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Bridgestone J40 Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
I had the J40 in play for 18 each of the last 3 days. Lots of great drives, several average, and a few I would like to forget about. But, I am still learning about this driver and exactly what I can / can't get away with.

Distance:

Still longer than anything I have played before. Had winds ranging from 15-30 MPH constant the last several days with random gusts going a bit higher. Into a 20 MPH wind, I can get about 250 out of this when hit about as well as I can hit a shot. With that same wind behind me and dry fairways, I GPS'ed several yesterday in the 290-305 range.

When I fail to hit the center of the club face, usually on the toe but a few misses on the heel - I am still seeing anywhere from 230 - 250 with no wind which is definitely acceptable to me.

Mishits:

My stock miss is off the toe and I will typically see a draw of about 5-10 yards. Heel misses are going pretty darn straight with maybe a very slight fade (less than 5 yards).
My other miss is getting too quick. Inevitably for me, I see a nasty snap pull to the left which has led to 2 or 3 drives OB the last few days.

For me, I find that when I just take a nice smooth swing with a slight pause at the top I see the best results. You DO NOT have to swing this head/shaft combo hard to see optimal results. I thought bumping up to the PX 5.5 shaft I needed to keep the swing a bit quicker but that is just not the case.

Ball flight/trajectory:

This has to be the favorite part of this driver for me. As mentioned above - 250 into a 20 MPH wind?!?! Never thought that would happen for me but it is all due to the low launch/low spin head with the low/med launch shaft. Just a great piercing trajectory that is nothing near being too low for me. That same trajectory is also giving me my longest drives ever.


Overall, I don't know where I could be happier with this setup. When I maintain a good tempo, I am seeing phenomenal distance and finding fairways. Nothing more I could ask for.

Got questions? Please ask!!
 
Cookie, it sounds like you are just killing this driver. As much as I struggled with the Supertri today, I have decided I need low spin in a driver. Definitely have this on my radar.
 
War Eagle said:
Cookie, it sounds like you are just killing this driver. As much as I struggled with the Supertri today, I have decided I need low spin in a driver. Definitely have this on my radar.
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Thanks man - I am. Never have I been this pleased with a driver. If low spin is what you need, the stock setup on this one is superb man. Spend some quality time with it next month!
 
mcook77 said:
Thanks man - I am. Never have I been this pleased with a driver. If low spin is what you need, the stock setup on this one is superb man. Spend some quality time with it next month!
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I plan on it. Ive hit it in the past, but it was with a low launching shaft and while the distance was good, the launch was about knee high. Longest knee high drive i've ever seen though!
 
War Eagle said:
I plan on it. Ive hit it in the past, but it was with a low launching shaft and while the distance was good, the launch was about knee high. Longest knee high drive i've ever seen though!
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Gotcha - and the stock shaft is labeled as low spin with a penetrating launch. You may have to try out the one that Yoccos or Dean have with the other shafts that will raise the flight a bit. I thought it was "too low" with range balls, initial thought, but with the B330-RX, I definitely saw a bit higher launch than the range duds.
 
Was able to get 18 holes in this afternoon. Weather wasn't all that great, it was warm and overcast with rain on and off throughout the round. For the front 9 I played with impact tape on my J40 so that I could see exactly where I was hitting it. I used the mark feature on the gps to get more accurate numbers

Drive 1: High cut, 228 yards, just off the fairway to the right but in almost perfect spot.
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Drive 2 and 3: Drive 2 was off the toe as you can see, hit a tree around 175 out. Wasn't sure if I would find it so I hit a provisional and hit it good. Was able to find the first and scrambled for a par, GPS distance for the provisional ball was 236.
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Drive 4: Featured in the HOTD video which will be posted later. Tried to cut out a dog leg, but pulled it in to the trees. Couldn't get a good read distance because off all the trees it hit.
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Drive 5: Best drive of the day. Impact tape showed it hit lower on the club face than some others, but boy did the ball just take off from this one. GPS mark on this one was 242. On this hole the ball lands on the upslope so you don't get any roll from it, so it was mostly carry.
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Drive 6: Hit decently as well. Another fade which seems to be the stock shot for me these days. GPS was 233
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I took the impact tape off after 9 and just kept going. Hit some good, and a couple bad ones on the back. Overall very happy with this driver right now. Enjoying the ball flight, the sound, and the look. I've been teeing it up high enough to make me uncomfortable, but it seems to be working. The pop up protector is giving me peace at mind that I shouldn't ding the crap out of the crown. Distance seems good for me, still not the longest, but I hit some that traveled pretty well.
 
Nice write up Dean! I got some impact tape last weekend and think I should give this a go also. I feel I can tell really well exactly where my miss is right/left but on well struck shots in the center I am not sure where I am high/low.

Looks like you are able to at least identify where your miss is. Made any adjustments to try and move it from the toe and closer to center?
 
Cookie question for you, I believe you had the same PX 5.5 shaft in your 909 D2 before you got this gamer and its clear you have picked up a ton of distance, but my question is how much carry yardage do you think you have gained if at all? Is the ball flight giving you more carry and rollout I suppose is my question, or similar carry but just more rollout?
 
mcook77 said:
Nice write up Dean! I got some impact tape last weekend and think I should give this a go also. I feel I can tell really well exactly where my miss is right/left but on well struck shots in the center I am not sure where I am high/low.

Looks like you are able to at least identify where your miss is. Made any adjustments to try and move it from the toe and closer to center?
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I've battled this miss for a while. Worked with a PGA Pro last year to help correct it more. I sent him an email the other night to set up another set of lessons. My problem is that a shift my weight back on my heels during impact and pull my front him out too quick. Last year we worked on getting more weight on my toes and off my heels and it seemed to work. Just old habits creeping back in I guess. I have some drills that we worked on last year and I'm looking forward to getting some refresher lessons from him as early as this week. Basing off of the impact tape you can tell why I really liked the Razr Hawk. I thought the heel-toe forgiveness in that club was fantastic. This while it has some, seems to be better low-high.
 
coolbreeze said:
Cookie question for you, I believe you had the same PX 5.5 shaft in your 909 D2 before you got this gamer and its clear you have picked up a ton of distance, but my question is how much carry yardage do you think you have gained if at all? Is the ball flight giving you more carry and rollout I suppose is my question, or similar carry but just more rollout?
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Funny you mention this as I was thinking about it this weekend. If we were just talking no wind, I think I do see very similar carry between the 2 but the gains in the J40 come from the lower, more penetrating trajectory running out after landing. This is also giving me more distance into the wind as I am not ballooning any tee shots like I was with the 909 D2.
 
Well the J40 is a lower spin head, I reckon you're seeing lower balls that have more run.
 
ddec said:
I've battled this miss for a while. Worked with a PGA Pro last year to help correct it more. I sent him an email the other night to set up another set of lessons. My problem is that a shift my weight back on my heels during impact and pull my front him out too quick. Last year we worked on getting more weight on my toes and off my heels and it seemed to work. Just old habits creeping back in I guess. I have some drills that we worked on last year and I'm looking forward to getting some refresher lessons from him as early as this week. Basing off of the impact tape you can tell why I really liked the Razr Hawk. I thought the heel-toe forgiveness in that club was fantastic. This while it has some, seems to be better low-high.
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Makes perfect sense, thanks for explaining. Hope to see you get that contact moved to the center of the face and see what kind of distance you see consistently then.
 
Took a vid of the 9th hole tee shot from todays round. Really like the sound of this driver.

 
mcook77 said:
Funny you mention this as I was thinking about it this weekend. If we were just talking no wind, I think I do see very similar carry between the 2 but the gains in the J40 come from the lower, more penetrating trajectory running out after landing. This is also giving me more distance into the wind as I am not ballooning any tee shots like I was with the 909 D2.
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Thanks man that makes sense. Sounds like everyone is seeing some good numbers with this driver as long as its paired with the right shaft.
 
I played 36 holes with this driver today. Lately I have been been terrible off the tee with it. But after realizing at the range that it was all in my head. After about the 6th or 7th hole, I was just hitting this thing like a beast. I still get the ball mid-high in the air but still get pretty good distance. MarcW and I played in 30 mph winds and I was averaging about 230 with it today. And straight! Cookie is right, if you get too quick, it's bad! I also have to watch out how high I tee the ball. I use personalized tee's, so I figured out where was the best height for me yesterday at the range and it worked out perfectly today. My confidence has grown tremendously with just the 36 holes I played today. During the second 18 I think I only had 1 bad tee shot. That was it. Was in the fairway almost all day!

The shaft has me in "Awe". I haven't played a PX shaft before and I love the way that it holds up even when I put a crappy swing on it. If I happen to catch it out on the toe it still has enough "Umph" to get the ball out there a good ways. If I happen to catch it on the bottom of the face, same thing the ball seems to go out there a ways. I haven't caught it much towards the heal so I really don't have a comment on that except I bet it goes out there a ways... LOL A common statement with this club. I'm glad that I went and hits some shafts and picked this one. Bridgestone did it right by putting this in it stock!
 
That was a very nice write up dean! I haven't tried using impact tape before. I think this would be a good idea just to see where your making contact with the ball. I really am thinking about the pop up protectors also. Ever since the first swing with it (see second unboxing video)... LOL
 
I got notice from UPS that my driver is on it's way and should be here tomorrow!!! Now I need the snow we got overnight to melt.
 
Congrats Howzat! Looking forward to seeing it!
 
I took the J40 out for its test drive yesterday... 1/4 fairways! But, no lost balls (well I hit a second on the 18th just in case, ended up finding this first and losing the second).

initial:
3/4 shots were slices but very playable. I think most any other course I wouldnt' have rolled as far right. I played a nice Par 62 that really punished you if you werent on the green or in the middle of the fairway. Its called Rolling Hills and it literally rolls you into some bad spots on a miss. Slices stay more on point than my previous drivers. Having the 10.5* head was a good choice and so is having the stiff flex in the DI-6. It definitely plays stouter than other stiff flexes i've tried.

Distance:
Distance was actually fantastic. Right on line with my previous drivers and just as I suspected sneaky long like my Razr Hawk Tour. My GPS unit wasn't charged and I couldnt do a point to point. But I was easily carrying 240 and getting some good roll. Ballflight seems to be lower than my zsstar but right on line with the RHT. It just seems to launch higher initially than either of those and really kinda flattens out. Paired with the B330-s (last years) it was pretty lethal. Next round will be the B330RX. There was one par 4, straight shot that was 275 to the center, bunkers behind. I put a nice smooth swing on the ball, higher launch initially then a boring flat ballflight. It wasnt low by any means but it flattened out quick. Drove through the green to the back bunker about 15 yards behind the center of the pin. Almost holed it. Saw my divot and man it was right on line with the flag.

Forgiveness:
Forgiveness was good too. I know what caused my slice and I actually didnt miss the center really. So my distance loss came from the fact it sliced but even then, I was still a good ways out there. I was very playable even after the slices. I can fix this issue pretty easy actually and will during my next range session. Really to be expected for the first time out.

Overall
Overall I was high impressed. Looking forward to really getting more time with the J40 and getting used to it. Sneaky long like Cookie says. I don't think its longer than my other drivers but its certainly more playable after misses.
 
good stuff TMex. I have only taken 7 swings with mine. I don't think I will be able to hit it again till Thursday. I really need to get some quality time with it.
 
SethO said:
good stuff TMex. I have only taken 7 swings with mine. I don't think I will be able to hit it again till Thursday. I really need to get some quality time with it.
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I hope you do Seth. The more I hit it, the more comfortable it gets to swing. Really glad I went with the combo I did.
 
Yoccos said:
I hope you do Seth. The more I hit it, the more comfortable it gets to swing. Really glad I went with the combo I did.
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same here. I'm going to head out for 9 tonight after work. I've been surprisingly comfortable off the tee this year which normally is not the case.
 
Yoccos said:
I hope you do Seth. The more I hit it, the more comfortable it gets to swing. Really glad I went with the combo I did.
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That is good to hear man. It is just so much different that the driver I was using, I think it is going to take some getting used to. I did drive one ball beside the green in league. That made me very happy.
 
One thing about the Bridgestone woods is....why don't their pros play them outside of Kuchar....

Fred Couples...no...TM driver and Callaway 3 Wood
Sneds....no....TM driver

I don't know of another Bridgestone player that plays their woods...really strange.
 
Tigerfansince72 said:
One thing about the Bridgestone woods is....why don't their pros play them outside of Kuchar....

Fred Couples...no...TM driver and Callaway 3 Wood
Sneds....no....TM driver

I don't know of another Bridgestone player that plays their woods...really strange.
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not sure if it applies to those mentioned, but TM does pay to be the #1 driver on tour.
 
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