Bridgestone J715 Driver Preview: Company's first in 4 years
07 Jan 2015
by Rusty Cage
see also: Equipment Reviews
SHARE:
The Bridgestone J715 Driver
In the golf equipment business, four years
between release cycles is nothing short of an
eternity. So when a company, in this case
Bridgestone, finally unveils a new driver - it better
be worth it.
Bridgestone's J715 460
driver uses a combination of four innovative
technologies to maximize distance and accuracy
off the tee: variable thickness in the face, a
patented milled face pattern, customizable center
of gravity and an adjustable hosel. It's a feature
set that has representatives from Bridgestone
feeling confident that their product will live up to
four years of anticipation.
"At Bridgestone we don't release new products
just to release new products. Our philosophy is to
wait until we truly have something innovative and
unique that will benefit golfer's games," says Josh
Kinchen, Bridgestone's Golf Clubs and Accessories
Marketing Manager. "We haven't put out a new
driver in several years because we don't believe a
new color offering or some other less impactful
technology is really worth asking consumers to
part with their hard-earned dollars for. We want
consumers to know that when we introduce a new
club, it will always offer real tangible performance
benefits."
Here's a brief rundown of the key technologies
and how they impact performance:
F.A.S.T Crown
The Flex Action Speed Technology crown is
thinner near the clubface and progressively
thicker towards the rear allowing the crown to
slightly flex at impact creating higher launch
conditions and increased repulsion.
Powered Milled Face
We're accustomed to seeing milling patterns in
putters and micro grooves in wedges, but nothing
of the sort in drivers. The idea behind this
innovative design is to help the ball adhere to the
face for a fractionally longer period of time -
reducing unwanted slippage and enhancing the
quality of the compression.
According to Bridgestone's robot testing, the
Power Milled Face reduces spin by 200 to 300
rpm. Think about that for a moment. A driver
technology that lowers spin without any
adjustments to loft or center of gravity location.
Spin Flight Control
Technology
The J715 delivers on the hottest trend in driver
technology - adjustable CG. The default system
consists of two weights (10 grams and 4 grams)
that can be swapped around to increase launch
and spin, effectively raising the club's MOI.
Inversely, leaving the heavier weight in the front
port will move the center of gravity low and
forward helping to flight the ball down and reduce
spin.
Variable Adjust System
The J715 is Bridgestone's first adjustable driver.
Bridgestone's implementation offers face angle
adjustments of up to 1 degree (closed or open)
also allowing the club to be set 1-or-2 degrees
upright or standard.
The J715 driver ($399) will be in stores on
February 1, 2015 in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 12-
degrees for right-handers (9.5 and 10.5-degrees
for lefties available April 1st). The driver comes
standard with the Mitsubishi Fubuki ZT shaft and
custom yellow Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip.