TST 2015 Bridgestone Ball Testing: e5 and e6 Golf Balls

[Hardballs]

Nobody get the e7??? I'm thinking of giving it a whirl!

[mvmac]

I will when I get back around a pc, maybe today. There seems to be no mobile version of the page yet.

Thanks Mac, I'm planing on doing a more full review at that link, hopefully this weekend.

Great, thanks guys!

[Shindig]

There was a bit of a delay in me getting mine, but I've finally got my review in and posted. ----- I remember the first time I ever hit a Bridgestone ball on a golf course. It was 2007 and I had recently broken 100 for the first time. A friend alerted me that a driving range not too far from me was holding a “Bridgestone challenge” event: the company would set up a net at a driving range and invite people to hit a few drives with their machine watching -- first with whatever ball they were using, and second with whatever ball Bridgestone’s representative suggested, based on the machine’s observations (spin rate, club-head speed, etc). The representative told me I’d do better with a Bridgestone e6 -- I’d hit the ball ten yards further (finally reaching the elusive 200 yard drive I’d been yearning for -- I was not very athletic, to say the least) and would hit it more accurately (which to me, at the time, meant more fairways). I was doubtful, but they gave me a free sampler sleeve, so I thought I’d try it the next time I played. I hit more fairways that day -- I missed two, including a topped tee shot as a missed fairway -- and seemingly had a shorter club (by one) into many greens. It wasn’t a very scientific test on my part, but I was sold. The e6 was, and remains, a great ball for players who want their ball flight straightened. It remained my ball until I improved both my athleticism and swing speed and began using Bridgestone’s B-330 RX (and Nike’s similar ball). I currently swing better than I did in 2007. I hit a good portion of my range shots to a not-super-wide cone and struggle more with poor contact costing me distance than direction. That having been said, I’m very happy I put the new e6 into my bag. My first round with it, I hit every tee shot to where I was aiming -- this was a problem on one hole where I didn’t pay attention and lined up to the trees, but that’s hardly the ball’s fault. I hit six greens in regulation, along with what would have been a seventh if I had said “mulligan” instead of “provisional” after the aforementioned shot. One of those greens in regulation was my first time hitting a particular long par-4 from the blue tees on my home course. That hole is 435 yards, and this round I hit driver, 3-hybrid to the middle (distance-wise) of the green. I say this not to brag, but to point out that the incredibly straight ball flight didn’t come at the expense of distance. I’m also very happy with how it behaved on short game shots. The ball checked up quickly on my partial wedge shots, and I even managed to spin a shot out of the sand. I recently put new wedges into my bag, and I’m unsure which was the cause of this, but it probably wasn’t the guy swinging the club to the ball. When I left the e6, one thing I really missed was how the ball felt against the putter. I don’t mean this in the sense of getting a feel for speed on the green, or a “feel” wedge shot, but literally what the sensation of hitting the ball with my putter -- any putter, I have several different types -- was. I’m extremely pleased to experience that again. This excellent quality has been retained by the engineers at Bridgestone. This ball is also available in yellow and orange, if you prefer these. I love this feature for several reasons: first, it allows yet another way to distinguish your ball from another, especially if your playing partners aren’t keen on sharpies. It also allows it to stand out against the background. There are two holes on my home course where range balls sometimes litter one side or the other, and players end up with plenty of lost balls just because they have to sort through a few dozen candidates for which the ball actually is. This problem is somewhat obviated if one uses a ball that is a different color than our range uses.

[stealthhwk]

I entered my launch monitor data into Bridgestone’s online golf ball fitting tool and the ball they recommended to me most highly was their e5 model. A close second to the e5 was the e6, but I went with the e5 both because of the recommendation and because I was most excited to try it out. Taking the e5 out of its holographic green packaging, I was immediately struck by extreme whiteness of the ball. Usually, balls with urethane covers tend to have a somewhat off-white patina, but the e5 struck me as having a bright white color that is more typical of Surlyn covers. The cover itself seemed somewhat firmer than other urethane covers I’d felt. After a quick check of Bridgestone’s website to see if they’d switched away from urethane covers for this year’s model (they had not), I decided to put it through its paces. I typically play a ProV1x ball, but this being very early in the season, I would normally be playing an NXT Tour while I work out the kinks, but I decided to do a comparison between the ProV1x and the e5, as they seemed more comparable in my mind, with both being urethane balls. This was an error. On full shots, the balls were not very different. They both launched fairly high and had high ball flights on full swings, without ballooning. The yardage differences between the two weren’t significant. I’d say that the e5 felt like it was more likely to stay straight off the tee, but it’s hard to say whether it’s the archer or the arrow on that without a bigger sample size. Hitting into greens, the ProV1x definitely had more spin, but the e5 wasn’t exactly bounding off and over the greens. The e5 was very respectable. The reason I say that playing the two side by side was an error was because they perform so differently on touch shots, with chipping and pitching. Taking them off to the side later for dedicated chipping, it’s really hard to switch back and forth between the two. They come off the club really differently, especially on soft shots where I used a lot of loft. The ProV1x comes off fairly low and with a lot of spin. The e5 comes off of the clubface much higher and I feel like it stops itself more with trajectory than with spin. In this respect, the e5 performed more in line with Surlyn-covered balls than with its urethane-covered brethren. It’s not really an issue as long as you expect it and play for it. Switching between the two during play was a dicey proposition because you’d expect it to come off softly and instead it jumps off the face. One thing about the e5 that I found simultaneously interesting and confusing was just how soft it felt. While the cover isn’t the softest urethane cover out there, the core feels really soft. I don’t know the compression numbers on it, but it makes the ProV1x feel like a rock by comparison. The e5’s sound is very dull and muted. Not quite at the ridiculous levels of the Callaway Super Soft, but it’s definitely a soft feel. The ProV1x seems clicky, hard, and a bit dead when you hit them back to back. But that’s something of an issue, too. While it feels soft and buttery, the e5’s feel doesn’t match how hot it comes off of the clubface in chipping, so I often felt a disconnect with what I felt and what I saw. I felt a smooth nip on the ball, but saw it jump on me, going a bit higher and farther than I’d expect. Overall distance would be OK because it stopped pretty quickly due to its trajectory and grippy cover, but it didn’t instill me with confidence. I wasn’t getting the shot I was picturing. Part of this disconnect was on me and my expectations: I thought it’d perform like a poor man’s version of the high end urethane balls, something akin to Taylormade’s Project (a) balls. Instead, it performed more like a rich man’s version of the Surlyn-covered balls, which, in fairness, seems to be what the e series is going for. So, to clear up the contradictions of the past two paragraphs: I find the e5 to feel and sound very soft and quiet, but I find the reality to be that it is actually quite springy and hot. That disconnect between the feedback you feel and the visual result you see meant it took a lot of reps before I felt comfortable with chipping this ball. For putting, I thought it felt tremendous. Its softness was a real asset for putting and I didn’t have any real issues with distance control. I play an Odyssey putter with a very soft insert, so that may have been a reason why the hotness the ball showed during chipping didn’t cause any issues in putting, but overall it felt great. If I could nitpick, I’d say the e5’s new alignment logo is not great. Previous year’s models had a subtle red arrow and small e5 lettering. This year’s ball has thick bold font, seemingly bigger than before, and a thick black arrow. I actually wound up using the front of the ball, where the long thin “Bridgestone” lettering was much more in line with my taste. But, despite how many words I wasted on it, it’s a nitpick; the ball really is wonderful in putting. Overall, despite how I may have sounded at time, I do actually like the e5 a great deal. While my expectations were off, it impressed me in many ways. I think it’s a very respectable ball and, depending on what ball you’re switching from, I think it’s definitely one you will enjoy playing. At its $28.99 MSRP, it has few equals in terms of performance. In an absolute sense, while it may not have everything you’d like in a golf ball, I would in no way call it a compromise golf ball. It’s a solid option with impressive performance. Many thanks to The Sand Trap and to Bridgestone Golf for the opportunity to review this great ball.

My mind is blown! I am not worthy to give advice on this forum. I am outclassed and out knowledged. This was the absolute most indepth hardcore golf ball review i have ever seen. ( again, maybe cus im new around here) but freakin WOW!!!

[dkolo]

My mind is blown! I am not worthy to give advice on this forum. I am outclassed and out knowledged. This was the absolute most indepth hardcore golf ball review i have ever seen. ( again, maybe cus im new around here) but freakin WOW!!!

Dom's Sticks:

Callaway X-24 10.5° Driver, Callaway Big Bertha 15° wood, Callaway XR 19° hybrid, Callaway X-24 24° hybrid, Callaway X-24 5i-9i, PING Glide PW 47°/12°, Cleveland REG 588 52°/08°, Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind 56°/13°, 60°/10°, Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter w/SuperStroke Slim 3.0 grip, Callaway Chev Stand Bag, Titleist Pro-V1x ball