The psychological confidence helps to play the game better when you know that your gear is the same as the professionals. With tons of options around its actually good to know what golf balls the pros are playing with. Tiger Woods’ is a legend and many follow him. Why not? his skills are second to none. It is actually worth it to know what he is using. Let’s take a peek into his bag which is filled with TaylorMade products but there is a discrepancy. He is using Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball dedicated especially to him and labeled as Tiger. Let’s do the Tiger Woods’ Golf Ball review or actually Bridgestone Tour B XS review.
A TOUR BALL
This is a proper tour ball. It means serious business. As soon as a manufacturer labels the ball Tour the expectation bar goes very high. It has to perform better than non-tour balls and compete with the top balls from other brands. Tour balls must offer high ball speed and lower spin speed off the tee. The fact that Tiger plays with this on tours and wins the tournaments is an endorsement that it is a top performing ball if played with right techniques.
Close look: Different Dimple Structure
If you get a chance to look at the dimple structure then it’s quite different than the traditional hexagonal mesh that usually comes with most balls these days. This ball has starry circular pattern dimples and the core of the heart has a smaller heart in there. The edges of the circle are rounded off and feel quite smooth. I am skeptical if this properly reflects the drag. To me, the hexagonal structure is a scientifically proven success to reflect the drag the most.
Circular pattern with rounded edges can reduce the drag but does it reduce more than the hexagonal pattern, this is a point to debate on. I would love to hear from you guys.
Off The Tee
With the driver, this ball gets a firm hit and can travel for long distances like a typical tour ball. The spin on the ball is actually quite low that is why it goes quite straight and is a reliable ball. What I felt is different about this ball is its longer roll distance. As soon as it lands you will feel that it is going further and has retained some of the topspin on landing. This helps to add the carry distance. For tee shots, it is a huge plus point you want the ball to go further given that you hit it straight.
CRAZY SPIN OFf THE IRONS
This is a serious ball and spins a lot. If you have got the right technique you will enjoy slicing and fading this ball. It generates tons of side and backspin. Although it is a plus point for low handicap or scratch players but is it good for high handicappers? If you are a beginner then this ball is not a forgiver for the second or third shot. It will spin a lot on the irons and especially if you have a below par gear then it will not help you much to get into the mid handicap zone. I suggest you invest in mid-price ball good enough for mid and high handicappers like superhot bold from Callaway.
Difference In Spin from Driver and Iron
It spins very less off the tee but spins seriously high from the irons and wedges. What exactly is going on? This is a tour ball, it means premium performance. They have optimized the compression for the tee and iron shots. So the ball will compress more or less depending on the grooves, loft angle, and power of the shot and club. That is why it travels straight from the driver and bends/spins from the iron shots.
Consistent Distance
Professional golf players work extremely hard to build muscle memory. It is a journey of transforming your muscle movement to a robotic side. They want their muscles to act exactly the same each time they intend to play a particular type of shot. The last thing they want is their equipment to act inconsistently. All the hard work would go into waste if the ball acts in a new way each time it takes the hit. It makes almost impossible to detect what actually the problem could be in the shot.
If Tiger Woods is playing with this ball then it is an assertion of its consistency. Tiger is playing this game forever, there is no questioning about his muscle memory. Would you like a ball that will travel a different distance with each shot from the 7 iron? The fact that Bridgestone Tour B XS absorbs the right impact energy each time allows it to travel the same distance for any particular shot. This is exactly what is expected from a tour ball i.e. Consistency.
Sounds Different
It sounds different than the other pro balls. The sound feels like to carry more short-lived high-frequency sound waves. It just feels like a small whippy sound that gets suppressed real quick. I personally like the sound, especially off the 5 iron.
HARDER OUTER SHELL
The ball is quite durable and that is due to the harder outer shell. You would expect a high spinning ball to have a softer feel but it is harder than normal tour balls. This is what makes it more durable but the feel of the shot is not nice with a putter. Yes, the dimple structure is firm on the green it gives the control on the ball for near hole shots but the hardness with the putter just does not give a good gut feeling.
Value for Money
Overall value for the money is great if you plan to play with this ball regularly. It gives the consistency, that is what expected from the tour ball. If you play the game regularly it will be a good investment but for high handicappers, I am actually worried about the high spin of the irons and wedges. It would be worth to invest into hybrids to fix the problem but beginners playing with tour balls? feels unnecessary to me.
Wrap Up: Tiger Woods’ Golf Ball Review
This post was actually a Bridgestone Tour B XS review or the ball used these days by Tiger Woods. He has won tournaments with this ball. It is worth it but is it different from other top tier tour balls? I think it sounds different but more or less the performance is stagnant at the top level. If you are a fan of Tiger Woods then invest in it but make sure that you fix your technique or it can make your score go higher.
