Bridgestone J15 Hybrid Review

Bridgestone ups the ante in the hybrid game.

Bridgestone J15HY HeroWhen I say “Bridgestone” to you, hybrids probably aren’t what come to mind right away. You’d think of golf balls, tires, Brandt Snedeker, the annual WGC event, and maybe even their forged irons. Hybrids would probably be well down the list.

Bridgestone has spent more than a decade trying to change that, but I’m not sure they’ve actually made much headway. They’re a little like Mizuno: hyper-specialized, but with the ability to occasionally surprise you when you don’t expect it. I played a Mizuno MX-700 hybrid for several years, and never thought twice about how strange that was because that club played go great.

The Bridgestone J15 is a lot like MX-700. No one is going to be beating any doors down to get their hands on a J15 hybrid, but the few who do are going to come away glad they did.

Ping G Fairway Wood Review

Ping makes their case as the industry’s best clubmaker.

PING 2016 G Series HeroAt last year’s TST Newport Cup, the guys and I got to tour PING’s facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’d never owned a PING club, but I was excited all the same. PING is known for being an engineering leader among OEMs, and their U.S. base of operations makes them a particularly intriguing company. Though they no longer cast and manufacture many clubs in America, they still have quite the impressive setup.

It wasn’t long before I knew I had to try the next PING product that came our way, if only to reap the benefits in real life of everything we got to see on the shop tour. So when the PING G series woods came up for review, I jumped at it.

Though they don’t have the splashiness of drivers or the utility of hybrids, fairway woods have been hot lately. TaylorMade used them to drive their marketing for several years, and recently PING has picked up the same mantle. The G series, now numberless, may be the most heralded set of fairway woods on the market right now.

Do they live up to the hype? Let’s take a look.

Top Golf Stories from 2016

The biggest news in golf from 2016.

As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest storylines in golf over the past twelve months. The game lost one of its idols in Arnold Palmer, but potentially regained another with Tiger’s return to golf. The U.S. re-captured the Ryder Cup and Dustin Johnson captured a major for the first time, but Europeans won the Masters and British Open. Golf even managed a return to the Olympics, though mosquitoes kept many of the game’s best away.

If you are interested in placing bets on golf, click here for the latest golf odds. You could even use this for our own Fantasy league here on TST.

Mizuno JPX-EZ Driver Review

When you name a club “EZ,” certain expectations are set. Can a company known for its forged irons deliver with a game improvement driver?

The Mizuno JPX-EZ promises forgiveness and low spin in a driver.Mizuno has long been known as being among the top, maybe even the, top brand for forged irons. In the last 10-15 years, Mizuno has expanded its iron line to include options for every skill level and playing style. For right or wrong, however, its metal woods options have almost always trailed the industry leaders in terms of public perception for their playability and technology.

Mizuno’s JPX-850 was a very solid driver. But it was distinctly geared to the “better” player, with too little spin to keep the ball in the air at lower swing speeds. The JPZ-EZ is a forgiving “game improvement” driver, but also promises lower spin.

With a name like EZ, you can bet this one is aimed at Joe Everyman Golfer. So, does it deliver on that game improvement promise? Read on to find out.

Volume Four Hundred Ninety-Three

Tiger returns, Matsuyama wins, and Derek Jeter struggles.

Hittin the Links Hittin’ the Links is back! After a bit of a hiatus, (hey, at least it was shorter than Tiger’s) we’re back to recap the week that was in the game of golf.

It was a rather eventful one, as a 14-time major championship winner returned to the PGA Tour (kind of), a young up-and-comer got back into the winner’s circle, and the prospective 2018 European Ryder Cup captain gets leaked. We also check in with Retief Goosen, Tony Finau, and Derek Jeter.

Let’s hit the links!