Archive for September, 2011

Bridgestone Tour B330 RXS Golf Ball Review

  • September 28, 2011, 12:12 pm
  • admin
  • In Golf Balls

Golf Product Review: Bridgestone Tour B330 RXS Golf Ball Review

Bridgestone has been quietly jumping up the ladder as far as the golf ball market is concerned.  One of the areas in which they have strived to match their competition in is tour-level golf balls, known as the Tour B330 line.  The first two balls that Bridgestone came out with, the Tour B330 and B330S, were a huge success and are currently used by PGA Tour players such as Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, and Davis Love III.  Since then Bridgestone has come out with a new type of golf ball, one that provides tour level performance for amateur players, known as the RX line.  The RX line includes the B330 RX, which is more geared for players looking for distance, and the B330 RXS, which is geared for players looking for more short iron spin.  I decided to give the Bridgestone B330 RXS golf ball a try to see if it can really provide tour performance for amateur golfers (those with swing speeds less than 105 miles per hour).

Positives

Even through the B330 RX is supposed to offer more distance as opposed to the RXS, I found the RXS to have great distance both off the tee and in the fairway.  The distance was certainly comparable to that of a Pro V1 or a Callaway Tour golf ball.  On average I was getting about 3 to five yards extra distance on both my iron and wood shots, which is certainly surprising to find in a golf ball.  If anything it proves that in order to increase distance one of the first things to try out is better golf equipment such as new clubs or balls such as the B330 RXS.

When it came to the short game, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out how well it performed.  There wasn’t very much backspin on say 75 yard pitch shots, but how many amateur golfers are really looking for that to happen when hitting a pitch shot from that distance?  In either case, the ball did stop quickly whenever I wanted it to, not only on pitch shots but also when it came to chipping.  Whenever I needed to hit a bump and run chip the ball would always check up.  The Bridgestone B330 RXS golf ball also feels great when putting.  There is a very useful putting alignment on it that makes it easier to line up putts where you want them to go.

Negatives

As far as negatives, the only major one that I found came in regards to shots into the green using mid to high irons.  The golf ball just would not stay on the green no matter what I tried; it would hit the green and then just keep rolling.  How can a supposed tour-level performance golf ball not provide decent spin for mid and long iron shots?  Also, I found it a bit harder to shape shots with as opposed to similar balls such as the Pro V1.  The ball is fine if trying to hit low or high shots, but it seemed to exaggerate fades and draws, making them instead slices and hooks.

Overall

Overall it is a very solid golf ball for amateurs looking for a high performance golf ball.  It provides distance comparable to any other golf ball on the market today and could even add a few extra yards to your iron and wood shots.  It is also great for the short game as well, but one should be a little cautious when it comes to mid to long irons shots when hitting into the green.

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Cleveland Launcher Fairway Woods Reviews

  • September 20, 2011, 12:12 am
  • admin
  • In Golf Clubs

Cleveland Launcher Fairway Woods

After hearing rave reviews from my golf buddies about the Cleveland Launcher fairway woods, I decided to give them a try out on the golf course for a few rounds to see how they fared. What supposedly makes these woods exceptional is the steel face, which is both thin and lightweight. They have pear shaped clubheads, which is traditional in nature and shouldn’t throw anyone off. The first thing that I noticed about the fairways woods was their appearance, in that the golf shaft compliments the steel head very well; it is certainly not something that one usually sees when it comes to fairway woods.

Positives

When playing out at my local golf course a few times the first positive that I noticed right away with the clubs was their distance. They were very long both off the tee and in the fairway. They certainly inspire confidence when playing with them during the course of a round. This can be especially important when it comes to golf holes that have tight fairways to deal with. Instead of taking out the driver and risking it going into the trees, one can be assured that they will still get great distance off the tee by going with a Cleveland Launcher fairway wood. The same applies to par 5s as well. I am usually very hesitant in trying to go for par 5s in two when I can reach them because if I am only a little bit off it can result in a pitch from an awkward distance, thus reducing my chance at getting birdie. With these fairway woods I just grip it and rip it, and the club does the rest by giving me the distance I need.

Another great feature that I found when using Cleveland Launcher fairway woods was how easy it was to shape shots with. There are a couple of holes at my local golf course that require a hook because it is a dogleg left hole, and I like many others struggle to get the ball to go left. With this club it was much easier to turn the clubhead over and get the right to left action on the golf ball. The ball flight with these fairway woods was tremendous to say the least.

Negatives

There were two negatives that I found when using the Cleveland Launcher fairway woods. The first came in regards to its forgiveness. Whenever I hit off center shots with the woods they were severely off in both distance and accuracy. It may be a different case for others, but I just could not get much forgiveness out of these golf clubs. Also, these fairway woods did not perform very well for me out of bad lies, especially from the rough. The clubs just never seemed to glide through the grass like others could, and it resulted in a lot of distance lost. I also found that I couldn’t get very good distance out of fairway bunker shots when compared with other fairway woods in a similar price range.

Overall

My overall opinion of the Cleveland Launcher fairway woods is that they are some great clubs for those looking to add distance to this specific part of their game. The clubs can certainly inspire confidence both on the tee box and in the fairway. However, they certainly are not the best when it comes to forgiveness and out of bad lies. If you are willing to overlook these two flaws then I would highly recommend getting these fairway woods.

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