Bridgestone-4 new models for fall

Corey Consuegra, Golf Club Marketing Manager, Bridgestone Golf, Inc. is a man on a mission. He wants to make his company’s golf clubs as well known and well regarded as their line of golf balls which have made immense market share gains in the past three years.

This fall Consuegra is talking about two new irons – the J40 Forged Dual Pocket Cavity and J40 Forged Cavity Back and two new drivers – the J40 445 and J40 430.

J40 Forged Irons

Starting back in 2007 with J33s Bridgestone has kept forged irons in their lineup offering better players precision and feel with clean top lines and compact blades. The J40 Forged Dual Pocket Cavity is an update of 2010’s J38 model, with a midsize head, mid- to high-launch, more weight on the perimeter and more leading edge relief for crisper shots in soft turf. The J40 Forged Cavity Backs have both a good look and clean traditional design with a compact head and slightly more face progression for a mid-height launch. There is a tapered sole designed to aid shot makers and more relief on the trailing edge to give better performance out of the rough.

“The J40 irons deliver on everything iron enthusiasts have anticipated from our new launch and continue what has been loved about our product from the J33 series onward,” said Consuegra. “With the J40s, we now offer even better performance and cleaner aesthetics. The J40 series truly reaffirms that Bridgestone is the brand of choice for premium iron enthusiasts.”

Both J40s are forged from 1020 mild carbon steel have Project X flighted shafts as standard. Sets consisting of 5-pw have a street price of $699 (MSRP $799) and a 3-iron or and 4-iron will be available at $115 each.

J40 Drivers

To produce the longest drives a ball’s spin must be controlled. Too little and it knuckles out of the air and too much, it balloons. Both kill distance and accuracy so Bridgestone is billing the new J40 model drivers as a way to optimize ball spin, i.e., reducing spin to produce longer drives without going too far and producing too little spin.

“The J40 Driver and fairway woods maintain Bridgestone’s focus on producing low spinning and high launching heads to maximize distance,” said Consuegra. “In the J40 445 construction, we’ve made forgiveness the most important aspect of the driver design and with the J40 430 we focused our efforts on workability and control. We now have high launch low spin offerings for two very different types of players, both of whom value increased distance and consistency.”

The J40 445 has a 445 cc round clubhead shape designed for stability with a short hosel for control combined with a deep face for increasing vertical gear effect. The 6-4 titanium, 4-piece head meant Bridgestone could move discretionary weight for increased MOI and less twisting at impact and the Variable Face Thickness Design puts mass from the center of on the face towards the heel and toe for more ball speed on off-center hits.

The J40 430 design promotes a low to mid-launch with very low spin with a traditional 430 cc pear shape head, a longer hosel for workability and deep face to reduce spin. It is constructed from the same 6-4 titanium in 4-pieces with modified weight distribution for miss hit forgiveness and Bridgestone’s Variable Face Thickness Design.

The J40 445 Driver will be available in 9.5, 10.5 and 12 lofts and the J40 430 Driver in 8.5 and 9.5 degrees. Both come standard with a Project X Graphite shaft. The J40 445 will be in shops in October with a street price of $399 (MSRP $449) and the J40 430 Driver in January 2012, no price has been set at this writing. The complementary J40 fairway woods will also be out in October in 14 (3+), 16 (4), and 18 (5) lofts at a street price of $199 (MSRP $249).

About Ed Travis

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