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2012 Bridgestone Golf Ball Forum Review Thread

SuperStroke
I still haven't had the chance to get these on the course yet from all of this stupid weather! I signed up when the weather was great, and now it hasn't stopped raining/snowing and temps have been chilly! But I have putted with them on the carpet and really don't feel a big difference between them, although the B330 might be a tad firmer. I will get a more accurate testing in the near future as soon as the weather turns around!
 
I finally got a chance to get out on the course with these balls - B330-RX/RXS. I played 9 holes at The Golf Club at McKinney, in very soggy conditions, but still managed to put together a pretty good 9. I played two balls on each hole, an RX and an RXS.

Both of these balls performed very well, here is a quick review of the Nines holes I played with these balls:

RX:
Hit 6 out of 7 Fairways (There are 2 par threes that I am not including)
16 putts - one 1 putt, the rest were 2 putts.
5 Greens in regulation.

This ball performed very well. My normal ball flight is a 10-15 yard draw, and this ball didn't change that. The ball did what I expected it to do. The feel off of the irons was great. Distance off of the driver was very good. I hit a few of the longest drives of the year so far with this ball, even while playing in very soggy conditions.

RXS:
Hit 5 out of 7 Fairways
17 putts, 2 one putts, one 3 putt, the rest were 2 putts
4 greens in regulation

This ball performed very well also. Even though I hit fewer greens in regulation, I was able to get up and down a few times due to the stopping power that this ball seems to provide. One thing I did notice about the ball was slightly less distance with the driver. Not only did I experience less distance with the driver, but the ball flight seemed to have a lower trajectory.

Both of these balls were great, and this in only the beginning of the testing process. I have a tee time tomorrow at The Tribute, so I will report back soon.

The Score:

RX - 5 over 41

RXS - 3 over 39
 
Enjoyed the write ups Dd and Tex, keep up the good work folks.
 
Really good info everyone...love reading this thread and seeing how everyone is feeling about these new balls. Wish I had the launch monitor, as that seems like a great way to compare.
 
G4L, that was a great writup and some good numbers. can I borrow about 20 yards?
 
I like how G4l says his swing speed peaked and then slowed down due to old manitis. Look at the numbers his SS went from peaking at 125 down to basically 120. Good lord, my back hurts reading that review
 
ddec said:
I like how G4l says his swing speed peaked and then slowed down due to old manitis. Look at the numbers his SS went from peaking at 125 down to basically 120. Good lord, my back hurts reading that review
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No kidding. Dude has a ridiculous driver swing...
 
Those are some smokin' swing speeds! What he said...

Jersey Nate said:
No kidding. Dude has a ridiculous driver swing...
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My RAZR Fit is being delivered this afternoon. I can not wait to see how the new B330 and B330S balls fly off of the face of this thing. I am playing the next three days straight. I should be able to provide some 'on course' feedback with the balls after the next three days.
 
I'm going in about an hour or so to check out a live Bridgestone fitting. I have been playing Bridgestone for 2 years now, based on their online fitting and could not be happier. Really looking forward to seeing what the results are, and if I have been playing the best ball for me.
I will post after.
 
Danilo said:
I'm going in about an hour or so to check out a live Bridgestone fitting. I have been playing Bridgestone for 2 years now, based on their online fitting and could not be happier. Really looking forward to seeing what the results are, and if I have been playing the best ball for me.
I will post after.
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Good stuff..:good:
 
Danilo said:
I'm going in about an hour or so to check out a live Bridgestone fitting. I have been playing Bridgestone for 2 years now, based on their online fitting and could not be happier. Really looking forward to seeing what the results are, and if I have been playing the best ball for me.
I will post after.
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I am betting they recommend you stay with the B330-S, the online fitting is just that good. Numerous on line fittings and 3 live fittings and all have had the same results for me.
 
Well, here we go.
When I got to the shop for the ball fitting I talked to the Bridgestone fitters for a few minutes while they waited for someone to finish with the launch monitor, got to talk a bit about the J40 line (my first time seeing it in person) and I ended up using a J40 445 with PX 5.0 shaft for the fitting.
I hit some E6's, then some B330s's... and then came the surprise to me, They recommended that I try the B330RX, and after hitting them on the monitor, it showed that it would work out better for me. I was surprised because the B330s has been in my bag for almost a year, and I absolutely love the way it plays, and the 2012 B330S was awesome when I played my first round with it, and compared it to the B330 and 09/10 B330S.
Looks like my back is limiting my swing speed a bit, and it is down to about 95 from 108+ a few months back.
I will add the RX's that they gave me (awesome 2 pack with the new packaging and the 2012 dual dimple balls) to my testing of the B300/S for the rest of the testing time.
I will have them in play this weekend, will be doing 2012 B330 vs. S vs. RX and see if the numbers on the simulator make their way out to the course.
I was getting 1733rpm B/S with the 445 driver (5.0 px shaft) and the RX ball, 131.5 ball speed, 10.6 launch angle (did not see what degree head I was using).


on a side note... I NEED a Brigestone 445 Driver with the PX 5.0 or 5.5 shaft! That thing put my black machspeed to shame.
 
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tried to get numbers today from the launch monitor but it wasn't cooperating with me.... that being said i got to hit quite a few balls with my driver into the net and i think they feel just as good as the old B330s.... im hoping it warms up tomorrow and i can get out for some short game practice and hopefully the launch monitor is working next week. The one thing that it did look like was better with the new B330 from the launch monitor was the ball speed seems to have picked up by a few MPH something im def gonna be checking next week when its working fully.
 
You guys are bringing it, pretty cool seeing all the numbers compared to the old version and other balls. Good stuff guys.
 
Has anyone seen any gains in distance or even any loss?
As for me I have seen the same distance as I've covered it in my testing..I was really hoping for more yards!
 
Rain today, but I'm most likely going to be playing a round tomorrow with my neighbor. Will have these in the bag if we do. If not, I'll get to the short game area with them.
 
Thechosen1 said:
Has anyone seen any gains in distance or even any loss?
As for me I have seen the same distance as I've covered it in my testing..I was really hoping for more yards!
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Only in the wind, and not a ton, but it seemed that the ball comes down with more momentum left to roll out. This was the new S vs. the previous years.
 
Danilo said:
Well, here we go.
When I got to the shop for the ball fitting I talked to the Bridgestone fitters for a few minutes while they waited for someone to finish with the launch monitor, got to talk a bit about the J40 line (my first time seeing it in person) and I ended up using a J40 445 with PX 5.0 shaft for the fitting.
I hit some E6's, then some B330s's... and then came the surprise to me, They recommended that I try the B330RX, and after hitting them on the monitor, it showed that it would work out better for me. I was surprised because the B330s has been in my bag for almost a year, and I absolutely love the way it plays, and the 2012 B330S was awesome when I played my first round with it, and compared it to the B330 and 09/10 B330S.
Looks like my back is limiting my swing speed a bit, and it is down to about 95 from 108+ a few months back.
I will add the RX's that they gave me (awesome 2 pack with the new packaging and the 2012 dual dimple balls) to my testing of the B300/S for the rest of the testing time.
I will have them in play this weekend, will be doing 2012 B330 vs. S vs. RX and see if the numbers on the simulator make their way out to the course.
I was getting 1733rpm B/S with the 445 driver (5.0 px shaft) and the RX ball, 131.5 ball speed, 10.6 launch angle (did not see what degree head I was using).


on a side note... I NEED a Brigestone 445 Driver with the PX 5.0 or 5.5 shaft! That thing put my black machspeed to shame.
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Ouch Danilo, did not know about that. You are now around my S/S and I absolutely cannot game the B330-S, I know while your back has you down the RX will be a better choice for you.
 
Went out today for 9/18 (used 2 balls each hole, RX and RXS) and will update tonight with pics and review. Teaser, had my best shot ever and 3 ft from a hole in 1...
 
Well, here we go, first write up for this guy. I finally was able to get out on the course and test the B330 and B330S out. It was pretty empty, so I played both balls on each hole and compared them both. I only played 6 holes today, but I kept hitting 2-5 of these each hole. So, let's get into it

Weather: 45* 5-10mph
Off the Driver- I only hit the driver 3 times today, but I was very satisfied with the results. Off the first hole I had about 10 mile per hour cross wind cause my ball to slice more. I pulled out the B330 and hit one into the wind with a very penetrating flight. It went around 250 and due to the soggy conditions, didn't roll out any; it faded maybe 3-5 yards and left me in the middle of the fairway. The B330S was hit very similarly to the B330 and went about 5 yards shorter and had about 5-7 yards of fade. On the 3rd hole I hit the driver horribly with a big slice on both and the results really didn't differ... However, I decided that the B330 was the most solid off the driver on the 5th hole where I absolutely hit it perfect into another crosswind. It held its flight the whole way and landed at 260 and rolled out to about 265. The B330S was hit well also, but went only around 245.

Irons- I first hit an iron on our par 3 140 hole. I took a 7 iron and choked down slightly to get the yardage and flight I wanted, being into the wind. I hit the B330S first, and hit the shot exactly how I wanted it. However, it ballooned on me and went straight up and stopped 10 yards short of the green. With the B330, it was a completely different story. I hit the shot the same as the B330S and it kept its penetrating flight and ended up hitting 10 feet from the flag and stopped in its tracks about an inch behind the pitch mark. I also was able to hit a 9 iron from 135 on the 6th hole. I have 2 pictures that I took that shows the pitch marks and the backspin, which will be at the end of this write up. I decided to hit the B330S first, and hit it really solid. It went right at the green and spun back about a foot. I hit the B330 next with the same club the same way and was super surprised. I ended up flying the green with a 9 iron from 135 out. I got another ball just to make sure I just didn't really get a hold of it, and had the same result. So I took out my pitching wedge and hit the B330 and it ended up perfect, hitting the green on the right side and spinning back about a foot also.

Around the green- I took these to the practice green after the round and hit various shots with each. I hit low runners to see which checks up faster, feels better, ect. The B330S ended up spinning faster and stronger than the B330. I was able to be a tad more aggressive with the B330S with that shotere wasn't , but sometimes was unpredictible on how much spin I would get. With the B330 it hit, checked, and rolled out about a foot to two feet, which I like. I hit high flops also and they both performed similarly, by hitting and stopping dead in their tracks. There wasn't really any difference. I also hit some 30 yard pitches and ended up preferring the B330, even though the B330S wasn't too far behind it. The B330S would hit, make a small pitch mark and stop in its tracks. The B330 would hit and check and run out ever so slightly. Even though the added spin id fun to play with sometimes, I preferred the small amount of run out that the B330 gave. In all of my wedge testing, I believe that the B330S was slightly spinnier, but the B330 wasn't too far off.

Off the putter- I really didn't see too much difference between the two while putting, but if anything the B330 was a tad firmer. I didn't expect too much of a difference and was right. I prefer a firmer ball while putting, so I slightly preferred the B330. If you gave me these balls unmarked, I wouldn't be able to tell much difference at all.

In all, today's winner was the B330. It stood out by its solid drives into the wind, added distance I was given, and the short game control I prefer. This ball just performed great in all my testing, and even though the spin was a little less than the B330, it still doesn't disappoint. I will be testing more in the future and will be looking forward to seeing if these results hold up!

9 Iron with B330(Picture is sideway, the ball spun back, not to the side):
2012-02-16_16-41-27_337.jpg


9 Iron with B330S:

2012-02-16_16-40-46_871.jpg
 
DawgDaddy said:
Ouch Danilo, did not know about that. You are now around my S/S and I absolutely cannot game the B330-S, I know while your back has you down the RX will be a better choice for you.
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Sunday I will put them head to head. I'm gonna play 9 at a very relaxed 9 hole course that I can play 3 balls per tee no problem if I tee off at the right time.
 
Big news concerning the B330 golf ball. Today Bridgestone Golf announced that Freddie Couples has put the ball in play this week at the Northern Trust Open.

“This is my favorite tournament on TOUR, and besides the Masters, there is no event I’d rather win,” said Fred Couples. “I decided to put the new B330 in play this week because having a ball like this, that cuts through the wind so well, can be a major advantage at Riviera.”
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Great Review NebHusker, sounds like the B330 is the ball for you. It has been great reading all of these reviews and I simply can't wait for the balls to get here, which I'm hoping is tomorrow so I can game them this weekend.
 
Thechosen1 said:
Has anyone seen any gains in distance or even any loss?
As for me I have seen the same distance as I've covered it in my testing..I was really hoping for more yards!
Click to expand...
No big gains for me over the previous model, but I must say, the RXS seems to feel really nice off the driver, and I do seem to be scoring a bit better with it. Don't know if it's all the ball, but I've stuck some wedge shots really tight. When they get some of the new models in the Pro Shop I'm going to get a dozen of all 4 models to test out. I really want to see how all of these perform for me personally. This testing process has been fun so far. :D
 
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