2019 Official Forum Member Review - Bridgestone e12 Speed and Soft Golf Balls

[thegolfgal 45]

 

Bridgestone E12 Soft – Official MGS Forum Review by Jackie Santopietro

 

 

Introduction

Now that I have spent some time at the practice green and I have played 4 rounds It is time for me to let you all know how I really feel about the e12 Soft in a matte yellow.  This is the very beginning of the golf season here in tropical Minnesota and we have had it all thrown at us during this stretch.  This ball has now been tested in the wind, rain and even during some sunshine. 

 

Looks & Durability (12 out of 15 points)

 

The ball has a nice look to it for a yellow ball, not too bright and does glow nicely in the green grass.  However, this matte yellow ball can be extremely tough to spot in brown grass, leaves and dirt.  I did not lose any balls due to this but I will not play the matte yellow under these conditions in the future.  This is why they offer it in white red and green. 

As far as short and long term durability goes these balls seem to hold up very well.  They come in the usual golf ball box but the packaging means nothing to me.  The fact that they have the usual Bridgestone dimple pattern is a plus.

The 3 balls in the photos below are the survivors of my first 72 holes and with the exception of the one I bounced off a tree and fence you can barely tell they have been used.

Sound & Feel (15 out of 15 points)

 

All in all the E12 Soft is a very nice ball to play with.  Kind of a soft feel with a duller sound when hitting it   Enough sound to give you feedback but no annoying click.  When hitting it with the driver there is a nice solid sound and feel and when I hit that sweet spot with my irons, it felt like butter.  With the putter, just a nice soft solid sound.  Hitting the E12 Soft felt somehow familiar but I couldn’t place it.  I went to my living room and started hitting puts then it hit me.  It sounded and felt like an old balata ball, for those that can remember playing with such things.  The sound of the E12 Soft was non-distracting as it should be.

On-Course Performance (40 out of 40 points)

 

Understanding most of my testing has been done under 60 degrees, the E12 Soft performed like a champ.  Off the tee I have been getting over 200 yards and it goes where I expect it to.  Not that the duck hook into the creek or the one into a tree and off a fence were where I wanted but can’t blame the ball for those.  I am blaming it on the rust that has accumulated over the winter.

I was able to draw and fade the ball but it did not seem to move as much as the Bridgestone RX I normally play with.  I hit a couple of awesome flop shots and my 7 iron bump and runs were working great.  I am not a big spin player so my game will not really test the ball in that regard, but I did have a few check up nicely. I was able to keep the ball low when I needed to keep it under branches and I was able to get it fairly high with approach shots.  Playing a tree lined course, both shots are needed.  Living in the third windiest state in the union, the ball was tested in the wind and it played pretty well in it.  I liked the feel of the Bridgestone E12 Soft for putting and it rolled true for me.  Unfortunately, my putting itself leaves a bit to be desired, but I haven’t found a ball that will fix that.  It is the very beginning of the golf season here in Minnesota and only time will tell where this ball will fit into my arsenal.  It has replaced my old spring and fall soft ball for sure.  Only time will tell if it will creep into my summer lineup or not.

Miscellaneous (10 out of 10 points)

 

When it gets down to the intangibles, I would have to say I trusted the E12 Soft.  In making my shot decisions I never had to not hit a shot due to the ball I was using.  The ball just performed and so it gets 10 out of 10.

Game Bag or Shag Bag? (20 out of 20 points)

Plain and simple the E12 Soft is now my spring and fall below 70 degrees gamer.  If you have a swing speed under 90 MPH I would say this ball is for you.  I can’t wait to try the E12 Soft out when it is 80 degrees in and out of the wind.  At 29.99 I feel the E12 Soft is fairly priced and as always I feel Bridgestone is the best ball for your $$$$.  Just ask this years Master’s winner!

 

Conclusion

 

To sum it up quickly, I was very impressed with the Bridgestone E12 Soft.  Plenty of distance off the tee and it comes off the irons nicely.  I liked the feel of the E12 soft around and on the greens.  The only negative is the matte yellow is not good in brown grass and leaves, hard to find and as always do not play yellow golf balls when the dandelions are out.  If your swing speed is dipping below 90 I would highly recommend giving this ball a try.

 

Final Score 97 out of 100
 

Edited May 3, 2019 by thegolfgal

[ga_pike 342]

Be sure to check out my initial thoughts upon receiving my E12 Speed balls here:

 

Let me know what you think and what else you'd like to see.  

[00sportsman 2,030]

Stage 1 is up.  Let me know what you have for questions or ideas.  Constructive criticism is always welcome!

[ga_pike 342]

So I actually received my E12 Speeds last week and have been able to put a couple of rounds on them.  Instead of waiting 3 or so weeks for my full review, I will drop some quick reviews along the way to keep you up to speed (pun intended).  

My initial on course experience with these really didn't go all that well.  I teed one up in our weekly Thursday 9 hole scramble.  Our 1st hole was #3, a 558 yard par 5 with a tight tee shot, uphill over native area/water.  Swing and low bullet right into the bank on the other side.  Not a great way to start.  Thankfully, we had a 74 year old on our team that got to hit from the other side.  My next shot was a 5 wood from 225...  again, low screamer with a hard duck hook.  All I can say is both shots felt really, really bad.  We get up to the green and are putting for eagle.  I knock it inches from the hole and we ended up with birdie.  

Fast forward through the rest of the round where my use of the E12 Speed was a calamity of terrible shots.  Crazy low, harsh feeling balls that really made me wonder if it was my swing or the ball or what??  So after 4 holes, I swapped to my Vice balls and instantly, my game was back.  I finished the final 5 holes looking like I knew how to play golf.  This really left me shaking my head.  Could this ball be that bad a fit for me?  I've never had a ball react like this based on the ball itself.  Lots of questions...  time to find some answers.  

I went out over the weekend and focused on the driving range.  Trying to continue to get my swing back in form...  last night after work, I played 9 holes with the E12 Speed and it was completely different.  The ball came off the face as expected, irons shots got up ion the air...  it wasn't completely the ball.  Whew!  That said, this ball still feels more firm than I like but it's not old school Top Flite hard.  Irons shots seem to fly about 1/2 club short.  Drives are slightly shorter but not too much, couple 5 or 6 yards at most.  One really nice shot was a 5 wood on that #3 hole I previously mentioned...  I hit the dang thing 235, high and straight.  That's about 20 yards farther than I expect to hit my 5 wood.  Also, this is not a perfectly straight ball.  It will turn both left and right...  but I could tell it didn't turn as much. So the cut 5 wood I hit on 6 that would have been across the path and into the deep rough, stayed short of the path and safely in play.  

I'm going to put these into play again tonight in the 9 hole scramble.  Keep checking back for more updates and please share your thoughts and let me know what else you'd like to see from me!

 

A few pics from last night:

Just washing my balls...  

 

Tee shots on #1.  You can barely see the Vice ball in the middle a few yards ahead.  Both were well struck shots.

 

My lie on #3 when I hit the 5 wood.  

 

Post 9 holes ball condition.  A little more beat up than I expected.  No trees or cart paths hit.  

 

2 approach shots on #9 from 167.  Both balls landed in basically the same spot and this was the result.  

Edited April 4, 2019 by ga_pike

[Brian A 944]

I am really intrigued by your guys reviews as I tested the proto's for MGS/Bridgestone. I wonder how much they changed from Proto Speeds to what you guys received. Great work on stage ones!

[DannyDips 98]

I took the Bridgestone e12 speeds to the course this past weekend. The first thing I did was hit the practice putting green.



Spent about 30 minutes chipping to the same target, from the same spot and attempting to use the same exact swing for each shot. My initial thought is the e12 speed does not “bite” as much as balls I usually play. The shots seemed to roll out 5%-10% further than my typical gamer balls I was also chipping with. Of course all of them were Urethane cover balls.



The next day I got out and played. Due to the tightness of the course I decided to save my testing until the last hole. I played the last hole, a par 5, with an e12 and B330, making a little contest of it since no one was behind me.



I smashed the B330 with a slight fade and pulled the e12 into the bunker above. The distance was extremely similar, the e12 might be a touch longer since they were nearly side by side on opposite sides of the fairway and the B330 felt better hit.



As you can see above the B330 had a little tree trouble and after missing the 90% of the tree that’s air, the ball ricochet to about 115 yards. I hit the e12 stellar from the fairway bunker with a hybrid to 55 yards and knocked both shots on the green.

The putts were both downhill with lots of break so I was happy to tap both in for pars and a tie in the contest. It was a little difficult to compare how much spin each shot produced since the e12 was hit with a half swing but I was still decently pleased with its performance.

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[tchat07 871]

The day after I received the balls I took them straight to the course, no test chips or putts. First drive I hit a roped pull and luckily found it, would have hated to start off with a lost ball.

I thought it felt very hard off the face of the driver. For the sake of reading purposes I'll say that it felt "hard" off the driver all day. As for ball flight I was a huge fan, lots of tight fades or draws. Ball really didnt seem to move much off the line when it was struck, which I loved.

Full irons felt incredible, strikes felt very pure and had a nice sound to them. Same deal as the driver, ball shaping was tighter then usual. If you're a Bubba Watson shaper of the golf ball I cant help but to think this ball is not for you.

Full wedges felt great just like full irons, chips though were not as great. Didnt feel like I had much control on shorter wedge shots. Also their seemed to be very little feel off the club face, which I think attributed to the inconsistency.

Now for the putter this is what really surprised me. It felt dead, no better way I can think to describe it. Took me about 12 holes to get an actual feel for putting it. Same deal as wedges couldn't control the speed. Also as I hypothesized in stage 1, was not a fan of the sight line on the side. Just seems to small and your eyes have to focus to hard on it, which I thought took away from putting.

I plan to do more intensified putting and chipping testing to get a better idea of what it offers around the greens.

Also a quick RIP to test ball 1 (plugged on 5, couldn't find it) and test ball 2 (lost to a patch off leaves on 13). Test ball 3 made it out of the round with only a slight scuff (pictured).

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[ga_pike 342]

5 hours ago, tchat07 said:

The day after I received the balls I took them straight to the course, no test chips or putts. First drive I hit a roped pull and luckily found it, would have hated to start off with a lost ball.

I thought it felt very hard off the face of the driver. For the sake of reading purposes I'll say that it felt "hard" off the driver all day. As for ball flight I was a huge fan, lots of tight fades or draws. Ball really didnt seem to move much off the line when it was struck, which I loved.

Full irons felt incredible, strikes felt very pure and had a nice sound to them. Same deal as the driver, ball shaping was tighter then usual. If you're a Bubba Watson shaper of the golf ball I cant help but to think this ball is not for you.

Full wedges felt great just like full irons, chips though were not as great. Didnt feel like I had much control on shorter wedge shots. Also their seemed to be very little feel off the club face, which I think attributed to the inconsistency.

Now for the putter this is what really surprised me. It felt dead, no better way I can think to describe it. Took me about 12 holes to get an actual feel for putting it. Same deal as wedges couldn't control the speed. Also as I hypothesized in stage 1, was not a fan of the sight line on the side. Just seems to small and your eyes have to focus to hard on it, which I thought took away from putting.

I plan to do more intensified putting and chipping testing to get a better idea of what it offers around the greens.

Also a quick RIP to test ball 1 (plugged on 5, couldn't find it) and test ball 2 (lost to a patch off leaves on 13). Test ball 3 made it out of the round with only a slight scuff (pictured).

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Seems like we're seeing some of the same durability things...  Interesting.  

[azstu324 2,237]

Seems like we're seeing some of the same durability things...  Interesting.  

So looks like we definitely have a trend here.. this is from one round. Actually half a round. Lost the first one on a line drive into a tree. This one looks like it's been sitting in a lake for a month..

the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

[azstu324 2,237]

So aside from the questionable durability, I've noticed a few positives.

Absolutely NO loss in distance off the tee. Played my favorite exec course on Tuesday with none other than MGSRob (total stud!) who was in town. On a few of the shorter par 4's, I was able to put the ball pin high. One of them I crushed past the green by about 20'. We're talking 280 - 300 yds no problem.

On a number of par 3's ranging from 120 - 190 yds, the ball seemed to actually hold pretty decently.

This is a particular par 3 from 178. Into the wind went at it with my 6.. that's my divot.



This is a wedge from about 110 yds out and a wonky lie. Stuck it like a pro!



Lastly, distance with iron shots is a little scary. I saw that they were noticeably longer.. on a shorter par 3 around 115 but on a fairly elevated tee, I flew the green by about 10 yds with my 60°. When hit pure, the ball just screams! The straightness is also something to behold.

This is actually from last weekend at The Duke GC.. this was a 220 yd par 3. With the wind and my 4 iron.. this is a result that I just couldn't argue with.





More to come so stay tuned!

the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

[tchat07 871]

So after putting my recent round into myRoundPro I compared it to my round a week earlier while using a e6. Here is my round from a week ago:

 

Then my round with the e12:

 

The data backed up a lot of what I felt on the course. The big area of concern for me is the loss of strokes gained putting, to lose 2 whole strokes putting can seriously change a day. That proved to be a big difference in my round.

 

What really amazes me is the gains off the tee with my driver. Here is the data when using the e6:

 

And when using the e12:

 

Same amount of shots per round but coupled with 15 extra yards on average. Even more crucial was the jump from 20% of fairways hit to 50% of fairways hit. Both led to almost 1 entire stroke gained with the driver!

 

The e12 obviously has more juice then the old e6. What ball should I test it against next?

 

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[ga_pike 342]

A little update  from my 9 hole scramble last night (sorry no photos).  I played back and forth between the E12 Speed and Vice Pro Soft.  I'm still able to tell a noticeable difference in feel with the E12 Speed feeling more firm across the board.  Iron shots with the E12 Speed seemed to fly about 1/2 club short for me and my drives were about 8 yards shorter on average using my Swing Caddie SC100.  Control was very similar with none of my shots really getting too far offline.  Pitches and putts with the E12 Speed still come off hotter and with the really fast and firm greens, this was increased.   We are getting some rain today through Sunday and the greens were just fertilized so I expect them to slow down a little bit as they transition back to normal. 

 

Also, I really want to call this the B12 instead of E12...  just seems to make sense.  So in any of my reviews, please ignore that potential mistake.  

Edited April 5, 2019 by ga_pike

[romeopapazulu 621]

23 hours ago, azstu324 said:

So aside from the questionable durability, I've noticed a few positives.

Absolutely NO loss in distance off the tee. Played my favorite exec course on Tuesday with none other than MGSRob (total stud!) who was in town. On a few of the shorter par 4's, I was able to put the ball pin high. One of them I crushed past the green by about 20'. We're talking 280 - 300 yds no problem.

On a number of par 3's ranging from 120 - 190 yds, the ball seemed to actually hold pretty decently.

This is a particular par 3 from 178. Into the wind went at it with my 6.. that's my divot.



This is a wedge from about 110 yds out and a wonky lie. Stuck it like a pro!



Lastly, distance with iron shots is a little scary. I saw that they were noticeably longer.. on a shorter par 3 around 115 but on a fairly elevated tee, I flew the green by about 10 yds with my 60°. When hit pure, the ball just screams! The straightness is also something to behold.

This is actually from last weekend at The Duke GC.. this was a 220 yd par 3. With the wind and my 4 iron.. this is a result that I just couldn't argue with.





More to come so stay tuned!

the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..
 

This seems to be very similar to what I found with the e6 Speed.  I thought distance was on par with what I usually see and it held well enough on full shots.  I actually shot the round of my life with one.  

The next round I needed quite a few more chips and pitches, and I couldn't get it to hold for the life of me.  I would really have to rework the short game to accommodate the lack of spin.  On full shots, though, I couldn't hit it offline.

[tchat07 871]

Played again today this time on a tougher course (faster greens, tighter fairways, etc). Still finding the similar results with the driver, ball feels hard off the club face but it goes a long way and stays quite straight. With faster greens the lack of spin was more an issue on less then full shots. Had to play lots of shots short of the flag and they still ran past. Had an awful time putting due to inability to fully control speed. Also found that the farther from the hole the more pronounced speed control became, if I was outside 30 ft I 3 putted. One interesting note it was a rather windy day and any shot that was high enough ballooned really bad when into wind. I thought it was a club up type wind but I quickly found out that I needed 2+, dont know if it was how I was striking the ball but felt it was an interesting note.

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[azstu324 2,237]

Played again today this time on a tougher course (faster greens, tighter fairways, etc). Still finding the similar results with the driver, ball feels hard off the club face but it goes a long way and stays quite straight. With faster greens the lack of spin was more an issue on less then full shots. Had to play lots of shots short of the flag and they still ran past. Had an awful time putting due to inability to fully control speed. Also found that the farther from the hole the more pronounced speed control became, if I was outside 30 ft I 3 putted. One interesting note it was a rather windy day and any shot that was high enough ballooned really bad when into wind. I thought it was a club up type wind but I quickly found out that I needed 2+, dont know if it was how I was striking the ball but felt it was an interesting note.

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I wonder if the difference in core density actually makes that much of a difference in the way the ball performs physically? Other than that, I'm not seeing any other differences in specs right?

The e12 soft actually feels pretty good off the driver, irons, and putter.

Off the driver, other similarly spec'd "soft" golf balls seem to feel kinda mushy off the face. These actually pop without feeling mushy, harsh or hard.

Iron shots feel pretty powerful off the face and not bouncy like a rubber ball or with the sense of getting lost off the face like others. Plenty of feedback too without feeling like a rock. Also finding that the ball is workable from both sides but with a ton of control. I think that whatever is helping to keep the ball flying straight, when hit with a closed or open face "on purpose" the shape never seems to be overly dramatic which is helpful.

Putter feel is similar. Not too hard or clicky and definitely not too soft. Kinda right in the middle. I do notice that the ball can release kinda hot off the face but with a modified stroke is still consistent.

I did notice that playing in the wind is not the ball's strong suit. The round last week with Golfspy_CG2 was slightly windy. Noticed that shots into the wind with a stock shot ballooned pretty badly and landed about 2 clubs short. I'm certain this wouldn't have been an issue with my gamers.

More testing to come this week!

the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

[Low Country Golfer 71]

I played 27 holes over the weekend on two really sloppy wet days. Still couldn’t be happier with the e12 Softs. I lost the first one in 45 total holes I’ve played with them. Definitely not the ball’s fault.
Noticeably straighter and longer off the tee, lots of pop off the irons. Short game I still see the ball come off the face higher on pitches and chips but distance is consistent with plenty of spin. I am seeing some of the durability issues but I tend to play a ball a little longer than others I guess. I’m not seeing scuffs but the slight discoloration from wear is there from using one for a whole round. I’ll get a pic this week.
League play coming Tuesday and I’m looking forward to putting them to the stress test.


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[M. Parsons 657]

Alright, I played 9 holes yesterday using the e12 Speed (that's the one I'm testing), the e12 Soft, the e6 Speed, and one of my usual gamer Snell MTB-Black (not pictured). 

 

Let me start off by saying that I didn't have the opportunity to hit 4 balls off of every tee.  Also, I would love to say that Driving is my strong suit, but I'd lying.  However, I did get a hold of one that went 290, with the e12 Speed...so this ball can really fly and run forever.  The Soft is a lot softer than the Speed, which I'm sure you could've guessed that by the obvious, so going into the green I had better success with the Soft.  

In this picture the e12 Speed is closer to the hole than the e6 Speed, but they both pretty much had the same roll-out, I just landed them in different spots.  This was about a 30 yd chip shot to the hole.

 

When I'm about 50-60 yds out, I like to hit my 52 degree very low with a lot of backspin and the ball usually stops after one very small hop.  That is the shot I used in the picture below.  Here you'll see the e12 Soft (left) hopped a couple times and rolled-out about 5 feet, and the e12 Speed (closest to the pin) landed close to the fringe and rolled-out about 20 feet right up to the hole. 

I had another opportunity later in the round to try the same shot from the fairway, with both Speed balls and the MTB-Black.  On that hole (not pictured) I was able to get the MTB-Black to stop (although, not as quickly as the MTB-Red usually does), but the e12 Speed and the e6 Speed both rolled-out to the back of the green, about 30 feet past the MTB-Black.

I'm looking forward to more testing when I get back out there and I will keep you guys posted.

[00sportsman 2,030]

Got a chance to play yesterday, and I was atrocious.  However, these balls are straight!  If I pulled or pushed one, the ball may be offline, but it got there in a straight line.  More to come later.

[azstu324 2,237]

Alright, I played 9 holes yesterday using the e12 Speed (that's the one I'm testing), the e12 Soft, the e6 Speed, and one of my usual gamer Snell MTB-Black (not pictured). 

 
Let me start off by saying that I didn't have the opportunity to hit 4 balls off of every tee.  Also, I would love to say that Driving is my strong suit, but I'd lying.  However, I did get a hold of one that went 290, with the e12 Speed...so this ball can really fly and run forever.  The Soft is a lot softer than the Speed, which I'm sure you could've guessed that by the obvious, so going into the green I had better success with the Soft.  
In this picture the e12 Speed is closer to the hole than the e6 Speed, but they both pretty much had the same roll-out, I just landed them in different spots.  This was about a 30 yd chip shot to the hole.

 
When I'm about 50-60 yds out, I like to hit my 52 degree very low with a lot of backspin and the ball usually stops after one very small hop.  That is the shot I used in the picture below.  Here you'll see the e12 Soft (left) hopped a couple times and rolled-out about 5 feet, and the e12 Speed (closest to the pin) landed close to the fringe and rolled-out about 20 feet right up to the hole. 

I had another opportunity later in the round to try the same shot from the fairway, with both Speed balls and the MTB-Black.  On that hole (not pictured) I was able to get the MTB-Black to stop (although, not as quickly as the MTB-Red usually does), but the e12 Speed and the e6 Speed both rolled-out to the back of the green, about 30 feet past the MTB-Black.
I'm looking forward to more testing when I get back out there and I will keep you guys posted.

Nice work! I've been curious about the side by side performance of the 2. Have you noticed a big difference in the feel? I'd like to guess that the 50 compression of the Softs might just be enough to take the edge off from what some have claimed about the Speed being clicky and hard. Have you noticed a difference in distance at all between the 2?

So far I've concluded that the Softs are right on par with any premium offering in the distance department and definitely ahead of the curve with control. Slightly sub-par in the wear and tear category. The jury's still out on feel and short game.



the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

[M. Parsons 657]

Nice work! I've been curious about the side by side performance of the 2. Have you noticed a big difference in the feel? I'd like to guess that the 50 compression of the Softs might just be enough to take the edge off from what some have claimed about the Speed being clicky and hard. Have you noticed a difference in distance at all between the 2?

So far I've concluded that the Softs are right on par with any premium offering in the distance department and definitely ahead of the curve with control. Slightly sub-par in the wear and tear category. The jury's still out on feel and short game.



the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

Thanks man. I would say that's a pretty good observation on the clickyness of the Speed. I'll have to add some photos of the durability once I get back in the bag...that reminds me, I think I left an oatmeal cream pie in there too. I could definitely feel a difference when chipping, the Soft felt like it was going to bite, and did in comparison to the Speed, but not so much in comparison to what I usually get with my MTB-Red. I found that landing it (Speed) short going into the green worked best for getting it close to hole. However, that's not so good for my game, since I'm usually trying make sure I'm not short. Will continue to post any updates I find while out on the course...but still plan to go into the local shop for launch monitor numbers.


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