2020 Bridgestone Tour B Golf Balls
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- #178
I think shortly after PGA Show we will have everything for you.
I also think regardless of what ball people played previously, they will want to V-Fit again and see where they slot into place. Or at the very least, try all 4.
I thought the tour BX S had plenty of green side spin or so it seemed to me. I'll definitely try these out and curious as to the tech involved.
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Yes sir
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- #183
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Okay I am back from some early testing and I have to be careful a bit about what I say here, so I will just talk about what I saw, rather than why I think I saw it. When a product is being teased as reinventing the tour ball, my ears perk up because I think about "ingredients". Again, while I can't go into that, I have said for close to 6 months now, this is a year to pay attention to golf balls and the status quo of how you choose should be analyzed as well.
I did three short tests today.
25 yard chip shots
Full PW swings
Driver
To explain, I should give you some background on those that have never been unfortunate enough to be stuck playing with me. I am a steep swinger that generates a lot of spin both on full swings and partial shots. Depending on the area I am playing, around the green I choose either a simple bump or run, or the preferred shot of throwing it closer to the pin and wanting it to stop. I have always been fit into either RX or spin reduction, thus creating more distance or the X, for spin reduction with a little more speed.
Around the green, we paced off a little bit and were hitting 25 yards to the pin give or take. Much of that was green. For full disclosure, I was told the greens have been super receptive and should show more spin to the eye than I am used to. This is an area that I expect the ball to do well and it delivered. One hop and stop routinely and had no trouble generating the shot repeatably, no matter which of the four balls I was testing. I focused in more on the RX and X, which I have always found offered a tiny bit less spin, but not enough to really notice and still had no issues. In fact the TOUR B X routinely just sat on a dime, which was pretty darn cool.
An area that is often talked about, and in some ways used as validation for performance is feel. These balls feel different to me. In a good way, genuinely, but different. They almost feel soft and firm at the same time, which was rather unique.
Moving back to the full PW swings and this is where the ball came alive for me. I focused on the RX and X due to my being fit and both reacted similarly. On average seeing 3-4 more yards off of the full swings with the X, and a few hundred RPMs of spin, but the feel was tremendous. Again, soft and firm. WTF? I am typing it, lived it and it still is odd hearing it out, but it's the best way to describe it. Maybe better would be soft and dense? X has always been a firm ball to me, but it doesn't feel hard or even firm with this. Hitting the ball well, I routinely saw more spin than I am used to, although the receptive greens might have had something to do with that. A number of shots with the X spun back a good 8-10 feet and the RX in the area of about a foot in front of pitch mark. And hey, I only missed one green so there is that
Driver is where I grabbed some assistance because I wanted multiple takes. Recent ******** online talking about slow vs fast and other nonsense when in reality distance is a combination of THREE things. Speed. Spin. Launch. What might be a 1-2 mph slower, could also be a reduction in 500 rpms of spin with higher launch and definitely go further than the faster golf ball. Then compound that with unlike most on the internet, I miss the sweet spot from time to time and that changes every dynamic of golf ball testing, because spin, speed and launch all change and in many ways, a forgiving golf ball would benefit a lot of golfers there, to keep spin in check (unless miss is high on the face). Okay enough rambling because at the end of the day, tech is there, but are the results? Sort of, yes, but also some pretty fascinating info.
To expand on that, the pro hitting alongside of me is a staffer for another company, he plays the TP5 golf ball. Hits it very well. Says it feels firm. Before getting to him, I will give you my thoughts. I did not see a spin reduction off the tee with the RX. In fact it was nearly dead on for speed and spin to what my regular numbers are with distance right there with it. The X was different. I got 350 rpms less spin than I normally get, bringing it down to near RX levels, with the same launch and almost 2.5 mph more ball speed. Accounting for nearly 7 yards of more distance. WTF? What did it feel like? Soft and Dense.
The professional testing with me went right for X and XS. He preferred the X, but liked both. He actually hit the longest drive with the XS, but was infatuated with the penetrating flight of the X ball. Comparing to his normal gamer, he actually gained speed and had a spin reduction, while getting 1.5 more degrees of launch. Giving him nearly 11 yards more distance off the tee. FWIW, watching him test was nauseating, because of the precision and effortless motion. Numbers on best drive with the X. Up 1.3 mph ball speed. Down 347 rpms of spin. Up 1.5 degrees of launch.
So what did I learn? Absolutely nothing, other than the pro working with me today makes me want to take up competitive eating. No in all seriousness, I think Bridgestone has something on their hands here. Are you going to pick it up and all of the sudden hit Tiger stingers and tip like Kuchar? Maybe. Will this ball make you a better player? I dont know the answer to that, but am 100% confident that getting fit for a golf ball will and this Tour B lineup is absolutely rock solid. There will be more coming from me in the coming weeks on all 4 balls as I get to spend a bit more time with them, have others try them and dive a little deeper into the technology that is pretty ******* cool.
Okay if you made it this far, kudos. If you didn't, I am sure there is some youtube video or site that will exist soon only paying attention to center contact. If you get nothing else from THP, understand that the golf ball reacts wildly different based on where impact takes place, the speed of the collision and it could be the biggest change in equipment you can ever make.
I did three short tests today.
25 yard chip shots
Full PW swings
Driver
To explain, I should give you some background on those that have never been unfortunate enough to be stuck playing with me. I am a steep swinger that generates a lot of spin both on full swings and partial shots. Depending on the area I am playing, around the green I choose either a simple bump or run, or the preferred shot of throwing it closer to the pin and wanting it to stop. I have always been fit into either RX or spin reduction, thus creating more distance or the X, for spin reduction with a little more speed.
Around the green, we paced off a little bit and were hitting 25 yards to the pin give or take. Much of that was green. For full disclosure, I was told the greens have been super receptive and should show more spin to the eye than I am used to. This is an area that I expect the ball to do well and it delivered. One hop and stop routinely and had no trouble generating the shot repeatably, no matter which of the four balls I was testing. I focused in more on the RX and X, which I have always found offered a tiny bit less spin, but not enough to really notice and still had no issues. In fact the TOUR B X routinely just sat on a dime, which was pretty darn cool.
An area that is often talked about, and in some ways used as validation for performance is feel. These balls feel different to me. In a good way, genuinely, but different. They almost feel soft and firm at the same time, which was rather unique.
Moving back to the full PW swings and this is where the ball came alive for me. I focused on the RX and X due to my being fit and both reacted similarly. On average seeing 3-4 more yards off of the full swings with the X, and a few hundred RPMs of spin, but the feel was tremendous. Again, soft and firm. WTF? I am typing it, lived it and it still is odd hearing it out, but it's the best way to describe it. Maybe better would be soft and dense? X has always been a firm ball to me, but it doesn't feel hard or even firm with this. Hitting the ball well, I routinely saw more spin than I am used to, although the receptive greens might have had something to do with that. A number of shots with the X spun back a good 8-10 feet and the RX in the area of about a foot in front of pitch mark. And hey, I only missed one green so there is that
Driver is where I grabbed some assistance because I wanted multiple takes. Recent ******** online talking about slow vs fast and other nonsense when in reality distance is a combination of THREE things. Speed. Spin. Launch. What might be a 1-2 mph slower, could also be a reduction in 500 rpms of spin with higher launch and definitely go further than the faster golf ball. Then compound that with unlike most on the internet, I miss the sweet spot from time to time and that changes every dynamic of golf ball testing, because spin, speed and launch all change and in many ways, a forgiving golf ball would benefit a lot of golfers there, to keep spin in check (unless miss is high on the face). Okay enough rambling because at the end of the day, tech is there, but are the results? Sort of, yes, but also some pretty fascinating info.
To expand on that, the pro hitting alongside of me is a staffer for another company, he plays the TP5 golf ball. Hits it very well. Says it feels firm. Before getting to him, I will give you my thoughts. I did not see a spin reduction off the tee with the RX. In fact it was nearly dead on for speed and spin to what my regular numbers are with distance right there with it. The X was different. I got 350 rpms less spin than I normally get, bringing it down to near RX levels, with the same launch and almost 2.5 mph more ball speed. Accounting for nearly 7 yards of more distance. WTF? What did it feel like? Soft and Dense.
The professional testing with me went right for X and XS. He preferred the X, but liked both. He actually hit the longest drive with the XS, but was infatuated with the penetrating flight of the X ball. Comparing to his normal gamer, he actually gained speed and had a spin reduction, while getting 1.5 more degrees of launch. Giving him nearly 11 yards more distance off the tee. FWIW, watching him test was nauseating, because of the precision and effortless motion. Numbers on best drive with the X. Up 1.3 mph ball speed. Down 347 rpms of spin. Up 1.5 degrees of launch.
So what did I learn? Absolutely nothing, other than the pro working with me today makes me want to take up competitive eating. No in all seriousness, I think Bridgestone has something on their hands here. Are you going to pick it up and all of the sudden hit Tiger stingers and tip like Kuchar? Maybe. Will this ball make you a better player? I dont know the answer to that, but am 100% confident that getting fit for a golf ball will and this Tour B lineup is absolutely rock solid. There will be more coming from me in the coming weeks on all 4 balls as I get to spend a bit more time with them, have others try them and dive a little deeper into the technology that is pretty ******* cool.
Okay if you made it this far, kudos. If you didn't, I am sure there is some youtube video or site that will exist soon only paying attention to center contact. If you get nothing else from THP, understand that the golf ball reacts wildly different based on where impact takes place, the speed of the collision and it could be the biggest change in equipment you can ever make.
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Those results sound super promising JB. As someone who has had real difficultly adjusting the ball higher on the tee while still maintaining center contact, the increased launch angle really, really excites me. And after your post, now I better understand the need to submit a new video with the VFIT program. This seems like a whole different animal.
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- #188
My take on V-FIT is rather simple. I think its decent. I think it will get pretty darn good.
It's free and takes 5 minutes. Why the hell not do it?
Driver and iron play are important, was wondering if you had a chance to putt with it some and gauge the sound off the putter?
I would say its even easier than using the online "questionnaire" style fitting. Using the latter, I thought the XS was the best ball for me, and I played it well. After the VFIT, the recommended ball was the X, and it was noticeably better for me. I cannot think of a single reason not to submit a video to the VFIT, just to see what the results are.My take on V-FIT is rather simple. I think its decent. I think it will get pretty darn good.
It's free and takes 5 minutes. Why the hell not do it?
I can say with complete honesty that getting my hands on these balls is one of the things I am most looking forward to. I can't wait to get some strikes on these and do a real comparison against my normal gamer because I would have zero isses going back to Bridgestone for my ball of choice. Especially since I was already planning to do some ProV vs TP5 testing on my own swing on a simulator before the distance bash to drive my choice for 2020. My plans may have just been short circuited.
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- #192
Ya know I didn't. Im not one that notices a lot of difference off the putter, but will try next time.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Of course at Distance Bash you are being ball fit, so there is that.
Pics looks good. So ready to hear the tech details!
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- #196
Can you explain that question, I am not smart and don't know what you mean
That was a great read and well written. Some interesting thoughts with how the "pro" gravitated to a ball so quickly.
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- #199
Thanks for simplifying into JB terms. I dont think there will be a huge departure. There might be tiny tweaks in compression here or there, but without me getting into the tech, the details will be a pretty fun story for those that like the design side of golf equipment.
My take on refitting is that its free, it's a new product, our swings change constantly and why not, right?
