The ifrothgolf review
TaylorMade's value soft ball, sitting below the urethane Tour Response. It is a three-piece design with a very low compression core and a soft ionomer cover, engineered for moderate to slower swing speeds. The pitch is simple: a properly soft feel and a respectable short game at a price that undercuts the premium tour balls by a chunk.
What's great
The feel lives up to the name. Off the putter and around the greens it is genuinely soft and easy to control, and it is one of the better soft balls you can buy at this price. The low compression core means slower swingers can actually compress it, so you get decent ball speed without having to swing out of your shoes. The Extended Flight dimple pattern does a fair job of protecting carry on a ball that, on paper, should give distance away. For the money it is hard to fault as an everyday ball for club golfers.
Worth knowing
It is an ionomer-cover ball, not urethane, so it will not spin or check on full wedge shots like a Tour Response or a Pro V1. Faster swingers (think 100mph-plus driver) will likely see a few yards less off the tee versus a firmer premium ball, and some testers reported losing around 10 yards with driver and mid-iron compared to firmer options. The very soft feel also will not suit everyone, players who prefer a clicky, firmer strike will find it muted. And availability comes and goes as it is an older model, so colours and stock vary by retailer.
The verdict
If you have a moderate swing speed and want a soft, controllable ball without spending tour-ball money, the Soft Response is one of the smartest buys in the category. Just go in clear-eyed: it trades a little distance and full-shot greenside spin for that soft feel and the friendly price. For most weekend golfers that is exactly the right trade.
