In the last few years, golfers have really found out the importance of getting their golf clubs fit for them. No two swings are alike and to bring your game to the next level having your clubs fit for your swing is a must. But when it comes to finding the right golf ball, we never really try and go that “extra mile” to find the one that fits us. I have always struggled with finding the right golf ball for my game. For years I played whatever was on the clearance racks and then when my game got to the level where I wanted to get something from my ball, I played the ball the professionals use. Why? I have no idea why really. Maybe, because the reviews were always good and it seemed as though when you got to a certain level in this crazy game, that was the next step. Switching to that golf ball!
When choosing a golf ball for my game, I wanted everything possible. The ball had to give me maximum distance off the tee, yet provide great spin and feel that I was just not getting from the two piece balls that I had played for years. Naturally I went to the Tour Premium golf balls and played for quite some time with those and really never thought much about it again. But as my game improved more and more I noticed one thing was really lagging far behind the rest, and that was driving distance. I seemed to have been losing distance over the last 12 months and could not for the life of me figure out why.
I decided to sit down and talk with a teaching professional and see what I could do to gain some much needed extra yards off the tee. After getting put in a launch monitor, he quickly commented that I should really take a look at changing golf balls. The teacher was kind enough to explain to me that because my swing speed is less than 105 mph, the golf ball I was using was not really going to help me off the tee. In fact, it was actually going to hurt my game more than it helped. I learned that to maximize distance off the tee with a “premium ball” you have to hit the ball hard enough to have it compress at impact. I just simply was not doing that. Lucky for me, the folks at Bridgestone Golf thought of this very thing and created a tour caliber golf ball that was made for slower swing speeds.
To be honest, I did not believe the hype. I assumed that their was no possible way I could keep the same spin and feel and get my distance back. Bridgestone B330-RX was made with a softer core to make the ball fully compress at impact especially for players that have a swing speed less than 100mph. Armed with a dozen of these golf balls, I went out to the course early in the morning and hit tee shots over and over again on a long par 5. I used both my usual ball and the Bridgestone B330-RX. Immediately I noticed two things. The ball launch is significantly higher than what I was used to. The golf ball got up quickly and really stayed up for a nice flight pattern. The second thing I noticed is the shot dispersion was much straighter. The side spin that I can create on drives seemed as though it was reduced by a significant amount. Was I adding distance? Yes, about 8 yards of distance gain was achieved on average with this ball compared to my old ball.
My initial impression was a good one, but I really kept thinking to myself, that I could have been doing that with a 2 piece ball and would have seen the same results. So off I went to the approach shot area and I set up 4 balls each at 60, 80, and 100 yards. I hit the approach shots into the green and to my liking and surprise, the balls all took one hop and stopped. No issue at all on the approaches. Next up was the practice green for chipping, putting and sand play. Chipping and putting turned out to be the exact same amount of spin and feel that I was used to getting from my golf ball. On flop shots and out of the bunker, the Bridgestone really shined. Both shots, when struck well, had the same spin I was used to seeing and really showed me that I was going to lose absolutely nothing. At the conclusion of the 3 hour test session, all signs seemed to indicate that a permanent switch was in my future.
Overall, the Bridgestone B330-RX seems to fit my game perfectly. I have since played about 8 rounds with these and each and every round I find myself liking it more and more. What I learned more than anything in this review was that one ball is not right for every golfer. When we tested these balls with our teaching professional, he did not have the same results. He found himself losing distance due to ball flight. We take the time to get our clubs fitted, we should take the same time to get the golf ball fitted. You will not regret it. The price of this ball is $43 and we feel that is right in line with the cost of the other premium golf balls. To read more about these, check them out at B330-RX.
Till Next Time
Josh B.
