2013 Bridgestone e6 Golf Ball Forum Testing Thread

[Ole Gray]

I'm also one of the E6 testers so thanks to Bridgestone Golf & THP for this great opportunity! The only difference I can tell appearance wise from last year's model to this one is the box they come in. These balls have the same look to me but that's where it stops. The model we are testing now has a nice soft touch to it. I'm a big fan of the soft feel on our fast bent grass greens. It's like I can feel the distance better with these balls than the clicky sounding balls. I've never been a clicky ball kind of guy on a soft surface. I like my balls nice and quiet so my thoughts can be directed at my intended line and distance control.

Off the tee is where these really shine for me! If you were born a hooker like me, you will appreciate a ball that delivers less side spin. I recently gained my right to left shot back after a big swing change but that's another story. I bet you slicers/faders of the ball will also appreciate the forgiveness this puppy provides. I had a solid day off the driver with more fairways hit, better distance than a competitors ball I had been playing, and less fear of the boogy man in the woods!

Irons shots were a pleasure with the new E6 balls! I was getting some nice high trajectory with noticeable less side spin coming into the greens. For those 5 - PW approach shots my shots landed and stopped like a butterfly with sore feet. We have really soft greens so I'm not sure if that helped the ball or the ball helped me but I had a couple hit and spin back a couple of feet. I like the way the ball feels compressed off a well struck iron shot. It could be the softer cover but man it feels like butter on a hot corn cob!

Pitching into the greens has not exactly been my strong point lately. I actually kind of suck at it so these poor balls didn't have a good chance to perform for me in that aspect. The shots I hit with GW - LW were rolling out like all the other balls in my bag. I could see these trying to check but then skipping happily on by the hole a few feet. It's hard to play a chip and run shot at our course because we have so many mounds protecting the greens. You have to hit flop type shots and such which is not gonna happen for me in the winter months.


I must add that we have had several very windy days here lately and these balls really excel for me in windy conditions. They just bore right on through it like myself at a pie eating contest :hungry:

 

[bhilton]

I played about 4 or 5 holes with this the Sunday afternoon. I didn't really get a good chance to compare these with other balls, but I'm going back out today since it's going to be a perfect afternoon and get a lot of work done with these. There were a couple of things I did notice with them, though. The first one is the feel off the putter. It has a really soft feel off the putter, and that's a feeling I love when I'm putting. One negative I found about the ball, though, is that it didn't seem to hold up too well. It didn't take me long at all to scuff the ball to where it was unplayable. I did have one shot that did hit a cartpath, but I checked the ball after that shot and it did have a slight scuff on it, which I expected, but after several holes, it got much worse just on normal play.

After this afternoon's round, I'll have a more detailed write up about what I find out.

 

[jlukes]

I wonder why Bridgestone doesn't put a Urethane cover on the e6.

Makes me have a difficult decision between trying the e5 and e6. I know the RX is the best fit for me, but I don't want to pay premium ball prices.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Good initial write ups everyone!

How is the ball different, if any, from the 2011 version?

I know Hawk touched on this some but I'd love to hear thoughts of other testers on this question. Thanks!

 

[KellyBo]

For the record, I've been playing the Precept Lady iQ+ ball exclusively for over a year. It is the softest ball around so other balls usually feel pretty harsh to me when I try them.

When I got the E6 balls, I took a sleeve out to the yard and hit a few chip shots just to see how they felt. I was expecting a loud "clicky" noise and a hard feeling ball. I was caught off guard when they didn't feel or sound that way. Nothing as soft or quiet as my usual ball, but not harsh or "clicky" at all.

I've played a couple rounds so far and plan to do some on course side-by-side comparisons against my usual ball very soon. Here are my observations so far.

• The fact that I made two full rounds without switching back to my beloved ball speaks volumes. I always switch back after 9 holes (or less) when I am trying another ball.
• The trajectory for me is actually lower with this ball than the Lady iQ+ but still high enough. I've always hit a very high ball so this helped me on the high wind day we had this week.
• I'm not really sure if I am hitting this ball as far off the tee as my usual ball but I think it's close or maybe even a little longer. It was hard to tell because it has been so windy. My tee shots were plenty high but lower than my usual ball.
• I hit 8 GIRs with this ball the first time out so I am obviously compressing it well. What I've noticed is that my approach shots tend to be a little lower trajectory and I've had very good aim with this ball. The carry seems to be close to the same as with my usual ball but it's hard to tell without actually hitting them both to see.
• I've had two chip-ins with this ball in two rounds. I have never been one to fly the ball to the hole and spin it so getting it onto the green and letting it run works well with this ball.
• I had my first round of no 3 putts at our new course using this ball. Unfortunately, I had seven 3 putts the next time out with it. Frustrating! Our greens are TOUGH.
• I usually hit a pretty straight ball which is what I saw using this ball. We have a hole that doglegs to the left. I usually hit a 3 wood draw when I can make it work. The first time I used this ball it went very straight. The second time I made a better finish and hit a beautiful draw around the dogleg.

I am looking forward to getting out on the course alone within the next week and doing further testing.

 

[adwillingham]

I wonder why Bridgestone doesn't put a Urethane cover on the e6.

Makes me have a difficult decision between trying the e5 and e6. I know the RX is the best fit for me, but I don't want to pay premium ball prices.

I'm sure there is a cost component to it, but from a performance standpoint, Urethane is going to produce more spin that Surlyn will. With the e6 and e7 balls, spin is intentionally lower in order to provide straighter distance or longer distance respectively. The e5 is designed to have higher spin than the 6 and 7, and I'm sure one of the main ways they accomplish that is through the cover difference.

This is from Bridgestones FAQs on the different materials:

"Surlyn® (manufactured by DuPont®) and urethane are the two main materials used in golf ball covers today. Surlyn® is a synthetic, highly resilient, durable material that is used in the majority of golf balls in the industry. This material provides for a golf ball that will stand up to the durability test that the avid golfer demands, while allowing many different options for spin & distance combinations. For example, the e6 is a Surlyn®-covered golf ball that provides reduced side spin and controllability. This versatile cover material in correlation with the core composition allows for the many variations that are found throughout the entire line of Bridgestone golf balls.

Balata is the cover material associated with wound golf balls. While once a natural material, balata has since been replaced by a synthetic material. Bridgestone Golf does not offer a balata-covered golf ball for two primary reasons. One is that it is the least durable cover material available, and the second is because Bridgestone Golf believes that solid construction provides a more consistent manufacturing process than wound construction. Many low-handicap amateurs and professionals prefer the "feel" and "spin" that a wound, balata-covered golf ball provides. Many of those players believe that a solid ball cannot provide the same feel that they receive in a wound ball.

Urethane is an extra-soft, synthetic material that provides high-spin performance and greater durability than balata. In fact, urethane is softer than both Surlyn® and balata. This unique cover material in combination with Bridgestone Golf's patented Core technology allowed us to develop the TOUR B330 line of golf balls. These urethane-covered, solid core balls provide optimum spin and soft feel while providing a more consistent performance alternative to their wound balata-covered counterparts. Nick Price, Fred Couples and a host of others are currently using the TOUR B330 line on tour."

 

[TripleBogieTim]

I was also chosen for the E6 Testing, it's a ball that I have played on and off for years seeing that my normal miss is a fade or a slice. Here are a couple of pics of the all new packaging.

Now one with the testing.

According to the Letter we recieved from Bridgestone with our packaging

"The e6 just got softer. Even the softest multilayer ball on the market can get better, with a softer cover for improved feel on all shots. A super soft core and anti-side spin mantle with help reduce the effects of slices and hooks for straighter distance."

I also want to add that I love the fact that Bridgestone included a letter with the product addressing us as "THP Family" but also inviting our "honest" feedback and thanking us for testing their products. I just thought that was a nice touch and shows how much Bridgestone values their relationship with the THP community. I also love the fact that they sent all of us a dozen balls, having been a part of other ball testings I can tell you when you only get 6 balls to tests you end up being picky and choosey about where you play them for fear of losing all of your "test subjects" the first time or two out on the course...again I think it speak to their commitment to getting our honest feedback.

I mentioned that I had played these balls on and off several times, When I used to play a big cut shot (that's code for slice) all the time, it was probably the e6 that kept me semi in play. No don't over read into the marketing, you can still slice one of these bad boys.....trust me.

One of the things I found over the past few years was when I played the e6 I tended to give up 10-15 yards of distance to a B330-RX, but I hit it much straighter. This paticular version of the e6 seems to have made up some of that gap while maintaining the straighter ball flight.

Rio Colorado Golf Course
1/19/2013 & 1/20/2013
Both days sunny upper 60's some wet areas on the course
18 holes each day

DRIVER:
When I could I played a new e6 and a B330-RX off the tee, however due to pace of play I wasnt able to do it on every hole. The new e6 doesnt seem to sounds any different off the clubface, but I didn't have any of the 2011 model to do a side by side comparison (I am going to pick up a box this week to try this) with this being said, I was hiting the ball extremely well off the tee with a mid high ball flight that had very little side movement in it just as advertised....where I was suprised was that fact that I seemed to be getting more roll out off the driver than I was with the B330-RX...you could see it from the tee box on several holes..the ball bouncing and rolling. This lead to me on average being within a yard or two of the B330-RX off the tee and even out drove it on a couple of holes.....will have to wait and see if this trend continues.

IRONS:
Again, nice mid high ball flight off the face and the ball held it's line for the most part and on shots that hit the green, I was suprised to see the ball within just a foot or two of my ballmark, so it seems that the new e6 is providing a little more spin on full iron shots than previous models.

WEDGES:
This where it got interesting, I am a fairly high spin wedge player and I was able to produce a decent hop and stop result on full wedge shots, but with partial shots I was seeing quite a bit of roll out. The first few went 15 to 20 feet past the spot where it landed and in comparison on the 4th hole Sunday I had a 45 yard shot that I normally hit a 54* wedge just short of the 9'clock position.....Hit the e6...crisp contact...ball flew right at the target..hit and rolled 13 feet past the ballmark.....dropped a B330-RX...hit the same shot....it hit and stopped within 3 feet.
So initally it seems that the e6 likes a full, faster swing to produce spin...but it's early in the testing phase.

PUTTER:
WOW, I putted lights out this weekend...,don't know if it was the ball or me, but the e6 felt great off the putter and held it's line in a nice end over end roll. I made several putts over 15 feet including 3 over 25 feet. I hope this trend continues.

If you have any questions feel free to ask them and I will try to answer the best I can. Again thanks to Bridgestone and THP for the great opportunity to test a product before it hit the stores!

 

[C-Mac13]

In addition to my review above I decide to go a little further in to the ball and it's comparison to the previous version. I cut each ball in half to get closer look. Now while I do not have a bunch of scientific equipment I can feel a difference between the core of each ball and the new e-6 did have a softer core.

 

[jmatt]

I suspect the differences between these and the last incarnation of E6 are incremental, but I'm looking forward to anything the testers can highlight. These are my default ball now, and any performance gains would only solidify that.

 

[RPBGator]

Good write ups everyone. Any comparisons to the Q-star yet? Just curious as both are real similar and seem to be advertised the same.

 

[jlukes]

Good point about the price point and extra spin from Urethane. Makes me even more anxious to try out the RBZ Urethane ball that comes out in a few weeks.

 

[IceyShanks]

I really love the updated packaging, a nice touch.

Sounds like a straight accuracy ball for sure!

 

[mikedean441]

nice pics of the core c-mac!

 

[Hawk]

Another question I have is about the trajectory the testers are seeing with this. Are there any highball hitters (I'm talking on the course, not the 19th hole) who have noticed anything negative about carry/spin/etc.? I've got a fairly high ball flight already, and something scares me about considering a ball that gets the ball up even higher. Unless, of course, there are no noticeable changes to carry.

Thanks again, Hawk and canes, for your thoughts.

dhv, for me this ball tends to fly higher, but I can't say for sure that would be the case with you or anybody else really. I do think the e7 is more in line with a ball that is designed to spin less and flight lower though.

I wonder why Bridgestone doesn't put a Urethane cover on the e6.

Makes me have a difficult decision between trying the e5 and e6. I know the RX is the best fit for me, but I don't want to pay premium ball prices.

Donne answered that one very well. It's designed with a purpose and urethane would sort of go against that.

I suspect the differences between these and the last incarnation of E6 are incremental, but I'm looking forward to anything the testers can highlight. These are my default ball now, and any performance gains would only solidify that.

My personal belief is that the ball is going to perform very similarly, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I liked the ball as-is, so a big change could have ended up being a negative thing.

I'll test wedge spin here eventually to get an idea of whether or not the cover has changed much.

Good write ups everyone. Any comparisons to the Q-star yet? Just curious as both are real similar and seem to be advertised the same.

I have a Q-Star or two that I can put this up against. What are you looking for in a comparison? Spin, distance, etc?

 

[#Cookie]

Good write ups everyone. Any comparisons to the Q-star yet? Just curious as both are real similar and seem to be advertised the same.

Thus far, I would say that the e6 is a touch longer off of the driver, pretty similar on irons, and the Q-Star has more bite around the greens. No noticeable difference in putting for me.

 

[jlukes]

I have a Q-Star or two that I can put this up against. What are you looking for in a comparison? Spin, distance, etc?

Two things I would like compared: Accuracy and Spin/Feel around greends

 

[Hawk]

Two things I would like compared: Accuracy and Spin/Feel around greends

Best I can probably do in the next week or so is dispersion and spin on a launch monitor, but I can do both pretty easily for you.

 

[C-Mac13]

Another question I have is about the trajectory the testers are seeing with this. Are there any highball hitters (I'm talking on the course, not the 19th hole) who have noticed anything negative about carry/spin/etc.? I've got a fairly high ball flight already, and something scares me about considering a ball that gets the ball up even higher. Unless, of course, there are no noticeable changes to carry.

I'm a high ball hitter and don't have any thing negative to say about this ball. If anything I would think that it actually helps seeing this ball tends to run after hitting the green.

 

[RPBGator]

Thus far, I would say that the e6 is a touch longer off of the driver, pretty similar on irons, and the Q-Star has more bite around the greens. No noticeable difference in putting for me.

This seems like the older models to me as well. The Q-star always felt softer to me and therefore better around the greens. Still not B330 RX or Z star good around the greens but did have enough spin to keep in the bag.

My miss is my driver right which I am working on and I'm always coming back to the e6 or Q-star due to that.

 

[Damaikis]

Good reviews so far guys. I've always been tempted to try the e6, but the lack of a urethane cover generally stops me. There are so many balls at a good price point with a urethane cover nowadays.

 

[Hawk]

Good reviews so far guys. I've always been tempted to try the e6, but the lack of a urethane cover generally stops me. There are so many balls at a good price point with a urethane cover nowadays.

I think it just boils down to what you are looking for out of a ball. I like a good urethane ball, but there are times that I am better off without one, and I think that's something that could apply to many people out there.

 

[Damaikis]

I think it just boils down to what you are looking for out of a ball. I like a good urethane ball, but there are times that I am better off without one, and I think that's something that could apply to many people out there.

I agree with that completely. I always just wonder.

 

[Hawk]

I agree with that completely. I always just wonder.

Nothing that a grabbing a sleeve wouldn't take care of. Don't sleep on the e7 either, though I suspect the lack of spin would be might be a negative for you based on your preferences.

 

[Damaikis]

Nothing that a grabbing a sleeve wouldn't take care of. Don't sleep on the e7 either, though I suspect the lack of spin would be might be a negative for you based on your preferences.

I will try to. If/when I find a store that sells individual sleeves I will definitely pick up a sleeve of each to do some testing. Still trying to figure out what the best cold weather ball for me is.

 

[CharlieMoy]

I will try to. If/when I find a store that sells individual sleeves I will definitely pick up a sleeve of each to do some testing. Still trying to figure out what the best cold weather ball for me is.

E7 is an awesome cold weather ball. I don't play a ton of spin typically but don't need it. Gimme long and straight in the winter and I'll be happy.


TTing