Let me preface this by saying that by no means am I a “gear freak” or know about all of the ins and outs of golf ball manufacturing and technology. But I know enough to feel the difference between a Pinnacle and an NXT, and I’d even go as far to say that I can tell a difference between an NXT Tour and a ProV1.
Lately my ball of choice was whatever I could get my hands on that came free from tournament goody bags that I played in, or even my day job’s “company store” where we had golf balls with our logo on them. I was able to talk the person who did the purchasing for those to upgrade from hard as rocks Pinnacles to NXT Tour’s. And of course being the only golfer in the Marketing department, I’d need to sample them. When I did have to buy balls, I always opted for NXT Tours. The “poor mans ProV1″. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $45 on a dozen balls that depending on where my game was at that point, could be gone in a few weeks!
I had been hearing good things about Bridgestone golf balls and their fitting process. From chattering with some of my fellow Tweeps, I came to the conclusion that the Bridgestone B330S ball would be a good fit for me, and I had heard spectacular things about it. Then I saw Matt Kuchar’s ball roll right up next to the flag on the first playoff hole of The Barclays, and I was sold. Ok, just kidding on that last one.
I have been working through some of my freebie balls and hadn’t pulled the trigger on the Bridgestone’s until I played in yet again, another tournament, and my team came in 2nd place awarding us with some nice pro shop credit. After perusing the shirts, jackets, and all the other gear of which I need none, I decided to just pick up a dozen B330′s. I’ve been excited to put them in play since last week and yesterday I got the chance.
I was thoroughly impressed by the ball. I had heard it was long, but I certainly saw it for myself. I felt I was getting a good extra 10 yards on my tee ball. It produced minimal driver spin which helped keep my ball in the short grass. What I noticed most was the amount of greenside spin it produced, especially after playing with NXT Tour’s for so long. As an example, I hit a 4-iron on a slightly downhill 205 yard par 3 and put the ball on a line to the center of the green. It ended up being a touch on the long side and I was shocked to see my ball mark about 2 feet from the back fringe and my ball sitting just on the fringe. NEVER have I been able to stop a 4-iron on a dime like that before! There were times where I was the victim of producing too much spin with the ball though too. With an 8-iron approach shot, slightly in to the wind I carried the ball to the back pin placement but the ball spun back and down the small 2-tier slope and came back more than 40 feet almost off the green (but I was ok with it, since I drained the 45 footer… see it even putts well!).
Around the greens chipping/pitching, and out of the sand I felt confident knowing the ball would check where and when I needed it to. It bailed me out a few times with some scrambling pars throughout the day as well.
Overall I loved the ball and am excited to put it in play again on my next round. I will even part with my cheapskate ways and won’t even hesitate dropping the $42 on my next dozen.
About Jeff Palopoli
Web marketer, father, husband, and golf blogger continually searching for the golf game I used to have.
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