When Bridgestone launched its Tour B line of golf balls, it was based around getting the golfer fit for the right ball. There are four versions within the line that all share common technology, something that Bridgestone refers to as their reactive X system, but each serves a different purpose for the golfer.
It’s based on contact science and optimizing the moment of impact for the unique needs of each shot. Bridgestone realized that each golfer would also have unique needs based on their game and went out to design an entire line that would help optimize those specific desires.
“It’s really been our driving force at R&D now for well over five years at this point. And contact science, it started with the material that we called reactive cover that came out on the 2020 golf ball,” Bridgestone golf ball marketing manager Elliott Mellow said. “What the reactive cover did, it was a urethane cover that had two additives added to the cover, what we call impact modifiers. The impact modifiers allow the cover of the golf ball to do is get fast and firm when struck with a violent impact, like a driver, and then be soft on slower impact, like with a wedge.”
The reactive cover has been advanced over the years and Bridgestone has essentially fine-tuned the modifiers with the latest version of its Tour B line. Bridgestone now has a reactive IQ cover with smart cover technology that delivers the performance that Bridgestone was trying to achieve. It’s a unique blend of urethan to impact modifiers that gives the ball its more precise outcomes.
“We’ve also added in what we refer to as an accelerant mid-layer. The mid-layer, or the mantle layer of the golf ball, it’s a firmer material than what we had ever used traditionally,” Mellow said. “And by having a firmer layer behind the cover, it accomplishes two things; off of the tee, the firmer layer provides faster rebound off the driver face or higher initial ball speed. Then that firmer accelerant layer on the scoring shots, it acts as a backboard, so you’re able to pinch that soft cover against the accelerant layer, which creates added spin in approach shots.”
Both additions are new to the 2024 product and is in all four versions of the Tour B lineup, which includes Tour B RX, Tour B RXS, Tour B X and Tour BXS.
The Tour B RX and the Tour B RXS are for the player with swing speeds under 105 mph in a category Bridgestone created called the amateur tour ball category.
“Through ball fitting knowledge, we identified that there’s a large segment of the market, over 75 percent of players who don’t swing like a tour player,” Mellow said. “If you swing under 105 miles per hour, those players might still want the performance of a tour ball, but maybe can’t compress it.”
That’s where the RX and RXS come in. The Tour B RX is for players with swing speeds under 105 miles per hour, but still looking for help with distance. The Tour B RXS is for the player looking for more spin and a high performing golf ball.
The golfer that has a swing speed over 105 miles per hour would be looking at the Tour B X and the Tour B XS versions. The B X is meant to be the distance product, while still providing control around the green and the XS is a softer cover formulation with higher spin and more short game control.
Bridgestone has actively worked to try to perfect each version of these golf balls and has tried to do it without sacrificing one aspect of the game over the other.
“The golf ball is regulated by the USGA, so we started to look through the lens of, how do we play by the rules, but then how do we push the envelopes in other areas,” Mellow said. “You can make a ball really spinny or you can make a ball really fast, so if we made a really spinny ball, it would be a great around the green, but it would also spin off the tee. So, how do we couple the relationship of velocity and rotation and how do we separate the two and better optimize them for the unique needs of each shot.
“That’s what we’ve tried to do with this ball.”
