Off To Bridgestone!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Put both of these bad boys in the bag:

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Really liked hitting the JGR 3 wood -- easy to get up in the air.  

[Kenny B]

Put both of these bad boys in the bag:

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Will give them a try next week!!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Nice summary John!  I had a ball fitting several years ago when the RXS first came out.  I was one of the 3 out of 10; they lost to a PV1, but it was really a wash.  They gave me the RXS to play.  It was OK, but I kept playing the PV1.

 

Bridgestone says that no seam matters "when it comes to consistent ball flight."  However, Dean Snell says that all seamed balls must now pass a symmetry test and fly the same distance no matter how the ball is oriented.  So, what exactly does Bridgestone say is the difference between their seamless ball and similar seamed balls if distance deviation is not an issue?  It sounds like a nice marketing statement that may be true in some regard, but not measurably noticeable to any golfer.

 

 

Shot this question over to Adam Rehberg at Bridgestone -- Golf Ball R&D guy who was moved to Golf Ball Marketing Director about a year or so ago....

 

"The USGA does govern flight symmetry and distance but the true R&D beauty is innovating inside of those metrics. They do in fact have limits to flight symmetry but my question is do you want a ball that is close to that limit of flight symmetry or a ball that actually performs symmetrically. That is the difference between seamless and seamed balls. Remember that the USGA governs balls by their ability to pass their rules, not by the actual performance of the ball being better."

 

Bottom line is the difference to the average golfer, regardless of swing speed - according to Bridgestone - is consistency, predictability and accuracy for ball flight.  Bridgestone says they strive to make a ball with tighter standard deviation within as many parameters as possible...the seamless design is one of those parameters.

 

That's their take on the matter.  

 

Mine is that if you make a ball with a seam, you try to make the seam seem insignificant.  If you make a ball without a seam,  you try to make the seam seem unseemly...

 

Any little edge you can get...

[revkev]

If seamless is huge, why do you play a seamless ball and a seamed ball?  

 

I agree with Foz that with my slower swing speed, I don't think I would see any difference.  I also agree with you that switching balls in season is a mistake.  I can certainly tell which ball I use around the greens.  They all seem to react just a little differently; not drastically for similar tour quality balls but I have hit a different ball and afterwards thought... "Oh yeah, I forgot I was playing that ball.  I should have..."  I'm sticking with the MTB for the season after it gets up to 70*, which just happens to be next weekend!!  woo hoo!

I prefer the see less B330 RX when it's windy. That's what I played when I played with you. I will play the MTB when it's not because it is a bit longer for me.

[fozcycle]

That was unseemly .....Hmmm

 

 

 

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[GolfSpy Barbajo]

That was unseemly .....Hmmm

 

Seemingly so...

 

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[Dieselsdad]

I'm ready for the Masters now:

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

I'm ready for the Masters now:

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That, my friend, is a GOLF BAG! Mercy that's sweet...

 

 

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[Dieselsdad]

That, my friend, is a GOLF BAG! Mercy that's sweet...

 

 

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Thanks! Since I have gone all JGR in the bag and their Yellow grips, it just seemed a good fit. Already getting P--ker references. As a Chi Bears Fan, I have to keep telling people "It's Masters Colors" !

[Dana]

This was a very interesting read. Great write ups.

[Kenny B]

Thanks! Since I have gone all JGR in the bag and their Yellow grips, it just seemed a good fit. Already getting P--ker references. As a Chi Bears Fan, I have to keep telling people "It's Masters Colors" !

I bought the JGR driver last Tuesday and the yellow grip is GONE!!  

 

Next month I am trying the 22* 5i as a hybrid replacement, and I might have to try a FW.

[Dieselsdad]

I bought the JGR driver last Tuesday and the yellow grip is GONE!!

 

Next month I am trying the 22* 5i as a hybrid replacement, and I might have to try a FW.

Good for you. I tried the Hybrid and could not get used to the 80g shaft. Felt like Broom Stick to me.

[MGoBlue100]

Just a few additional observations on top of what John has written.  (Apologies for the delay, on Spring Break with the fam last week; no golf  and no laptop.)  John really covered most of the notes I had, but here are a few additional thoughts:

 

The production engineers were adamant in mentioning that almost nothing ends up in a landfill from their manufacturing process.  They reuse or repurpose everything they can.  It's obviously a corporate ideology, and it made me feel good about them as a company, I must admit.

The process not only of making the balls, but the QA checks and balances along the way were phenomenal.  The process was similar to what the company I work for does.  But, my company makes life safety equipment.  These are golf balls.  The fact that every ball is visually inspected, sometimes twice, was almost over the top.

 

If you were able to watch the periscope videos, the fitting process for the ball was extremely thorough.  It wasn't only "What ball are you playing now?" it was "How do you expect your ball to react off the driver, off a mid iron, off a wedge, around the green?"  The intent seems to be: We'll put you in our best ball for you, but are you now playing what you SAY you want?  There was a lot more to the process than "We have a better ball than what you're playing now."

 

With regard to the seamed vs seamless issue, Adam's point was, "Even if you're a high handicap player, how will you ever improve if the ball you play reacts differently half or two thirds of the time you hit a shot?"  If your ball ALWAYS reacts exactly the same, regardless of your swing speed (you should be playing a ball meant for your swing speed, after all...) you can more readily assess your misses.  If it wasn't the ball, it was YOU.  Adjust your swing to your shots, don't adjust your swing to your ball.

 

The driver fitting was really fun!  (The fact that I got to keep it afterwards was unbelievable!!)  I had never had a driver fit before for one reason:  I was certain I couldn't afford the proper shaft.  I've long been a believer that the driver head is important, but the shaft is even more so.  I think that this fitting reinforced my thoughts.  With more time, and more shaft options, I'm certain that ball flight, spin, launch, etc could have been fine tuned even more than they were for me, and I gained 16 yds (which I have maintained consistently in the four rounds I've played since with my new JGR driver) and dropped my spin from 4k+ to about 2400.  That being said, get fit!  Find out what's exactly right for you, even if you can't afford it, LOL.  Knowing what you should be looking for can go a long ways toward helping your game.

 

Lastly, I really want to thank My Golf Spy for the opportunity to visit Bridgestone and go through the entire process.  All of the people there could not have been nicer, more knowledgeable or more passionate about what it is that they're trying to accomplish.  They like the tag line that they "sell the truth", and I believe that is what they are doing with their ball fitting process and their golf club offerings.

[McaseyM]

I don't know what it is about, maybe it's the love of the masters green, maybe it's that I like their philosophy… I don't know, but I love this hat

 

 

 

 

It has a John Deere tractor Quality to it.

 

 

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