Equipment
Titleist introduces new Tour Soft, Velocity golf balls
Titleist is adding a new ball — Tour Soft — and upgrading its Velocity golf ball for 2018.
First, a look at the new Tour Soft, which was developed thanks in no small part to nearly 20,000 golfers who did on-course testing and offered product feedback.
The Tour Soft is the softest-feeling ball in its category, according to Titleist. It features the largest core ever implemented in a Titleist ball, as well as the expected ultra-thin cover.
“We knew based on breakthroughs being made in R&D that there was an opportunity to deliver a brand new high-performance golf ball that would lead the category in terms of soft compression feel. Ultimately, because of our exhaustive and iterative prototyping process, we were able to deliver everything we wanted in Tour Soft – and more,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing.
Additional features
- A new ultra-thin 4CE grafted cover made with TCU Process Technology and a proprietary blend of four different materials for advanced short game control
- A new spherically-tiled 342 cuboctahedron dimple design
- Availability in both white and high-optic yellow
The new Titleist Velocity golf balls are designed to maximize distance on every shot.
“Everything we do with Velocity is to generate speed and distance,” said Michael Mahoney.. “When we spoke to Velocity golfers at the beginning of the development process, they told us they wanted even more distance, especially off the tee. Our R&D team responded with new core technology and the fastest cover of any Titleist golf ball on the market to give them that added advantage.”
Titleist is also introducing new high-visibility color options for the Velocity — VISI-White, Velocity Orange and Velocity Pink.
- The softer, high speed LSX core produces fast initial velocity with extremely low spin
- A new, faster NaZ+ cover
- A spherically-tiled 328 tetrahedral dimple design to optimize aerodynamic performance
Tour Soft golf balls are available in golf shops worldwide. $34.99/dozen. Velocity golf balls (White, VISI-White, Velocity Orange and Velocity Pink) are also available now. $26.99/dozen.
Equipment
Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Whats in the Bag
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4

3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms

Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105

Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet



Tom Newsted
Jan 31, 2018 at 10:18 am
I tried them and they are ok but not something I would switch to. Is it better than the NXT thats hard to say but it is a soft ball. Ill still be playing PV1x this season.
Shawn
Jan 25, 2018 at 8:58 pm
I had the privilege of being one of the testers. I really like the ball. It was soft off the club face but firm enough to let me know where on the face I made contact. It does chip and putt well. I’m just not a fan of the price at its launch.
Kurt
Jan 24, 2018 at 4:58 pm
“The new Tour Soft is the softest-feeling ball….”, and I bet they are really forgiving and pleasant to hit.
Notice that all the OEMs are promoting “forgiving” in their clubs and balls? Just what hopeless hacker seek the most … forgiveness …. 😛
Hiwattage
Jan 24, 2018 at 4:33 pm
So which one replaces the NXT ?
PhilT
Jan 28, 2018 at 11:59 am
Tour Soft