Have played a couple more rounds with the Tour B RX. Ball continues to perform well against my current gamer, Chrome Soft. and will consider it when its time to buy new balls. I started one round with my normal ball and when I switched was reminded that i didn't follow the mindset process. I do think thats its useful and the visual cues remind me of it. I need to do a better job at being in the mindset when I am not using it, maybe I mark my ball somehow to remind me of it.
Bridgestone Golf MINDSET Visual Technology
I mark my balls with a simple blue dot. As an experiment I took the Mindset ball, a non mind-set Bridgestone ball and a Callaway ball and played around with them employing the Mindset mantra of "Identification, Visualization and Focus on the dot" using all three balls. Basically the same performance, positive, with all three balls.
So what does it tell me? For me, that the Mindset technology where you separate analytical thoughts from athletic performance is sound yet can be deployed with any ball.
So what does it tell me? For me, that the Mindset technology where you separate analytical thoughts from athletic performance is sound yet can be deployed with any ball.
I’ve drawn the same conclusion. I definitely found value in the mindset process but the ball I was testing wasn’t the best fit for me. I started marking Callaway CT and Bridgestone Tour B X (non Mindset balls I already had) balls and found I can replicate the process pretty well.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 13,176
- Reaction score
- 22,294
- Handicap
- PBR
This won't be my final thoughts, but I think I've played enough now with the Tour B RX to say these things.
Mindset - works, but only in a repeatable environment for me. If I'm in basement putting I can line it up and have success every time, when conditions don't change. When I'm on a real green sometimes it actually makes things worse for me. I can see how it should work, but I find myself getting in my own head and misreading putts badly. Could that be just me? Yeah definitely, but I seem to have more success on the course when I forget about any of that stuff completely. The same with Triple Track. My favorite place to use it still, is on the tee. I love having the visual.
The Tour B RX is elite around the green for me, but it falls short almost every time distance wise. Keeps me in the fairway more often, but I do lose different vs every other ball I've tried (Chromesoft X LS, Chrome Tour, Prov1x and ProV1)
It's still hard for me to get over the quality of the ball. Compared to the others mentioned above every one I've held feels grittier, less smooth. I know it's not meant to be the same type of ball, but its noticeable and makes me wonder.
Mindset - works, but only in a repeatable environment for me. If I'm in basement putting I can line it up and have success every time, when conditions don't change. When I'm on a real green sometimes it actually makes things worse for me. I can see how it should work, but I find myself getting in my own head and misreading putts badly. Could that be just me? Yeah definitely, but I seem to have more success on the course when I forget about any of that stuff completely. The same with Triple Track. My favorite place to use it still, is on the tee. I love having the visual.
The Tour B RX is elite around the green for me, but it falls short almost every time distance wise. Keeps me in the fairway more often, but I do lose different vs every other ball I've tried (Chromesoft X LS, Chrome Tour, Prov1x and ProV1)
It's still hard for me to get over the quality of the ball. Compared to the others mentioned above every one I've held feels grittier, less smooth. I know it's not meant to be the same type of ball, but its noticeable and makes me wonder.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Messages
- 15,858
- Reaction score
- 17,729
- Handicap
- 20.9
Played with this ball for about half the round today. It helped me commit to my draw/hook and just aim up the right side of the fairway and go with it. It was good to commit to it. Had a couple 200+ approaches that I just committed to playing a hook with the 4h and just hit a few nice draws with them that hit the green
Logo? I'm all out so I've really noticed not having the logo, but I'm not missing it so I'm answering 'it's ok'
Process? Since running out, I've noticed I slipped back into the old ways, having the logo to setup was a good trigger for me to do the process so for this I'm answering 'not consistently'
Do I like the process? After initial bad thoughts, modifying it to my methods had some really good results. I will say its improved my method when I follow it.
I played my third & fourth rounds using B RX Mindset yesterday. Unfortunately, this will be my last review since the balls are now legal property of AZ National’s snakes. lol
Good: B RX continues to perform well for my game. Solid off the tee, enough spin to hold greens, and feels great off the putter face. I am definitely considering a switch to B RX as my gamer.
Not Quite as Good: Mindset. When I remembered to use it off the tee, it gave me a subtle reminder to focus on my shot (I didn’t use it on the green because I don’t like looking at any marks on the ball when putting). I guess what I’m saying is that Mindset doesn’t quite work for me. It really is a good idea, but my scatterbrain just wants to tee it up and hit, so I’ll never take full advantage of Mindset.
Bonus: I gave a couple of Mindset balls to my playing partner who asked about the logo. I gave him a quick rundown of the Mindset process, and he tried it out on the second nine. He commented how Mindset forced him to slow down and think about what he was doing, which he said helped his score on the back nine. Hopefully, I converted at least one more golfer to Mindset!!
Once again, I thank THP for the opportunity to try out B RX Mindset balls.
Good: B RX continues to perform well for my game. Solid off the tee, enough spin to hold greens, and feels great off the putter face. I am definitely considering a switch to B RX as my gamer.
Not Quite as Good: Mindset. When I remembered to use it off the tee, it gave me a subtle reminder to focus on my shot (I didn’t use it on the green because I don’t like looking at any marks on the ball when putting). I guess what I’m saying is that Mindset doesn’t quite work for me. It really is a good idea, but my scatterbrain just wants to tee it up and hit, so I’ll never take full advantage of Mindset.
Bonus: I gave a couple of Mindset balls to my playing partner who asked about the logo. I gave him a quick rundown of the Mindset process, and he tried it out on the second nine. He commented how Mindset forced him to slow down and think about what he was doing, which he said helped his score on the back nine. Hopefully, I converted at least one more golfer to Mindset!!
Once again, I thank THP for the opportunity to try out B RX Mindset balls.
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2017
- Messages
- 3,055
- Reaction score
- 6,631
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- 14.7
Do you like the Mindset logo?
2. It's ok
I neither love nor hate it. It's a solid logo. Just as good as truvis or the 2 dots I usually put on my ball.
Do you follow the Mindset Process?
A. Yes
Visualizing the shot and trusting the swing instead of worrying about the results is a better way for me to play.
Do you like the Mindset Process?
X. It's similar to what I already used
It was similar to my preshot routine. This just enumerates it and reminds me to trust the swing.
Saw these in the pro shop of the course I played… thought it was an interesting choice as I don’t see people buying them with the QR code
Two more rounds under my belt with mindset. While I really think the mindset process helps being intentional and creates more focus on the task at hand, I think I have determined I don't really need a big green dot to do so. The Tour B X ball itself continues to impress. I really enjoy the feel of the ball off the putter. I am finding it easy to flight high, low, left, and right. The stopping power on the greens is superb.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Messages
- 15,858
- Reaction score
- 17,729
- Handicap
- 20.9
Totally agree with this assessment. About to order another set of balls. Bridgestones will get strong consideration if I don’t go with current ball. Love the mindset process itself but not positive the logo fully executed its intention.
Occasionally, I'll still put a Mindset ball in play during a round and try to use the process. Results are mixed. The good shots don't happen often enough for me to commit to the process 100% anymore. Would I have more success if I tried to use the process all the time? When I did use the process consistently, the results were disastrous, at times. The ball itself is pretty decent, but I am not a fan of the alignment aid, the arrow (I need a longer line), nor the Mindset graphic in general. I appreciate Bridgestone and THP for the opportunity to test them, but I would not go and buy any more of them.
As my dozen MindSet balls has run out, I wanted to put together a more comprehensive summary of my experience with them thus far.
The Ball
I believe it is undeniable Bridgestone makes a quality golf ball. At one point I was able to play an entire round with one of my Tour B RX MindSet balls and apart from some ground in grass stains, the ball is immaculate. No chips, scuffs, of tears and I didn't see a drop in performance whatsoever (from the ball at least, my game is another story.) The B RX is a great ball in and of itself, well tailored to the way I play. I hover around 100mph with my driver swing, so I still feel the RX is the ball for me over the X, but I am tempted to try that ball as well. If I had to chose 1 ball to play for the rest of my life, the B RX would be a strong contender.
The MindSet Process and Logo
As I have mentioned already in this thread, I have had something of a love/hate relationship with MindSet. I can see how it should work, and in some ways it does for me. I also really like the Logo itself from a design perspective. But something about staring at the MindSet logo for step 3 of the process would throw me off mentally. The rest of the process I believe ultimately is a benefit to my game, and the Logo serves as a reminder to use it, I just personally see better results putting the Logo down. This is a little disappointing to me simply because of the media kit I got in my mystery box this year, and selfishly, I really wanted this to work as a tie in to that. As far as an alignment aid goes, I don't really use alignment aids as they cause me more mental woes than they help, so maybe that's at play here as well.
Overall, I would definitely play the MindSet balls again. And I want to send a huge thanks to THP, @JB, @GolferGal, and Bridgestone for the opportunity to take part in testing these golf balls. It's amazing the opportunities we are provided here and I hope my feedback has helped along the way.
The Ball
I believe it is undeniable Bridgestone makes a quality golf ball. At one point I was able to play an entire round with one of my Tour B RX MindSet balls and apart from some ground in grass stains, the ball is immaculate. No chips, scuffs, of tears and I didn't see a drop in performance whatsoever (from the ball at least, my game is another story.) The B RX is a great ball in and of itself, well tailored to the way I play. I hover around 100mph with my driver swing, so I still feel the RX is the ball for me over the X, but I am tempted to try that ball as well. If I had to chose 1 ball to play for the rest of my life, the B RX would be a strong contender.
The MindSet Process and Logo
As I have mentioned already in this thread, I have had something of a love/hate relationship with MindSet. I can see how it should work, and in some ways it does for me. I also really like the Logo itself from a design perspective. But something about staring at the MindSet logo for step 3 of the process would throw me off mentally. The rest of the process I believe ultimately is a benefit to my game, and the Logo serves as a reminder to use it, I just personally see better results putting the Logo down. This is a little disappointing to me simply because of the media kit I got in my mystery box this year, and selfishly, I really wanted this to work as a tie in to that. As far as an alignment aid goes, I don't really use alignment aids as they cause me more mental woes than they help, so maybe that's at play here as well.
Overall, I would definitely play the MindSet balls again. And I want to send a huge thanks to THP, @JB, @GolferGal, and Bridgestone for the opportunity to take part in testing these golf balls. It's amazing the opportunities we are provided here and I hope my feedback has helped along the way.
23putters
Member
Bridgestone's Mindset research numbers are very impressive. I wonder how that same research would come out with this group of testers?
Having now played three rounds with Mindset, my initial thoughts have been affirmed.
The process:
The process:
- Doing the Mindset process and going through the steps has helped me recover from bad shots and hit more good ones. Being able to commit to the shot in the visualization phase has freed me a lot during the swing. The shot doesn't always come out the way I planned, but enough times to make a meaningful difference.
- If I slack on the visualization phase, the shots tend to be worse, as I'm having swing and play thoughts while actually swinging.
- I use the process on all shots now and feel like I'll keep on doing it for the foreseeable future.
- My scores have improved, except for yesterday, when I was slacking on doing the process right.
- I still like the graphics for putting and actually started to stare at the green dot when doing the putting stroke. I start more balls on line that way.
- I don't use it as an alignment off the tee and don't find myself needing the actual graphics to remember to go through the process.
- I kind of like the shape of the marking and it makes it easy to recognize your ball. I've not seen anyone else play one locally.
For all the testers who felt the mindset process helped them, post your video testimonial for a shot at an epic trip.
www.bridgestonegolf.com
Mindset Sweepstakes
Picked up another single sleeve of the RX MindSet. I plan on putting it in play sometime next month after having spent some time away from the Logo to see how coming back to it feels.
Few more rounds in with the B XS and its still my favorite ball around the greens over the past 5+ years. I do find its still lacking speed and distance but its not the main criteria i would expect from this ball. I have enough distance already.
The main thing i look for in a ball is lower flight and higher spin since im pretty shallow with my attack. I have a tendency to present more loft and launch higher
Mindset for me doesnt do anything so i just use the regular Tour B XS line on the side of the ball for my putts
The main thing i look for in a ball is lower flight and higher spin since im pretty shallow with my attack. I have a tendency to present more loft and launch higher
Mindset for me doesnt do anything so i just use the regular Tour B XS line on the side of the ball for my putts
I have played quite a few rounds with Mindset, some good, some bad, one the best I have ever played since my last update. If this isn't my favorite alignment aid, it is at worst tied for 1st. The Green dot really gives me something to focus on.
The failing, like almost everything else in golf and life, is when I don't commit to the process. And when things go downhill, I tend to give up the goat and just deal fall into a "I guess I suck today" type of attitude. That is on me, not on the technology, as I don't know of anything that cures a bad attitude. This past 2 weekends I have had some really good rounds where I either kept it on the rails, or got it back on the rails after a tough go, and Mindset was a huge reminder on that.
Round 1: Saturday at my home course - Playing in a 12 player team match, a tough but fun format. 2 players from my club against 2 players from another club. We play a better ball match between the 4 of us as well as 2 individual matches. So there are 3 matches going on in each group, which can kind of be a bit chaotic, but means each shot has something on the line. Started off not great, bogey from the middle of the fairway with a wedge in my hand, a double on the next hole as a 7 CI.... But turned it around and played the next 16 holes in 4 over to win my match and help get us the win in the team match as well. Mindset definitely helped me keep focus on the next shot and let the previous results go away.
Round 2: Sunday at my home course - a tournament, our Jr Fundraiser event. Again started off pretty poorly, with a double on the first whole and a bogey on the 2nd hole... but I kept the problems rolling with a double on 4 and a quad on 7... a par 3 where I never lost a ball. I kind of woke up there and played the final 11 holes in 1 over. Not enough to get me to place in the tournament, but when things go poorly I tend to pack it in, so was glad to rebound.
Round 3: Saturday at my home course - another 12 player team match: My goal was to stay loose and to play conservatively. Make my opponent beat me, not beat myself. Used mindset to help keep my focus on the task at hand while proceeding to shoot a career best 73 (+1). Made 3 bogeys and 2 birdies, nothing bigger than a bogey. Mindset particularly helped on putts, think I missed 1 putt inside 10', and it was probably 8-9'. The green dot gives me a focal point which keeps my eyes from bouncing around.
Round 4: Sunday at another course, casual round with friends. Overall this round was a lot less strussful, I shot an 84 while loosing 5 golf balls (there is a creek running along the right side of the entire front 9). I didn't execute all my shots, but I kept my head in it and never got too high or low.
The failing, like almost everything else in golf and life, is when I don't commit to the process. And when things go downhill, I tend to give up the goat and just deal fall into a "I guess I suck today" type of attitude. That is on me, not on the technology, as I don't know of anything that cures a bad attitude. This past 2 weekends I have had some really good rounds where I either kept it on the rails, or got it back on the rails after a tough go, and Mindset was a huge reminder on that.
Round 1: Saturday at my home course - Playing in a 12 player team match, a tough but fun format. 2 players from my club against 2 players from another club. We play a better ball match between the 4 of us as well as 2 individual matches. So there are 3 matches going on in each group, which can kind of be a bit chaotic, but means each shot has something on the line. Started off not great, bogey from the middle of the fairway with a wedge in my hand, a double on the next hole as a 7 CI.... But turned it around and played the next 16 holes in 4 over to win my match and help get us the win in the team match as well. Mindset definitely helped me keep focus on the next shot and let the previous results go away.
Round 2: Sunday at my home course - a tournament, our Jr Fundraiser event. Again started off pretty poorly, with a double on the first whole and a bogey on the 2nd hole... but I kept the problems rolling with a double on 4 and a quad on 7... a par 3 where I never lost a ball. I kind of woke up there and played the final 11 holes in 1 over. Not enough to get me to place in the tournament, but when things go poorly I tend to pack it in, so was glad to rebound.
Round 3: Saturday at my home course - another 12 player team match: My goal was to stay loose and to play conservatively. Make my opponent beat me, not beat myself. Used mindset to help keep my focus on the task at hand while proceeding to shoot a career best 73 (+1). Made 3 bogeys and 2 birdies, nothing bigger than a bogey. Mindset particularly helped on putts, think I missed 1 putt inside 10', and it was probably 8-9'. The green dot gives me a focal point which keeps my eyes from bouncing around.
Round 4: Sunday at another course, casual round with friends. Overall this round was a lot less strussful, I shot an 84 while loosing 5 golf balls (there is a creek running along the right side of the entire front 9). I didn't execute all my shots, but I kept my head in it and never got too high or low.
The local store didn't have any of the Mindset in the model I play and I guess my club has quite carrying Bridgestone balls altogether now. I'm going to check the local store again but need to order some. The few rounds I played with them I shot really well in the mid-high 70's. A few round since playing with other balls and it's been in the high 70's to mid 80's. I really feel like I've been missing the Mindset aid and focus that it helped bring.
played Dubsdread at Cog Hill over the weekend as was very impressed with the Tour B XS and how it held the green on some lightning fast greens. By far the toughest course ive played the past few years and was fun to see how this ball responded
Tour B XS over the past 5+ years has always had great greenside spin and this new version is even better while feeling firmer than previous models.
Tour B XS over the past 5+ years has always had great greenside spin and this new version is even better while feeling firmer than previous models.
Thought it was time to jump back in and provide an update:
I've played multiple rounds with the Tour B RXS Mindset ball. For me the durability of the ball has been exceptional, I have played multiple rounds with one ball on several occasions.
I will continue to be a fan of the Mindset process overall. For me, it definitely has helped me from rushing my swing and kept me focused on executing the shot that I had visioned. On the occasions that I don't follow the "Select the target, visualize and focus" mentality, my shots are not as good quality as if I do follow it.
The Logo itself doesn't bother me nor do I find it a distraction. I don't necessarily think it's needed to follow the process (for me anyway), but that doesn't mean it isn't beneficial for some.
Overall, my play has been more consistent while utilizing the process and sticking to it.
This has been both fun and eye opening going through the testing of this ball. I truly appreciate the opportunity that @JB, @GolferGal and Bridgestone have provided to the THP community.
I've played multiple rounds with the Tour B RXS Mindset ball. For me the durability of the ball has been exceptional, I have played multiple rounds with one ball on several occasions.
I will continue to be a fan of the Mindset process overall. For me, it definitely has helped me from rushing my swing and kept me focused on executing the shot that I had visioned. On the occasions that I don't follow the "Select the target, visualize and focus" mentality, my shots are not as good quality as if I do follow it.
The Logo itself doesn't bother me nor do I find it a distraction. I don't necessarily think it's needed to follow the process (for me anyway), but that doesn't mean it isn't beneficial for some.
Overall, my play has been more consistent while utilizing the process and sticking to it.
This has been both fun and eye opening going through the testing of this ball. I truly appreciate the opportunity that @JB, @GolferGal and Bridgestone have provided to the THP community.
Not sure why I didn't try this out sooner. But with the last couple balls, maybe I was getting lazy on flipping the arrows forward, but I started having the arrows point to my club. For me it creates an impact point on the ball. I prefer the ball position this way
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meloisa
Well-known member
I still have a couple of these left due to not being able to get out and play much this month (work, family, vacation). My next opportunity to play will be this Friday and then Saturday for my annual family scramble. I plan on putting the remainder of these balls in play on both days. It is supposed to be hot both days and I want to see how these respond to a course that should play a little more on the dry side. The ball has done fairly well distance wise holding up to what I usually play (Z-star/XV), maybe coming up just a tad shorter on similarly struck balls. Where this ball shines is in the control it has provided on approach and chip shots, standing toe to toe with the Z star.
I dig the logo. Do I need it to go through the routine? No. I feel like the mindset process can be translated to any ball of choice. I like it though for visual purposes, especially on the putting surface.
Looking forward to adding a few more thoughts on this ball after this Friday/Saturday. It has been too long since I last played (7.07)!
I dig the logo. Do I need it to go through the routine? No. I feel like the mindset process can be translated to any ball of choice. I like it though for visual purposes, especially on the putting surface.
Looking forward to adding a few more thoughts on this ball after this Friday/Saturday. It has been too long since I last played (7.07)!