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2012 Bridgestone Golf Ball Forum Review Thread

SuperStroke
Great feedback Buck. It's funny I was just about to post up my initial thoughts after receiving the balls today and the first thing I did was putt as well. I am finding similar to what Buckjob is in that first I love the feel and sound of the new ball compared to the old which I'm also with Buck, I love how the old B330-S feels off the putter so I was ecstatic to find out that the new one feels every bit as nice for me. So yeah the odd thing was that there were a few putts that I felt like I left short with the new ball only to find that it did actually roll out to where I intended. Often times I'd putt an old ball then immediately putt a new ball and a more than a couple of times thought I left the putt with the new ball shorter yet it rolled out to cover as much ground as the previous putt with the old. How the heck does that work?

I lined up 3 old B330-S with the 6 new B330 and B330-S and I was intently trying to find the differences in feel off the putter. If I definitely had to come up with something I could say the new (both models) do feel a tad bit softer off the putter but it's so amazingly close it's really hard to tell just yet to be honest. That's a good thing for me, I love the way the old ball rolls off the putter so I definitely don't want any change there. Again regarding getting a little more roll out like Buck talked about...I just don't know for sure yet, a lot more testing will be done and I am determined to find out if I'm just seeing/feeling things or if this is really the case.

Anyway, here are some pics I grabbed upon arrival. I've got a session on the launch monitor this week, I look forward to side by side comparisons with these balls and of course I'll report it all right here.

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good stuff P4B... yeah if i closed my eyes and i didn't know what ball between last years and this years balls someone put down id have no clue which was which right now. i can't wait to get these balls against todays ball launch numbers i was crushing them today, i wonder how the dimples will affect my spin.
 
Great initial thoughts fellas. I hit mine into the net tonight just to get a feel without knowing the direction. As with you guys I like the sound.

Now I don't know if it's cause these are brand new but off my burners these things felt great. A nice solid yet soft feel. I could feel the mishits as well although that simply due to my swing. But feel wise I was happy. I put them up against the old B330 and could feel it being softer. I can't wait for out on the course.

As for visuals. Standing over the ball the dimples aren't noticeable and as I said in my initial thoughts- they are quiet and shouldn't bother anyone. Putting wise I didn't like the smaller graphics for aiming but otherwise it still performed and had similar results as the guys above me- of course it could be because of the balls being brand new( hot off the face)
 
Great stuff so far guys!

So I got home from a long day at work today to find a :bridgestone: box waiting for me. The packaging has been covered in pictures already, so I won't put up more of those. All I can say is the presentation is top notch!

I did have a chance to snap a couple pics that I thought I would share... First up are the contenders.

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The Gamer V2 is my standard ball. I'll play the Nike One Tour every once in a while if I find a deal or if someone buys me a box for my birthday or something.

The Gamer is a ball that also utilizes their own version of dimple in dimple technology, so I thought it would be useful to show them both close up to illustrate the differences.

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As you can see the Bridgestone 'interior' dimples are quite different. Less of a pronounced outer rim and they appear to recess a little further into the outer dimple. The TF ones seem to just be rings sitting on the standard dimple. I'm sure it's more complicated than that, it's just the impression I got after taking a close look at them. I'm really curious to see my results with the B330 series as I've had a lot of luck with the Gamer.

Due to some foul weather, I was stuck in the house tonight. Luckily I have a putting green to play on and give my initial thoughts. It's not as nice as the Birdie Ball ones, but it works for my needs currently. I putted using both my SeeMore and my Odyssey Two Ball. Both the B330-RX & RXS were way less 'clicky' than the Gamer and a little bit less so than the One Tour. It was only a 9' putting green but I didn't seem to have any distance control issues with them. Neither went as far as the gamer on the short strokes, but they both felt way softer off the face. I didn't notice as much of a difference with the One Tour. Out of the two, I would say that the RXS had the softest sound and feel, which makes sense. I was surprised though that the RXS also seemed to roll a little further than the RX by just a bit. This may be my mind messing with me or a variance in my putting stroke, but it's what I noticed. Hence, I'm reporting it here. I wil say that the RXS may be one of the most muted balls I've ever putted with. The difference was noticeable, even compared to the RX.

Finally, I took some short chips (~12') off the carpet just to see how they felt. A little too short to really get a great feel for the ball I think. I did notice that the B330-RX & RXS didn't seem to go as far as the TF or the Nike. These were just little straight chips, but I made every shot that I took with the B330-RX! Probably just a happy coincidence but I'm not complaining!! :blob:

Thanks again to Bridgestone and THP for the opportunity to test these! Can't wait to get them outside and start on some short game work with them.
 
Great posts so far guys. I hope to have mine b4 the weekend and I will get out for 18 holes on Saturday and post thoughts.
 
I really cant wait to try these!
 
Nice stuff guys! You're all getting a great headstart! Can't wait to get home and add to this.
 
Just finished reading though this thread and I love the thoughts in here so far. I can't wait to be able to add to them in the near future.
 
Just opened up the package... Here are my first impressions.
First, the packaging looks awesome! I need to take some pics between the previous year and the new ones.
now the balls...
They look cool, but kind of awkward at the same time. The large dimple is very flat, and the walls are squared, not slopped (at least it looks that way) and the inner dimple is tiny, but it does look more rounded than the larger dimple. I did a little putting on my carpet, the 09 and 11 ver. of the B330S feel the same off the putter, the 2012 ver. (both 330 and 330S) feel very springy, they jump off the putter and rolled about a foot further, with the same stroke, and I hope for the same effect off of the driver/woods/irons.
The previous year balls seem to have a greater variation in dimple sizes (3 sizes, and more of the smaller ones), but this is just from looking at it, not actually counting anything.
I'm hoping the weather is nice this weekend so I can get out to play, or at least some short game testing with these... forecast still calls for rain, and they have been right so far.
 
First Impressions-2012 Bridgestone B330 and B330S balls
Usual balls-TM Penta, 2011 B330, Nike One Tour D

Like I previously said, I want to make sure I get some short game testing in before I put the balls into play full time. So today prior to my round I spent some time in the limited short game area at my home course. I then spent some time around random greens on the course to chip a few shots with each ball.
My inital thoughts.

B330: Very similar feel and performance to last years ball around the greens.. I couldn't tell a difference in feel and sound, if it weren't for the new dimples I wouldn't have been able to tell a difference between the two. I was getting a very similar ball flight and roll out to last years ball. My favorite thing about the old 330 was the consistent roll out it got on chips. There were always balls that would spin better, but the 330 seemed to consistently roll out the same distance. The new ball had the same attribute.

B330S: The ball felt a little clickier than the 330 to me. Not at all in a bad way, just a different sound and feel. I may not have even noticed it if I hadn't been hitting them back to back. The ball seemed to come off the face a little lower, and carry just a bit farther. I was getting a bit more bite with the ball, but still a fair amount of roll out on the short chips. I wasn't seeing quite the same consistency that I get with the 330, but it will probably just take some getting used to.

I'm not a high spin player around the greens, my chipping is probably the weakest point of my game right now. Once I get inside 30 yards I really struggle sometimes. IT will be interesting to see if the 330S can help me out in that aspect, especially if what INgolfer says is true.

It was a very limited first day of testing more to come.
 
Didn't receive mine yet, guess that's what I get for living in the Midwest. I'll be working from home tomorrow so I hope the postman arrives early enough. At he very least i'll take some pics and putt with it tomorrow evening.

Nice putter Buck!
 
Great stuff so far! Really looking forward to following this as I plan to try some bridgestone balls this year and try to find one that works for me.
 
Cool packaging! Look forward to everyone's thoughts.
 
Great read so far...hope I don't lose all mine the first day..:D
 
i'm away on business, but my gf just told me my balls came in the mail (yeah, i laughed too). i'm getting in 18 holes this sunday, so i'll post my thoughts/review shortly.

From looking at pictures, I feel that the new bridgestone dimple patterns is a cross between the nike PD long and Top Flite Gamer balls.

Can't wait to get out there and begin my review!
 
Loving this thread thus far, if the reviews continue to be this positive I might have to go out and purchase some myself once they're released. Keep up the good work testers!!
 
I'm really liking the look of these balls. That packaging is awesome too. Can't wait till you guys really give them a work out on the course.
 
Great updates. Can't wait to get a box of the rxs
 
BigCountryStein said:
Loving this thread thus far, if the reviews continue to be this positive I might have to go out and purchase some myself once they're released. Keep up the good work testers!!
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Have you ever done a Bridgestone fitting? I recommend you go to the top of the page and click on the Bridgestone banner and at least do the online fitting. It will get you to the Bridgestone ball that will preform best with your game and swing. That is a great starting place if you really wish to try out these balls.
 
Got these in the mail last night and like everyone else I was very impressed with the packaging. I was expecting just two sleeves in an envelope, bridgestone def stepped it up with the presentation. I have to go out of town for a wedding this weekend, so I will try to do some putting and chipping around the house. Next week I will have time to go to a short game area and compare chipping these against my usual i(z) and some other randoms I have in my bag. Thanks again for this opportunity THP and can't wait to start contributing to this thread!!
 
wakeriderof87 said:
I'm not a high spin player around the greens, my chipping is probably the weakest point of my game right now. Once I get inside 30 yards I really struggle sometimes. IT will be interesting to see if the 330S can help me out in that aspect, especially if what INgolfer says is true.
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You sound a bit like me in this area, so it will be interesting to see if we have the same results with the same ball. I played an older B330 RXS a bit yesterday, and it did seem to sop quicker for me, so now I have something to compare the new version to.
 
I have not received my samples yet as I am a few thousand miles from THP but so that I can help my testing strategy i have started getting ready.

The ball I was fitted for last year was the B330-S so will be well equipped to compare the 2011 version to the new one and also compare it to the B330. I have been out and bought a box of the 2011 B330 so that I am then able to compare both offerings of that ball to each other as well.

Can't wait to get started.
 
Richard Rodgers said:
I have not received my samples yet as I am a few thousand miles from THP but so that I can help my testing strategy i have started getting ready.

The ball I was fitted for last year was the B330-S so will be well equipped to compare the 2011 version to the new one and also compare it to the B330. I have been out and bought a box of the 2011 B330 so that I am then able to compare both offerings of that ball to each other as well.

Can't wait to get started.
Click to expand...

Great plan buddy, hope you get yours real soon.
 
This is a great thread! All you testers are really pumped and I really waiting to see everyone's comments. Thanks everyone.
 
Looks like Bridgestone pushed up the release date for the new B330s. Looks like they are available now.
 
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