Bridgestone J815 Driver Review

Just got the 12* head in with the Kuala White in it. The head is painted black, so it does not stand out. Hit this at the range next to my X2 Hot and I not surprisingly got a lot higher launch. I thought it would be too high, but I was definitely carrying it farther than my X2 Hot. I couldn't tell about the roll out for total distance, but this might be a good combo for me.

Going to go do a GBB fitting on Saturday, so going to take both and see what the numbers say but as of now I want to put this right in the bag. Just need to regrip with an I-Line.
 
Just got the 12* head in with the Kuala White in it. The head is painted black, so it does not stand out. Hit this at the range next to my X2 Hot and I not surprisingly got a lot higher launch. I thought it would be too high, but I was definitely carrying it farther than my X2 Hot. I couldn't tell about the roll out for total distance, but this might be a good combo for me.

Going to go do a GBB fitting on Saturday, so going to take both and see what the numbers say but as of now I want to put this right in the bag. Just need to regrip with an I-Line.
If you ever decide to part with that 12* head, I want hehe.
 
Well had to send the test drive driver back but fortunately had the j815 that my new best friend CAA Beat sent me. Although I have a shaft coming for it, I wanted to try the shaft that's in it now, a Fujikura F1 Motore. Essentially, it doesn't matter, I picked up right where I left off from the test drive drivers. And now I'll have two shafts to choose from, which is always a fun thing.

This head is really something else. While I have no qualms with my SLDR, the J815 simply gets me farther down the fairway and is more forgiving. Exciting times.
 
I was talking to some guys I play with on a regular basis about this driver. I know several of them would benefit from it. Wish there places around here that had this so they could hit it and see.
 
Still al good things with the driver for me. I was able to get the RIP Alpha shaft and grip combo I wanted installed, but after a couple range sessions, I'm hitting it better with the Fujikura Motore F1 shaft it came with, so decided to put that in play for yesterday's round. It really performed well for me. On a 523 yard par 5, I was actually get to the front fringe of the green in 2. I was also right in line with, if not sometimes further out, than my buddy's drives, who used to be a good ways in front of me. While I think a lot of the gain is from me having the confidence to swing faster since the forgiveness of the head will take care of a lot more misses than my previous driver. For yesterday's round, I hit 8 out of 13 fairways, with another two just off fairway to the right.

I agree that this driver would improve the tee game of many. I was pretty happy with my driving before putting the J815 into play but this has taken into to another level.
 
I got my second round in today with the J815 driver, that my buddy greggdrews sent me, and I can safely say that it is LEGIT! The first round with it was Friday and I hit it well, but only managed 9 of 14 fairways. It was not the fault of the driver. A pinched nerve in my neck has had me on the sidelines for weeks and Friday was my first round back. The neck is still not good, affecting my left shoulder, arm and hand--pain in the shoulder and numbness in the arm and hand. The problem Friday was that I was swinging predominately with the right side, afraid to really use that left side. All of my misses were left because of it. Today, I chose to ignore the physical issues and concentrate on firing that left side through the ball. The result was some beauteous towering drives down the middle of the fairway. The only fairway I missed was because I was trying to hit a low draw and simply closed the clubface. It went left into the first cut of rough, but really no problem. That always happens to me with any driver when I try to hit a "trick shot". Sigh. I'll never learn, I guess. Anyway, I'm enjoying this driver and got over the somewhat gaudy look of the head after just a few swings. I'm starting to like the look now. I think it has a lot to do with the results off the tee. Ya think????
 
Hitting fairways can make anything look good but you've been doing that for years Ken. I just cannot stop saying how solid this club is all around. I think this might go down as one of the most overlooked great clubs of this generation of drivers.
 
I stopped in to my local PGA SS yesterday, to see if maybe, possibly there was a J815 driver in the used pile. No such luck.
So I walked over to the B'stone driver display. No 815 drivers there, but they did have nine J715 drivers on the rack.
Needless to say, I was disappointed.
 
I stopped in to my local PGA SS yesterday, to see if maybe, possibly there was a J815 driver in the used pile. No such luck.
So I walked over to the B'stone driver display. No 815 drivers there, but they did have nine J715 drivers on the rack.
Needless to say, I was disappointed.

but that trend is even apparent in the bstone test drive program. they have tons of 715 options to testdrive, but about half (maybe even less) 815. it's like they set it up to fail.
 
I'm getting good carry distance, but, little roll out with the J815 12 degree head. Forgiveness and accuracy are also remarkable. I wish there was an adjustment for loft, however, or some way to increase roll out and, therefore, distance (for me). I may try adjusting the face angle to a slight draw bias and see it that has any effect. I don't want to sacrifice dispersion as a result, however. A 10.5 head may have been a better fit, IDK, or that might just result in shorter carry and less overall distance. (I'm just thinking out loud, so to speak. It's a dang good driver as is).
 
I'm getting good carry distance, but, little roll out with the J815 12 degree head. Forgiveness and accuracy are also remarkable. I wish there was an adjustment for loft, however, or some way to increase roll out and, therefore, distance (for me). I may try adjusting the face angle to a slight draw bias and see it that has any effect. I don't want to sacrifice dispersion as a result, however. A 10.5 head may have been a better fit, IDK, or that might just result in shorter carry and less overall distance. (I'm just thinking out loud, so to speak. It's a dang good driver as is).
I believe adjusting it to R or fade bias will effectivly lower the loft where as a draw bias will raise it.

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I believe adjusting it to R or fade bias will effectivly lower the loft where as a draw bias will raise it.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Wow! I would bet it was the other way around. I didn't pick up anything on their web site, but I was just looking at the adjustment options and didn't read through it all. I'll check again. Thanks Greg.
 
Wow! I would bet it was the other way around. I didn't pick up anything on their web site, but I was just looking at the adjustment options and didn't read through it all. I'll check again. Thanks Greg.
They dont talk about loft at all but adjusting left or right effects it if you square the face up at impact.

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I believe adjusting it to R or fade bias will effectivly lower the loft where as a draw bias will raise it.

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I think it is the other way around. Draw bias lowers loft by about 1/2 a degree.
 
They dont talk about loft at all but adjusting left or right effects it if you square the face up at impact.

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Yeah, I went back and looked again. While there, I tried to engage the B-Fit boys in a live chat, but they didn't have anyone available at the moment. I may try again later. Love chatting with those guys online.
 
I think it is the other way around. Draw bias lowers loft by about 1/2 a degree.
Im sure one of the experts can chime in to verify either way.

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Im sure one of the experts can chime in to verify either way.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Draw bias typically increases loft I'm pretty sure.
 
Well had to send the test drive driver back but fortunately had the j815 that my new best friend CAA Beat sent me. Although I have a shaft coming for it, I wanted to try the shaft that's in it now, a Fujikura F1 Motore. Essentially, it doesn't matter, I picked up right where I left off from the test drive drivers. And now I'll have two shafts to choose from, which is always a fun thing.

This head is really something else. While I have no qualms with my SLDR, the J815 simply gets me farther down the fairway and is more forgiving. Exciting times.
Ha. Sorry I missed this until now. I had been thinking of texting you to see how it's working for you. Glad to hear about the good results. And yes, having multiple shaft choices is always a great thing

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I think it is the other way around. Draw bias lowers loft by about 1/2 a degree.

Yeah, I went back and looked again. While there, I tried to engage the B-Fit boys in a live chat, but they didn't have anyone available at the moment. I may try again later. Love chatting with those guys online.
I sent a tweet to Josh Kinchen from Bstone asking if setting the J815 to R(fade bias) would lower loft at impact. He responded with "effectively yes". So from the source adjusting to fade bias will lower loft.

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I sent a tweet to Josh Kinchen from Bstone asking if setting the J815 to R(fade bias) would lower loft at impact. He responded with "effectively yes". So from the source adjusting to fade bias will lower loft.

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Hmmm. Very surprising. But, he's the man.
 
The draw bias settings actually create a higher launch and will increase the spin a little. Fade settings will lower the trajectory and spin. It sounds backwards (opening the face of an iron adds loft) but it's the opposite for drivers. I think the reason it's harder to find and there aren't as many available through Test Drive is because it's more limited than the j715...a much smaller production run.
 
The draw bias settings actually create a higher launch and will increase the spin a little. Fade settings will lower the trajectory and spin. It sounds backwards (opening the face of an iron adds loft) but it's the opposite for drivers. I think the reason it's harder to find and there aren't as many available through Test Drive is because it's more limited than the j715...a much smaller production run.

I still dont understand how that actually works too, but its true. I'm starting to experiment with the fade setting myself to get the spin and lunch down. Problem is I already hit a fade, so that is no bueno for me. Considering tipping my shaft but very reluctant in doing so. Its more of a last resort.
 
Ha. Sorry I missed this until now. I had been thinking of texting you to see how it's working for you. Glad to hear about the good results. And yes, having multiple shaft choices is always a great thing

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It's been a game changer for me. So much longer off the tee so much more of the time. I owe you big time buddy.
 
It's been a game changer for me. So much longer off the tee so much more of the time. I owe you big time buddy.

I really need to find an 815 head, I have struggled with the J715 lately and could use the extra forgiveness.
 
It's been a game changer for me. So much longer off the tee so much more of the time. I owe you big time buddy.

I hit Rob's a couple times at some "non sanctioned THP outings" ( haha ). I actually thought the graphics were cool. Problem is, for me, most draw biased drivers turn into hook machines for me, and this one was no different. Now - I don't know if Rob had it set more closed, and I guess if I hit it for a while I could probably make it work - but I don't think one should have to do that. But I really liked the weighting and feel.
 
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