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Bridgestone J40 Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
Sounds like some good early results Ary.
 
Thainer21 said:
So I had a big long post about this then my iPad died. The worst.

Anywho, I played this driver yesterday in attornment(a tournament, Thanks Siri!), along with my Callaway fit, and came away rather pleased. I do fear that I ordered it touch long though, and I am wondering if I should trim it a little, or just get used to it. There were a few drives yesterday that I crushed with the Callaway driver, and It left me wondering why it wasn't farther. I am in the camp that think shorter drivers are far too overrated and I think I am going to run with the 46 inch set up. I am happy that I ordered it this way because if I had have ordered it at 45 or less, I would have been disappointed that I didn't give myself the opportunity of hitting a longer driver.

On the drives that I did hit they were rather straight and fairly long, but I teed them low in effort to keep away from pop-ups. I knew the driver was longer than what I was used to and I wasn't going to gamble just yet. Yesterday I had some low to mid liners with some good roll out.


One thing I have noticed though, and I don't know if it is the shaft or the length or just the driver, is that this set up has slowed my transition fairly substantially. But my speed through the downswing and into the impact zone/hitting area has increased substantially. This has allowed me to focus my speed on the golf ball and maximize the results of the set up. I am looking forward to getting some range time, with a pop up protector on this bad boy, and getting used to the setup. I am going to bring it out on the course Monday which will be my next round.
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Sounds like your having some issues with the longer driver. Why not just go down to 45 and not change your swing? Trying to learn to hit a longer club will undoubtedly ingrain some bad habits.
 
Hang in there Rhino. I struggled with this club when it first went in to my bag.
 
White Rhino said:
Got out for my first real round with the driver. I don't want to put a damper on the love of this driver from everyone in this thread but I did not hit it very well. My fears have come true when I was trying to figure out what shaft to put in this club because about every drive is a very bad banana slice. I had this same problem when I had this driver in my bag recently and I had thought a change of shaft would solve the problem. I am not one to quit and I will continue to work hard and try to figure out what I need to do get this club working as well as his "little brother" (the 4w works great!! :) ).
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Not sure what you're seeing but it's always a work in progress with a new driver. What shots are you seeing?
 
Tadashi70 said:
Not sure what you're seeing but it's always a work in progress with a new driver. What shots are you seeing?
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A ball that takes off straight for say 60 yards then hangs a right turn. Kinda like a banana if you look at one. If I line up on the left side of fairway, ball will be in rough on right side (that's for med to large fairways)
 
Tadashi70 said:
Sounds like your having some issues with the longer driver. Why not just go down to 45 and not change your swing? Trying to learn to hit a longer club will undoubtedly ingrain some bad habits.
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Because a short driver isn't the best for everyone. I want to try this for a while. Like I said in the post, I wanted to try a longer driver before just hacking it down.

A short driver doesn't necessarily mean more accurate, it's all about fitting.
 
Finally was able to play 9 with my new shaft in the J40 yesterday. 5 of 7 fairways, and the two I missed were due to some alien taking control of my downswing!!! Anyway, the AXE Excaliber T6+ is perfect. I love it in this club!!! Drives into the wind were 268-270, with the wind 294-297. After yesterday, I need to give this club some time because it's showing it could be a solid gamer!!!
 
First round today with the J40. Very excited to hit the course today.
 
Hit a few balls with dcbrad's j40 today, really like the head and shaft combo...has fairway finder written all over it.
 
Thainer21 said:
Because a short driver isn't the best for everyone. I want to try this for a while. Like I said in the post, I wanted to try a longer driver before just hacking it down.

A short driver doesn't necessarily mean more accurate, it's all about fitting.
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Is your Callaway 46"? You spoke very highly about that club.
 
Hit DcBrad's on the course yesterday for one hole. Felt like I absolutely murdered the ball. Kind of forgot how much I absolutely love this driver and how well the head works for my swing. Good looks, good sound and the ball went where it was aimed. Not sure I could ask for more than that. Thanks Brad, I enjoyed it.
 
First round yesterday with this club. Only able to play 9 because we went out for Ty's birthday. What I was seeing on the range translated to the course. This driver is going to be a monster for me I think. Best part is that I have been trying to develop a knucklefade for a few years now. I have always been able to hit it on the range yet once I get to the course, it just never happened. Well hello knucklefade yesterday. FYI the knucklefade is a driver that is mostly straight and just at the end, it will fall slowly to the right. The great thing about this shot is that when done correctly, it will give you a nice amount of rollout much like a draw will do. Ball played was the Bridgestone E7 which has been a favorite of mine

1st hole--Par 4-379-Not a driver hole

2nd hole--Par 5--558-Straight ahead Par 5. The shot to play is a slight draw and that is what I set up for. Not my best contact on this one. Hit it slightly off the toe but I still got a nice little draw and after rollout, this was 228.

3rd hole--Par 3-183-Not a driver hole

4th hole--Par 4--424-Depending on how the tees are set up, this is a driver or 3W hole. I took driver as the hole was playing the full distance. The shot to play is straight if you can. Left is OB and right is woods. Tight driving hole. Nutted this drive. It was slightly low but it hit the fairway and ran. In fact it ran too far as the fairway has a wooded section that juts out at the 280 mark and then the hole goes uphill to the right. Well this drive went 270 and I had an uncomfortable second shot to the green.

5th hole--Par 5--540-Long tush Par 5. Pretty straightforward shot off the tee. Left is dead but there is room to the right if you are going to miss. I decided to try the knucklefade here. Aimed at the left portion of the fairway and prayed for a slight fade. Absolutely crushed this drive. Ball was pushed slightly with a nice mid/high flight. Tailed off to the right as it started to drop and kicked forward when it hit the fairway. This drive ended up about an inch into the first cut. 283. Yes 283. There is a slight hill right in the landing area and my ball caught this hill and jumped forward. Contact was dead center of the face. Felt like I murdered the ball

6th hole--Par 4--384--Not a driver hole. Green is tucked over to the right and left is dead and straight is dead if you hit driver

7th hole--Par 4--377--Slightly uphill driving hole with a bunker to the right of the fairway in the landing zone. This hole has always been difficult for me. I tend to hit the ball into the right woods or in that bunker. Left leads a difficult shot into the green. Took driver today and tried a draw off that bunker. Hit this one solid but it did not draw. It did however go over the bunker which I had not even considered. 253 off the tee which is a good poke considering it is an elevated fairway. Probably my best drive of the day

8th hole--Par 3--171-Not a driver hole

9th hole--Par 4--424-Beast of a hole. Cannot use driver as the fairway is split by nastiness at the 220 mark. This is a hybrid/hybrid hole for me. That is what I did. I did however take a swing after I played my real shot just to see if I could get the driver over the junk. It is a 270 yard carry. I did not carry it 270. I did however hit a beautiful little fade that landed in the middle of the nasty area. I killed that ball and I think it would have been my longest drive of the day if it would have had the chance to roll.

All in all I was extremely pleased with this round. Hit the ball very solidly and got some good distances off the tee. I did play a distance ball though. What I am loving is the ability to hit the shot that has alluded me for years now. The driver at address looks slightly open to me and thus gives me the confidence that I can play a fade. That is what I was seeing today.
 
I came back down to earth with this driver today, only hit 3/13 fairways when I hit it off of the tee. Most of it was tempo-based, had some quick hooks when my tempo got out of whack. When I hit the center of the clubface on this thing, I see some really good distance and a nice tight draw. However, I was struggling to do that today. Some of my misses were only 1-2 yards off of the fairway and I didn't lose any balls off of the tee today, but did also have 3 drives where I was in bad lies or behind trees and just had to chip back out to the fairway. I'm still going to keep putting it work on my swing and hopefully the performance will improve with this club.
 
Quick hooks aren't the norm for you Ary. It's early in the season for you, you'll get it turned around.
 
Just got back from my second round in 3 days with the new driver. Unfortunately more of the same with our relationship ( :sad: ) which allows me to try other clubs off the tee and that is going well.
 
White Rhino said:
Just got back from my second round in 3 days with the new driver. Unfortunately more of the same with our relationship ( :sad: ) which allows me to try other clubs off the tee and that is going well.
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Remind me of the flex of your club
 
WR,
If you are seeing big slices as you described previously, it is most likely not a shaft or club issue. Especially considering face angle on this club. How did you go about choosing your shaft? Have you thought about a swing path lesson to get it figured out? Normally with what you are seeing, it is a fairly quick fix, that with some practice could help you enjoy the game even more.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Remind me of the flex of your club
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It is the SR flex and it is tipped at 1/2" as recommended by the B-Fit guys and the fitter they suggested I speak with.

JB said:
WR,
If you are seeing big slices as you described previously, it is most likely not a shaft or club issue. Especially considering face angle on this club.

How did you go about choosing your shaft? - See above....

Have you thought about a swing path lesson to get it figured out? Already called, going this Thursday

Normally with what you are seeing, it is a fairly quick fix, that with some practice could help you enjoy the game even more.
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This banana slice first showed itself a few months back. Before that I was doing very well with the driver and off the tee in general. I had recently made a switch in driver and assumed it was just a phase of getting used to a new club. It only got better after I went back to my old driver and used it for a couple of rounds. Since I am relatively ignorant on the subject of golf clubs and shafts I relied heavily on the advice of the B-Fit guys and the gentlemen in my area who they suggested. I unfortunately could not swing many of the shafts available as options to me with a J40 head on them since Bridgestone has such a limited presence out here so I basically went with suggestions and rolled the dice. I was trying to figure out what best was a match to my old set-up and finally gave up trying to do that. Like I said before, I will get this sorted out!! If not, I am comfortable attacking True Blue and Caledonia with other options off the tee.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
First round yesterday with this club. Only able to play 9 because we went out for Ty's birthday. What I was seeing on the range translated to the course. This driver is going to be a monster for me I think. Best part is that I have been trying to develop a knucklefade for a few years now. I have always been able to hit it on the range yet once I get to the course, it just never happened. Well hello knucklefade yesterday. FYI the knucklefade is a driver that is mostly straight and just at the end, it will fall slowly to the right. The great thing about this shot is that when done correctly, it will give you a nice amount of rollout much like a draw will do. Ball played was the Bridgestone E7 which has been a favorite of mine

1st hole--Par 4-379-Not a driver hole

2nd hole--Par 5--558-Straight ahead Par 5. The shot to play is a slight draw and that is what I set up for. Not my best contact on this one. Hit it slightly off the toe but I still got a nice little draw and after rollout, this was 228.

3rd hole--Par 3-183-Not a driver hole

4th hole--Par 4--424-Depending on how the tees are set up, this is a driver or 3W hole. I took driver as the hole was playing the full distance. The shot to play is straight if you can. Left is OB and right is woods. Tight driving hole. Nutted this drive. It was slightly low but it hit the fairway and ran. In fact it ran too far as the fairway has a wooded section that juts out at the 280 mark and then the hole goes uphill to the right. Well this drive went 270 and I had an uncomfortable second shot to the green.

5th hole--Par 5--540-Long tush Par 5. Pretty straightforward shot off the tee. Left is dead but there is room to the right if you are going to miss. I decided to try the knucklefade here. Aimed at the left portion of the fairway and prayed for a slight fade. Absolutely crushed this drive. Ball was pushed slightly with a nice mid/high flight. Tailed off to the right as it started to drop and kicked forward when it hit the fairway. This drive ended up about an inch into the first cut. 283. Yes 283. There is a slight hill right in the landing area and my ball caught this hill and jumped forward. Contact was dead center of the face. Felt like I murdered the ball

6th hole--Par 4--384--Not a driver hole. Green is tucked over to the right and left is dead and straight is dead if you hit driver

7th hole--Par 4--377--Slightly uphill driving hole with a bunker to the right of the fairway in the landing zone. This hole has always been difficult for me. I tend to hit the ball into the right woods or in that bunker. Left leads a difficult shot into the green. Took driver today and tried a draw off that bunker. Hit this one solid but it did not draw. It did however go over the bunker which I had not even considered. 253 off the tee which is a good poke considering it is an elevated fairway. Probably my best drive of the day

8th hole--Par 3--171-Not a driver hole

9th hole--Par 4--424-Beast of a hole. Cannot use driver as the fairway is split by nastiness at the 220 mark. This is a hybrid/hybrid hole for me. That is what I did. I did however take a swing after I played my real shot just to see if I could get the driver over the junk. It is a 270 yard carry. I did not carry it 270. I did however hit a beautiful little fade that landed in the middle of the nasty area. I killed that ball and I think it would have been my longest drive of the day if it would have had the chance to roll.

All in all I was extremely pleased with this round. Hit the ball very solidly and got some good distances off the tee. I did play a distance ball though. What I am loving is the ability to hit the shot that has alluded me for years now. The driver at address looks slightly open to me and thus gives me the confidence that I can play a fade. That is what I was seeing today.
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Good stuff Chunky...nice first round with the new driver.

arydolphin said:
I came back down to earth with this driver today, only hit 3/13 fairways when I hit it off of the tee. Most of it was tempo-based, had some quick hooks when my tempo got out of whack. When I hit the center of the clubface on this thing, I see some really good distance and a nice tight draw. However, I was struggling to do that today. Some of my misses were only 1-2 yards off of the fairway and I didn't lose any balls off of the tee today, but did also have 3 drives where I was in bad lies or behind trees and just had to chip back out to the fairway. I'm still going to keep putting it work on my swing and hopefully the performance will improve with this club.
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I have had the same issue with this shaft Ary...for me it's all about the transition and the tempo...if I get a little quick it's a pull hook....when I put a nice smooth swing on it it's a nice mid high draw that seems to carry forever.
 
JB said:
Hit DcBrad's on the course yesterday for one hole. Felt like I absolutely murdered the ball. Kind of forgot how much I absolutely love this driver and how well the head works for my swing. Good looks, good sound and the ball went where it was aimed. Not sure I could ask for more than that. Thanks Brad, I enjoyed it.
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You did absolutely murder it! Saturday was not my best day with this driver, but I am still able to get some nice drives out there. It was more of a tempo thing for me I think. It ballooned on me a couple of times in that wind. Overall, still enjoy this driver thoroughly.
 
dcbrad said:
You did absolutely murder it! Saturday was not my best day with this driver, but I am still able to get some nice drives out there. It was more of a tempo thing for me I think. It ballooned on me a couple of times in that wind. Overall, still enjoy this driver thoroughly.
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Wanted to say I had a chance to his this club as well. really like the Head/shaft combo setup for this. I didnt put my best swings on it and the ball just goes
 
Just got a text from my wife that the driver just showed up on the doorstep! Can't wait to get home today!!!! I loved hitting Bullfrog's J40 on Saturday, I hit 3 perfect drives with it
 
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