Bridgestone Ball Fitting Challenge

jearliff · May 5, 2008

Good stuff or just marketing gimmick??

I'd like to hear from anyone who has been fitted by Bridgestone for their ball. Do they give honest results and reccomendations or is it all BS? I know they want to sell their brand, and that's OK w/ me. Do they give a side-by-side comparison? Just looking for some info before I drive a long way to the nearest site. Thanks.

mcputter · May 5, 2008

I did it a couple of months ago. I was curious as to how they were going to set it up because I knew the range at the course it was held at was an aqua range (thats a range that uses floater balls with a grass tee but a lake for a landing area for those of you not from Florida). They used a Vector launch monitor and you hit the balls into a net. I assume they use a net even at grass ranges so they don't lose all the quality balls downrange. They had sleeves of most models of better quality balls available, you told them the ball you were currently hitting and you hit it against either their recommendation or the Bridgestone model you wanted to try. My results showed the B330 would go about 13 yards further than the Cally HX Tour 56 due to less spin and higher launch angle.

Seemed to be pretty good stuff if you're comparing balls of similiar construction. Of course driver distance isn't the only factor in choosing a ball.

flyhighandlong · May 5, 2008

I'd like to hear from anyone who has been fitted by Bridgestone for their ball. Do they give honest results and reccomendations or is it all BS? I know they want to sell their brand, and that's OK w/ me. Do they give a side-by-side comparison? Just looking for some info before I drive a long way to the nearest site. Thanks.

I did my own test between the Prov1x and the B-330, Prov1x was farther by 5-10 yards(did this test 3 times, 3 different days) iron shots were within a yard or two, but short game and putting went to Prov1x....

I believe that Bridgestone is thinking that most will switch just from the commercial, people are suckers you know! For me I do my own tests, I personally tested the Prov1x, B-330, and the tour ix. Prov1x is #1 then B-330 and then tour ix!!!!!

rdavis · May 5, 2008

I just went through the fitting in Las Vegas indoors at ProGolf. It was absolutely worthless to me. The reason is the launch monitor was not even close to being correct. I was warming up in the other hitting bay with the computer and was consistantly 260-270 w/a launch angle of 12-13 degrees (no swing spped numbers though) which is normal for me. When I got on the monitor my SS was 90-95 with 1600RPMs. No matter what ball they gave me the numbers did not change more than 100 RPM's. I firmly believe there is no way I can hit it 260-270 with a 90-95 mph SS. My opinion only.

harmonica · May 8, 2008

I went through it and was surprised at the recommendation. They recommended the B330-S which was a big surprise to me. I did not think I had low enough spin to be able to control a high spin ball.

In any case to answer your question, as long as they allow you to test a couple of their balls to compare to the one you play, I think at the very least it's a great way to get a free measure of your swing speed, and determine under a controlled environment, how much spin you put on different balls off the driver.

We did not use any club but the driver, and once I hit the b330-S that they suggested, I regretted not also seeing how the e5+ and e6+ measured up. Especially since I put the e6+ into play and was extremely pleased.

Take it for what it's worth. They can't fudge the numbers and you will get an honest swing speed to take home and a reasonable understanding of how much spin you put on the ball with the driver.

billybaroo · May 8, 2008

When and where is this traveling circus making the rounds? I went to the website after seeing a commercial for this but couldn't find the schedule.

edit - I see they have updated the website, but the closest one is NJ. I guess people in new england don't get Bridgestone. :lol: Come on, drive right up to Titleist's front door and have a ball fitting session if you believe in your product.

Freddy300 · May 8, 2008

When and where is this traveling circus making the rounds? I went to the website after seeing a commercial for this but couldn't find the schedule.

edit - I see they have updated the website, but the closest one is NJ. I guess people in new england don't get Bridgestone. :lol: Come on, drive right up to Titleist's front door and have a ball fitting session if you believe in your product.

LOL! The one guy on the commercial said he got 19 more yards and I want those extra 19 yards too! I trust the ad more than the Slazenger "Kitty".

I wish Bridgestone and Nickent would bring their trucks to south Florida.

harmonica · May 8, 2008

I found out about our fitting by reading a little card posted on the front door of the local shop. There was nothing on the website and the fitting was handled by the local Bstone rep.

You may not get that info on the Bstone company site, FYI.

eho · May 13, 2008

I did it last week and found out that the e6+ that I currently play is the best for me. One thing that opened my eyes was the fact that my current Nickent SE w/ stiff VS 65 shaft created way too much spin for my 118 SS. They fit me to a J33R with NV75X and my numbers were ideal. 10 more yards of carry and another 5 in roll. Bought one on the spot.

Ken_In_CA · May 13, 2008

I did it last year when the B330/s changed and I was previously using the older PV1 and the old E6 as a cheap winter ball. Found out what my numbers were and they recommended both B330 & B330s and gave me several samples of each. I took their recommendations to the course and hit all 3 to see if it was 'true'. and it was. The B330 wasn't as long in carry as the s or pv1, but rolled out about the same, the S carried the most and didn't roll.

On the green I got way more spin than the 3 and actually had one back up 4 feet, which I never do. Putting were about the same for the 3 so I chose the B330s and haven't looked back.

I would like to try it again to see if anything has changed just for curiosity sake... but then again, you know what they say about curiosity... :clapping:

gumpy · May 16, 2008

I just went through the fitting in Las Vegas indoors at ProGolf. It was absolutely worthless to me. The reason is the launch monitor was not even close to being correct. I was warming up in the other hitting bay with the computer and was consistantly 260-270 w/a launch angle of 12-13 degrees (no swing spped numbers though) which is normal for me. When I got on the monitor my SS was 90-95 with 1600RPMs. No matter what ball they gave me the numbers did not change more than 100 RPM's. I firmly believe there is no way I can hit it 260-270 with a 90-95 mph SS. My opinion only.

Hi there,

With my swing speed i hit 250m which is about 275 yards so that launch monitor might not be too farout. I get 250m with no wind and I play a higher trajactory ball like the TM TP black or AD330. With the NXT tour, Burner TP and e5 i get abit less. Just depends how well fitted you are.

In saying that my top SS is 103-105 mph but i rarely swing that fast on the course. Only at the fitting store when I need an ego boost against the person behind me who is cracking them. =), yes I am silly...