Two Hour Drive in the Snow for a set of Bridgestone J15 CB's...will they make the bag?

[tbonetw]

Bridgestone made a utility iron for the Tour B series. It's called the Tour B X-Hi driving iron. It comes stock with a KBS hybrid graphite shaft. You can probably find one on the bay.

[dokodiy]

General flight characteristics on SF is mid to low, I would say very similar to SPBs. I have to work high fly shots towards tight pin locations. Feel is great but tempo feels slightly quicker than SPBs. (Different stout) SFs will definitely flatten out with better dispersion compared to 120s.

 

[rxk9fan]

I got my 6i through PW thrown in some SF FC shafts last night. I have previously only played with the i version of the SF which no doubt feels stiff to flex and the r flex has always been plenty.. I went with the s flex in the FC version, with an understanding they play more like a Recoil 110 F4 which I enjoy, with a little higher ball flight in the long irons. We will see :-)

[Tree Levino]

Can anybody post an address photo of the PW? I hit a pretty high ball and sold a set of the Tour B X CB for a buddy and the PW was absolutely massive. Currently on an in betweener set of 745 but have ALWAYS loved the look of these.

[wam78]

I think the tour b is slightly smaller footprint than the j15. Big reason why I chose them.

[jt2gt]

OK...BD, here you go...single pic is J15CB. Other pics are with a 745 and 785 PW. Order got switched but J15 CB has no ring ferrule, 745 has double ring ferrule, 785 has single ring. You can see not crazy big compared to others. 745 smallest, but has thickest topline.

[rxk9fan]

I hit the J15 CB for the first time today shafted with SteelFiber FC stiff F4 shafts. Decent round (79), except for the holes where I hit my 3 wood off the tee?? I only missed one par3 green, and the swing was SO crap nothing could helped it.

After the round I took them to the range to go head to head with my Srixon Z785's shafted with Recoil 110 F4's. The Bridgestone are without doubt the better feeling of the two, though the Srixon is pretty awesome. I was straight into a 15mph wind which is kind of nice when testing irons since it magnifies poor strikes. I have not checked the Bridgestone lofts, but my guess is they are just a tad weaker. I launched them a little higher and they averaged 3 to 5 yards shorter vs the Z785's and of course the shafts were not the same.

I hit a LOT of balls and could not pick a definitive winner. These are two great iron sets. I will see what they look like on a monitor side by side ASAP.

The Bridgestone feel is SO soft that for now they are the front-runner.

[Nixhex524]

They are higher launching irons to begin with... I think thats why I am able to play them in a bit stiffer shaft than I'd normally use and I still get great height out of them. Could always try bending the lofts stronger too...

[rxk9fan]

Yes, they are high launching and I will likely bend them stronger a degree or a bit more from where they are.

I would love to hear some comments about spin. The Srixon are a fairly low spin iron IMO. What do players see from the J15 CB comparatively to others they have played. My thinking is the Srixon line is fairly low, and then on the other spectrum is something like the Titleist 716 CB.

[Nixhex524]

I haven't had mine on a monitor to tell but my guess is they are fairly low spinning as well. I don't mind it though as I think it helps with a little more distance and I don't have an issue getting them to stop on the greens. Already planning on having mine done in a raw finish and grooves redone so I can extend the life and they aren't even that bad!!! LOL

[tutto benne]

Could be the lofts, but the FC is designed to be higher launching than regular SteelFiber and could have a lower kick point than the Recoils.

[1s1k]

Do super mint sets of these exist?

[rxk9fan]

Very true on all counts. I only have about 300 balls under my belt. They are already very playable and I am not looking for a whole lot more than I have already found from them.

[rxk9fan]

Would you be looking at someone like The Iron Factory or someone else? Do they bring the grooves back to original specs? I have never seen their work and have only heard a bit about them.

[rxk9fan]

Would you have someone like The Iron Factory do the work? Do they bring the grooves back to OEM specs? I have no experience with this.

Thank you!

[RedWings1]

Yes, absolutely!!!!

Partly because mine are custom fit for me and by far the very best sticks Ive ever played and I've played a bunch of sweet sticks in my day.

I'm coming off of two torn rotator cuffs, and tore both right and then left elbow tendons. Ive been very lucky not to need surgery. Extensive rehab 4+ years (GHIN jumped up also) and I'm just about 95% back. Matching the J15CB heads with a set of tour issue Matrix Ozik Program F15 120 X stiff has been an awesome combination for me. Granted its still bad weather up here in Mi but the thing is that I've been hitting off built up rugs (better than a mat for me) in my basement hitting booth for a month now. 15-50 shots per night. ZERO Elbow pain!

Yes, I believe my sticks are awesome, that being said there are several great heads out there. Find the ones that match your eye, have the sole grind that works with your swing and don't hesitate going with graphite if you have elbow issues! Absolutely make sure you get fit by a professional for your shafts! Hopefully the process and research for you was as fun and rewarding as it was for me!

Note that you cannot get the Matrix Ozik iron shafts anymore, Matrix went out of business but I've heard that LA Shafts bought the Matrix company. hopefully they bring back all the awesome Matrix stuff!

I can't wait to kick a$$ on the courses this year!

 

 

[Nixhex524]

I was actually looking at Oughtons golf in Northern CA. It's like $27 per head for a raw finish with the grooves redone... I dont even think mine are bad but I figure why not. Should easily get many more years out of them. He will do black oxide, too, but I think the J15s in a raw finish would be really nice.

[rxk9fan]

Just had my second round with the J15 CB. Easy course with small fast greens the usual defense. But today was after 2 inches of rain overnight, and we played in 45 degrees with 17 mph wind and constant light rain to heavy mist. About as tough as can be with multiple gouged Vokeys in the mud :-(. The irons were stellar though and I will take a 78 in the conditions.

Even in the cold and rain, the irons with the Steelfibers were absolute butter. Distances were every bit of the Srixon Z785’s. These are actually in the bag already this Saturday for the first tournament round of the year.

Hope I don’t find a way to jack them !!

[dokodiy]

Great to hear! rxk9fan

That’s what 1020 carbon sweetness feels like!

[tutto benne]

Just posted some pictures of my refinished J15 CB heads in a satin chrome finish in the Club Tech Forum.

[rxk9fan]

Will head there for a look now!

[rxk9fan]

To end this, the J 15CB's are in the bag with a second set due at my house tomorrow and the Z785's on their way to a new home.

I will shaft the second set with Recoil 110 F4's and see if they or the SteelFibers end up in the starting rotation. I am just looking for optimum ball flight between the two shafts now. With the SF's, flight is a little higher than I am used to but I am not sure that is not a good thing. Lastly, I don't honestly know if the Recoils will be higher or lower but I will soon have that answer.

Regards to all!

[dwboston]

I'd bet the ball flight with the Recoil 110 F4 will be a little higher. Of my two sets of the J15 CB's, the one with Recoil 110 F4 launches higher and is about 10 yards longer per club than the set with Recoil Proto 125 F4.

[Nixhex524]

Took mine out of the bag for a couple rounds... put them back in as soon as I got home today. There just isn't anything as good, I don't know why I keep looking!!

[C Bird]

Can anyone who played 588cbs compare them?

[hondafans]

My biggest complaint with the j15cb is that it lacks the feedback between good and bad shots.  Although the soft forgings feel great I wanted a set that reports the off center strike.  Playing X-cbp irons now.  Not sure if you noticed this, maybe just me?

[Nixhex524]

25 minutes ago, hondafans said:

My biggest complaint with the j15cb is that it lacks the feedback between good and bad shots.  Although the soft forgings feel great I wanted a set that reports the off center strike.  Playing X-cbp irons now.  Not sure if you noticed this, maybe just me?

I'm back in another set with PX LZ 6.5.  Shafts arent too stiff but they were hurting my elbows so I put some Prosoft inserts in them and man, talk about a soft feeling... I can still tell when I mis hit it but feel is so nice.  I have noticed that even on mis hits these irons perform REALLY well so feel is one of the only ways to tell when it wasn't struck well.  I am having a love affair with the 785s as well, also really good irons and I am torn about which ones are going to be the gamers at the moment.  I know I will not be selling the J15 cb this time around... they are just too hard to find and too good.

[jeffrey r]

10 hours ago, Nixhex524 said:

 I know I will not be selling the J15 cb this time around... they are just too hard to find and too good.

 

Correct, you do not get rid of J15 CB's (especially as a lefty in my case).  It's like Fight Club (well not really, but you get the point...).