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Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back Irons Review

SuperStroke
Hanks said:
You may be right, ST...I really like the feel of the PX shafts but I think the flighted combo witht he higher lofts just saps all the distance out of these things. I'm really curious as to how these would react to being bent 2* stronger to get more in line with the stronger lofts now seen in other irons.
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I doubt this will be possible due to the nature of the testing but what about going to non-flighted PX's and dropping half a step down?

If you go stronger with the lofts you would get distance back but not as much as something like a 2.0 or Razr X will give you at the same loft. The COG in player irons will be higher so it won't response to the loft change the same way (low COG means the lofts have to be that strong to keep those irons from skying the ball every shot).
 
that may be an option as well. I definitely wouldn't be lookig for distance along the lines of the 2.0's but I'd like to see something in the middle. If not at least better than what I'm seeing so far. I really think that with the right combo of loft and shaft these irons could be a great asset to a golfer who doesn't need a ton of forgiveness. These have some forgiveness but not a ton even though they are considered a 'cavity back'

I've got 3 rounds and a few range sessions under my belt with these so I'll be starting the early stages of my review tonight so I'll save the majority of my thoughts for that but if anyone has any questions before then let me know.

Super Tuna said:
I doubt this will be possible due to the nature of the testing but what about going to non-flighted PX's and dropping half a step down?

If you go stronger with the lofts you would get distance back but not as much as something like a 2.0 or Razr X will give you at the same loft. The COG in player irons will be higher so it won't response to the loft change the same way (low COG means the lofts have to be that strong to keep those irons from skying the ball every shot).
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Hanks thank you for bringing your J40 s along last weekend. I tried the 7 iron Sunday before the Plaid Jacket match. It was hard to tell how they would work for me seemed as though the club head lie angle was much different than my Nikes. Half dozen balls mostly with a strong draw. Hard to tell but the shaft felt a little heavy. Good luck with your review.

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they're 1* up Shark so that may have been a difference for you. The shafts are definitely a little heavier than normal but I think I like how they feel overall when you consider the whole package.

sharkwrestler said:
Hanks thank you for bringing your J40 s along last weekend. I tried the 7 iron Sunday before the Plaid Jacket match. It was hard to tell how they would work for me seemed as though the club head lie angle was much different than my Nikes. Half dozen balls mostly with a strong draw. Hard to tell but the shaft felt a little heavy. Good luck with your review.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums
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They felt pretty good just a little off balanced, I checked the club face afterwards and I was hitting on center. They had a strong draw for me the only way I could get a straight flight was to lift the heel slightly and adjust. My set up is a little different from 6 years ago my Nikes are 3* up and I need to go back and have them checked and perhaps bent to feel better. Not sure how much that's going to cost too much adjusting on the course to make the ball fly better. I'm in the market for new Irons I tried the VR pro Combos @ GG friday and they felt great didn't have them on a monitor but checked the club face and the ball was hitting just in from center off the rack. Right now The J40's would not be my first choice didn't feel as smooth as the Pro Combo's. There's many more Irons that I'll be checking out before I buy.
 
Great review Todd! I enjoyed reading it and appreciate the candid feedback. I really dig the looks, just very sharp looking. I also like the lofts as that is what I am playing now and the stock PX shafts are a great asset to these. These would be right up my alley by the sounds of it; well done man!


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Todd good stuff as usual. I too was hooked the first time I layed eyes on them. The lines of these irons are sick.
 
I'll be taking some swings with these guys the first chance I get. I'm interested in that shaft for some reason. I've never hit a PX iron shaft.

These are a fantastic looking set of irons and I'm looking forward to seeing them in person. Thanks for the thorough review, Hanks.
 
A great review Hanks! It was fun and easy to read. It was a nice flow of pro's and con's to give a really balanced review.
 
Nice work on the review T. These definitely are great looking irons and I think because of the players iron setup to them they're definitely geared toward low to scratch handicappers. It's nice to hear that you had some success with them and I definitely think that a lot of people would really like these when they hit them. Great info as always, thanks!
 
Great review first of all. These clubs are hot, but not quite in my ballpark yet. I'm interested to hear how the pocket cavity's compare.
 
Puttin4Bird said:
Nice work on the review T. These definitely are great looking irons and I think because of the players iron setup to them they're definitely geared toward low to scratch handicappers. It's nice to hear that you had some success with them and I definitely think that a lot of people would really like these when they hit them. Great info as always, thanks!
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Thanks man. Looking forward to your review on your J40 offering as well!


^^^^^^ I Tapped That ^^^^^^
 
Hanks - loved to hear how you found a swing that worked for you with these clubs. That is absolutely something that I think is important to hear. While our "grip it and rip it" swing might work with GI irons, it needs to be dialed in sometimes when we hit clubs geared toward lower handicaps. I know that is something I noticed this year with my own irons. Thanks for the great write up and review!
 
I can't wait to get to try these out! I love how these look and I love the look of the Dual Pocket Cavities looks fantastic too! In fact, the whole J40 lineup looks fantastic!
 
Thanks Ghasace.....it's something I wanted to touch on but not dwell on as best I could. I found with these irons (as well as others) that the same swing can't always be used for different irons

ghsace said:
Hanks - loved to hear how you found a swing that worked for you with these clubs. That is absolutely something that I think is important to hear. While our "grip it and rip it" swing might work with GI irons, it needs to be dialed in sometimes when we hit clubs geared toward lower handicaps. I know that is something I noticed this year with my own irons. Thanks for the great write up and review!
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Very interesting review Hanks.
I'm hoping at some point to try these out vs my Nike's since they're the same loft and see if there's any distance change. The yardages you mentioned makes me wonder about how hot the face is/what sort of smash factor you and others are seeing out of them.
 
personally the face didn't feel too hot to me. there didn't appear to be a lot of oomph to these irons when you hit them but I suspect that's the overall design and intent of these

Super Tuna said:
Very interesting review Hanks.
I'm hoping at some point to try these out vs my Nike's since they're the same loft and see if there's any distance change. The yardages you mentioned makes me wonder about how hot the face is/what sort of smash factor you and others are seeing out of them.
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Hanks said:
personally the face didn't feel too hot to me. there didn't appear to be a lot of oomph to these irons when you hit them but I suspect that's the overall design and intent of these
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Which if that's how they are after a full fitting it's an interesting choice by Bstone design. For better or worse I'm a "players" iron guy through and through which is what draws me to these initially. However there are some irons of this style out there that have more pop then others. For example the AP2's and MP53's were consistently a club shorter then S3 Pro's, Pro Combo's and Razr forged for me despite the same lofts and shafts for the most part. I'll admit I was hoping these would fall into the second group. Your distances seem a bit concerning in that regard though given your iron SS (correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was in the low to mid 80's).

Assuming you had free reign to change the shafts, lofts, grips and practice time do you think you would see a signifigant increase in distance while keeping the accuracy?
(I'm not trying to belabour the point, it just seems insane to me that you saw such a drop. A club I could see but 3 is signifigant)
 
Some very good reviews. I wonder why Bridgestone went with higher lofted irons?
 
UNCFan6 said:
Some very good reviews. I wonder why Bridgestone went with higher lofted irons?
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They are just traditional lofts. No different (or not very different) than any other Tour or players iron.
 
I'm sure I'd see some improved distances with some additional tweaks. I'd keep the shafts as I'm really impressed with them but I'd change the grips and strengthen the lofts. Add to that more practice time and a more consistent swing and I think these would be great sticks for me. I think overall I saw a drop of a club 1/2 to 2 clubs. Example- My CG16 8i is my 150yd club whereas the J40 CB 6i was the 150 yd club for me in that set.

Super Tuna said:
Which if that's how they are after a full fitting it's an interesting choice by Bstone design. For better or worse I'm a "players" iron guy through and through which is what draws me to these initially. However there are some irons of this style out there that have more pop then others. For example the AP2's and MP53's were consistently a club shorter then S3 Pro's, Pro Combo's and Razr forged for me despite the same lofts and shafts for the most part. I'll admit I was hoping these would fall into the second group. Your distances seem a bit concerning in that regard though given your iron SS (correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was in the low to mid 80's).

Assuming you had free reign to change the shafts, lofts, grips and practice time do you think you would see a signifigant increase in distance while keeping the accuracy?
(I'm not trying to belabour the point, it just seems insane to me that you saw such a drop. A club I could see but 3 is signifigant)
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Great review Hanks. Thanks for bringing them to the outing they are sexy looking.
 
Great to see your review after hitting these at the get together and see you game them. After hitting these and the R11 I think the J40s feel closer to my mp-30s which I like. Thanks again for the write up and great playing with you.


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