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Bridgestone J815 Driver - THP Review

SuperStroke
Is adjustability limited to Standard vs. Upright and draw/fade/neutral? No ability to change loft?
 
tequila4kapp said:
Is adjustability limited to Standard vs. Upright and draw/fade/neutral? No ability to change loft?
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Even though the instruction booklet doesn't specify the loft changes by default I believe. Closing the face will raise loft and vice versa. 1:1 ratio if I remember what bridgestonebfit stated correctly
 
Jman said:
Not nuts at all dude. We all have our likes for sure.

I just fear it being a deterrent from people trying it, which would be a shame because this is a very very solid head. Was a lot of fun yesterday, all day.
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I definitely have the same concern. I enjoyed hitting it a lot as well and think it could do wonders for many. No doubt it was a bold move by Bridgestone.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I like this one a million times better.
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Looks too much like the XTD to me. It's just an individual thing for me, but I could never get comfortable with the pronounced speed slot on the crown.

To me, it's not a whole lot different than the White R1.
 
kc720 said:
Even though the instruction booklet doesn't specify the loft changes by default I believe. Closing the face will raise loft and vice versa. 1:1 ratio if I remember what bridgestonebfit stated correctly
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Nailed it!
Philly Golf Guy said:
I definitely have the same concern. I enjoyed hitting it a lot as well and think it could do wonders for many. No doubt it was a bold move by Bridgestone.
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Yes it is, and I love seeing them make the bold moves. Between this and a cast iron set, its a year of change for Bridgestone and you have to respect them trying to cover the full range of golfers now.
 
Yeah give me the red one too, of course I grew up with Transformers though.
 
I now like the red head with the graphics but it reminds me of this guy still.

XMen092.jpg
 
Boy that black one looks sharp too
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
They are selling a black version in Japan:

http://image.rakuten.co.jp/greenfil/cabinet/bs/bs15-815d-i22.jpg

It'd be interesting to see if that is offered over here eventually. At this point, I'm finding it tough to actually find the 815 for purchase though.
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Scrap Iron said:
To be honest as much as I like the black if they hope they release it immediately or shortly after the transformers crown if it's 2/3 months later that would drive me nuts. Very similar situation to the black R1.
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I believe March is the release time for the J815
 
DawgDaddy said:
If I understood correctly, Josh said that Bridgestone is planning to make a bigger presence in stores and they wanted something to catch the eyes of the golfer unfamiliar with Bridgestone Golf. He also said that they were using the more visible shafts to attract attention. Many shaft options are available for upgrades and many are at no up charge. I understood it this way but I do wish they had offered the 815 in black simply for the reason James listed, I've got no doubt the black J815 would have found a really solid audience, with the red in just afraid too many won't even try now and that's a shame.

I am a fan of the red and it did disappear (or at least become very much ignored) for me as I am like my buddy Mike, after address I simply focus on the ball and only think of making solid contact with it.
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Why would Bridgestone even try to make a bigger presence in stores?? Its a losing battle. That they will never win. The retail model is broken and your trying to attract the attention of a guy who thinks TM is the only company that makes a driver so you try to outdo their ugly with more ugly. ??? Seems like a silly idea. Plus the bridgestone website looks like it was made by a junior high school student. not a good thing. I do applaud the decision to use the fubuki shaft as a stock shaft..FINALLY a decent stock shaft with a bridgestone driver....
 
V60golfr said:
Why would Bridgestone even try to make a bigger presence in stores?? Its a losing battle. That they will never win. The retail model is broken and your trying to attract the attention of a guy who thinks TM is the only company that makes a driver so you try to outdo their ugly with more ugly. ??? Seems like a silly idea. Plus the bridgestone website looks like it was made by a junior high school student. not a good thing. I do applaud the decision to use the fubuki shaft as a stock shaft..FINALLY a decent stock shaft with a bridgestone driver....
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So they should stand pat and not do anything instead? It's not about winning, its about increasing presence and play. Their goal isn't taking on TM, its expanding Bridgestone, massive difference there.

Part of that is getting looks, I may not like the crown personally, but you can bet anything it will get looks and questions, good and bad, but that means talk about Bridgestone, and that is a win for them.
 
Bridgestone 815 Driver - THP Review

Bridgestone 815 Driver - THP Review

V60golfr said:
Why would Bridgestone even try to make a bigger presence in stores?? Its a losing battle. That they will never win. The retail model is broken and your trying to attract the attention of a guy who thinks TM is the only company that makes a driver so you try to outdo their ugly with more ugly. ??? Seems like a silly idea. Plus the bridgestone website looks like it was made by a junior high school student. not a good thing. I do applaud the decision to use the fubuki shaft as a stock shaft..FINALLY a decent stock shaft with a bridgestone driver....
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I disagree with a lot of this, but most of all the retail model being broken. If inventory is managed properly, the retail model works. (See callaway) Bridgestone isn't trying to "outdo ugly with more ugly" as this driver is a great seller in Japan and bringing it to the U.S. market has no negative effects on sales according to Kinchen.

From the grips to the red crown on the J815, they are trying to catch the consumers attention & rely on the retail stores to educate & fit the golfer. This is why you will not see a Bridgestone set up in each store. They are only putting displays in the top 10 Golfsmith & Golf Galaxy stores along with the majority or all of PGA SS.

Bottom line is they are trying to appeal to a wider range and it's evident from the iron lineup to the various golf balls they offer. I am far from a Bridgestone homer, but felt the need to chime in given all we learned at Bridgestone University.
 
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More time with this one yesterday...

  • Its still red...with graphics :alien:
  • My GOSH the sound on this one was NAILED by Bridgestone. Its addicting, the only sound I like as much this year has been with the Nike Vapor Pro and Vapor Speed drivers, this one though is different than those with that slight metallic undertone, solid though, they just got the sound/feel SO right on this one.
  • Im officially prepared to call the stock setup a mid-high launcher. Even at 9.5 I am seeing some incredibly nice launch out of the club, and the spin is staying in that good-for-me tweener range. I can't track it, but I'd bet anything its mid to upper 2000's for me, which I personally enjoy seeing.
  • Distance is very good. Not the longest, not short at all, but its in that "really solid" range...a good thing. At 45" too, its manageable, I wish more companies would go back to 45" or below.
  • High on the face responds very well, higher launch, sure, but the distance and ball speeds are significantly better than I expected coming into this review.
  • Toe and Heel manage to minimize the Gear Effect on those misses, its still there, but as I said before its not as accentuated as some heads I've hit this year. Good stability on misses through impact, no twisting sensation which is something I always seem to focus in on when getting to know a driver.
  • Not and low misses yesterday, but I'll get to working on that :alien:
  • I'm not sure what to think about the face grooves and the roughness with its claimed fraction of a second longer on the face, but I can say that the ball speeds are above average in this head for me all across the face. That is leading to a solid smash rating and some good distances. I can't tell that the ball is there a fraction longer, but I don't think the mere mortal am golfer like us really can.
  • Its still red...and graphicy... :alien:
  • I love the slot/grooves/compression zone at the top of the club, I think it looks phenomenal, part of why I think it would look even better in black...but the red is "get-overable" (like that new word?) because the performance is so solid.
  • THIS is the driver in the B'stone lineup which the majority of am's should really look at IMO. It hits that part of the bell curve extremely well, its just going to be getting people to try it (and find it to try it) and not just flocking to the "sexy" J715.
 
Jman said:
More time with this one yesterday...

  • Its still red...with graphics :alien:
  • My GOSH the sound on this one was NAILED by Bridgestone. Its addicting, the only sound I like as much this year has been with the Nike Vapor Pro and Vapor Speed drivers, this one though is different than those with that slight metallic undertone, solid though, they just got the sound/feel SO right on this one.
  • Im officially prepared to call the stock setup a mid-high launcher. Even at 9.5 I am seeing some incredibly nice launch out of the club, and the spin is staying in that good-for-me tweener range. I can't track it, but I'd bet anything its mid to upper 2000's for me, which I personally enjoy seeing.
  • Distance is very good. Not the longest, not short at all, but its in that "really solid" range...a good thing. At 45" too, its manageable, I wish more companies would go back to 45" or below.
  • High on the face responds very well, higher launch, sure, but the distance and ball speeds are significantly better than I expected coming into this review.
  • Toe and Heel manage to minimize the Gear Effect on those misses, its still there, but as I said before its not as accentuated as some heads I've hit this year. Good stability on misses through impact, no twisting sensation which is something I always seem to focus in on when getting to know a driver.
  • Not and low misses yesterday, but I'll get to working on that :alien:
  • I'm not sure what to think about the face grooves and the roughness with its claimed fraction of a second longer on the face, but I can say that the ball speeds are above average in this head for me all across the face. That is leading to a solid smash rating and some good distances. I can't tell that the ball is there a fraction longer, but I don't think the mere mortal am golfer like us really can.
  • Its still red...and graphicy... :alien:
  • I love the slot/grooves/compression zone at the top of the club, I think it looks phenomenal, part of why I think it would look even better in black...but the red is "get-overable" (like that new word?) because the performance is so solid.
  • THIS is the driver in the B'stone lineup which the majority of am's should really look at IMO. It hits that part of the bell curve extremely well, its just going to be getting people to try it (and find it to try it) and not just flocking to the "sexy" J715.
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Solid write-up Jman, 100% agree with you on the sound of this driver.

I really wish I spent more time with this one and the J715 both with the stock Fubukis at Bridgestone U... I hit the J715 really well at PGA National and put some good swings on the J815, but a head to head for me would have been awesome, mixing my BB in there as well.
 
thanks James. i really liked this when i hit it last month, the 715 based solely on perception seemed to perform better for me, but i am considering both models in my next purchase.

look forward to more details on your testing.
 
emart2173 said:
thanks James. i really liked this when i hit it last month, the 715 based solely on perception seemed to perform better for me, but i am considering both models in my next purchase.

look forward to more details on your testing.
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I hope it gets looks. It really should.
 
For you guys lucky enough to hit this club how does it stack up to for launch (loft) compared to let's say 915 d2. I'm looking for some comparisions. Just really deciding between the stones and the titleists right now.
 
terapins said:
For you guys lucky enough to hit this club how does it stack up to for launch (loft) compared to let's say 915 d2. I'm looking for some comparisions. Just really deciding between the stones and the titleists right now.
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This one launches a bit higher for me and then 715 launches a bit lower.
 
I wish the stock shaft offering was different, I am not a fan of that shaft
 
I wanna hit the 815. I don't care what the crown looks like! I may have to test drive once it gets a bit nicer out.
 
I will be hitting the golf dome on Sunday and will add more thoughts then. Can't wait to hit this again!
 
AMart said:
I wanna hit the 815. I don't care what the crown looks like! I may have to test drive once it gets a bit nicer out.
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Andy, you would get on well with this one.

As for the crown, I know some don't care, some can get over it, but its still a discussion point.

It'll be fun to see who TRULY falls into that "performance trumps paint" thing, because the performance IS 100% there.
 
Jman said:
Andy, you would get on well with this one.

As for the crown, I know some don't care, some can get over it, but its still a discussion point.

It'll be fun to see who TRULY falls into that "performance trumps paint" thing, because the performance IS 100% there.
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i am a believer in the performance and like the crown, can't wait to put this up agains other new models, the j715 seemed to appeared better for me at Bstone u solely based on observation. The 715!worked well on the course.
 
Given the choice of the two Bridgestone drivers I would take the 815 all day long.

If the graphics are too much, which I doubt, its nothing spray can can't solve
 
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