Bridgestone JGR Driver Review Thread

Yes sir. And yes you will hit it into orbit with your swing speed.

From what you posted it sounds like it. Would be interesting to pair this head up with something low spin/launch.
 
Interested in this club but not sure how "high" I will hit it. I hit my 715 high IMO.

If you hit your J715 9.5* higher than you want then I doubt this driver will be a good fit for you. I also would suggest getting both on flightscope before ruling anything out because you never really know the results. I do think with this 3 driver lineup that Bridgestone has a driver for everyone and this JGR will fit soooo many golfers. It is a very solid offering from Bridgestone.
 
If you hit your J715 9.5* higher than you want then I doubt this driver will be a good fit for you. I also would suggest getting both on flightscope before ruling anything out because you never really know the results. I do think with this 3 driver lineup that Bridgestone has a driver for everyone and this JGR will fit soooo many golfers. It is a very solid offering from Bridgestone.
So I figured out why the jgr I have sets up weird... it was 46.25" haha. Made the toe look way up. Chopped it down to 45.25 and it looks a bit better, still a bit closed and high toe to my eye, but better. I need to find my weight kit, I'd like to hit it with 6g in the rear and 8g in the heel to get the swing weight up a bit and take out some of the heel weighting
 
So I figured out why the jgr I have sets up weird... it was 46.25" haha. Made the toe look way up. Chopped it down to 45.25 and it looks a bit better, still a bit closed and high toe to my eye, but better. I need to find my weight kit, I'd like to hit it with 6g in the rear and 8g in the heel to get the swing weight up a bit and take out some of the heel weighting

Thats good to know, I didn't mention how I thought it setup very upright but that could explain why the dispersion wasn't great for me, normally not a problem for me.
 
So I figured out why the jgr I have sets up weird... it was 46.25" haha. Made the toe look way up. Chopped it down to 45.25 and it looks a bit better, still a bit closed and high toe to my eye, but better. I need to find my weight kit, I'd like to hit it with 6g in the rear and 8g in the heel to get the swing weight up a bit and take out some of the heel weighting

Question. I know you have said in the past you battle a hook and do not like draw bias.
Wouldnt that change add draw bias?
 
Question. I know you have said in the past you battle a hook and do not like draw bias.
Wouldnt that change add draw bias?
It comes with stock 10g in the heel and 2g in the rear. Lessening the heel weighting should remove draw bias no?
 
It comes with stock 10g in the heel and 2g in the rear. Lessening the heel weighting should remove draw bias no?

It would, however it would still be more heel weight than back weight. That is why I was asking. Genuinely curious here.
But based on the drivers you have liked in the past, I would almost guarantee that the driver in line that fit what you like would be the 715, since its the lowest spin option and you seem to gravitate towards that compared to the most forgiving, higher launch option that is the JGR.
 
Launch. I love hearing that word.

The 815 was a launcher for me, and IMO, the most underrated driver of ALL of 2015. I need swings on this one.
 
It would, however it would still be more heel weight than back weight. That is why I was asking. Genuinely curious here.
But based on the drivers you have liked in the past, I would almost guarantee that the driver in line that fit what you like would be the 715, since its the lowest spin option and you seem to gravitate towards that compared to the most forgiving, higher launch option that is the JGR.
Very true and an impulse buy as is most stuff for me lol. This driver would be a great fit for many though. People will love it at Club clash
 
So I came home to wrap up my day of work and a nice, tall box was sitting on my porch. I couldn't for the life of me think of what I had purchased recently but upon opening it up this beauty came out...

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My initial thought upon looking at it is I absolutely love the shape of this head! When looking at it face on the face seems really tall to me, I'm not sure if that is because of the face milling but it is a visual I really like.
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Here are a few more pictures:
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The graphics on top while noticeable, are not extreme at all and don't bother me one bit. I actually like how the front graphics seem to "square" the face for me.
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Enjoy your prize.
 
And here are a couple of pictures comparing it to my Cobra LTD:
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I am beyond excited to get this out for some swings. I'm hoping to get to the simulator over lunch tomorrow and am looking forward to giving feedback. If anyone wants additional pictures just let me know.

Finally, thank you so much to THP and Bridgestone for this awesome club! Winning this was definitely a highlight for me over the past year and I'm really excited to give feedback and let any other THP'er give this a go if we get that chance.
 
Very Nice KEV! Love the look of that driver for sure.

JM
 
I want to add something to my above post about high launching and more spin for me. This driver head is not a high spin head. In fact Bridgestone states its lower spinning than their 715 and 815 drivers. I can see that and through fitting it coming through that way. For my testing of the total package with the shaft, it was not lower than the 715 in terms of spin.

With all of that said, I liked it better than the previous models partly due to the sound and feel being explosive and infectious. You crave to hit it more because of the launch seen and what is felt in the hands and heard in the ears.
 
Interesting and makes sense about the shaft.

JM
 
great pics kev! what's that white stuff on the ground? in orlando we have to drive 45 minutes to put our feet in white stuff, and the sound of the waves is quite calming. how lucky for you that it's right in your backyard! :)

seriously though, that driver looks awesome. i hope to take some swings with it soon. keep your thoughts going in this thread, and if and when you decide to part with either of those beauties i call dibs!
 
Interesting and makes sense about the shaft.

JM

Well yes, and no, but then again, I think spin is over thought, over analyzed and WAY over discussed in terms of driver heads. For most THPers that we have clocked on the FlightScope (we save data), the average change for spin on a swing fluctuates up to 2000 RPMS and hovers on average somewhere around 500 RPMs. That is way more than any shaft is going to do.
 
Thanks KEV for the great pics! I can't wait to swing one of these...just a month away for release. Congrats on the win....it's so nice to get surprises!
 
I am seriously thinking that I will take advantage of the Bridgestone test drive program when these come out
 
Cool pics! Thanks man, it looks more stretched back than I had thought it would be, but I actually like the graphics on this one. Jb calls it, "infectious". That sounds like money burning......
 
Dammit those pics make me more curious.

Then JB's comments even more so. I loooooved the J815, but if this is lower spin than that while keeping launch....dayum!
 
Sim session is done and I have to say, this is a heck of a club.

Let me preface my thoughts by saying that I am your average hacker, my swing is pretty erratic and can change from swing to swing and that is especially true with the driver. I may fade one hole and hook the next. For that reason I am not going to dig in to spin numbers because they are all over the board. I also want to stress this was on an indoor simulator so numbers may not be the most accurate and sound feedback is not the best.

I started out on the driving range and put this head to head with my King LTD, set at 10.5 draw. I could tell from the get go that my swing was all over the place today (I guess that's what happens when you don't get to play, thanks winter!) but I kept at it. I started out hitting some drives with the LTD to get a baseline. My average launch was 12.5-14 degrees which is lower than what I have experienced in the past (again, i blame my swing). My distance ranged anywhere from 255-282 with the average around 265, this is total distance. I was getting probably 5-8 yards of roll. I was hitting it all over the place but my typical shot shape was a little fade.

Next up on the range was the JGR. I have the 10.5 degree loft and the heavier weight set on the outside/middle section of the head. My first impression was that at address the face looked like it was a higher loft than what the LTD was at 10.5 degrees. My guess is part of that has to do with the fact that the LTD face is darker and not as noticeable. My first swing was a good one with it launching at 14.5 degrees and distance of 260 with a little fade. Over the course of the session my average launch was between 13.5 and 15 degrees and my distance ranged 250-275. I was getting less roll out with this, probably 2-4 yards average. I was still hitting it all over the place but the dispersion was a little tighter with this.

I then played 18 holes and switched between the two drivers, 2 holes and then switched. I have to say much to my surprise today the JGR was the winner. Distance wise it did not keep up, my shots with the LTD were consistently 5-10 yards longer (again, I was launching lower with it though). Where the JGR was the winner was dispersion. I hit about every fairway with this. I'm not sure if that was new club syndrome or what but my accuracy clicked with this club today. The misses I had with it were on the toe and I didn't feel like it had a huge impact. Forgiveness seems good and mishits didn't feel harsh.

When it comes to looks and sound this head shape gives me a ton of confidence. To me the graphics are not distracting, I never once thought about them when I was hitting other than thinking they framed the club nicely. The sound is completely different from the LTD but I think that is going to be true of any club vs. the LTD. It kind of reminded me of my previous Biocell driver. This definitely is a higher launching club than the LTD and probably even more than the Biocell. I'm really interested in seeing what this does outdoors this spring and how the flight looks. While I like the launch angle I was getting, I am concerned about it ballooning in the South Dakota wind.

That's what I have for you guys at this point. I had a ton of fun hitting this and am extremely excited to get this outdoors someday and see if these results repeat. If I can repeat these results this has a real chance of finding a spot in the bag. If you are in the market for a driver and don't mind it not being as "tech savvy" as other drivers, such as not having adjustable loft, this is going to be a heck of an option considering it's price point. If you have any questions let me know!
 
Cool pics! Thanks man, it looks more stretched back than I had thought it would be, but I actually like the graphics on this one. Jb calls it, "infectious". That sounds like money burning......

What I find interesting is that while I had the same initial thought on the stretched look, when seeing it in person the graphics make it seem less stretched to me. That's probably just me but it's something that I had noticed.
 
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