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2011 Bridgestone e7 ball- Testing & Talk

SuperStroke
Tried these on the similar with Hanks today
These are long off the tee. 180 ball speed on 116 club head speed is super efficient. Not the softest around the greens, but a perfect ball for those scramble tee shots. I split time between these and the srixon z star x and the e7 produced my longest drives by a noticeable margin


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golf4life said:
Tried these on the similar with Hanks today
These are long off the tee. 180 ball speed on 116 club head speed is super efficient. Not the softest around the greens, but a perfect ball for those scramble tee shots. I split time between these and the srixon z star x and the e7 produced my longest drives by a noticeable margin


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180 mph ball speed? Wow! I'm glad you guys all got a chance to play some with the e7 today.
 
Puttin4Bird said:
180 mph ball speed? Wow! I'm glad you guys all got a chance to play some with the e7 today.
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Yeah, Im gonna need a sleeve for our afternoon scramble!

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One thing I do wonder about, especially with a ball like this where the dimples are designed to provide different aerodynamics at launch and after as the air hits different parts of the dimpling, is how accurate a simulator is going to be. After all, it's programmed to pattern ball flight after a specific set of parameters depending on what is measured at time of impact. It just seems like real-world performance would be a much better test in cases like this, which I know you'll be doing too.

Still, good to hear the initial impressions, and can't wait to see how they perform out on the course for you guys!
 
I was able to putt with this ball today. It definitely feels a little harder than what I'm used to (330-s, 330-RX). Not like you're putting a rock but you can tell it's a 'distance' ball. The alignment aid is easy to read, large, and is the best in the industry, imo. The roll is true and not that I expected this to be an issue but for those who may be wondering, the dimples do not affect the roll.

I was also able to chip with the e7 as well. The feel is a little harder on the club face than a premium ball would be but it's not bad. These balls certainly don't have a nice hop and stop feel, It's more like a hop hop roll roll stop. So if you're used to allowing some roll out on your chips and pitches this ball will work for you.
 
If the outdoor pitching and chipping area is open this weekend I'm going to see how these guys work with a variety of clubs, shots, etc. Or at least try that is :)
 
Thanks for the reviews, I play E6 and also hit pretty high. I'm gonna pick up a dozen and try them,thanks much.
 
weather pending this weekend....I'm going to put these into live action this weekend to see how these do. Chipping and putting will come on Saturday now that the grass areas are open....more to come on these soon!
 
Hanks said:
weather pending this weekend....I'm going to put these into live action this weekend to see how these do. Chipping and putting will come on Saturday now that the grass areas are open....more to come on these soon!
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looking forward to see how this ball works for you this weekend.
 
I played last years e7 some and liked it quite a bit. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts.
 
Any more updates on the e7?
thanks L57
 
Pretty sure everyone in my group played this new e7 today. Can't get in to a lot of detail right now as I'm at the gas station on my way home. Today was very windy and this was a very good ball for the conditions.

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For a distance ball, this thing feels nice and soft off the club head. I think it wants to help launch the ball a little lower than my normal trajectory, and was performing well at cutting through the wind. The lack of spin is great for the long game, but has to be accounted for around the greens. This ball wants to roll out quite a bit more than the Srixon Z Star Xs or the Penta TPs I often play. But in most situations, that is something that can be played for no problem. I think if you are struggling with hitting the ball too high, or are looking for a little more distance off the tee, this ball could certainly help you out.
 
played with this ball all weekend and was suprised by some things. One, this is soft for a 'distance ball.' It's still harder than a tour level ball but it's not like hitting a rock. It feel good off the club face but there was a slight 'click' sound coming off the insert of my putter. My tee game was inconsistent today but you noticed that the ball flight was always straight and though not totally penetrating through the wind, it got the job done. this is more due to the fact that I was teeing the ball too high in the windy conditions and ballooned a few shots with these. Chipping and pitching with this ball takes some getting used to if you're used to hitting softer covered balls however if you're used to hitting a traditional rock of a 2 piece ball you may feel that these are soft enough. There is noticeable roll out with the e7 and while there isn't the 'hop and stop/ that players crave, there is a hop hop roll roll stop that the e7 delivers consistently. I never once noticed or even thought about the extra dimples on the e7 throughout the rounds played with these and think that someone who is looking for a distance ball that doesn't feel like a rock that these would be a great option to try out.
 
Hanks said:
played with this ball all weekend and was suprised by some things. One, this is soft for a 'distance ball.' It's still harder than a tour level ball but it's not like hitting a rock. It feel good off the club face but there was a slight 'click' sound coming off the insert of my putter. My tee game was inconsistent today but you noticed that the ball flight was always straight and though not totally penetrating through the wind, it got the job done. this is more due to the fact that I was teeing the ball too high in the windy conditions and ballooned a few shots with these. Chipping and pitching with this ball takes some getting used to if you're used to hitting softer covered balls however if you're used to hitting a traditional rock of a 2 piece ball you may feel that these are soft enough. There is noticeable roll out with the e7 and while there isn't the 'hop and stop/ that players crave, there is a hop hop roll roll stop that the e7 delivers consistently. I never once noticed or even thought about the extra dimples on the e7 throughout the rounds played with these and think that someone who is looking for a distance ball that doesn't feel like a rock that these would be a great option to try out.
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Good info after some testing. Two questions.

1. When you say "its harder than a tour ball but not like hitting a rock.", do you mean the cover or the compression.

2. When you say "if you're used to hitting a traditional rock of a 2 piece ball you may feel that these are soft enough." are you talking about the cover or compression?
 
Well I made it back home so I can comment on this ball a little more. Thanks to Hanks I was able to use this ball for the entire round(except for 1 hole). The conditions today were pretty windy so this ball seemed like a good option. To me it produced a lower ball flight which when paired with my 3 hybrid off the tee and fairway was perfect the perfect blend. Off the irons they felt pretty good, a little harsher than the RX but not bad. Around the green these don't seem to generate much spin. My short game was more than rusty today but you could tell that these were a ball that loved to roll out. If you are a player who really hits the ball high and wants to flatten your ball flight a bit these would be a great option. I also wanted to add that I thought the durability of this ball was fairly good. I used 2 the entire day because I lost my original ball on the 14th hole. Before losing it I did not notice any scuffs or tears in the cover.
 
the cover is definitely harder but in the grand picture I think it's more about the compression.

regarding your second point, I think it's a little bit of both actually. The cover is absolutley softer than most traditional distance balls and I think these would compress a little bit more as well. I found a couple of other distance balls on the course today and hit some shots with them and noticed that they felt harsher on the club face and that the covers were definitely harder than the e7

JB said:
Good info after some testing. Two questions.

1. When you say "its harder than a tour ball but not like hitting a rock.", do you mean the cover or the compression.

2. When you say "if you're used to hitting a traditional rock of a 2 piece ball you may feel that these are soft enough." are you talking about the cover or compression?
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Hanks said:
the cover is definitely harder but in the grand picture I think it's more about the compression.

regarding your second point, I think it's a little bit of both actually. The cover is absolutley softer than most traditional distance balls and I think these would compress a little bit more as well. I found a couple of other distance balls on the course today and hit some shots with them and noticed that they felt harsher on the club face and that the covers were definitely harder than the e7
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Interesting. Good stuff. I would think that hitting these would be more about compression because they are not a 2 piece ball.
 
I already played the E7 and while I was out in California I picked up a box of the new balls. I played the first day with the original E7 and the rest of the week with the new ones. It seemed very gimmicky to me but I really did notice a difference with the new E7. It was definitely a little softer off the tee but it didn't sacrifice any distance at all, if anything I felt like I was hitting it further. The spin, as everyone has pointed out, is nearly non-existent. The desert greens were already very quick so chipping was a challenge. I still like the E7 but I'm not sure it is the type of ball I am going to be looking for in the future. My game used to be distance but with a bad hip I have lost the consistent long ball and need to find better ways to score. Looking forward to reading up on and testing out a lot of golf balls this spring.
 
I wanted to throw an update in this thread. Hanks gave me a sleeve of e7's to use this past Sunday and I came away very impressed. I have to admit when I first saw looked at it I thought top-flite with the dimple design. I didnt get to roll them on the practice green but after my first few shots I sure didnt think top-flite. What an awesome ball. I felt like I really compressed the ball well and in the high winds it seemed to hold its line. The feel around the greens was good and so was the feel off the putter. I tend to hit a high ball and while these were no miracle ball they did seem like they wanted to go lower. I found nothing at all to dislike.
 
Played another outdoor round with the e7's today. The conditions were 37* and 10-15mph winds all round long. Not the most ideal playing conditions but ideal for some e7 testing.

Driver- The ball did feel a little harder than a premium ball but the performance was good. Nice piercing ball flight through the wind and except for a blatant block or two, these stayed straight in their flight path for a long time. I did notice a little lower, penetrating launch to the e7 vs. another ball that my buddy let me use on a couple of holes [Callaway Tour (i)]

Hybrids- Felt solid and that I was actually compressing these a bit. Did notice a lot more roll out on these with my bump and run shots with the hybrids than with other balls I play though.

Irons- There is a nice 'click' feel and sound to these balls coming off the clubface. As with the driver, it does feel a little harder on the face but the trajectory is lower launching and I found myself hitting my 6i and 7i a little longer than I'm used to

Wedges- whether it's chipping, pitching, or full shots this ball felt good off the wedges today. The e7 is a good ball to consider if you like to bump and run or hit some low pitch shots to cheat the wind with. There's not much bite to these on the green so plan some roll out accordingly. Definitely more of a hop hop roll stop kinda ball.

Putter- Not much clicky feeling to these as opposed to other clubs in my bag today but that could be due to the insert in my putter. The ball felt good, rolled true, however I would suspect that it may feel on a putter that doesn't have an insert. Pure speculation on my part however.
 
Good Stuff Hanks
 
Thought this could use a little bump.

I played the new e7's yesterday at Whistling Straits, in about a 15-20mph wind. I am really enjoying the new ball, I have definitely seen reduced spin and increased roll out. On my drives I used to be able to see the pitch mark where it landed about 1ft or so in front of where it ended up, but I noticed yesterday that the ball was rolling way out, on a couple of holes it went through the fairway and into the rough.

Into a dead on head wind my drives where fine, barely lost any distance, however the second shot into that wind was tough. On a particular par 5 I hit a great drive, had a second shot about 260 from the pin, 200 to carry the creek. I ended up making it over the creek by about 6 ft. Not what I wanted to see with the lower ball flight this was intended to give me. Other than that I had great control around the greens, the cover seems a little softer than the old e7, and hitting with my irons was great as well. For me it was just great feel on those pure shots.

In comparison I did have the Srixon Zstar ball that I was trying off the tee and when hitting these two with my driver I could see a world of difference in the trajectory. The e7 had to have flown 15ft lower than the Zstar, but they battled for distance all day. Just used the Zstar off the tee as a comparison since I got them for free, used the e7's for the round.
 
What is the next step up in $$ and greenside spin that flies/rolls the same at the E7?
 
I played this ball for a couple rounds recently and was pleasantly surprised how nice it sounded and felt at impact. For some reason, I always had this idea that the e7 was rock hard and I wouldn't like it. Have to say that I was completely incorrect with that assumption.
 
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