A few days ago I was invited to the Bridgestone ball manufacturing and testing facility in Covington, GA to participate in prototype ball testing. I went yesterday afternoon for my appointment.
First off, after I went through the testing, I asked if it was alright if I talked or posted about it or if I needed to keep it confidential for a while. They said that it was fine for me to post about it since they didn't really tell me what I was hitting or give me any details. I specifically mentioned THP and they said that they loved THP. I didn't post anything about before hand because I wanted to ask first if it was ok.
Now, back to the test.
I showed up at my appointment and rang the bell for someone to let me into their private testing facility behind the main building. They have a sweet private range with a short game area and a few green complexes going off to the side. They said that they were in the amateur testing phase of a new line of balls. They have already done some pro testing with Sneds and Kuch at the same facility. (just one of the cool things about it)
After a quick warm up, we started out with with a 30-40 yard pitch shot. They had one guy running trackman and two people watching me. They had me hit 3-4 shots with an unmarked control ball (they never identified it) and then 3-4 shots with three other types of balls. After my shots with each different type of ball they would ask questions about it. Like what I though of the feel and spin of that ball compared to the control ball. After I hit all the different balls they asked which one I liked best and why. For most shots, ball A was my favorite. Look for ball A to hit the market some time in the future. It is really nice. :wink: Next, we moved to a shorter chip shot. And it was the same routine for hitting some shots with the control ball then balls A, B and C (That is all the info I got on what I was hitting) for shots with 9 iron, 6 iron and then driver with questions after each type of ball and each round. At the end they asked about my overall impressions of each ball and which one I liked best and why. I thought ball A had a good combination of soft feel and good bite on the short shots and it felt hot off the driver with a really boring trajectory. It also cut through the wind really well as it was blowing about 15mph+ out there. I never got to see the info sheet they were putting all my answers on and I also never got to see any of the trackman data for my shots. After the test we chatted briefly about some equipment. I got to see the new wedges and they look really nice. They game me 2 dozen B330 balls, a hat, and glove just for coming out.
That was a really cool experience. Thanks Bridgestone for randomly emailing me and inviting me to be a part of this test. I can't wait to find out what kind of balls I was hitting.
First off, after I went through the testing, I asked if it was alright if I talked or posted about it or if I needed to keep it confidential for a while. They said that it was fine for me to post about it since they didn't really tell me what I was hitting or give me any details. I specifically mentioned THP and they said that they loved THP. I didn't post anything about before hand because I wanted to ask first if it was ok.
Now, back to the test.
I showed up at my appointment and rang the bell for someone to let me into their private testing facility behind the main building. They have a sweet private range with a short game area and a few green complexes going off to the side. They said that they were in the amateur testing phase of a new line of balls. They have already done some pro testing with Sneds and Kuch at the same facility. (just one of the cool things about it)
After a quick warm up, we started out with with a 30-40 yard pitch shot. They had one guy running trackman and two people watching me. They had me hit 3-4 shots with an unmarked control ball (they never identified it) and then 3-4 shots with three other types of balls. After my shots with each different type of ball they would ask questions about it. Like what I though of the feel and spin of that ball compared to the control ball. After I hit all the different balls they asked which one I liked best and why. For most shots, ball A was my favorite. Look for ball A to hit the market some time in the future. It is really nice. :wink: Next, we moved to a shorter chip shot. And it was the same routine for hitting some shots with the control ball then balls A, B and C (That is all the info I got on what I was hitting) for shots with 9 iron, 6 iron and then driver with questions after each type of ball and each round. At the end they asked about my overall impressions of each ball and which one I liked best and why. I thought ball A had a good combination of soft feel and good bite on the short shots and it felt hot off the driver with a really boring trajectory. It also cut through the wind really well as it was blowing about 15mph+ out there. I never got to see the info sheet they were putting all my answers on and I also never got to see any of the trackman data for my shots. After the test we chatted briefly about some equipment. I got to see the new wedges and they look really nice. They game me 2 dozen B330 balls, a hat, and glove just for coming out.
That was a really cool experience. Thanks Bridgestone for randomly emailing me and inviting me to be a part of this test. I can't wait to find out what kind of balls I was hitting.
