When Volvik was looking for media to review the new XT Soft ball I figured, ‘Well, why not?’  The Volvik line was always of interest to me for their novelty balls and bright or matte finishes.  And, of course, as we age and watch our swing speed decrease, we are always looking for any advantage we can find.  So let’s see what another lower compression ball can do for us.

The Volvik XT Soft is quite a game changer in the arena of lower compression balls.  The ball is a three piece with a Vu-X Urethane cover with a VAS alignment guide and what Volvik calls their Extreme Power Core for the interior.  Suggested swing speed for this ball is from 75 to 85.  So, now that I basically read the back of the box to you let’s take it to the course and see how it performs in the real world.

The first thing that I liked about the ball is the color and the Volvik Alignment System (VAS) on the cover.  The unique shade of green really stands out well against the grass.  Also, I like to line my ball up to my target from the tee.  This where the VAS comes into play.  The VAS is a visual key of three parallel lines on the ball instead of just one.  The center line is bold and the two outside lines are doubled.  I found it exceptionally easy to line up my tee shot and to have the depth of field due to the color.  This made the ball easy to hit with the center of the clubface.

With the driver, the Volvik XT Soft feels great off the tee.  I’ve tried some ‘soft balls’ that felt like I was hitting either marshmallows or a Superball.  It’s hard to describe but this ball just felt right.  In fact, it not only felt right but it sounded right too.  It didn’t sound dead or clicky.  And if I can find a ball that both feels and sounds right from the tee, the confidence level goes up.

The ball flew on target well, although I would have liked a bit more in the way of trajectory but that can be a personal issue.  It was also extremely easy to track through the air.  Another big win for me who has actually lost balls that I know I hit in the fairway!  The biggest thing however, is that I averaged a 6 yard gain on my drives throughout my round!

Irons worked the Volvik XT Soft well also.  Again, the color combined with the feel and sound of the ball just seemed to inspire confidence for me.  The long irons flew true and when I had the mishit into the rough, the ball was easily found.  In fact I ended up finding three other balls that day while hawking mine.  That tells you something right there about the ability to track the XT Soft through the air.

Short irons and wedges were where the ball shined best for me.  I rely heavily on my short game and the ability to control the spin on this ball was second to none.  Whether using a 60 degree or a nine iron, I was able to not only get the ball on the green but to keep it there.  Both in pitching and chipping, I was able to stop the ball when struck well (needless to say that I overshot the green or topped it a few times).  How about the sand you ask?  I reply, it reacted really well.  I even hit it a few extra times from different lies in the bunkers.  Whether it was sitting on top or if I stepped on it to really plug it, the Volvik XT Soft not only found its way out of the trap but behaved rather well when it landed.

On the greens the VAS came in to play beautifully.  Lining up the ball was a simple matter and again, the way the lines on the ball stand out against the color made it easy to see.  Now if Volvik can only figure out a way to make the ball go in the cup in two putts instead of three.

So, now that we did the whole driver, fairway, iron, putter analysis, let’s give this ball the ending that it deserves and cut it open!

 As you can see the symmetry of the interior is spot one.  I’ve checked some ‘tour’ balls in the past that looked like an egg inside.  Not here.  You can clearly see the three layers and the quality that went into the manufacture of  this ball.  I do believe that quality is what translated into the consistency of play with the XT Soft.  Also, I actually finished the round with the same ball that I started with.  Another testament to the color and finish that made it easy to track and therefore easy to find.

To add it all up, the Volvik XT Soft looks great, sounds great, performs well around the greens and adds distance off the tee and stood up well to some purposeful abuse as you can see in the pic below.. 

If there was any criticism it would be that I didn’t notice any considerable distance improvement with my long and mid irons.  But as I said before, that can very well be a personal problem.  The only thing that I can say is that it’s obvious why it received the Gold Medal on the 2020 Golf Digest Hot List.  Well deserved and I have now removed the other manufacturer’s ‘Tour Soft’ balls from my bag and replaced them with the Volvik XT Soft.  Go to their site at www.Volvik.com (I’ve added a cap and the Marvel Golf Umbrella to my Christmas list!) and check out what they have to offer. 

Stay safe and play well,

Joe