Volvik updates Tour S3/S4 lineup of multilayer elite-player balls

Equipment

The new Volvik Tour S3/S4 golf balls—unlike the company’s proven trend of a rainbow array of color options—will only be offered in one hue other than white. It is a not so subtle indication that this is the company’s most serious technology ball, played and preferred by tour and elite-level players.

According to the company, neither ball is recommended for swing speeds of less than 95 miles per hour.

Both balls feature the company’s patented mixed bismuth rubber core construction. Bismuth is a rare heavy metal that is used in the outer portion of the core to improve resiliency and energy transfer. It also adds density to the core formulation, pushing more mass toward the outside of the ball to increase the ball’s moment of inertia. The theory is that a ball with more mass toward the cover will maintain its level of spin, whether it be the low spin off a driver or the high spin off a wedge. This yields what the company calls better “lift generation” for longer carry distance and also better control on approach shots.

The Tour S3/S4 feature a multilayer construction and like the name implies the S3 is a three-piece construction (core, mantle and cover), while the S4 is a four-piece design with a dual core. Opposite of most tour-level balls, the Volvik approach to a dual core is to combine a solid inner core with a soft outer core. The solid inner core “optimizes distance by transferring the power from the more solid inner core to the softer outer layer instead of transferring inertia from a soft inner core to a solide outer layer.”

The slightly lower compression (85) Tour S3 is designed to produce mid-launch and mid-spin and is aimed at swing speeds between 95 and 110 miles per hour. The firmer (90 compression) Tour S4 offers a higher launch/low spin driver performance profile and is geared toward swings above 105 miles per hour.

Both balls feature the company’s VU-X urethane cover, which was seen first on last year’s Vivid Soft line.

The Tour S3 is available in white or orange, while the Tour S4 comes in white or green ($50 per dozen).

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