When golf talk turns to golf balls, Bridgestone is somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to what’s in play and brand awareness, and that’s a shame.
Bridgestone is the largest manufacturer of rubber products in the world. They started making golf balls in 1935 and have 900 engineers worldwide working on rubber polymer science. When the first fully synthetic golf balls were produced, Bridgestone was one of the first to make one that garnered acceptance on the world’s professional tours. When Nike Golf put its first golf ball on sale, few knew that it was designed and produced for them by Bridgestone.
Bridgestone came full circle in one sense when Tiger Woods, orphaned when Nike Golf stopped all production of golf equipment, signed with Bridgestone to put the new B330S golf ball in play for the foreseeable future. It’s a good choice for Tiger and an equally good choice for the rest of us.
Bridgestone’s high-performance golf balls can be broken down thusly: The B330 and B330S are engineered for golfers with swing speeds over 105 mph and the B330RX and B330RXS are engineered for golfers with swing speeds below 105 mph. The S variants are identical to their non-S siblings, except for a softer cover for golfers who prefer a softer feel at impact.
Both these golf balls have been around for a while, but that’s not to say Bridgestone hasn’t moved forward with these balls. Both the Tour 330S and are completely different from their predecessors in more ways than one.
Where the S differs from the RXS is the core of the golf ball. The Tour Core in the B330S is 6 percent larger than the previous iteration, which boosts distance. The outer portion of the core is firmer to withstand elevated clubhead speeds, while the interior of the core is 7 percent softer. Other golf balls achieve this trick with a two-piece core; Bridgestone accomplishes this with just one. Paired with the new SlipRes cover, the center reduces driver spin by 3 percent, while the outer area makes the ball faster.
The new core in the RX family is 28 percent softer than the Tour B330, so its target audience can compress it. Plus, the center of the core is 20 percent softer than in previous RXs, while the firmer area along the outer edges is harder. Company testing shows players get more ball speed and launch shots higher, with 3 percent less driver spin than before. Combining Bridgestone’s softest urethane cover ever with a tacky coating adds short-game spin.
The SlipRes cover used in both Tour B330 families is, perhaps, the biggest story and the most compelling reason to put one of these golf balls in your bag. The newly formulated SlipRes Cover is the highest-performing cover Bridgestone has ever produced on a golf ball. It has the highest friction coefficient rating possible, to achieve the impossible: maximum greenside spin without losing any spin from the rough and reduced spin off the driver for longer distance. SlipRes also delivers a self-repairing cover for longer playability.
I got a box each of the Tour B330S and the Tour B330RXS. These variants have been my go-to’s in years past as I prefer a ball that spins more coming into the green and feels soft off the putter and with my wedges around the green. My swing speed hovers right about 105 mph with the driver, which means I sit right on the cutoff between the two families.
I want to say right off the bat that the SlipRes cover is amazing. After 18 holes with either ball, you could put the ball back in the box and you’d be hard-pressed to tell it from the unused ones the next time you play. Both balls feel soft at impact but the RXS is perceptibly softer. I prefer the RXS on the greens but love the slightly heavier feel of the B330S from tee to green. I weighed both golf balls on my kitchen scale and they weigh exactly the same (45.20 grams) so the “heavier” feel is a function of the larger, firmer core. I got more distance with the B330S off the driver (most likely because it spun less for me) but I would recommend the B330RXS for 75 percent of golfers out there.
Bridgestone has raised the bar for tour performance golf balls, particularly if you don’t have Tour level swing speed. And if you don’t lose it, you could conceivably use just one of these balls for 36 holes or more. Bridgestone seems to have done the impossible with the new Tour B330 family of golf balls by giving us enhanced playability with possibly the most durable cover ever put on a golf ball.
Looks like I’ve found a new gamer.