2014 Bridgestone B330 Golf Balls Review Thread

[Bullitt5339]

I'm getting very upset seeing all these great reviews and only having gotten a few holes and some short game practice with mine because of the weather. Hopefully next week will bring better weather so I can do my entire review.

 

[twentytwomonk]

Going out for 9 today, hopefully we don't get poured on, as the rain and fog have been on and off. Looking forward to putting these into play with the new (to me, anyways) irons.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Great writeup, Christopher. Really well done, man.

I am getting out this afternoon to play again finally. With the weather and me being sick it's been 2 weeks. Will post my thoughts later.

 

[Nebgolfer]

Christopher, that was a fantastic writeup. I know a lot of folks loved the TP5, so putting the B330 up against it is going to help a lot of people out. The fact that so many people are predicting this to be their gamer this year speaks volumes of the quality of the B330 line.

 

[ChristopherKee]

Christopher, that was a fantastic writeup. I know a lot of folks loved the TP5, so putting the B330 up against it is going to help a lot of people out. The fact that so many people are predicting this to be their gamer this year speaks volumes of the quality of the B330 line.

Thanks! This ball is just so solid. I know there isn't a huge differences between balls in this category but sometimes you drop a ball down and it just fits you. I didn't mention in the write up but it was between 40-50 degrees the day I played and the ball was still felt soft even in those cold conditions!

I wish THP had like a ball buyers club so I can just pick up a case of these at a discount and get 2014 ball requirements out of the way.

 

[kc720]

Excellent review Christopher! Thank you for that. As the b330 is my current gamer, really excited to try the 2014 version

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[#Cookie]

Link to First Review: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...orum-Testing&p=2749911&viewfull=1#post2749911


2/1/2014
Pecan Valley golf course
Temps ranging from 45*-60*, winds around 10-12 MPH
18 holes played

Got out yesterday morning for a tournament round and had the B330-RX in play all day. Generally speaking, my thoughts from the first review held true and reiterated themselves even more yesterday.

Off the tee: the main thing that really stands out to me here is the fact that this is proving to be a very straight ball - wherever it starts its line, it doesn't stray from that. Unfortunately for me, that included a few blocked drives right that again just held that line. I wasn't hitting the driver well but was hitting the hybrids very well and still saw my baby draw and distances are really in line with what I see with the Q-Star.

Irons & wedges (full swings): there are 2 areas with the ball that I want to speak to here:

- The performance into the wind is very impressive. Yes, you still need to club up to account for the fact that you are hitting into the wind but the ball doesn't get to that point at the apex where it just stalls and drops from there. Aerodynamics of the dimple pattern or whatever you want to call it - combination with hydro core - again, whatever it is, this ball is very penetrating while being impacted very very little with the crosswinds.

- The spin I am creating with this ball. It's a great attribute to the ball but I've still yet to completely adapt. When I hit it far enough to get to the hole, it's awesome. The ball is stopping essentially every single time within an area of 6 inches past the ball mark or I'm bringing it back a few feet. Where it's hurting me is like on a downwind shot where I may carry it just enough to get to the fringe and then it backs up a foot instead of releasing onto the green. I need to adapt better for it obviously but I like the fact that I can play aggressive into the greens without fear of the ball bouncing off of the back of the green, etc.

Short game: The spin notes above hold true here. I'm used to seeing the Q-Star squirt a little bit after landing and release a bit but that's not happening here. Once I finally said to play aggressive and not worry about the ball releasing way past the hole I started seeing some gimme putts after strong and aggressive chips.

Durability: This is the last area I will touch on today. This is something that's very important to me as I don't like wasting money on golf balls....especially at $40 and more per dozen. I played the same ball for all 18 holes yesterday. It found the water on 15, but my playing partner was able to retrieve it for me. The ball hit at least 3 trees and 1 cart path yesterday. The cart path left a slight scuff in it but it is definitely still playable and beyond that scuff the ball looks like it did when I started the round. A ball with this PERFORMANCE and DURABILITY does not come around often IMO. Few pics of the ball below that I just snapped and you can see the scuff in the first:

 

[Lockman850]

Played another 18 with the Bridgestone tour B330 yesterday. My playing partner still had the one I gave him the previous round. It was a little beat up but not bad he put it in play again. Again as I have stated before this ball just performs!! It does everything I could ask for. I'm surprised that I like the ball as much as I do. I figured I was an rx guy. I still plan on getting my swing speed checked and try a sleeve of the rx balls for comparison. I feel that Bridgestone might be losing customers by marketing by swing speed. My buddy Played the 330 for 16 more holes and loves the ball as much as I do. I'm with Christopher with buying in bulk. I would definitely buy these.

swing your swing

 

[Mmaynard11]

Awesome reviews Christopher and Cookie. What an great way to pass the time reading those on the train ride into the city. Can't wait to get my hand on some Bridgestone balls.

 

[Sox_Fan]

The B330 - RX shined again today in my short game. Putting it mildly, my swing was terrible today but managed to get up and down for pars a whopping 8 times. For me, this ball is very predictable with regards to amount of roll out on chip / pitch shots and long putting. Now to figure out where my swing went today....

 

[mattb]

I am a tester of the B330-RX. This will be my first post of many in this thread. With that being said, first off, I want to apologize to THP and Bridgestone, as I have not been able to get these on the course yet. When I signed up for this testing in early January, I was literally on the golf course and it was 65 and sunny.

Since these golf balls arrived at my door, the weather down here has been terrible, and the whole family has been sick. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is warming up. Will definitely get in a round this week.

A little about me preliminarily for reference: I am 31 years old, about 6'1", I have been playing golf since I was in my early teens, although I took a little break there in my mid 20s. I'm not sure of my swing speed now but I can drive the ball with roll out around 240-250. I generally game the B330-RX because I find I get the best combination of accuracy and distance of the B330 line, while still getting plenty of green side spin. I have played a few other balls recently and will try to compare including Chrome+, RBZU, e5 & e6, and Z Star.

I can't wait to get these balls on the course. The B330 series was already loaded with technology with the dual dimples and full line of options in spin and compression, and now we have the Hydro Core in addition to all of that. In hand, the balls do seem to feel a little different than previous models in weight, perhaps. The packing is first class Bridgestone as well, with a little change from last version to keep it fresh. I have putted some balls around the house and chipped a few, and the feel is great, maybe a little softer than before.

Can't wait to get these on the course.

 

[twentytwomonk]

Played another 9 with these today. Still seeing the inconsistencies that come with my swing, and I still don't see the help I get with the e6. I still hold that when hit on the screws, distance wise, they blow the e6 out of the water. Without GPS, I put a drive at about 270, which is about 30 yards longer than I've ever measured a drive before.

I will say that from 9i on down though, the spin with this ball is absolutely amazing. I've noticed a few times now that I'm able to get backspin that I've never seen with any other ball. And being on my second set of clubs since I started the testing, I can say that it's been consistent with both the RBZ's and the G15's.

As for durability, I haven't had to take a ball out of play for being too roughed up yet. With as inconsistent as I am off the tee, I stand more of a chance of losing a ball than I do having to throw one back in the bag because it's unuseable. I'd say these are pretty comparable to the e6's, although without doing research, I couldn't tell you what the difference in material is, if any.

 

[Canadan]

I am a tester of the B330-RX. This will be my first post of many in this thread. With that being said, first off, I want to apologize to THP and Bridgestone, as I have not been able to get these on the course yet. When I signed up for this testing in early January, I was literally on the golf course and it was 65 and sunny.

Since these golf balls arrived at my door, the weather down here has been terrible, and the whole family has been sick. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is warming up. Will definitely get in a round this week.

A little about me preliminarily for reference: I am 31 years old, about 6'1", I have been playing golf since I was in my early teens, although I took a little break there in my mid 20s. I'm not sure of my swing speed now but I can drive the ball with roll out around 240-250. I generally game the B330-RX because I find I get the best combination of accuracy and distance of the B330 line, while still getting plenty of green side spin. I have played a few other balls recently and will try to compare including Chrome+, RBZU, e5 & e6, and Z Star.

I can't wait to get these balls on the course. The B330 series was already loaded with technology with the dual dimples and full line of options in spin and compression, and now we have the Hydro Core in addition to all of that. In hand, the balls do seem to feel a little different than previous models in weight, perhaps. The packing is first class Bridgestone as well, with a little change from last version to keep it fresh. I have putted some balls around the house and chipped a few, and the feel is great, maybe a little softer than before.

Can't wait to get these on the course.

It sounds like the entirety of Georgia has been fighting the incredible weather man -- In due time I'm sure hte great reviews will come!

I'd love to hear some early thoughts about the balls as it pertains to putting. Maybe spend some time with them in the living room to see how the sound and feedback differentiates with what you're used to?

 

[ATLGolfer]

It sounds like the entirety of Georgia has been fighting the incredible weather man -- In due time I'm sure hte great reviews will come!

I'd love to hear some early thoughts about the balls as it pertains to putting. Maybe spend some time with them in the living room to see how the sound and feedback differentiates with what you're used to?

The weather has been pretty ridiculous here the last few weeks. Well below where we usually are this time of year. But, it was mid-60s and sunny today!

Review coming later this evening. I really like the new B330s. They remind me a lot of the 2013 version, which is a very good thing. There are some positives and one negative. I'll expound a little later.

 

[kc720]

Link to First Review: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...orum-Testing&p=2749911&viewfull=1#post2749911


2/1/2014
Pecan Valley golf course
Temps ranging from 45*-60*, winds around 10-12 MPH
18 holes played

Got out yesterday morning for a tournament round and had the B330-RX in play all day. Generally speaking, my thoughts from the first review held true and reiterated themselves even more yesterday.

Off the tee: the main thing that really stands out to me here is the fact that this is proving to be a very straight ball - wherever it starts its line, it doesn't stray from that. Unfortunately for me, that included a few blocked drives right that again just held that line. I wasn't hitting the driver well but was hitting the hybrids very well and still saw my baby draw and distances are really in line with what I see with the Q-Star.

Irons & wedges (full swings): there are 2 areas with the ball that I want to speak to here:

- The performance into the wind is very impressive. Yes, you still need to club up to account for the fact that you are hitting into the wind but the ball doesn't get to that point at the apex where it just stalls and drops from there. Aerodynamics of the dimple pattern or whatever you want to call it - combination with hydro core - again, whatever it is, this ball is very penetrating while being impacted very very little with the crosswinds.

- The spin I am creating with this ball. It's a great attribute to the ball but I've still yet to completely adapt. When I hit it far enough to get to the hole, it's awesome. The ball is stopping essentially every single time within an area of 6 inches past the ball mark or I'm bringing it back a few feet. Where it's hurting me is like on a downwind shot where I may carry it just enough to get to the fringe and then it backs up a foot instead of releasing onto the green. I need to adapt better for it obviously but I like the fact that I can play aggressive into the greens without fear of the ball bouncing off of the back of the green, etc.

Short game: The spin notes above hold true here. I'm used to seeing the Q-Star squirt a little bit after landing and release a bit but that's not happening here. Once I finally said to play aggressive and not worry about the ball releasing way past the hole I started seeing some gimme putts after strong and aggressive chips.

Durability: This is the last area I will touch on today. This is something that's very important to me as I don't like wasting money on golf balls....especially at $40 and more per dozen. I played the same ball for all 18 holes yesterday. It found the water on 15, but my playing partner was able to retrieve it for me. The ball hit at least 3 trees and 1 cart path yesterday. The cart path left a slight scuff in it but it is definitely still playable and beyond that scuff the ball looks like it did when I started the round. A ball with this PERFORMANCE and DURABILITY does not come around often IMO. Few pics of the ball below that I just snapped and you can see the scuff in the first:

Great review! I have not seen the same level of performance and durability in any other high end ball!

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[Sox_Fan]

It sounds like the entirety of Georgia has been fighting the incredible weather man -- In due time I'm sure hte great reviews will come!

I'd love to hear some early thoughts about the balls as it pertains to putting. Maybe spend some time with them in the living room to see how the sound and feedback differentiates with what you're used to?

I have played 4 rounds with the RX Dan and I haven't perceived any differences regarding sound or feedback from the previous version when putting.

 

[Canadan]

I have played 4 rounds with the RX Dan and I haven't perceived any differences regarding sound or feedback from the previous version.

That's great to hear. I know they improved the cover and feedback since going to the dual dimple -- can't wait to see how they continue to improve it while not reducing the cover quality.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Testing Review Bridgestone Tour B330 1/2/14

Testing Review Bridgestone Tour B330 1/2/14

Location: Leland, NC Course: Magnolia Greens
Weather: Mid to upper 60s Wind 10-20 MPH


It's been 2 weeks since I've been able to get out for some testing as the flu and some bad weather have prevented me from being able to get out. After having snow and ice earlier in the week, it was almost 70 today. It was breezy at times, definitely a 1 club wind day and on holes that were open, the wind really felt like it was kicking.

Performance in the Wind:
A lot has been said about how the B330 performs in the wind and after seeing some positive results my first round out, I excited to put the B330 through its paces today. As Cookie noted in his review, I am still having to club up as I usually would but the ball holds it line remarkably well hitting into the wind. As a high ball hitter, windy conditions can be a nightmare. A little draw becomes a big one--you get the idea. There were a couple of times today when I was expecting to see the wind take a shot either to the left or right, but the B330 held its line remarkably well. The ball just seems to keep its momentum moving forward and not get hung up in the wind. The ball is not immune to a bad shot though. I hit a few cuts/slices in a left to right wind and the ball went with the as you would expect. No piece of equipment is going to save a bad shot, but this ball seems to help keep my good shots good if that makes sense.

Feel:
Obviously feel is subjective and hard to describe in a review, but one thing I have noticed is that I really like putting with the B330. I always thought it was silly how people would rave about how great a ball feels off the putter or how much they prefer one over the other, but I am now one of those people. Maybe it's something I haven't really paid attention to before, but I feel very comfortable putting with this ball. My distance control has been very good and am getting the roll out I am expecting to get on long and short putts.

Feel is great off the irons, driver, and fairway woods as well. The ball compresses nicely on well struck shots, giving it a nice, soft feel. No complaints there.

Trajectory and Distance:
I didn't have the opportunity to compare trajectory and distance side-by-side to with the previous model as the course was busy, but trajectory is pretty similar just eye-balling it. I had no issues flighting the ball up or down today and didn't have any shots balloon even with the wind. As I had mentioned earlier, one thing that really stands out to me is how well this ball holds it line. If the ball starts off straight, it doesn't move either way.

Distance also seems to be very similar to 2012 model, which is quite acceptable. What like the 2012 and the new B330 is that the distance is what you would expect from a premium ball, with outstanding greenside performance. I have not seen big distance gains, but I will try to get on a simulator or test side-by-side this weekend.

Durbality:
As others have noticed, the durability for a premium ball is outstanding. I lost a ball on my second shot on the second hole, but used the same ball for the rest of the round. There is one scuff on it, but I did hit a few trees today. I will definitely keep this ball in play and would think it is probably good for another 17.5 holes.

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Overall:
The new B330 has not disappointed in any phase of the game. The greenside spin and hop and stop performance that I loved about the 2012 model is still there, along with great durability. Bridgestone has improved on the how the B330 handles the wind and I seem to have a little less lateral movement on poor shots. All good things. If you are in the market for a premium ball, do yourself a favor and check out this ball.

 

[Nebgolfer]

Has anyone had any issues with the ball in colder temps? I think it was the Nike RZN balls that people said they didn't respond well to cold, so curious if water in the core impacts performance?

 

[ChristopherKee]

Has anyone had any issues with the ball in colder temps? I think it was the Nike RZN balls that people said they didn't respond well to cold, so curious if water in the core impacts performance?

I've only played the ball in the cold weather and compared to the TP5 and ProV1 it felt much better. Was still nice and soft.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Has anyone had any issues with the ball in colder temps? I think it was the Nike RZN balls that people said they didn't respond well to cold, so curious if water in the core impacts performance?

No issues for me. I hit some pitch shots and some 50 yard shots when it was in the 30s two weeks ago (not full swing shots obviously) but I didn't see anything to make me think there would be an issue in cold weather.

 

[cpljohnst]

I got in nine holes of my 18 today with the '14 B330-RX. This ball is just a solid performer. Not leaps and bounds better than the '12 model but an improvement all around when you look at the ball in total.

Biggest single change I see is the balls stopping power on approach shots. Played on firm bermuda greens today and my approach shots stopped quicker than my playing partners on similar shot distances.

 

[Tadashi70]

Has anyone had any issues with the ball in colder temps? I think it was the Nike RZN balls that people said they didn't respond well to cold, so curious if water in the core impacts performance?

It was 50* on Friday and I saw no ill effects

 

[ATLGolfer]

I played the B330s today for 11 holes (round cut short for slowness). Weather was really good. Mid-60's and sunny. Some wind.


The B330s reminds me a lot of the prior model. That is a very good thing. The ball feels really nice on all clubs. Firm, but not too hard, on woods and irons. It has a pretty soft feel around the green.

The B330s may have had a little more side movement than the prior model, but not by much. Generally, this is a ball that I can count on to hit pretty straight. I had to get used to this off of the tee a little bit, because I left a couple tee shots out to the right when I expected them to come back (with another ball). After an aiming adjustment, I was back in the fairway.


The B330s created a lot of spin on approach shots and around the green. I had a couple long pitches actually spin back, which I typically don't do. (Admittedly, I was breaking in new wedges as well, and I don't know how much of this was because of the wedge.) I actually had an approach with a 54* that I tried to hit hard spin back about 35 feet. That was not the intended result.


I was not hitting my driver that great today, but I did notice that I seemed to pick up a few yards in distance off of the tee. I caught one tee shot in particular, and I was 5-10 yards further than I typically am on the hole.

My only concern with the new B330s is durability. I've always found B330 balls to be very durable. These balls, though, picked up scuff marks pretty easily. It seemed like anytime I hit a shot thin (my typical miss), I could count on a scuff. I don't usually see that from B330 balls.

The testing continues, but so far I like what I'm seeing.


Thanks to THP and Bridgestone for letting me participate in this testing.

 

[ChristopherKee]

My only concern with the new B330s is durability. I've always found B330 balls to be very durable. These balls, though, picked up scuff marks pretty easily. It seemed like anytime I hit a shot thin (my typical miss), I could count on a scuff. I don't usually see that from B330 balls.

When you get a chance you have to give the new B330 a go as well. It seems a touch more spinny around the greens than last years B330s.