Updated January 27, 2025. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.
Soft golf balls have grown in stature among amateur golf balls due to their short game spin and enhanced feel with the driver.
While offering the same distance as firmer golf balls with longer clubs, soft feel golf balls generate more spin from shorter distances to help golfers hold the green and shorten the length of their par-saving putts.
But what soft golf ball works best for your game?
In this buying guide, we’ll give you our top five favorite soft golf balls, highlighting their benefits and how they can help you reach more greens safely.
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Last updated on 2025-04-10. The links are affiliate links. Product images are served from Amazon Product Advertising API.
Table of Contents
Best Soft Golf Balls 2025
Callaway Chrome Soft Golf Balls
Best Soft Golf Ball
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Specifications
- Type: 3-piece
- Cover: Urethane
- Dimple Pattern: Hexagonal
Pros
- Excellent touch and feel around green
- Higher launch with low driver spin
- Tour-level performance
Cons
- Lacks workability of other high-end balls
- Ideal only for high swing speed golfers
Callaway’s first-rate Chrome Soft delivers all the bells and whistles you could want from a soft feel golf ball. The multi-layer ball delivers low driver spin, high short game spin, and superb dispersion with distance to burn.
Built for golfers with elevated swing speed, the Chrome Soft produces outstanding distance with plenty of rollout around the greens.
It also provides plenty of forgiveness with exceptionally tight dispersion with your scoring irons.
During our time in the simulator, the ball kept the RPMs well within our desired ranges.
Once we got to the outdoor hitting area, we could see the difference more clearly between this top-tier soft ball and other mid-range offerings from the golf industry.
Great for serious players with high swing speed, the Chrome Soft definitely earns our blue ribbon as the best soft golf ball available to weekend warriors.
Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls
Best Soft Golf Ball for Low Handicappers
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Specifications
- Type: 3-piece
- Cover: Urethane
- Dimple Pattern: Circular
Pros
- Multi-layer softness offers pure feel
- Long distance, low driver spin
- Smooth short game play
Cons
- High price point for casual golfers
- Lacks durability due to thin outer layer
The Titleist ProV1, long known as the Cadillac of golf balls, offers the most softness of any top-tier ball.
Made with a thin urethane cover, it grips quickly against the grooves, creating fast spin with a high launch.
Out of all golf balls considered soft, the Pro V1 delivers the most distance we’ve ever seen for one of these types of balls.
Driver spin stays around 2250 RPM, helping create a gorgeous penetrating flight with minimal rotation to keep the target line with tighter dispersion.
Regarding wedge play around the green, the Pro V1 stacks up against any ball on the market with a smoothness that we rarely see from a golf ball.
Putting is also wonderful due to the softness of the ball, with premium feel from any distance to help you with lagging from over 25 feet.
A premium soft golf ball that doesn’t disappoint, the Titleist Pro V1 is the best ball for single-digit handicappers.
TaylorMade Soft Response Golf Balls
Best Soft Golf Ball for Mid Handicappers
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Specifications
- Type: 3-piece
- Cover: Ionomer
- Dimple Pattern: Circular
Pros
- Low-compression core works great for older golfers
- Pure feel with wedges and putter
- Maximum distance with slow swing speeds
Cons
- Way too soft for high-speed swing speeds
- Too much spin for experienced golfers
TaylorMade’s Tour Response delivers the most softness in a multi-layer ball we’ve ever seen for under $30 per dozen.
With a compression rating of around 50, the Tour Response utilizes its ionomer cover to keep the nicks and slices from the skin, making it highly durable.
Yet even with the tougher skin, the ball plays extremely soft from tee to green.
Also, for older golfers and higher handicappers, the multi-layer ball utilizes its extremely low compression to maintain distance even if you carry slow swing speeds.
The ball jumps off the club face with a high launch, but during our testing, we noted that it isn’t too spinny.
Instead, we were able to keep the ball in the right RPM range with each club to maximize distance.
The Soft Response delivers outstanding value with low long-game spin. It offers multi-layer play at an extremely affordable price.
Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls
Best Soft Golf Ball for High Handicappers
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Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Ionomer
- Dimple Pattern: Circular
Pros
- Longer distance for a 2-piece soft golf ball
- Exceptional mid-iron spin
- Lands soft with spin to hold greens
Cons
- Firmer than most soft golf balls
- Lacks workability due to its construction
Srixon’s Soft Feel produces distance, clustered dispersion, and exceptional short-game spin.
Built with a durable ionomer outer layer, the Soft Feel ball offers mid-high flight that produces far-reaching distance with long and short game clubs.
The ball’s 338-speed dimple pattern and two-piece construction keep the driver spin relatively low, around 2500 RPM, while producing a nice soft touch around the pin.
We couldn’t work the golf ball well with our irons, but if you are in the market for a soft golf ball that goes straight and long when you strike it, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better golf ball than the Soft Feel.
During our time on the greens with the Soft Feel, we were very impressed with its long-distance lag performance. The ball offered outstanding repeatability on strokes over 30 feet.
For a long while, we’ve believed that Srixon golf balls are highly underrated, and their Soft Feel model remains one of the best values on the market today.
Callaway Supersoft Golf Balls
Best Soft Golf Ball for Beginners
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Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Ionomer
- Dimple Pattern: Hexagonal
Pros
- Faster ball speed for casual golfers
- More fairways with tight dispersion
- Delivers length of distance golf balls
Cons
- Lacks the workability of multi-layer golf balls
- Doesn’t carry the softness of urethane outer layer
Callaway’s Supersoft offers a low-budget alternative for casual golfers who want performance without breaking the bank.
Built like the Wilson Duo Soft, the Supersoft offers a nice mix of distance and spin with a softness around the greens that shines when using a sand or lob wedge.
We liked the arrow on the greens for putting alignment and the cushioned feel at impact. The ball rolls smoothly without hopping and skipping after contact.
On the scale of best-value golf balls, the Callaway Supersoft has always hung around the top of the list, but we were pleasantly surprised by how fun it is to play from tee to green.
Not only will you get a few extra yards from the ball, but for less than $25 a dozen, the Supersoft offers tremendous value with its outstanding gameplay for average golfers.
How We Tested the Soft Golf Balls
With dozens of soft golf balls on the market, our process for testing golf balls offers unbiased insight and data collection to ensure we are choosing the absolute top soft golf balls on the market today.
First, we get the golf balls into our lab and take note of every specification, such as outer layer material, number of layers, and compression rating.
We also record the dimple type and number of dimples, which affects distance, drag, and spin rate.
After recording all the necessary details, we take the ball to the indoor simulator and hit a few dozen shots to get a performance baseline.
During these sessions, we also look for features that may stick out with the other balls. Such perks as higher ball flight or more distance than the typical soft golf ball are noted.
We then spent time hitting balls outdoors with each club in the bag. We want to record distance, spin rate, and launch angle data with each club regarding the soft golf ball we’re testing.
Since the soft ball tailors itself to improve short game play, we spent time hitting pitch, chip, and specialty shots around the green to gauge performance.
Finally, after all the swings and data collection, we head back to the lab, share our notes, and compile our thoughts for each golf ball.
After we discuss the pros and cons, we make our list of the top soft golf balls for this review.
How to Choose the Best Soft Golf Balls
Feel
One of the biggest standout areas for softer golf balls is with feel. The softer design promotes an enhanced feel, a huge benefit for ball striking with your scoring irons.
Regardless of the club, a softer feel helps generate additional spin around the greens and from inside 150 yards.
On pitch and chip shots, the cushioned outer layer provides spin and increasing lift to get the ball high with a softer landing.
Distance
Although feel and softness are the most important benefits here, you need distance with your golf equipment even though there’s a low-compression core at the heart of these golf balls.
While you might not hit the ball as far as Rory McIlroy, you want to make sure there’s little difference between the soft ball you choose and the alternate firmer balls available on the market.
Forgiveness
When we talk about forgiveness, we really are talking about dispersion. You want your shots to be predictable in flight, distance, and landing area, and you can get all three with softer golf balls.
Of course, that’s easier said than done, but with these specific golf balls, you want to hit more fairways and with more speed to maximize distance.
Low Driver Spin
For accuracy, you need low driver spin with your softer golf balls. Of course, you want as close to the same distance you can get from firmer golf balls as possible but with a boosted feel.
Even though you might feel that these golf balls are more compressed at impact, they should offer as much speed as other golf balls without side spin.
High Wedge Spin
Inside 150 yards, you want high spin with your wedges with these balls. In addition to the softness, you want the spin rate to match the feel of the golf ball.
You want an RPM that registers around 8000-9000 with your wedge to get the stopping power on the green to get the ball as close to the pin as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are soft golf balls best for?
Soft golf balls are great for golfers who need help around the greens. Even for amateurs suffering from a slower swing speed, they deliver better greenside spin to help them get chip shots closer to the pin.
On full swings, these balls provide a soft feel and more spin to help them hold shots on the green.
What are the disadvantages of soft golf balls?
Soft feel golf balls don’t travel as far as firmer golf balls due to their lower compression rating. These balls are made to produce better feel around the greens for average golfers.
For older golfers or high handicappers, the soft feel balls don’t maximize distance, with drivers forcing them to hit longer approach shots into the green.
What is the easiest golf ball to hit straight?
The easiest golf ball to hit straight is the Pro V1 from Titleist.
These premium golf balls, preferred by dozens of PGA Tour pros, deliver low spin with reduced drag due to its premium urethane cover material for your driver and long game clubs and a healthy amount of spin and feel around the green.
Is a softer golf ball more forgiving?
Yes, a softer golf ball delivers a more forgiving experience for most golfers due to limiting distance in the name of feel and spin.
While they might cost you a few extra yards off the tee, the soft feel golf balls offers a noticeable difference when looking at dispersion compared to harder 2-piece golf balls with a tougher outer layer.