Bridgestone J’s Professional Weapons

[PhillipG78]

Just picked up a set of these 2-PW who’s played them, can anyone confirm if they’re 1020 or 1030 forged? I've read a few posts on here and other sites about them but hard to find much data on these, so would love to hear feedback on these. I found a chart with loft angles but can anyone confirm the loft on theirs if they game them. Came with Precision 6.5 flex rifled shafts

Edited June 17, 2021 by PhillipG78

[PhillipG78]

Anyone?

[rgk5]

Heavy and very stiff with 6.5 Rifles, more so than the Project X 6.5.  Tradiotional lofts so the PW is in the 48-50* range. Reasonable forgiveness and excellent feel.

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, rgk5 said:

Heavy and very stiff with 6.5 Rifles, more so than the Project X 6.5.  Tradiotional lofts so the PW is in the 48-50* range. Reasonable forgiveness and excellent feel.

 

Having played both, I would say the PX 6.5 are stiffer than the "standard" Rifle 6.5....

 

[PhillipG78]

How soft are these? Any idea what they're forged from? I've read in other posts they're forged from 1020, I haven't hit them yet tomorrow is my first round with them. 

[PhillipG78]

12 hours ago, rgk5 said:

Heavy and very stiff with 6.5 Rifles, more so than the Project X 6.5.  Tradiotional lofts so the PW is in the 48-50* range. Reasonable forgiveness and excellent feel.

How soft are these? Any idea what they're forged from? I've read in other posts they're forged from 1020, I haven't hit them yet tomorrow is my first round with them.

[PhillipG78]

9 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

Having played both, I would say the PX 6.5 are stiffer than the "standard" Rifle 6.5....

 

So you've played these clubs? If so how'd they feel?

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, PhillipG78 said:

So you've played these clubs? If so how'd they feel?

 

I'm sorry, I was only commenting on the shaft relative relationship.  I've hit the J's irons, but its so long ago I don't really remember.

 

[PhillipG78]

2 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I'm sorry, I was only commenting on the shaft relative relationship.  I've hit the J's irons, but its so long ago I don't really remember.

 

Gotcha so the precision FM 6.5 play stiff to flex? I’m about a 110-115 Driver SS so I’ve been told 6.5-7.0 is the sweet spot for me 

[NRJyzr]

2 hours ago, PhillipG78 said:

Gotcha so the precision FM 6.5 play stiff to flex? I’m about a 110-115 Driver SS so I’ve been told 6.5-7.0 is the sweet spot for me 

 

The Project X do, but the stepped Precision and Rifle are similar IMO

 

[ws6]

I played the irons for about 7 years.  Great clubs, I don't remember if they were 1020.  IIRC, lofts were 48 pitching wedge with 4 degree gaps until the 4 iron at 25 degrees, then 3 degree gaps.  

Edited June 19, 2021 by ws6

[PhillipG78]

2 hours ago, ws6 said:

I played the irons for about 7 years.  Great clubs, I don't remember if they were 1020.  IIRC, lofts were 48 pitching wedge with 4 degree gaps until the 4 iron at 25 degrees, then 3 degree gaps.  

From what I’ve read that looks about right for lofts, how soft were they? 

[rgk5]

18 minutes ago, PhillipG78 said:

From what I’ve read that looks about right for lofts, how soft were they? 

As soft as any forging of the time.  No harshness that I remember.

[PhillipG78]

9 minutes ago, rgk5 said:

As soft as any forging of the time.  No harshness that I remember.

That’s great to hear, I know Bridgestone was originally a JDM product, good to hear they’re a true forged club. It’s barely a CB is essentially a perimeter weighted blade. 

[ws6]

1 hour ago, PhillipG78 said:

From what I’ve read that looks about right for lofts, how soft were they? 

As soft or softer than my endo forged J33 CBs that were my next irons.  

[Mitchell]

Played those for quite a few years, with original stepped Brunswick 6.0,  very soft and solid. Because of the Japanese reverse offset progression in this particular set, I actually played them in 3-7 and made a combination set with Tourstage Xblade muscle backs for 8-pw.

[PhillipG78]

Reverse offset?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

3 hours ago, PhillipG78 said:

Reverse offset?

 

Common in older Japanese irons, reverse offset refers to the short irons having more offset than the longer irons.

It can be quite pronounced. 

American and European sets tended to increase offset in the longer irons, though I've never seen a set where it was hugely noticeable, whereas the reverse offset on some older Japanese sets can be jarring. 

[mocokid]

1 hour ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Common in older Japanese irons, reverse offset refers to the short irons having more offset than the longer irons.

It can be quite pronounced. 

American and European sets tended to increase offset in the longer irons, though I've never seen a set where it was hugely noticeable, whereas the reverse offset on some older Japanese sets can be jarring. 

Why?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

8 hours ago, mocokid said:

Why?

 

Why do older Japanese iron sets have this reverse offset?

I honestly don't know. My guess is that the leading Japanese players liked wedges and short irons with offset (not unusual; Jack Nicklaus liked a bit of offset, and Big_Stu here has talked about a wedge he has that was made for Curtis Strange that has a lot of offset), and club designers took what the pros liked and built it into their designs. 

But that's pure speculation.

[BIG STU]

On 6/20/2021 at 7:10 AM, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Why do older Japanese iron sets have this reverse offset?

I honestly don't know. My guess is that the leading Japanese players liked wedges and short irons with offset (not unusual; Jack Nicklaus liked a bit of offset, and Big_Stu here has talked about a wedge he has that was made for Curtis Strange that has a lot of offset), and club designers took what the pros liked and built it into their designs. 

But that's pure speculation.

Yep some guys like a lot of offset as it fits their eye. Others like me do not like it. And yes the Curtis Strange wedge you mentioned ( good memory) has a lot more offset than any VIP wedge I have ever seen. For me it is jerkarama city

[jobin]

Found a Mizuno bag with full set of B'stone irons.  All from Japan, a 2nd hand Japanese shop. Evidence in bag indicated that set played by Japanese pro at Hawaii Open, year unknown.  Hawaii Open first played 1965 and over the years had winners such as Nicklaus, Trevino, Crenshaw, Aoki, etc.

 

Irons 4-Pw, all marked Tan-Bec Fine Unit; AlBeMet Face Insert and stamped 'AlBe & BeCu'.  Meaning of Tan-Bec and Face Unit not known. Al=aluminum, Be=beryllium and Cu=copper.

 

Hosel stamped Bridgestone and shafts also marked Bridgestone.  Shafts marked Harmonic 'St-Light' and R, Light Weight Carbon Graphite.

See photos of face insert, note wear marks on face, note shiny copper on solewear. 

[dekker]

On 6/18/2021 at 5:29 AM, PhillipG78 said:

Anyone?

Jumbo Osaki was the marque player behind this design. He also designed the Jumbo Professional Weapon Driver of that early '90 Era.

Nicklaus lauded it as the longest driver of that time.

 

These J irons, other than a bit more toe weight weren't very different from the JNP irons that McGregor made for/with Nicklaus in that same period.

[golfluvzme]

All I can add is that I carried a J's 1-iron for a summer, a few years ago.  It was a kick in the pants to pull it out and see what I could do.  I have forgotten all of the misses, but remember the ones hit sweetly that blew my playing partner's mind.  It was a great summer!  It is out in the garage, somewhere.  Nothing like a true blade 1-iron, ;).

LaMont in AZ

[nolixul]

Yes, I gamed these too. They're Endo forged, but not sure if 1020 or 1030. Definitely soft!

Mine had stepped Brunswick Precision FM 6.5 shafts. Looks like your set is stepped too.

 

The Brunswicks play stiffer than Rifle Precision FMs. Half a flex approximately. As for a comparison with Project X 6.5, which I've played too, The Project X's feel stouter and harsher than the Brunswicks but are lighter. I think the butt frequencies were similar. The stepped Brunswicks are great shafts.

 

Hated the look of the SW in the J's so didn't use it. However, adored the 2 iron. To this day, I haven't found a 2 iron that I could flight high or low as easily, or move around. Thinking of picking up a J's 2 iron to try to recreate the past "weapon"!

[PhillipG78]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:30 PM, golfluvzme said:

All I can add is that I carried a J's 1-iron for a summer, a few years ago.  It was a kick in the pants to pull it out and see what I could do.  I have forgotten all of the misses, but remember the ones hit sweetly that blew my playing partner's mind.  It was a great summer!  It is out in the garage, somewhere.  Nothing like a true blade 1-iron, ;).

LaMont in AZ

Where in AZ? Mesa here

[PhillipG78]

On 9/6/2021 at 4:25 AM, nolixul said:

Yes, I gamed these too. They're Endo forged, but not sure if 1020 or 1030. Definitely soft!

Mine had stepped Brunswick Precision FM 6.5 shafts. Looks like your set is stepped too.

 

The Brunswicks play stiffer than Rifle Precision FMs. Half a flex approximately. As for a comparison with Project X 6.5, which I've played too, The Project X's feel stouter and harsher than the Brunswicks but are lighter. I think the butt frequencies were similar. The stepped Brunswicks are great shafts.

 

Hated the look of the SW in the J's so didn't use it. However, adored the 2 iron. To this day, I haven't found a 2 iron that I could flight high or low as easily, or move around. Thinking of picking up a J's 2 iron to try to recreate the past "weapon"!

I find the 2 iron very easy to hit I can hit it about 245

[Jshealey]

they are a forged club from 1992. Came standard with Brunswick 6.5 shafts. lofts are a shade less then todays standards but a great overall club regardless of handicap. The only issue I have is not sure if they meet the 2010 groove specs. Cant find any info on that for myself. I have three sets of clubs, clevelands,mizuno 921 and the bridgestone. still prefer the bridgestone and the 30 year old tech.

 

If any knows if they meet the groove spec let me know!!

[ezgoer]

I also picked up a very nice set of these last summer but with DG S300 shafts. I have read they are a 3 step copper/ nickel/ chrome plated process and maybe even struck 3 times so supposedly “soft as anything” some people where claiming. The little I’ve played them they maybe felt a little softer than my JNP’s?? That could easily be the different shafts in the clubs. Coming from my lacking any sort of touch hands any softer feeling I may have had easily could have been physiological cuz I read it somewhere. The reverse offset mentioned a few posts back is interesting. I never noticed that and will check it out later tonight.

[Jshealey]

The clubs were made in 1991. the brunswick 6.5 shaft is xstiff. They are forged. Cant find any info on if they meet 2010 groove specs for any USGA events though. Have had mine since 1991 and love playing them. I have the 1 iron through sandwedge. never giving them up,have had many offers to do so, not getting rid of them