Callaway Hex Chrome Ball Review

Well, a brief review anyway.
Bought a sleeve of these to try out the other week and here are some initial thoughts.
These can be had for under £30/doz and are a 3-layer, urethane-covered ball. I usually use either a Bridgestone B330S, Srixon Z-Star or Wilson FG Tour so I prefer a slightly softer-feeling ball for my short game.
Having purchased a sleeve, went to the putting green before first use and had a token putt for feel. I have a Scotty Cameron at the moment w/o an insert and off this putter, these Hex Chromes felt soft albeit not as soft as a Z-Star or the FG Tour. Pretty comparable to the B330S I think. Colour is a nice bright white and they certainly putted OK in practice.
Off the driver I was surprised how long these were. Now, I didn't gain 10-15 yards over my current balls but I seemed to be gaining a few yards on well struck shots. Trajectory was a handsome mid-trajectory off the driver w/o any ballooning.
Long irons were decent and I found my 2-, 3- and 4-irons pretty easy to get the needed elevation....assuming I struck them well. Feel off all irons was very nice indeed.
Mid-irons were pretty much a continuation of the longer ones i.e. nice feel and good launch.
Short irons were excellent - I found it very easy to get decent levels of spin even on half shots. Very easy on damp greens to get the ball spinning backwards. Might be a bit much spin for some people but I liked its control, particularly on the half to three-quarters shots. Cover was reasonably resilient vs. the wedges. A well struck wedge would just rough the paint work on the cover w/o really leaving all that white urethane debris in the grooves of my Vokey wedges. Overall, the resilience was decent and I'd probably expect to change the ball after maybe a couple of rounds unless it got lost first! Colour remained as the same initial bright white w/o any dimming.
Putting in anger was much as on the initial practice i.e. very good. Distance control was nice and feel off putter was good.
Overall, I'd definitely entertain getting these again (despite my usual disdain for Callaway balls) as they offer great performance and good value. I'd question whether someone would get any extra benefit out of the Hex Black with its 5-layers and extra cost.

Nice right up Navy. I just wish my game was at the level where the ball had a say in the outcome of my shots. At the moment a total miss hit is only a couple of shots away.

I have a quite a high ball flight so maybe these balls could suit me if the trajectory they give guards against the shot ballooning. Which is a problem I have with the long irons sometimes. I also appreciate that for each swing a ball produces different characteristics based on initial spin, club head speed and launch angle.

Might take a few years before they filter down to the jumble sale though Mac?

Interesting stuff navy. You call this a brief review?

Navy

Dont know where you live but it is properly cold in Edinburgh today. Might be a good chance to check how these balls perform in colder conditions?

I was pleasantly surprised with these too . Found they flew a little further than proV. Also surprised how much they checked up with chips and spun with wedges. They do feel a bit hard for me when Putting tho but that is just personal preference. Get 3 freebies with most scratch cups I pay in so will pla them again.

raycastleunited wrote:Interesting stuff navy. You call this a brief review?

Well, briefish. I don't have any launch monitor stuff and I didn't remember to take any pictures of the balls pre-use and after some abrupt encounters with my wedges.

Mac

Cool here today (Nottingham) but not in the brass monkey league.

Interestingly, played on Sunday and until about 11.00 it was definitely under 10°C. The Hex Chrome I was using (until lost in a snap hook off the 10th tee when well set ) was definitely needing an extra 1/2 to 1 club extra from the same distances cf. a week or two back. Guess cold affects most balls roughly the same.