The first thing that comes to mind now when you think of Bridgestone golf balls is the famous Bridgestone Ball Fitting, if you haven’t been to one I highly recommend you get to one ASAP! While there are fittings across the entire country there are some spots that just don’t get much access to this technology, for you there is a great online fitting tool that you can take advantage of. Beyond the automated application that you can input your data to learn which ball is recommended for you they have something they call B Fit, you can actually talk online to a fitting specialist. I had a ball fitting back in March before our season started and was fit to the B330-S. Recently I went through the online fitting process and also spoke to a B Fit technician, again both times was pointed to a B330-S.
I normally play a Pro V1 and occasionally switch around to whatever seemed cool at the time, I found myself playing the Srixon Z-Star quite a little bit lately as well. I also was given a dozen Callaway Tour I for Christmas to I am rather used to using a wide variety of golf balls, all the balls I play are tour caliber balls so really what can be all that different, right? Wrong. I had made up my mind that when all my balls were gone out of my bag I’d try the B330-S but like always, I’m a very impatient person and just couldn’t wait to get these balls in action. The other day I took a brand new dozen Pro V1s out of my bag and left them in the trunk with that brand new dozen Tour I and replaced them with the B330-S. Before I actually got them on the course I noticed how good they felt to me on the practice green, they really rolled smoothly off my putter and had a nice soft feel to them, something I love about the tour caliber balls. The B330-S did not disappoint.
Alright practice time is over and these balls are officially in play, the first thing that jumped out to me is that by the 3rd hole of my first round with them I was hitting the ball further, reaching locations that I just simply don’t reach normally. The distance increase really surprised me; I did not expect the ball to be that much longer than what I had been playing. After all- all tour caliber balls are created equal right? Wrong. I don’t pretend to know all the inner technology of what core does what, but the B330-S is a four piece ball and the inner most core is called the SOFT Gradational Core for explosive initial velocity and reduced driver spin. For me this core is that I can credit most of my love for this ball to, the reduced driver spin really helps keep the B330-S on the designed flight path thus increasing the overall distance I’m gaining.
Feel is the reason I play a tour caliber ball, I know that being a 10 handicap players I don’t need this much ball but I just love the feel of these balls versus the two or three piece balls on the market. The Bridgestone B330-S does not fall short in the feel category in the slightest, rather the opposite actually. The B330-S has a seamless urethane cover with a 330 dimple design for help with accuracy. This cover is so consistent and perfect I cannot say enough good things about it really. If feel is your thing then you are going to love the B330-S ball. Feel is often times lumped in with spin but I don’t buy into all that, you can have a tour ball that feels great but does not offer the spin needed on short irons and/or wedge shots; leaving you with a lot of long putts to really enjoy that “feel”…enter the B330-S, here you get both feel and the perfect amount of spin. I could sit and hit pitch shots all day long just to watch how the ball lands and checks up almost on demand each and every time. I’ve never been a player to get any kind of back spin on my shots, maybe a time or two here and there but nothing real consistent. Using the B330-S on soft Bermuda greens on a recent trip to Florida I was consistently getting back spin with anything lower than an 8 iron, that’s pretty cool if you ask me! I don’t always think that back spin is necessarily a good thing, but it sure is cool to see and I was routinely seeing this action in those conditions. Here at home I get a nice bounce and stop sort of reaction from my ball, this is perfect for me, harder greens can be a nightmare to try to keep a ball on the putting surface, but since putting the B330-S in play I am no longer having to play short of the green every time.
At first the reason I was so happy with this ball was that it was a piece of mind type feeling I was getting by knowing that I’m finally playing a ball that fits my swing and my game, no more guess work and carousel of brands in my bag. Knowing that each time I get a ball out it will be the same consistent ball that I can trust is really nice, but there is a lot more to this ball than just that. I expected to like the B330-S but I did not expect it to completely supplant all the Pro V1 and Tour I balls in my bag, that was a very big surprise that I can honestly say I did not expect. Bridgestone’s 2010 golf ball line is second to none all the way up and down the list of offerings, the proof is definitely in the pudding too, all you have to do is take a look at the pure domination by Bridgestone in the 2010 Golf Digest Golf Ball Hot List, three categories and two gold and one silver, simply outstanding. In addition, the B330 series took home a best-in-class award for innovation in the Over $35 per dozen category. This makes 4 out of the last 5 years, that Bridgestone Golf has won the best-in-class award for innovation/technology in the Golf Digest Hot List, in the Over $35 per dozen category. Above all the feel, spin, distance, and everything else we tend to talk about so much when reviewing balls one more thing that really stood out to me was durability. I played 27 holes with the same ball and when finished it was still definitely playable by every golfer’s standards. This is not typical and definitely something that will help keep the B330-S on the forefront of my ball of choice for a long time to come, I definitely have a permanent place in my bag for this ball, and right now, too!…anyone need any Pro V1s?
Here is to keeping it in the short grass
Jason K.
