Just Learning about the Bridgestone J33r 460

[sdbui2000]

Is it really that good!!

Didn't pay much attention to this driver until now. Very nice reviews. Now that the honeymoon period is over, what do you think. I normally play a 983K 11.5 and Ping G2 10, but wondering if a 10.5 J33r would give me enough loft and launch angle. Difficult to find a place to demo this club. Thanks.

[HipCheck]

I went on my annual outing to Myrtle Beach last Wednesday. I dropped my gap wedge, and went with two drivers on my trip, because I was not familiar enough with the J33r 460. I did this 1 day before Phil, so in fact, he copied off me, but I'll let it slide :stop: . I bought this club out of faith in my clubmaker's recommendation, and could not demo it (no store had it around me for demo).

 

Anyway, I hit my old driver, a Nakashima, during the majority of my first round (out of 5 total), but then finally hit the J33 on 18 and just destroyed it. I FINALLY got around on it. I just destroyed it. I couldn't tell you how far, but it didn't leave the spot where I aimed. That was a breakthrough.

 

I played the Bridgestone almost exclusively from that shot on, through 4 more rounds of golf. With each shot, I was more and more impressed.

 

It's hard to tell how much is driver, and how much is shaft, as I have the OZIK Altus installed in mine, but it's just a beautiful club. I swing 105ish with the driver, so after getting 290 out of the club several times, I am ecstatic. 9.5° with this club/shaft is plenty of loft. The ball NEVER ballooned, and held it's line in the wind (we had 20+ mph gusts one day - I played either a Pro V1 or B330).

 

The dispersion was excellent. I never lost a drive so far right that I was out of the hole, and didn't hook a single drive.

 

A couple of things to note.

 

1) This is a very easy driver to work. I has to be neutrally weighted. With my old driver, I could not really hit a consistent power fade. This driver loves them. It seems forgiving to me though.

 

2) I have to tee the ball up higher (definitely 3 1/8" tees at a minimum) and a little further forward in my stance than with my old 380cc driver.

 

3) I gained more distance with this driver. I outdrove a friend of mine who normally outdrives me with his R7. Not anymore. One hole, he crushed his drive dead straight. I hit a power fade and had him by 11 yards.

 

Of course, everyone's experience can vary, but 5 rounds, especially so early in the year, is a good test for me. I love this club!

[alcap26]

Ditto everything Hip said. I love mine but I have to tee it a touch lower to get the Traj hotter....not much but a touch lower. I love this driver and it is the first driver in ages that I can work both ways and it is long

[theothertwo]

I agree. I have a 10.5* J33R 460cc with a GD YS 6 + and I just love it, solid and long, nice medium to high trajectory, beautiful design, very accurate.

[mr_divots]

Didn't pay much attention to this driver until now. Very nice reviews. Now that the honeymoon period is over, what do you think. I normally play a 983K 11.5 and Ping G2 10, but wondering if a 10.5 J33r would give me enough loft and launch angle. Difficult to find a place to demo this club. Thanks.

I think you can hit it at 10.5º. Just err to a shaft that will aid in your launch angle being higher and spinning the ball a little more. I played a Ping G2 8.5º with Prolaunch 65s last season. I have my 10.5º B'stone 460 paired with a UST V2 75 stiff. Perfect combo. Ballflight is a little lower than what I was seeing with the Ping, but flatter and more powerful. The height of your shots with the j33R 460 is very related to just how high the ball is teed. Low screamers when teed low, and nice high, powerful drives teed up a little more. I was blown away with this club's accuracy. It just goes where I aim it. (Although I did shaft it a little shorter at 44.5" for a little more control too.) I don't intentially "work" the ball a lot, but this driver goes straighter for me than anything I've tried to this point. A small draw on command for me was not a problem. The sound and feel are a joy. Just work with a good clubfitter to get the right shaft and flex in this club and you'll love it. This has got to be the best value in drivers on the market. This is the benchmark that I will judge all drivers against this season. :stop: