2012 Bridgestone Golf Ball Forum Review Thread

[Dogman]

Would anyone agree with me that the durability is better? Little to no scuffs on wedge shots or even after major usage compared to the 2011 version?

I've never had an issue with durability with the RX balls in the past, and these are no exception. I figure if a ball makes it 18 holes, that's really good for me. This particular RXS has now gone 4 rounds, except for a few holes that I played another ball for a comparison. It's seen many greenside bunkers, and several waste bunkers. It also has 5 birdies on it, so I really hate to lose it...

Minimal scuffing so far, but it's never hit pavement. I also have made some really good saves with it....3 chip ins for birdie, and it seems to like holding the greens.

I did finally lose the RX that I pictured earlier, but I scuffed it pretty bad off a cart path. As far as what my irons and wedges do, I've seen nothing so far. Part of the reason I like the Bridgestone balls. They seem pretty durable to me for the way I play.

 

[Dogman]

Dawg this is very interesting that you are hitting the RXS further and higher with less roll out than the regular RX. It sounds like the RXS might be a tad less compression so it works better in the chilly weather? I will be looking forward to your comparison with last years RX and the 2012 version. Great job buddy :clapp:

Gray, I do really like the feel of the new RXS off the driver...it does seem to feel very light and smooth when struck well. And I've noticed no distance loss nor ballooning with this ball. I tend to hit the ball really high, and get no roll out anyways. Today I was told by a few of the guys how straight my ball flight was when I did it hit well. (I've been struggling with some nasty pulls lately. ) And it does seem to stop really well on the green.

 

[Oregon Golfer]

I was able to do some light chipping tonight with the B330 & B330s and both performed well. I play a low lofted, skipping-skidding chip shot and these were able to stop as expected. I didn't have time to compare them against competitors balls but these did the job for me. I will be playing 36 holes tomorrow so I will have much more info soon.

 

[NateE]

I have been playing B330's and the B330s for over a year now and cant wait to get out on the course with the new ones. I curious about the dual dimple design and if it gives the ball any improvement over last year's model.

 

[Tadashi70]

I just got back from an indoor session at the golf shop where I had a Trackman launch monitor to gauge results. The balls they had out for use were a TaylorMade Tour Burner and a Titliest NXT Tour. The main reason I was there was to get some testing done on the Callaway Razr X Black driver so that is what I spent most of the time hitting. After getting warmed up and seeing some distance and ball speed numbers with their balls I pulled out the B330 and B330-S. Over a 10 ball average I was able to pick up 2 mph ball speed with both the B330 and B330-S. I didn't test exclusively one of the other but alternated each ball on each shot. I noticed too that even on shots that I didn't increase the ball speed dramatically my distances were still improved over what I was getting with the other 2 balls.

Feel was very nice with both B330 and B330-S off the driver. After a while I moved to iron shots and I was very impressed with the feel of the ball at impact. Very soft feel and excellent sound. I was using Bridgestone J40 irons and wedges and while these are not known as ball killers like say a CG15 wedge is I didn't notice any scuffs or anything at all on the balls after 45 straight minutes of hitting them. I'm looking forward to taking my testing outside within the next couple weeks or so but so far I'm very happy with the ball so far.

I like that you can get on a monitor for some real numbers. What does 2mph equate to in distance? Or what did it equate to in this case?

 

[the_paulo]

Great job so far guys, this thread is heating up nicely! Really got me pondering Bridgestone balls all over the place!

 

[Ole Gray]

Gray, I do really like the feel of the new RXS off the driver...it does seem to feel very light and smooth when struck well. And I've noticed no distance loss nor ballooning with this ball. I tend to hit the ball really high, and get no roll out anyways. Today I was told by a few of the guys how straight my ball flight was when I did it hit well. (I've been struggling with some nasty pulls lately. ) And it does seem to stop really well on the green.

Straight is really good so it must have some of the E6 characteristics built in. Sounds like a ball I need to give some love :thumb:

 

[Dogman]

Straight is really good so it must have some of the E6 characteristics built in. Sounds like a ball I need to give some love :thumb:

And since you mentioned the e6, I had one of the newer ones with the dual dimples, and I'd say as far as distance, pretty comparable. I did find the RXS to feel a bit softer or lighter coming off the driver...if that sounds correct. Just feels really smooth when struck well. The irons felt about the same, but the RXS also seemed to stop a bit quicker on the green from within 100 yds.

 

[DawgDaddy]

I am heading out for our weekly blitz in a few minutes, I have decided to play the B330-RXS exclusively today as we are playing for score. I think I will do well with these and will report back this afternoon as to how they performed in competition.

 

[Dogman]

I am heading out for our weekly blitz in a few minutes, I have decided to play the B330-RXS exclusively today as we are playing for score. I think I will do well with these and will report back this afternoon as to how they performed in competition.

Excellent...good shooting man...

 

[JonD]

Snuck out to a practice green at dusk last night as the GF was running late. Didn't have a whole lot of time, but did some short chipping with the B330-RX/RXS and my Gamer v2. Most of what I hit were of the low running variety as it was getting dark and there are no lights on this practice green, so I didn't want to move too far away in case I skulled one across and had to go looking for it. It was a small sample, but I couldn't wait until this weekend to get some work in with these.

I'll start with feel. Both of the B330 balls felt way softer off the face of the wedge. The RX had a kind of light click to it, but nothing nearly as sharp as the Gamer v2. The RXS made kind of a dull 'tock' sound as it came off the face. I've noticed the same thing when putting & chipping indoors with this ball, and I've grown to like it a bit. I look forward to getting these on the course so I can see the difference in feel with full swing irons and my driver.

Performance wise, I immediately noticed that the B330 balls had a little more check in them than the Gamer, particularly the RXS. Nothing crazy, but enough to notice. At first, this caused a little issue with distance control. However, once I got a feel for it I was good to go. I found the roll out with each was very consistent. I think that given some time with either model, I could become more consistent with my chipping distances than I am today. That couldn't be a bad thing...

Like I said, really looking forward to getting these out to the course for some more all around testing. I was stuck with some crappy weather last week, but this weekend looks promising. And it's a holiday!

 

[ddec]

some real good stuff in this thread so far. Keep it up guys

 

[Bear4ever]

The pic's from INgolfer are better than mine so I'm going to "borrow" them. Thank you INgolfer!

My own review comments follow the pictures further below.

[/QUOTE]

As you can see, the packaging is nice and the descriptions of the ball characteristics are fairly complete.

When I first opened the sleeve of the RXS balls, the feel of the ball let me know that it was a soft covered ball. Then after opening the RX sleeve and comparing the difference in feel or touch, I was certain that there would be a difference.

Due to the weather I've been doing some putting indoors at home to try and keep and/or improve my putting. I have a current model golf balls to practice with and now serves as a comparison for the RX and RXS balls. After rolling a number of 8 footers with the Bridgestone's and also with the comparison balls (V1, V1X, Srixon Z Star, Nike and Callaway iTour), I cannot tell a great difference between the RX and them. I could tell a difference between the RXS and he comparison set. Just a note, I was putting with an Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball (non-metallic insert). The RXS felt most like the V1X, Callaway iTour, Nike and Z Star. The feel of the V1 off the putter was between the RX and the RXS. The RXS was definitely the softest off the putter face.

Also due to the weather, I was able to visit a PGA Superstore with another THP'r, adwillingham (where I met "seemoreguy" as well), last Saturday. While I was there hitting various driver and a couple of iron brands, I was able to get the assistant to collect the new RX and RXS balls as well as the new Srixon Z Star ball, and let me hit some driver shots and review the displayed results in the hitting booth. The feel of the RXS was definitely a soft feel and the spin rate, trajectory and distance results supported the feel that I received during the shots. I believe that the spin rate was around 3800 for the RXS. The feel of the shots using RX ball was much like that of the Z Star and the spin rate, trajectory and distance results were much alike as well. Unfortunately I wasn't able to hit a V1X in the booth with the driver, which is the ball I normally play golf with, so I cannot give you any feedback based on the booth hitting experience. Sorry.

I hope to play or practice both Wednesday and Thursday of this week in preparation of a "Frostbite" tourney I'm in this coming weekend. I'll get to hit some pitch shots around the practice green and some shots on the course with the RX and RXS balls. I'll post some more feedback following those days.

For now, thank you THP and Bridgestone for allowing us to test these new products! (again, thanks INgolfer for the usage of pic's!)

 

[Butters]

Wife squashed my plans for the range tonight, so I am going to do some carpet putting and chipping tonight.

 

[Thechosen1]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

 

[Richard Rodgers]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

Don't know yet mate. Still waiting for mine. They have left the US Post Service, but the problem is they are now in the British postal service which is total rubbish, but as soon as I get them I will let you know.

 

[Damaikis]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

As of right now, I would add a bit more feel/spin around the green to the B330. I haven't spent much time with the B330-S yet, so I'm not sure how that will do.

 

[Danilo]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

So far (having done some short game practice and 1 round) the only thing I desire from these balls is YELLOW! I would like this to be available in yellow...

 

[Playdough]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

Durablity. But this is my complaint with all premium balls. But I dont think there is a way to make a soft covered ball durable. Maybe once i move into conforming grooves I wont have this issue, but i dobut it as the grooves in both my 52* and 56* wedges are pretty dull. Otherwise I don't think there is much improving they can do. I almost wish they had left the core on the new 330-S alone. So maybe the 2012 cover, with the old core but i do understand the benefits of the larger core and I think I will see those when I get to play in warmer weather.

 

[chewie69]

So far (having done some short game practice and 1 round) the only thing I desire from these balls is YELLOW! I would like this to be available in yellow...

I will second that. These in yellow, and I would be very happy!

 

[marshallucf]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

Haven't gotten too much time in with them yet so tough to answer, as of now I would change the graphic next to the tour 330 on the side. If it was meant to be an alignment aid, it does nothing for me.

 

[Canes]

I'll ask something to my fellow testers.

If there was one thing you could improve in these balls what would it be?

Faster / hotter roll off the putter grooves.




- Tappin' that ice cold keg!!!

 

[Thechosen1]

So I snuck out today for a few holes...

Played the Tour B330-S and today for some reason I didn't find anything different between this ball and the regular Tour B330. For some reason I didn't get any extra spin but actually incurred the same results as my first testing. Although I didn't get to play a full round I still found the same spin and same feeling on each club.

Driver- It's a nice solid feel but I could feel the compression which I do like off the tee. I didn't have any slices or hooks so I didn't get to see how the spin rates were different(side spin) and not much wind today either so I'm anxious to test different shots into and down wind.

Irons- Like with the B330 it's still a solid feeling but yet a soft one too so little to no difference here in my findings so far.

Wedges- I saw the hit roll and stop spin out of this. But as I said I'm not one to really backup a ball but I certainly compress it so I can manage a few to backup but nothing is consistent with this ball.

Overall- For some reason found little to no difference in the two versions but of course this was just a few holes and will get back out there Friday so I'm anxious about that round. Distance wise I'm still the same(no difference between the B330 and B330-S) so I'm really hoping I can get the same distance but more spin greenside which is what I want out of a golf ball.

I know this is a very short review but I'll give more in depth this coming weekend

 

[RicYork]

I'm still just putting with mine. I worked Saturday and Sunday and it snowed Monday. Yesterday was in the low 30's and today it's been raining to beat the band. I will attempt to get out there tomorrow or Friday, if the weather would just cooperate. How do you make the weather bad.............send me balls to test.

 

[JonD]

Driver- It's a nice solid feel but I could feel the compression which I do like off the tee. I didn't have any slices or hooks so I didn't get to see how the spin rates were different(side spin) and not much wind today either so I'm anxious to test different shots into and down wind.

Hate to sound like a hack (which I am ), but can you explain this feeling to me? I haven't taken any full swings with the RX/RXS yet, and generally don't play premium balls. I have hit a lot of different brands though and I can tell the difference between them somewhat off the driver, just not a ton as far as feel goes. Obviously this may become moot once I get some full rounds in, but I'm curious at this point. Is it kind of like the softer feel off of the wedges & putter? Thanks!