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2013 Bridgestone e7 Golf Ball Forum Testing Thread

SuperStroke
Nice write ups, JRMo.

Interesting to see that you were getting so much spin on the e7 with pitch shots. I can understand the soft conditions, but to get a couple hops and a stop with a distance ball is impressive.
 
Quick question for the testers: are you noticing increased distance with the e7? Bridgestone obviously markets the ball as an extreme distance ball, but I have seen a lot of reviews noting not much distance increase, if any.


Rusty made an interesting comment when I used the e7 with him. He said that you can only compress a golf ball so much, and eventually you're just not going to get more out of it. I wonder if there is anything to that.

So far, I have noticed that the e7 flies straight, but I'm not seeing increased distance. This is especially true with my irons. I have not adjusted distances on approaches at all, apart from factoring in some extra roll out.
 
ATL,

To answer to your question, I have seen distance gains with this ball. I was initially confused because I just reshafted my driver with the Kusala White and didnt know wether to contribute distance gains to increased ball flight with the new shaft or if it was the ball or maybe a liittle of both. But with that being said, in my round yesterday with the e7 I compared it to the 2012 e6, Penta TP and the 2013 20xi-x (tour ball) and the e7 was linger than all expect for the Nike. I dont know if I just put on a hell of a swing with the Nike but it out drove the e7 by a fair amount. But compared to the Penta and 2012 e6 it was longer by a few yards. Nothing crazy. The clear difference bieng ball flight was much straighter to the e7 which probably contributed to the extra few yards. With the irons the ball shows no distance gains over any of the other balls IMO

Tapping away on my S3
 
ATLGolfer said:
Quick question for the testers: are you noticing increased distance with the e7? Bridgestone obviously markets the ball as an extreme distance ball, but I have seen a lot of reviews noting not much distance increase, if any.
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Hey ATL,
I have not found a distance advantage with the E7. I have seen great control however and I'm hitting it straight more times than not. Bear in mind that I'm really a novice hacker and I'm learning as I go but right now I think of the E7 as a straight-flying consistent ball but not a longer flying ball.

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I suspect that my swing speed may not be fast enough to compress the E7 as much as it is designed to be compressed. I'm a 59 year old newbie with a mid 80's to 90 mph swing speed.

The last time I played a round with the E7 I birdied the lone par 5 on my home course by hitting two absolutely straight 5 woods, one off the tee and one off the turf (which is a miracle in itself for me) which landed on the green about 12 feet from the hole. This may seem mundane to most of you but I was amazed when I realized that my second shot hit the green. BTW, I think the hole in question is about 356 yds so I hit two approximately 175 yd drives with the 5 wood. I don't think that I have ever hit a green with a fairway wood or driver before.
 
ATLGolfer said:
Quick question for the testers: are you noticing increased distance with the e7? Bridgestone obviously markets the ball as an extreme distance ball, but I have seen a lot of reviews noting not much distance increase, if any.


Rusty made an interesting comment when I used the e7 with him. He said that you can only compress a golf ball so much, and eventually you're just not going to get more out of it. I wonder if there is anything to that.

So far, I have noticed that the e7 flies straight, but I'm not seeing increased distance. This is especially true with my irons. I have not adjusted distances on approaches at all, apart from factoring in some extra roll out.
Click to expand...

I was seeing no increase in distance from my typical gamers, which are usually tour type balls. Maybe course conditions figured into that, but I just can't see where I would gain much, if anything at all, in firmer conditions.
 
I will echo what a few others have said in regards to the e7 being very predictable off the tee. As I said, my first two tee shots with the e7 were mirror images of each other. Shots that started out in the center of the fairway, drew and finished just a few feet off the left side of the fairway. Of the four of six shots I landed in the fairway on hole 9, 3 of those were draws that flew exactly at the same trajectory and cut into the wind the same exact way.
 
The amount of stop for me has been all about green conditions. When they're damp I have no problem stopping them with long/mid irons. When they firm up I've had quite a bit of roll. I'm still really enjoying them off woods and driver. I am seeing great distance and good flight in the wind.
 
lambro2 said:
The amount of stop for me has been all about green conditions. When they're damp I have no problem stopping them with long/mid irons. When they firm up I've had quite a bit of roll. I'm still really enjoying them off woods and driver. I am seeing great distance and good flight in the wind.
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Ball flight in the wind with this ball was pretty spectacular today. I wasn't playing in gale force winds of course, but 15 MPH can wreak havoc on where a golf ball ends up. The e7 fought through all of it nicely. I give it very high marks in that regards.
 
Over lunch I took my two remaining sleeves and practiced a 100 yard shot for a total of 60 shots. I used a Callaway XHot AW for all shot with a 3/4 swing. The good news is that I only had 3 thinned strikes out of the 60 and the remaining were all well struck wedges. What I found interesting is that this ball simply drops and stops in this test. All shots were played to a practice green that is cared for and mown as a green would be on the course. Each shot I hit would drop and move no more than 2 feet each hitting the green. This short game performance really surprised me for distance ball.
 
ATLGolfer said:
Quick question for the testers: are you noticing increased distance with the e7? Bridgestone obviously markets the ball as an extreme distance ball, but I have seen a lot of reviews noting not much distance increase, if any.


Rusty made an interesting comment when I used the e7 with him. He said that you can only compress a golf ball so much, and eventually you're just not going to get more out of it. I wonder if there is anything to that.

So far, I have noticed that the e7 flies straight, but I'm not seeing increased distance. This is especially true with my irons. I have not adjusted distances on approaches at all, apart from factoring in some extra roll out.
Click to expand...

I have compared it directly with a number of other balls. I tried to make the conditions as equal as possible. I never saw this ball shorter than a comparable surlyn distance ball. It was significantly longer for me than The NXT Tour for instance ( 7-10 yds.). It is even longer than the existing E7 ( 2-3 yds.). So yes, I saw distance gains for almost every comparable ball.
 
ATLGolfer said:
Quick question for the testers: are you noticing increased distance with the e7? Bridgestone obviously markets the ball as an extreme distance ball, but I have seen a lot of reviews noting not much distance increase, if any.


Rusty made an interesting comment when I used the e7 with him. He said that you can only compress a golf ball so much, and eventually you're just not going to get more out of it. I wonder if there is anything to that.

So far, I have noticed that the e7 flies straight, but I'm not seeing increased distance. This is especially true with my irons. I have not adjusted distances on approaches at all, apart from factoring in some extra roll out.
Click to expand...


Here in NW tennessee I am not seeing much more distance due to the fairways still being wet. Ball is laying almost exactly where it hits the ground. However my shots seem to be straighter and it has been easier for me to keep the ball in the fairway.
 
I played 9 holes today at a different course. It was my big chance to take advantage of sunny 60+ degree weather before the rains start again.


I was having issues with my woods today and relied more than usual on my hybrids. The E7 flew high and straight and inspired confidence. The irons had predictable performance as well.
I can't comment much on greens performance since the greens at this particular course are really rough and really s-l-o-w.


Like so many others that are testing, I am playing on some pretty damp soil but I did note that the balls were landing on the greens with a very short roll in most cases. One day the sun will come out and dry everything up and it won't rain for weeks, if not months. It will be like a desert. Then I will be able to evaluate on dry greens. That's Georgia weather and that's golf.
 
Back on the course with the E7

Back on the course with the E7

Got out for 27 holes today. The fairways were very wet, but, it was a beautiful day. 82 and a 38

From the Tee

I drove the ball very well today. I hit 19 of 21 fairways and was just off by a couple feet in the other 2. I only miss hit one of those. I was pleased, as it was the first day I hit the Extreme with the B'Asha 5S. I also added the Razr fit Extreme 3w to my bag and I hit it off of 5 tees. I can't hit the tee ball much better than I have with the E7/Extreme combo. I went back and looked at all the rounds I have played since this testing started. I am hitting over 90% of fairways. I am not good enough to hit that many fairways, so the equipment combination (driver/ball) is really working for me. The E7 just flies out there with about 5-7 yards of draw, rinse and repeat. I hit to a yardage all day. I know this is repetitive, but, this is the most consistent I have hit a ball. I played the old E7, but, I don't remember it being this consistent.

Approaches

I had 113-119 yds. in 14 times today. I hit all of those greens with my wedge. I hit 17 of 27 greens. I hit a number of shots fat today. I can do that when it is muddy. It seems to be my miss in the mud. I am sure that I get by with some of those shots when it is dry and firm. The ball was right on line all day. I didn't push any approaches and only pulled one. If I would have hit my irons, other than my wedge, solidly, I could have gone low. No guess work with the E7. I hit the distances I expect. I will be able to continue this review as long as we need. When these wear out, I will be getting more. Consistent distance from the irons is really helping me.

On the Green

Poor putting day for me. I had 29 putts on the first 18 and 14 on the following 9. I missed a number of birdie putts inside of 10'. The ball wasn't at fault. I wasn't off from a speed perspective. I just couldn't see the line today. The great feedback, from the distinctive click off the face, let's you know you have hit the putt in the middle of the face. The ball rolls on the line you put it on. Still have to allow for the roll out on chips and pitches, but, it doesn't do anything surprising. Put a good stroke on it and it delivers.

Conclusion

I am officially a E7 fan-boy now. The quality control must be very good at Bridgestone. Every ball feels like the last. They go the same distance and fly very predictably. I will give up the spin around the greens and play to the balls strengths. I really like the carry I am getting from the E7. When the fairways get firm, I will get to practice my short wedges a lot more. Thank you THP and Bridgestone for this opportunity. I am really enjoying it.
 
Phil, dude, that is crazy good fairways hit numbers. The theme with this ball seems to be consistent, time and time again.

Looks like there will be a slim chance I will be returning to the course on Sunday for some more testing. Temps are supposed to be in the upper 40's and hopefully the snow showers we get tomorrow don't mess with that.
 
Preparing to head out to the course for my 2nd round with the e7. Today will be a pretty good test for this ball. Temps in the mid to upper 40's with winds at 15-20 MPH. My first round with this ball, it was able to cut through the wind and not deviate off course much. Winds were lighter than they will be today, so I will be interested to see how the e7 handles the conditions today. The course overall should be a lot dryer than it was the last time I went out, so I will see if the green side success I saw last time was just a product of soft conditions and soft greens, or if this ball really spins for me as much as I think it does on chips and pitches.
 
I played eighteen yesterday and can echo Phil's sentiment of the consistency from ball to ball. After a month of playing I know exactly what to,expect from this ball and really enjoy the e7. It's a great straight flyer that finds fairways and greens with solid durability and distance. If you stay off cart paths a single ball can last multiple rounds, but one cart path hit makes it unplayable for me.
 
Nice job guys some great reviews in here. I am testing the e6 and I am wondering if any of the testers have played both?
 
Got in another round with the e7 today. I still think this ball may be very under appreciated in regards to how it performs on approaches, pitches and chips. The greens were soft, but I am having no issue getting the e7's to stick or one hop and stop on pitches. Now, I am sure as the conditions firm up, this will not be the case. But you have to admit, for a pure distance ball, no matter the conditions, that is pretty dang impressive. I am not saying the e7's should be thought of as a ProV1 or Z-Star, but if you are passing them up, especially in softer conditions because they are a "distance ball and distance ball only", I think you are making a serious mistake. Trust me, I feel awkward reviewing a distance ball, and raving about how it behaves on the greens for me. Awk-ward.

These still feel a little heavy off of the face of my irons for my taste, but still nice compared to other distance balls I have played. And they have a nice little click off the face of my Cameron putter. Not too heavy, just a nice in between feel. Today was a really tough day to get a read on distance with the e7's, as I was dealing with some cooler conditions and 20 MPH winds. I will say that the e7's bored through the wind much better than the ProV1's I had sprinkled in and they just have a tendency to grab a line and hold it, in regards to the driver.

I'll say it again, this is a FINE cooler weather/soft conditions ball.
 
JeffReedMO said:
I'll say it again, this is a FINE cooler weather/soft conditions ball.
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Agreed Jeff. This is not a rock. It compresses well in all the playing conditions I have encountered. When I say I have to allow for the roll out, I am only saying in comparison to the B330RX's I was playing. The predictability even around the greens, makes this a good all around ball. Good reviews Jeff.
 
Saturday 2/16/13


40 degrees


wind 15-20mph


It seemed like it would be a nice day when I began. The sun was out and it was about 42 degrees and windy when I began hitting balls at the practice range. I decided to go ahead play 18 holes. It started out very nice but by the time I was on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] hole the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and the temperature seemed to drop. The wind also picked up quite a bit.


Being the golf ball testing fool that I am, I decided that this would be a great time to see how the Bridgestone E7s play in very windy conditions.
My drives were pretty much on target, at least when I did my part. My normal flight path with irons, woods and hybrids is a high flight. I would think that this would make the ball more susceptible to wind interference but I saw very little problem even when the wind was directly in my face or blowing in from the side. I didn't make any allowances for windage and just hit the same shots that I always hit.


I think that this testing is helping me to understand the differences between different balls and by using primarily this same ball every round it is helping my consistency. I had another first today, I actually chipped from about 2' off the green onto a downhill green and it rolled about 10' right into the hole! This is not the norm for me but I keep making small progress and it's what keeps this game so interesting.
 
Conditions: start high 50's, finish low 70's. Windy and Sunny Day.

Equipment: Ping G25 Driver, Taylormade Rocketbladez irons

Played my 6th round with the e7 yesterday. Winds were quite strong - 15 to 20 mph gusts and a constant of around mph. The e7 continues to be a straight shooter, despite strong side winds on 2/3 of the holes it held its line well drive after drive. This was my second round with the G25 after 5 with the XHot and I saw more distance out of the e7 on my tee ball then I've been experiencing of late, a welcome sight.

Chipping and putting remain a surprise with this ball, adequate spin on chips and a true, semi-soft feel on the putter, I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything of significance in the short game arena.

I'll be picking up a box of e7's this week to keep the testing going, so far the tight flighting of the ball (resistance to wind) is what really attracts me about the ball.
 
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