Bridgestone Tour B RX Golf Ball
The new Bridgestone Tour B RX golf ball is the “distance and accuracy” option for “low-to-mid” handicap players, from the Tour B lineup. Looking to hit bombs while hitting more fairways? The Bridgestone Tour B RX golf ball might find its way into your bag this season.
How Does it Feel?
Now, normally when moving to a distance ball, you would typically think that you’re going to sacrifice a good amount of feel. That being said, with the Bridgestone Tour B RX, you don’t have to. It doesn’t have that rock-like firm distance-ball feel off of the driver, which is a big win for me. Irons feel crisp yet smooth, providing ample feedback off of the face. Wedges? A nice, medium “click” at impact. Off of the putter face? It feels close to perfect. Not too clicky or firm, yet not so soft that you don’t get any response. As far as feel is concerned, the Bridgestone Tour B RX was the “Goldilocks” for me – not too firm, not too soft, but just right.
Off the Tee
The Bridgestone Tour B RX touts “distance and accuracy,” and it delivers off the tee. I found myself to be a good few yards further than my typical gamer, which never hurts. We’re not talking exponential increases (unless you’re currently playing a ball that’s a terrible fit for you), but for those with mid-to-high swing speeds, there could be some nice gains. The accuracy is what was the big improvement for me. I tested this ball at the PGA West Stadium Course, which isn’t “wide open” by any means. However, I pleasantly found myself in more fairways than usual, or just off of it. For a course that tight, that’s a big win for someone as erratic with a driver as I am. Was it just a good driving day? Nope, because I played my gamer the front nine and sprayed it all over the place. Chalk up another plus for the Tour B RX.
On the Approach
As mentioned above, the Bridgestone Tour B RX has a happy medium feel between soft and firm with irons. I will admit, I didn’t see any noticeable distance gains from my irons. What I did notice was distance consistency, which is big for me. Consistency is the hardest part of golf, and knowing how far you your irons and being able to count on that number when it matters is key. Again, we can chalk that up to the “accuracy” trait.
In terms of holding greens, this ball isn’t going to necessarily hit and stop like a Tour-level spin ball, but then again, this ball isn’t designed to be a spin ball. I’m not a “Tour Spin” player as it is, so I didn’t expect this either. What I will say is I still didn’t have any problems holding greens. It’s not like it rolls out an extra twenty feet versus a spin ball, just a few more. For naturally high-spin players, I wouldn’t see this as an issue at all.
Around the Green
Coming into this review, around the greens is where I thought the Bridgestone Tour B RX would be the most challenging. Those expectations were quickly dismissed. Again, I already mentioned how much I liked the short game feel, but the performance went well too. I know, I just talked about how I wasn’t getting that “drop and stop” spin from my longer irons. My wedges just performed differently. I saw a tad bit more roll out versus a Tour-spin ball, but the amount of release/roll was predictable. This allowed me to maintain consistency and control around the greens.
Once I adjusted to the release, I got predictable results each time (barring my occasional blade across the green, amirite?). I had no problem checking the ball up on the greens, or stopping it on pitches. Off of the putter, again, this ball was just right for me. It had a close-to-perfect feel which is great for consistency.
Final Thoughts
Following my review of the Bridgestone Tour B RX, I’m officially calling myself a fan. I would definitely classify myself as a Low-Mid handicap (float between a 6 and 10) which the Tour B RX is designed for. Simply put, this ball just does it all for me. The feel is great, the performance is consistent, and I loved the results. I’ve tried to kick my gamer out of my bag many times in the past, yet ultimately keep coming back to it. I think the Tour B RX could be the ball to finally kick it out of the bag for good.
