Updated on August 22, 2023
I often turn to Srixon for affordable, easy-launching golf balls that suit my moderate swing speed.
In this post, I reveal the findings of my Srixon Soft Feel golf balls review and explain why it best suits slow to medium swing speeds.
After reading my review, you’ll know the composition of the Soft Feel, its price tag, feel, and available colors. I’ll also dive into its performance off the tee, on approach, and around the green to see if it matches your desired features.
Features
Two-Piece Ball
The Srixon Soft Feel are traditional 2-piece distance golf balls containing a core and an ionomer cover. The simple construction promotes lower spin and rapid speed and are the most affordable golf balls.
2-piece balls are generally used by mid or high handicappers looking for consistent distance or bargain hunters unphased by limited technology.
Fast Layer Core
A FastLayer Core is the driving force behind the Soft Feel, lowering the compression score to 60, which suited my moderate swing speed. In my experience, the core was highly compressible, causing rapid ball speed and a lower spin rate on high-impact shots.
Srixon engineered the core to promote a towering launch for the average golfer struggling to get the ball airborne. I feel it’s ideal for slow-swing speed seniors or beginners seeking higher long-game launch and consistent distance.
60 Compression
Golf ball compression scores are divided between low, medium, and high 2-piece distance balls that traditionally rank as low to medium compression balls, best suited to the average golfer. The Soft Feel balls score 60 on the compression test, which ranks in the middle of the table.
The medium compression score means this Srixon is highly compressible at impact, encouraging maximum rebound off the clubface. This leads to a powerful, towering launch and higher ball flight for consistent carry distance.
Soft Ionomer Cover
Contrary to my experience with the Callaway Warbird, the Srixon Soft Feel cover was thin and relatively soft. In the interest of managing expectations, it’s still not as soft as urethane-covered golf balls like the Z-Star Diamond.
Srixon reduced the thickness to 1.6mm, making it a full millimeter thicker than the Srixon flagship Z-Star, which provides superior spin. However, I did find it marginally thinner than its distance ball peers, resulting in better-than-usual spin revolutions.
I noticed that the soft ionomer cover was relatively effective in etching itself into my wedge grooves. The added contact boosted friction and produced more spin than most distance balls. However, the revolutions were still in short supply for my liking, but it won’t impact the average golfer.
338 Speed Dimple Pattern
I thought the 338 Speed Dimple Pattern was among the best assets of the Soft Feel owing to its drag resistance and lift enhancement. As my ball launched into the air, the dimples fought drag to impart a towering apex, a valuable asset for the slower swing speed golfers.
Once in flight, the dimples remained active and sliced through the air, highlighting their exceptional aerodynamics. It continued to impress towards the backend of the flight, as its lift-enhancing coefficient delayed the land and extended carry distance.
Alignment Arrow
The customary alignment arrow is efficiently designed, featuring a bold black arrow and text with the golf ball’s name. It was handy for putts, and I used it to my advantage by ensuring my clubface was pointing at the target line.
However, I feel the TaylorMade Distance + features a more sizable, superior arrow which is easier for players with visual impairments to see.
Colors
Unlike my experience with the Wilson Zip balls, I was happy to find the Soft Feel in four colors. Naturally, the standard Soft White was on offer, followed by a highly observable Tour Yellow cover finish. With the traditional offerings out the way, you have the selection of a green, orange, or red ball known as the Soft Feel Brite range.
I tend to gravitate to white golf balls because that’s what I’ve always played. But, I appreciated the easily traceable nature of the Tour Yellow and quickly identified it in the cabbage patch. Finally, I’d select the Brite Red ball as my third option, as it was also a breeze to track and trace.
Performance
Price
True to their distance ball nature, the Srixon Soft Feel golf balls carry an entry-level price tag and are easy on the wallet. A dozen balls set me back $22.99, making them more than half the price of a box of Titleist Pro V1 golf balls. They obviously don’t perform like a Pro V1, but that’s irrelevant when you’re on a budget.
Despite my appreciation for the rock bottom price, they are more expensive than the Wilson Zip range, which fetches $29.99 for 24 golf balls, coming in at a per unit price of $1.25. This is $0.66 less per ball than I paid for the Srixon Soft Feel.
Feel
As the name suggests, these golf balls deliver a soft feel in hand and off the clubface, owing to their low compression core and reformulated cover. Unlike my experience with the Callaway Warbird, the Soft Feel was pleasant to strike from tee to green.
I felt the ball rebound rapidly off the clubface on high-impact strikes, owing to the high compressibility of the core. The ball came off the face hot and felt relatively soft on drives, woods, and long iron strikes.
Compared to other distance balls, I felt it produced one of the best sensations off the wedge and putter face. The only distance balls that come close to offering the same greenside feel and control were the Wilson Zip and Callaway Supersoft.
The pleasant sensation generated on wedge shots and putts was a direct consequence of the thinner cover composition.
Sound
I was neither impressed nor offended by the acoustics of the Soft Feel, as it was largely mute on short game shots. Long-game audio is less important to me as I generally focus on the feedback enjoyed on wedge shots and putts.
When I compare the acoustics of the Soft Feel to the Warbird or Bridgestone e6, the Srixon ball is on a different level. It surprisingly produces a satisfying sound, which I’ve struggled to find in other distance golf balls.
Speed
The Srixon Soft Feel isn’t the fastest golf ball I’ve played, owing to the elevated spin I generated at impact. My driver spin ball speed was lower than my performance with the Wilson Zip, conjuring up 141.8 mph ball velocity. However, my performance was super erratic with this ball.
I exceeded 143 mph on a few shots, while others saw my numbers drop below 139 mph. I was quick to blame the inconsistencies on my own golf swing and ball striking. However, after hitting multiple similar shots, I noticed the numbers were different despite the similarities in my clubhead speed and smash factor.
This is when I first started to notice the inconsistencies of the Soft Feel range, which I’ll offer more detail about below.
Launch and Flight
I used the forgiving Srixon ZX5 irons to test the Soft Feel Golf Balls and registered varied launch and apex numbers. My launch degrees and apex were vastly different on the 5 shots where I produced a similar clubhead speed, smash factor, club path, and dynamic loft.
My launch average was 17.9°, but the numbers ranged from 17° to 19.3°, despite the similarities of my swing speed, smash factor, and club path. I felt my shape was consistent, producing 4 out of 5 draws and one straight shot, but the apex numbers were volatile. The lowest apex I registered from these 5 shots was 29.3 yards versus 36.31 at the higher end.
I generated less erratic numbers with my driver, but there were still variants. My lowest shot launched at 8.5° compared to my highest, which reached 12.6°, with an average of 11.7°. Despite the inconsistent launch degrees, most of my shots hovered around 38.1 to 39.9 yards, taking it 2.5 yards higher than my average.
Spin
Driver
I felt the softer, thinner ionomer cover impacted my spin revolutions, elevating them well above my average results. Typically, I conjure up around 2500 rpm with the big stick, but I saw that figure rise to an average of 3391 rpm. The added spin caused my ball to land softly and generate limited roll.
Iron
I was satisfied with my mid and short iron spin, as I produced marginally more backspin than usual. During the 7-iron test, I created 6651 rpm backspin, over 150 rpm more than my regular results on approach. Thanks to the fair spin levels, my ball only rolled out another 5.8 yards, which was bearable.
Greenside
Wedge spin was arguably the most surprising element of the Soft Feel because it delivered more spin than a traditional ball. Obviously, it’s not in the league of a urethane-covered golf ball. However, I did produce 9872 rpm of backspin on my pitching wedge shots, enough to prevent it rolling further than 2 yards.
Distance
The Soft Feel isn’t the longest ball I’ve ever hit, but it’s consistent, a characteristic amateurs desperately require. My drives carry an average of about 251 yards and then roll on for another 21 yards.
The Soft Feel surprisingly carried longer than my standard results, reaching 252.6 yards. But, the elevated spin rate caused it to only roll out another 12 yards, for a total of 264.6 yards. Approximately 9 yards short of my average distance.
Despite the loss of total distance, I was satisfied with the easy launch and consistent carry distance.
Durability
Overall, the durability of the Soft Feel balls lets them down, as they do scuff fairly easily, owing to their softer ionomer cover and core. However, when I ponder what I spent on a dozen balls, I can’t punish it severely for not lasting as long as a tour performance ball.
I’ve played several rounds with a single Soft Feel ball, and they are pretty scuffed after 18 holes. I tend to throw them into my range bag at this stage. Nevertheless, they’re fine for weekend warriors and high handicappers unphased by optimal performance.
What I Like About The Srixon Soft Feel
Controlled Iron Spin
Despite being a distance ball, I thought the Soft Feel produced ample spin for control on approach without hampering distance. The soft, thin ionomer cover helped the ball to wedge into the grooves and generate more spin than distance balls like the Noodle Long and Soft.
Greater Greenside Spin
For context, the Soft Feel doesn’t produce the spin of a Srixon Z Star, but it surpasses most distance balls, bar the Wilson Zip Core. The thinner, softer ionomer cover is again the difference in the spin revolutions compared to competitor 2-piece balls.
Speed Dimple Pattern
I appreciated the work of the advanced Speed Dimple Pattern, which outclassed drag on lift off for a towering launch. Once airborne, I enjoyed the stability of the flight, even producing a consistent draw shape on shots. Finally, the lift kicked into gear on the descent, delaying my landing and increasing my carry distance.
High Compression Core
I’m not the fastest swinger around, which is why I relished the soft, highly compatible core that enhanced rebound off the clubface on long shots. The increased rebound caused the ball to leave the face with rapid speed and moderate spin for a hassle-free launch.
I feel the increased compression and high launching nature of the Srixon Soft Feel is a welcome feature for moderate and slow swing speeds.
Affordable
The affordability of the Soft Feel is a significant bonus, making it ideal for high handicappers who lose copious balls every round. Alternatively, bargain hunters will appreciate the value for money. Despite the entry-level price tag, the Soft Feel still delivers a satisfactory performance from tee to green.
What I Dislike About The Srixon Soft Feel
Higher Driver Spin
I wasn’t the greatest fan of the higher spin levels, which unquestionably impacted my total distance, reducing my average roll. Although I did appreciate the consistent carry distance, I feel the lack of ball roll will hamper my performance in windy conditions or on damp turf.
Reduced Distance
The elevated driver spin hampered my total distance performance, as I lost a few yards of roll. The loss of yards isn’t the end of the world for high handicappers, but mid and low-handicap players will likely demand a ball with enhanced ball roll, like the Pro V1X.
Durability
I was disappointed with the durability of the Soft Feel. And if memory serves me correctly, I found them sturdier in the late 2000s. That is likely a result of the thinner ionomer cover. In all honesty, I’d rather have more spin than durability, given the entry-level price tag.
In addition, the average golfer will likely lose a ball before durability becomes an issue.
Launch Inconsistency
My final gripe about the Srixon Soft Feel was the launch inconsistency. Despite generating similar metrics before and at impact, my launch angle and apex were erratic. It caused me to lose some total distance because of less roll. Additionally, it’ll definitely enhance challenges in windy conditions.
Overall Rating and Thoughts
My review of the Srixon Soft Feel golf balls revealed an affordable, 2-piece construction, built for moderate and slow swing speeds. The soft, thin ionomer cover helped me produce superior spin levels over other distance balls like the Callaway Warbird.
The elevated spin was also present in the driver, as I generated more backspin off the tee, much to my dismay. I produced impressive carry distance, but my elevated flight caused the ball to stop rapidly and deliver minimal roll.
It’s not the longest golf ball I’ve hit, but it’s forgiving, provides more spin than other 2-piece balls, and is easy to launch. I recommend moderate and slow-swing golfers test the Srixon Soft Feel range on their swing speed.
Overall Score: 8.4/10
Matt Stevens
Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years. Current Handicap: 8