distance performance versus the previous generation Tour Soft. 

Control

In my 7-iron testing the new Tour Speed was 7 mph faster than the previous version and it spun around 1000 rpm more than the original. The result was a higher flight (and more stopping power) with an extra 7 yards of carry. Very impressive.

The Tour Soft also delivered an impressive balance of distance, consistency and control, spinning at around 4000rpm, which with a 7-iron is slightly less than I would be looking for but it still offered plenty of height.

One of the big trade-offs with a golf ball like the Tour Soft versus some of the best golf balls comes with greenside spin. It was evident that I wasn’t getting the same level of spin control from close range as I’d expect from a Pro V1x. Whilst this comparison might seem a little unfair, I think it highlights what you give up if you decide to drop down to a less expensive ball. 

Similarly, in my testing, the only real compromise with the Tour Speed versus one of the best premium golf balls would be greenside spin. Short pitch shots and chips do grab but not quite as much as I’m used to. For anyone considering switching from a more expensive Tour-played model, this might take a little getting used to.

Which Ball Should You Choose

Choose the Titleist Tour Soft if…
- You want a soft feel without sacrificing distance off the tee
- You are a slow/medium speed swinger of the golf club
- You want a more durable golf ball that is superb value for money

Choose the Titleist Tour Speed if...
- You want consistent ball flights throughout the bag
- You want a similar performance off the tee to a premium ball at a lower cost
- You need a balanced combination of distance, speed and control