J33 460 made it...

ziggynotonmauianymore · May 27, 2006

I could not forget the longest drives that I hit with the 460 9.5 in my own shootout...and kept trying. Finally tried a 10.5 with a factory installed Diamana 63 stiff.

What a difference. I was sooooo wrong trying 9.5 and heavy shafts....

Neither the Diamana 83 nor the 73 worked for my swing. I always played heavier shafts in my driver to keep the tempo under control. I was also so locked on 9.5 degrees of loft....

A few weeks ago, I swallowed my ego and bought a stock retail 460 10.5 with a Diamana 63 s. The head is simply too perfect to ignore it.... The first range session was so impressive, I could not wait to get out on my home course. Finally played enough rounds there to get a true judgement.

My longest drives carry to places from where I used to play my second shots and also average drives are significantly longer than ever before. Even my regular buddies could not believe what they saw. The higher loft also adds some more workability for me: I can close the face and still get high draws (instead of low hooks) and if I play it neutral, there is no left rough anymore.

Truly amazing. Don´t let the loft scare you, swallow your ego and carry it by your buddies....

I was also really reluctant to the light Diamana, but it´s still so stable and never out of control. The harder you swing, the harder it kicks. I was a Fuji-nut, but but this thing really works.

After the positive impression of the driver, I also changed the 3 wood. Now playing J33 15 with a Fuji 869. Slightly higher ballflight than my Sonartec SS07, as long and more forgiving on off-center hits. I´m not as convinced as with my driver -yet- but there´s a good chance that it´ll stay in my bag.

The J33 Hybrid and the airmuscle have been my favourite clubs in the bag since quite a while, and I don´t see anything better on the market anytime soon.

Congrats to Bridgestone ;) Great job!

tickyboy · May 27, 2006

I tried a demo 10.5 SQ the other day mostly to just say it sucks, but to my suprise it went high and long. It's become one of my more favourite combos (with prolaunch). I've always played 7.5-9.5* drivers but the higher loft opened my eyes to a whole new world.

Nille · May 27, 2006

With Bridgestone what you have to take into consideration is that their drivers have lower lofts than other companies drivers, despite both of these having the same loft imprinted on the head. (Bridgestone tends to have true lofts, while some others make their heads higher lofted).

Best wishes!

xxio · May 27, 2006

Ziggy,

would you say Bridgestone loft is like Tourstage loft?

I have an XDrive 390 Pro spec that I hitt well at 9 loft. Should I go 9.5 or 10.5 in the J33 460 and 420?

Bowie8 · May 27, 2006

I originally had a 10.5 J33 with Ozik Medius and was hitting sky balls. Went to 9.5 and have more control and a better flight. Everybody seems to say that the Bridgestone hits so much lower, which has me baffled because I hit it about as high as the other drivers I have tried. I definitely like the head and the feel.

taylormadefan · May 27, 2006

I originally had a 10.5 J33 with Ozik Medius and was hitting sky balls. Went to 9.5 and have more control and a better flight. Everybody seems to say that the Bridgestone hits so much lower, which has me baffled because I hit it about as high as the other drivers I have tried. I definitely like the head and the feel.

Proof positive for why there's no substitute for a proper fitting.

Advise from these forums is a nice starting point, but what really matters are the numbers you put up with the club and how it performs on course. No two swings are the same.

GET FIT!!!!

ziggynotonmauianymore · May 28, 2006

Ziggy,
would you say Bridgestone loft is like Tourstage loft?
I have an XDrive 390 Pro spec that I hitt well at 9 loft. Should I go 9.5 or 10.5 in the J33 460 and 420?

From my experience, I´d go 10.5 for both BS heads. My Xdrive 9.5 hits it not lower than the J33 10.5.

yoo868 · May 28, 2006

I agree... When I first went to the BS demo day I immediately started with the 10.5 NV 65S, because I normally play 9.5 clubheads... But to my surprise even with a "low" launch NV 65 S shaft I was able to hit the 9.5 just as high as other clubs. The LM #'s with the 9.5 were just perfect for me. The BS rep had to assure me that the 9.5 #'s were better than my 10.5 #'s

What I did notice though was that the ball flight was a little flatter at its apex and had no tendency to flutter, could of been the shaft but the point is the 460 BS doesn't require you go +1 degree from other drivers.

LionGolfer · May 28, 2006

Ziggy,

You should try the Graman Limey UL 640 or 540 in your J33R 460. It's at least as long as the Diamana 63 (for me, it gave more carry) but it is much much TIGHTER than the Diamana. It doesn;t have teh exotic pricing of the Diamana but it outperforms for me.

P.S. I played the Diamana 63 for quite a while in my J33R as well.

Sam-Tee-Time · June 1, 2006

I just swapped my J33R 420cc for a J33R 460cc model. It came with a Grafalloy BLUE shaft in it, which traditionally hits it VERY low and is a stiff, boardy shaft. Tonight will be my first range session with it, and we'll see how it goes!

I suspect I'll be reshafting with an Accra T60 M5 pullout. Does anyone feel that the Accra will be a higher launching, more responsive shaft than the BLUE? I play an Accra T60M5 in my R5-N right now, and LOVE that combination. Any feedback would be appreciated!

HipCheck · June 1, 2006

I originally had a 10.5 J33 with Ozik Medius and was hitting sky balls. Went to 9.5 and have more control and a better flight. Everybody seems to say that the Bridgestone hits so much lower, which has me baffled because I hit it about as high as the other drivers I have tried. I definitely like the head and the feel.

Ditto. No low ballflight for me. I think I have the perfect marriage of shaft/head for my swing. 9.5° is plenty.