dufferdavid

Been trying all the bridgestone offerings lately...rx, rxs, e6, and e5. My driver speed is 93 and have a low launch type trajectory. For all of these balls I got pretty good spin on wedges through eight iron. Going beyond that I started get a diference with more spin on both the e5 and rxs. By the time I got to the driver there was no comparison. I couldn't get enough spin on the rx and e6 to get good carry. The rxs and e5 would give me almost 20 yards more distance on the driver and were similarly easier to get in the air with my 4-wood. I liked the rx very much until I got into the longer clubs. The e6 performed very well on my wedges and short irons with nice spin. I have to say the e6 felt very soft and sounded very muted which I didn't care for. To me the e6 would make a good cold weather ball for a person who swings harder than I do or has a naturally high ball flight. It also told me the balls designed for low spin were not right for me throughout my set. It then came down to the rxs and e5. I liked both a great deal off the driver getting consistent 250 carry with both with good swings. I would say I got slightly more height with the rxs and it seemed slightly more forgiving. I couldn't hit much in the way of anything crooked but consistent slight draws...while I seemed to get more right to left turn on the e5. With the six-iron I was still hitting almost identical distances and trajectories. And finally with the shorter irons there was more difference in the variations of my swing and contact that I couldn't say one stood out. The difference is price and the e5 had a little harder feel at impact. I couldn't tell any real difference in performance, but clearly liked the feel of the rxs the best. Ironically, the bridgestone online ball selector program didn't recommend either of these as the top choice for me. I entered exact stats from sessions on a monitor for three different balls, and four times I entered my statistics exactly the same just starting with a different ball that I use on a regular basis. Moral of the story, get a sleeve of each of them and go hit them...everybody is different and has different preferences.

I have a driver speed in mid-90s and played stiff shafts for years. Always struggled getting higher ball flight. Was fitted for new clubs and recommended to play regular shafts. Got over the bruised ego of my buddies playing stiff or x-stiff shafts and now hit the ball much straighter and more consistent distances. Best move I ever made. Distance control on my irons improved dramatically and didn't lose any driver distance. I did opt for a lower torque tour version driver shaft in my Ping G20 which I think makes a difference in how a shaft feels.

Driver speed of 93, regular flex shafts...yardage is what I play as carry distance. 58 90 yds 52 108 W 120 9I 132 8I 145 7I 157 6I 170 4H 185 3H 200 4W 215 D 240

I put a regular flex Diamana Ahina in my R11S and performed much better for me than the stock venom shaft. I haven't found anything that feels better to me or gets me a better ball flight. My driver speed is 93 with a low-to-mid trajectory and getting driver carry of 240-250 range.

I have a Datrel lightweight stand bag and like it very much...not sure the model. Very light with good divider system. The handle is very handy for handling the bag. Its been very durable. No problems at all. Adequate storage for my needs and works well in a pull cart or on the back of a golf cart. Best of all it was far less expensive than others I was looking at.

I've settled it seems on the Bridgestone RXS and/or the E5. I do believe it makes a difference to get a ball designed for my lower swing speed (93 driver) and higher spin. Seems like all manufacturers are going to market that way at least for another year or so until the next big marketing ploy, so shouldn't have any problem finding a ball that fits that description. I do wish they would leave them alone...we really don't need any better golf balls. Changes make good reading on the blogs though, so gives us something meaningless to make a fuss over.

All golfers chase the latest, greatest trend to some extent...just depends on the subject. To me you know what your getting with the proV's and seems like other companies just don't market as well to build brand loyalty. They are certainly good balls but to me I like showing up on league night with my E5 bridgestone and outplaying 3 other proV's in my group. Best years of golf for me with the lowest handicap was when playing a maxfli noodle, so definitely don't need to spend money to play better. I do it on clubs though, so like I said, seems like we all have our weakness.

I've tried the RX, RXS, E6, and E5. Driver speed of about 93 and fairly low launch hitter. I liked the RX up until I got to my long irons and woods. Then didn't get enough spin to keep the ball airborne and carry distance suffered. The RXS was a much better fit, much more forgiving for me. Spin was about the same on the shorter irons however. In comparing them to the E6 and E5...the E6 was also one I had a hard time getting good carry on my woods, but very soft feel on the irons and putting. The E5 honestly provided about the same kinds of distances and trajectory as the RXS but felt slightly harder. While the E5 is less expensive and performed pretty much the same, I did like the feel of the RXS. I think I could play either the E5 of RXS and never tell a difference in how I played. I would say if you swing faster than I do, or have a naturally higher ball flight you would probably prefer the RX, but for me the RXS was definitely the better match.

As I got older I stopped trying to hit every club the maximum distance I could and just started working on a consistent swing. I watch my son hit a golf ball and he is hitting it farther than I did at his age...and he is still in the mode of hitting every club as far as he can. It seems like you can swing harder with today's clubs because they are more forgiving but its still a matter of generating club head speed. I have spent a lot of time hitting on a monitor and learning about how to effect launch and spin and impact on choices of shafts and golf balls. If used properly I think you can make sure you get fitted with the proper equipment a lot better today.

We play a game called captains that is similar to the pig and wolf game. A rotation is set for each hole to have a captain. After everyone drives that can either elect to go on their own against everyone else or pick a partner for the hole. Its then just team best ball for the hole. We just add up points or holes one by person and usually play for a 50 cents a point. No one usually ever loses more than a couple dollars. It plays best with a group of five if your course allows that so its always 2 vs 3. We make people pick up when they are out of the hole so we keep up the pace. It works good for a group with a lot of differing levels of play since you end up playing as teams and you always have at least three shots as picking a partner with the best drive.

Worst mistake I see is new golfers starting to play or learning to play from coworkers or friends. I always see guys getting clubs with too stiff of shafts as kind of a macho thing, that's what their friends use, or the idea the good golfers use stiffer shafts. I do think its important to get a set that has consistency to it rather than a mixture of clubs. A golf pro could quickly tell you if you have a swing that would warrant anything other than a regular flex shaft.