Bridgestone JGR Driver Review Thread

Would be keen to know whether this is more forgiving than the Ping G30 / new Ping G.
 
Would be keen to know whether this is more forgiving than the Ping G30 / new Ping G.

I should have both in hand this week and will compare them.
 
This is a really cool club.
 
right hand only.... :angry:
 
Pretty cool quote from Sneds.

“The Bridgestone JGR Driver is without question the longest and most accurate driver I’ve hit,” said Snedeker. “I’m excited about the added yardage and I now know that even my misses will still have a great shot of finding the fairway. I can't wait to see what this driver can do for my game in 2016.”
 
That's quite an endorsement. I will be trying this out.
 
Looks like a great time to be in the market for a new driver
 
That is a pretty big endorsement considering his driver history.
 
Pretty cool quote from Sneds.

“The Bridgestone JGR Driver is without question the longest and most accurate driver I’ve hit,” said Snedeker. “I’m excited about the added yardage and I now know that even my misses will still have a great shot of finding the fairway. I can't wait to see what this driver can do for my game in 2016.”
I'd say that speaks volumes combined with him not changing for so long, this must be a great club if it finally got him to change.
 
What a great video, tons of info. Contacted my Bridgestone Rep today and a contact at Bridgestone will be trying one as soon as it's released.

Got to say, this sounds perfect for me. Higher launching is exactly what I need. Would love to find one somewhere to hit when they are out.
 
This is a good looking driver. I'd like to see it in person behind a ball though.
 
There is a second player using this driver at Sony.
Yusaku Miyazato
 
Really want to test this head compared to my J715 with my whiteboard shaft. I like the looks of the new milling on the face and think that is part of why I have had success with the 715. Will have to test drive this clubs.
 
Will have one can't wait to compare to J715!
 
Pretty cool quote from Sneds.

“The Bridgestone JGR Driver is without question the longest and most accurate driver I’ve hit,” said Snedeker. “I’m excited about the added yardage and I now know that even my misses will still have a great shot of finding the fairway. I can't wait to see what this driver can do for my game in 2016.”

That is saying a lot. If Sned is impressed, it's a must try. Can't wait to see it in person.
 
There is a second player using this driver at Sony.
Yusaku Miyazato

Yes, the brother of Ai Miyazato from the LPGA, of course both Bridgestone staffers. Ai was with Tourstage for a while.
 
I like the looks of this driver and it sounds like a homerun for Bridgestone. If I didn't really like my current driver I would have one of these on the way. I may have to try one out on the Bridgestone test drive this summer any way. Can't hurt to have a backup, can it?
 
Daisuke Kataoka also playing that driver at Sony. 64 today.
Popular choice for Bridgestone staffers.The only one with 815 is Kuchar.
 
Hmmm. I crushed the j715. Loved the feel off the face. This one has my interest peaked.
 
I get along really well with my D200, but there are so many good drivers out this year. The JGR will definitely get a test run.
 
Spent the morning at a local range getting people to test the JGR against their current driver. Here is what I know so far.
The head is very forgiving. Think Great Big Bertha and Wilson Staff D200 in terms of forgiveness. Before I get started on their feedback, here is some of my own.

Spin was similar for me (about 450 RPMs higher) than that of the GBB, but many of you know that I think spin is over thought, so I will just leave it at that. The ball explodes off of the face with a sound that is quite different than their other drivers that are in line. Its metallic without sounding too loud or metal batish if that makes sense. Ball flight was high for me, but not too high as my peak height was hovering around 34 yards (GBB I am at 32-33 yards) (all of this is average after 15 strikes). Toe side seems super forgiving as one of my misses was there and ball speed was down only 4.5 mph. Heel side seemed a bit harsher as ball speed went down a bit more (coming from player strikes). Low on the face was remarkable and high on the face was about average.

Now on to the feedback. 11 players tested it today and here is a list of the drivers they used.

Ping G25
Ping G30
Callaway Big Bertha (2014)
TaylorMade R1
TaylorMade R1
TaylorMade SLDR
TaylorMade SLDR
Cobra L5V
Titleist 913D2
Titleist D10D3
Callaway X2Hot

These were players that happened to be on the range this morning, so I have no way of knowing if this is their regular driver, how long they have had it, etc.
1 out of the 11 golfers was fit for their driver (Callaway Big Bertha (2014).
Average carry distance for all of these current drivers - 226.71 yards
Average carry distance for the Bridgestone JGR 229.14 yards
Now the carry numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, because that is the average of all 11 players, and there were some long and some VERY short hitters. Here is a better breakdown.

Swing Speed 88-96 - Carry increase by JGR 4.97 yards
Swing Speed 97-105 - Carry increase 6.21 yards
Swing Speed 106-109 - Carry decrease 1.09 yards

This is just an early test as each player hit their driver and this driver 8-10 times and alternated in between shots. The worst and the best were kicked out to keep a steady number and eliminate outliers.

Remarks that were written down on the note cards.
"Can I have this one" (Callaway Big Bertha 2014 user)
"Its good, and the first Bridgestone club I have ever tried" (TaylorMade R1 user)
"Liked the club, but it flew too high for me" (editor note, he was wrong on ball flight) (SLDR User)
"The top is too busy for me, with the notch marks" (Callaway X2Hot user)
"Shaft is garbage, felt like it was made out of cheap stuff" (Titleist 913 user)
"Best sounding driver I have hit" (coming from L5V so makes sense)
"I will trade you mine for this one" (TaylorMade SLDR user)

Overall it was really well liked. Worked very well for some and was a bit hit. One thing to note was that the general public (meaning these golfers) all remarked on the fixed hosel. All of them in survey preferred the adjustable hosel. (Editors note is that only 3 of the 11 actually have adjusted an adjustable driver they have used). The one thing that came about with fixed hosel is the users felt as though it came off as "cheaper".

Hope this is good first info for everybody.
 
Very interesting info, JB. Still would love to hit this. The forgiveness comparison to GBB is hard to ignore.
 
Nice info. It always good to get a wide range of golfers input. This driver sounds interesting to me. I'm not sure if I've ever hit a Bridgestone club and this could be my first.
 
Bridgestone JGR Driver Preview

Bridgestone JGR Driver Preview

Great info JB! Love that data and the feedback.

What shaft and which loft in the JGR was tested?

I'll be getting this on the test drive program.
 
Great info JB! Love that data and the feedback.

What shaft and which loft in the JGR was tested?

I'll be getting this on the test drive program.

Standard shaft and we had all 3 lofts available for people to try and went loft for loft with what they were currently using.
 
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