Wilson Duo vs Srixon Soft Feel – What’s The Better Ball

Wilson Duo vs Srixon Soft Feel – What’s The Better Ball

It seems that everyone is opting for softer balls these days. But there is a conundrum with soft golf balls. Sure they offer good distance off the tee. But the most prominent problem with distance balls is that they lack feel around the green.

There have been a lot of innovations to correct this issue in the hopes of making a superior distance ball that still allows for good performance around the green. But has any manufacturer actually been able to make such a ball?

If you are a golfer looking for a mid-priced soft ball that will yield good distance without ridiculous compromise to your short game, this review is for you. Both of the balls we will be reviewing today are soft balls on the lower end of the core compression spectrum.

What’s more, they both claim to also give good spin around and on the green as well. So let’s take a look at these two and figure out which actually delivers.

Srixon Soft Feel

We start with the ball that has the more intriguing core. While both the Wilson Staff Duo Soft and the Srixon Soft Feel balls feature 2-piece construction, the core of the Srixon Soft Feel balls is what Srixon calls an E.G.G. core which stands for energetic gradient growth.

Essentially, this is a rubberized core that gets progressively harder the further away from the center it gets. The cover however is a harder ionomer material that yields good distance while giving good bite on the green.

We actually did like the way these gripped on the green. The ionomer cover is noticeably thinner at just 0.063”. Still, they offer plenty of greenside spin thanks to the E.G.G. core and thin cover.

Wilson Staff Duo Soft

The core of the Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls is 3% larger than normal and combined with the shallower dimples, these balls play very fast on drives. They also have a ridiculously low core compression rating at just 29.

To be exact, there are 302 shallow dimples on these balls. There is also not a lot of driver side spin to these balls which does make them fly straighter, but they aren’t quite as grippy on the greens as the Srixon Soft Feel balls.

You can get these balls in glossy white or you can go with the Wilson Staff Duo Soft Optix which come in a variety of matte colors.

Tee Off Comparison

As far as drives go, these two balls performed comparably. You get easy distance with both of them (we averaged between 205 and 220 yards ourselves) and low spin on drives with both of them.

However, we did prefer the way the Srixon Soft Feel balls felt against the driver face on tee offs. They feature a 338 count dimple pattern that reduces drag as well.

On the other hand, the Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls flew straighter which is great for some players but it also makes them harder to work for others. All in all, we would say that if you have a medium to slow swing speed, the Srixon Soft Feel balls would probably be more beneficial for you off the tee.

Fairway and Approach Comparison

We really liked the stopping power of the Srixon Soft Feel balls on approach shots and fairway shots. They felt more accurate and didn’t roll as much on greenside shots. The thinner and harder cover just gives you more control overall.

The Wilson Staff Duo Soft also has a lower spin rate, but that shows more on longer fairway shots. On approach shots and chips, they tend to roll a bit longer.

Putting Performance Comparison

Overall we have to say that the Srixon Soft Feel balls performed better on the green. On bump and run shots, you get more roll than you would expect from the Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls. We also couldn’t get a very good feel on short shots with the Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls.

The Srixon Soft Feel balls had a softer skin which played better on the green in our opinion.

Price Point Comparison

Soft golf balls are typically on the lower end of the price spectrum which is another aspect that makes them so attractive for newbies and high handicappers. The Wilson Staff Duo Soft and Srixon Soft Feel balls are no exception.

You can pick up a dozen Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls for about $17 while 12 Srixon Soft Feel balls will cost around $14.

Wilson Staff Duo Soft Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Large core and shallow dimples
• You get great initial velocity with these balls
• Good for players with faster swing speeds
• Low driver side spin
• They fly straighter
• Come in a variety of colors

Cons:

• A Lot of roll on approaches
• More expensive
• Harder to work

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Srixon Soft Feel Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Great distance
• Good for players with mid to low swing speeds
• Less expensive
• Innovative E.G.G. core
• Good bite on the green
• Better short game control

Cons:

• Not as soft as the Wilson Staff Duo Soft balls
• Not great for faster swing speeds

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Which is the Better Ball?

If you have read this far, you probably have a good idea of which ball we thought was better. But to preface, both of these balls performed very well in the arena that soft balls should perform well in: distance.

You get ample distance with both of these balls but as far as which one was better at marrying distance and feel around the green, we have to go with the Srixon Soft Feel balls. They played shorter on approach shots and had better stopping power too.

The feel of the Srixon Soft Feel balls was also better on putts. They are even (typically) less expensive! They win our endorsement today so go and check them out for yourself!

***WINNER***

Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls

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