Is This Really The #BestBallEver?

Way back when, a # was what you played tic-tac-toe on. Touch-tone phones made it a pound sign, and today it’s the omnipresent #hashtag.

Everything has a #hashtag, especially in golf. Bridgestone’s been teasing us for weeks with #BestBallEver, prepping us for the 2016 B330 series.

Is this really the #BestBallEver, or just the #BestBallThisWeek? Let’s take a look under the hood and find out.

Bridgestone Knows Rubber

Bridgestone is a big company. I mean really big.

The company name is a translation of founder Shojiri Ishibashi’s last name (Ishi = stone, bashi = bridge, if you’re ever on Jeopardy). Bridgestone is the world’s largest tire manufacturer and, obviously, the #1 maker of rubber stuff on the planet.

Bridgestone started making golf balls in 1935.

“Golf ball rubber isn’t all that different from tire rubber,” says Corey Consuegra, Bridgestone Golf’s Senior Director of Marketing. “We have 900 engineers worldwide working on rubber polymer science.”

Bridgestone owns the Japanese ball market, but here they’re a distant third.

Ball Fitting = R&D Tool

Bridgestone introduced ball fitting in 2007, and they say it gives them a good handle on your golf game.

“We’ve completed more than 300,000 in-person ball fittings using launch monitors,” says Adam Rehberg, an R&D engineer for Bridgestone before becoming Golf Ball Marketing Director. “We’ve done over a million more online, so we have a pretty complete database of what different golfers need.”

Bridgestone uses all that fitting data as an R&D tool. 300,000 fittings later, they’ve found you can split Tour-level ball players into two categories: those who have swing speeds above 105 MPH, and those who don’t.

Then they double-down, splitting those groups again: those who need more spin and those who don’t.

Bridgestone’s B330 nomenclature is unchanged – B330/330S for the +105’s, 330 RX/RXS for the -105’s.

So, for your #BestBallEver, are you #JeffGordonClone or #DrivingMissDaisy?

The Core of the Matter

Bridgestone’s big B330 tech story is in the core: AMATOURcore for sub-105, and TOURcore for +105.

“The AMATOURcore makes the RX and RXS the first Tour-level ball for amateurs,” says Rehberg (Project (a) isn’t technically a Tour-level ball). “It’s a softer core – 28% softer than the 330 and 330s.”

I can tell you that difference is noticeable,

Bridgestone says the softer core does what you’d think: increase ball speed, lower driver spin and increase carry. Bridgestone says the RX series beats Chrome Soft by 3 yards and ProV1 by 2 yards. Chump change? Maybe, but at least it’s a believable number. Bridgestone adds the 2016 versions carry 5-to-8 yards longer than the 2014 models.

Bridgestone says the B330/330S TourCore is 6% larger than previous models, which they say improves full shot feel and sound. TourCore also has something cooked up by all those rubber polymer engineers, called Gradient Slope Technology.

While this is kinda cool, it’s unclear why one less layer is good for you. Bridgestone says the 330 beats ProV1/1X by 3-to-5 yards, while the 330S is 1.4 yards longer. The difference may not be #hashtagworthy, but #itissomething.

What is clear: the new balls have noticeably more carry and overall distance than the 2014’s.

Spin Doctors

As we told you last week, Bridgestone is all-in on friction to keep the ball from “sliding” on the club face. To that end, meet the SlipRes cover.

Interesting concept, and Bridgestone is good at providing specifics on its technology. They told us last week their drivers’ milled faces reduce spin up to 300 rpm. Apparently SlipRes cuts it another 10.

SpinRes cuts spin even more on low lofted irons. Closer to the green it does what a Tour-ball should.

“It gives you an injection of greenside spin,” says Rehberg. “Increased friction makes the ball more stable on the club face. That’s more spin on short shots and the reverse effect off the tee. Lower lofts and increased friction makes the ball spin less.”

Getting enough – or really any – spin out of the rough is always a challenge. Bridgestone says SlipRes gives you 36% more “spin retention” than ProV1 from the rough.

A Self-Repairing Cover?

Premium golf balls aren’t cheap, and it sucks when they get scuffed or roughed up on their first front 9. Bridgestone wants you to know they feel your pain, and SlipRes might help you feel better.

“The new coating is 27% softer than the 2014 version,” says Rehberg. “The softer cover is more ductile and actually bends before it breaks. It’s really ‘self-reparing.”

Rehberg says the pictures on the right compare the 2014 and 2016 balls after a 2 hour sand abrasion test. He says the new cover plus a new dye mixture make the ball more durable.

#BestBallEver?

So is the the #BestBallEver? As a sub-105 swinger, I can say the RX/RXS feel sufficiently soft (especially compared to previous versions), and distance is certainly equal to other Tour-level balls.

The SlipRes cover’s out-of-the-rough spin retention is one of those rare occasions when marketing hype and real-world performance actually match up. Instead of rolling, rolling, rolling, these things damn near stick.

Sampling the other side of the buffet, I tried the B330 for a round. It’s noticeably firmer off the driver, but distance is still pretty impressive. A 114 mph swing speed playing partner (and avowed ProV1 fanboy) gamed the B330S for a round. He loved it off the tee, but found it less responsive around the green and a tad harsher off the putter than he’s used to.

Another marketing/performance hookup? After 18 holes the balls still looked clean and ready for another round.

#BestBallEver? The new 330’s do address some of the perceived shortcomings of past Bridgestone offerings, specifically feel, sound and spin, so you can say it’s #Bridgestone’sBestBallEver.  Awkward hashtag aside, it’s a pretty good ball and worthy of consideration.

Brand Shifting

In the big picture, you’ll see the Bridgestone brand evolving in 2016. Bridgestone corporate is a major sponsor of the Rio Olympics, and right around that time you’ll see Bridgestone Golf transitioning from the company that’s #1 in Ball Fitting to the #1 Ball Expert. Their goal is to serve as your technical consultant on all things ball related.

Corporate pulled the plug on Bridgestone Golf in the UK late last year. Bridgestone is #3 in balls here, so they’re not going away, but the powers that be in Japan can’t be happy that the planet’s #1 rubber manufacturer is a distant third in North America.

The 2016 B330 RX and RXS will retail at $40/dozen, while the B330 and 330S will retail at $45/dozen, putting both on the lower end of the price spectrum for Tour-level balls. They’ll be available March 4^th.