Tag: Bridgestone

PGA Show wrap-up: Industry reunited and it felt so good to many of those who were back

“There’s no replacement for the catalyst of communication and thought that happens at the Show.”

ORLANDO – The 69th PGA Show is in the books and while one publication dubbed it “the incredible shrinking show,” more than 600 exhibitors – down from 1,000 – showcased thousands of products and services to attending PGA professionals and golf buyers resulting in new business and new customers. The PGA Show reunited the global golf industry in person for the first time in two years, Jan. 25-28.

“With what is going on in the golf world, as well as the world itself, for all of us to be back together in Orlando, driving the business of golf forward, is significant,” said PGA President Jim Richerson.

The 2022 PGA Show began with Demo & Fitting Day at Orange County National Golf Center (OCN) on Jan. 25 and continued at Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), Jan. 26-28. Still, there is some concern that the attendance and participation dips may be more than a one-year COVID-19 blip.

“To us it was not a waste of time or negative experience. We look back and say, ‘That wasn’t bad.’ It wasn’t the best show ever but it was worth our time and money,” said Dan Murphy, noting his company achieved significant media exposure and opportunities to build relationships. “One of the real residual benefits these days is what happens beyond the Show walls. I have had distributors for Bridgestone and company employees in the last few days contacting us from Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, and the U.K. They weren’t there but the Show serves as not only a physical rallying point but a newsmaking event and a thought-leading event for the industry across the globe.”

One Twitter follower of this writer, Kristi Richerson, called the PGA Show “a relationship show” and she’ll get no argument here. Nearly 15,000 PGA pros – down from 40,000 – attended high-level industry presentations, learned timely business solutions and connected in person with peers and golf leaders to drive forward participation and the business of the sport.

“There’s no replacement for the catalyst of communication and thought that happens at the Show,” Murphy said. “How do you and I have a conversation where you and I actually understand and learn from each other. I don’t know how else we do it?”

As part of the PGA of America’s press release touting the Show’s success, Murphy added, “We’re learning a lot about the business needs of golf facilities during this extraordinarily busy time for all of us, and that’s a big part of the value of being here at the PGA Show.”

“What I see are customers who are here with intent to learn and to place orders. We’re extremely pleased with the outcome of exhibiting this week,” said Henri Johnson, inventor and CEO of FlightScope. “This is our 18th consecutive PGA Show, and what I’ve decided is that it will always be an annual part of our plans.”

While smaller in scale than traditional PGA Shows, the event attracted influential industry executives focused on engaging with manufacturers and one another during a time of strong growth for the sport. Annually the largest annual gathering of the PGA Membership, the PGA Show remains an important connection for PGA Professionals to the golf industry.

“We were on the fence about coming, and at the last minute we decided to take the plunge,” said Scott Morrison, co-founder of apparel brand Radmoor. “I’m glad we did, because the impact of being here is going to be significant on our business. We’re a new brand, and we don’t have sales reps to cover the entire country. If we could see three or four customers on a normal day, we can see 300-400 at the PGA Show. Plus, we’re making connections in the industry that will help us fill out our sales team as we grow our brand. Coming to the PGA Show was definitely the right decision for Radmoor.”

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No longer relevant? Is this the beginning of the end for the PGA Show?

The 69th PGA Show returned to an in-person event but it was a mere shadow of what it used to be.

ORLANDO – These are wonderful times to be part of the golf industry. Rounds played are up, equipment is selling like hotcakes, and teaching pros have never been busier. All it took was a global pandemic to make golf popular again.

It’s not a good time, however, to be in the convention and exhibition business. The 69th PGA Show, the largest annual gathering of PGA Members and the international golf industry, returned to an in-person show but it was a mere shadow of what it used to be.

None of the major equipment makers – Callaway, Cleveland/Srixon, Cobra, Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist – nor apparel companies – Polo, Summit Brands, Peter Millar, Travis Matthew, Ahead – decided to participate.

Instead of nearly 10 miles of exhibit aisles and roughly 1,000 exhibitors, the Orlando County Convention Center used a much smaller footprint for the 600 companies who signed up, and attendance on what is usually the biggest day of the Show resembled closing time on Friday. On the bright side, parking was easier and concession lines for lunch were non-existent. And the smaller footprint meant less wear and tear on the feet

The PGA Show, which began in the trunks of cars at a winter golf tournament in 1954, was doomed by a perfect storm. COVID-19, of course, was the main culprit. The Show’s timing, Jan. 25-28, couldn’t have been worse. Six months ago, it looked as if the country was through the worst of the global pandemic and the annual industry gathering would be all systems go. Then the Delta variant came along followed by Omicron. Experts predict that this could be the peak week for COVID. Companies that planned to participate dropped out as the date neared despite a willingness to be flexible by Reed Exhibitions that bordered on desperation.

PGA Show
The 69th PGA Show at the Orlando County Convention Center in Orlando, January 2022. (Photo: Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

The reality was too many companies were uncomfortable asking their employees to travel at what some perceive as a super-spreader event. As one executive at Titleist said, how could we ask our employees to travel to the PGA Show when our offices are still closed? It’s a sensible move in uncertain times.

The other contributing factor is that many of the leading companies are producing more than ever before, but are sold out of products and can’t manufacture new goods to sell fast enough. The combination of supply-chain issues being real and the fact that most companies are thriving during the pandemic made it easier to drop out.

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One of the few big players in the equipment space that did have a presence on the Show floor was Bridgestone, which had its employees drive in from Georgia. Dan Murphy, president and CEO of Bridgestone Golf, said it felt odd to be exhibiting in a hall without his competitors but enjoyed having many of his best customers in the 5,000 club pros who registered for the event essentially all to himself.

“It’s a time where people are going to stadiums to watch games and schools are back in session, so we think it is appropriate to be here and be careful about it and support the business and keep the good going,” he said. “We don’t mind zigging when everyone else zags.”

But Bill Hughes, longtime PGA professional and general manager of Country Club of the Rockies in Colorado, summed up the feeling of his brethren when he said, “I’m worried that these companies aren’t going to see the velocity on the return on investment. It’s kind of a fork in the road. Maybe there is a reckoning.”

Is this a one-year COVID blip? Or has COVID exposed the PGA Show’s fatal flaw: that a January gathering doesn’t align with product launches anymore. I asked one Show regular how does he measure whether he had a good show or not.

By alcohol level, of course, he cracked. This, after all, is a working vacation for many PGA pros, and for some a veritable spring break. (Apologies to all those pros from the Northeast who expected to work on their suntans and were greeted by rain and temps that barely cracked 50 degrees. The weather also turned Tuesday’s outdoor Demo and Fitting Day into a bust.)

National Golf Foundation’s Greg Nathan said he judges success by his dance card, which was packed with appointments with both clients and partners. Plenty of business and educational programming still will be conducted this week. The Show remains – alongside the Masters and British Open – among the best networking opportunities in golf.

But here’s the rub: if a golf company didn’t go to the Show this year, that means by the time the next one rolls around, it will be at least three years since its last attendance. It likely also will be three years in which the company has done financially better than when it last attended. Its reps and employees have figured out how to do Zoom calls and local shows. That’s three years where they have figured out how to work without the Show and now will be asked to pony up quite a bit of money.

The equipment makers pulling out this year suggests the industry has voted against an in-person Show during a global pandemic, but the fact that 13,000 pros registered suggests the industry still wants to get together. The elephant in the room is what happens next year. Will exhibitors want to have a big presence again and be willing to pay the price? Or has The Show outworn its relevance? Could this be the beginning of the end for the PGA Show?

We’ll have a better idea next year, but for now, the show must go on.

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Bridgestone Tour B golf balls (2022)

Play the same golf ball as Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.

Gear: Bridgestone Tour B golf balls (2022): Tour B X, Tour B XS, Tour B RX and Tour B RXS
Price: $49.99 per dozen  
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls  
Available: February 18   

In 2020, Bridgestone released the first Tour B golf balls that included an impact modifier inside the urethane cover. That adjustment to the cover material’s blend, Bridgestone said, helped the balls achieve more distance off the tee while also enhancing spin around the green.   

Two years later, Bridgestone believes it has made significant improvements to the study of “impact science.” With the release of four new iterations of its Tour B golf balls, the Japanese company believes golfers should expect more length with drivers, fairway woods, and long irons with even better performance around the greens.   

For readers who do not have a degree in chemical engineering, an impact modifier is an additive that can be blended into a material to make it more flexible and increase impact strength. They can help brittle things bend more and other substances absorb energy.   

When Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau first tested the prototype Tour B balls with an impact modifier, they immediately wanted to put them into play. They pressured Bridgestone to quickly release the balls with the Reactiv cover, the 2020 Tour B X and Tour B XS. Bridgestone cheerfully complied, then added the same Reactiv cover with the impact modifier to the 2020 Tour B RX and Tour B RXS, both of which were designed for golfers who do not have PGA Tour-level swing speed.   

Since the 2020 balls were released, Bridgestone’s polymer scientists have studied and tested various impact modifiers, trying to find different mixtures that could be added to each ball to make it perform better for specific types of players.   

The result is ReactivIQ covers. Designed differently for each ball, the urethane blends help the ball come off the face faster on long shots for more distance but stay on the face of short irons and wedges longer for increased spin and feel around the greens. So while these three-piece balls’ cores and mantle layers have not appreciably changed, Bridgestone said golfers will get better overall performance with them. 

Tiger Woods uses TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ driver during PNC Championship Pro-Am

Equipment junkies were immediately focused on the clubs in Tiger’s bag at the PNC Championship.

While pundits and prognosticators were busy studying Tiger Woods’ swing on Friday during the PNC Championship Pro-Am and trying to see how his body would reach to playing golf again, equipment junkies were immediately focused on the clubs in Tiger’s bag.

Woods had already announced that he would be using a new, prototype version of Bridgestone’s Tour B XS ball this week, but after the USGA and R&A added the yet-to-be-released TaylorMade Stealth and Stealth Plus+ drivers to their Conforming Driver lists on Monday, making them legal for play, you had to wonder whether Tiger (or Charlie) might have one in the bag on Friday.

In fact, Tiger not only had a new TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ driver in play during Friday’s pro-am, but he also had Stealth Plus+ 3-wood in the bag, as you can see in the tweet below.

Asked about the driver after his round, Tiger said, “First of all, they have moved the [center of gravity] more forward so I’m able to curve the ball more, and you guys all know that I’ve always been a player that has worked the golf ball.”

The Stealth Plus+ driver has a moveable weight in the sole that appears to give players and fitters the ability to shift the center of gravity (CG) location toward the heel or toward the toe, creating a draw or fade bias. On Friday, Woods had the weight set toward the heel, encouraging a daw.

“It’s given me the ability to hit draws and hit cuts,” Tiger said. “I didn’t like having just only one shot. The driver setup that we have for Augusta allowed me to draw the golf ball. But when I hit the cut, it was really short. I don’t have that difference anymore. They are very similar, which is huge. And hey, got to love the colors.”

Tiger Woods and Charlie at 2021 PNC Championship
A close up of the red-faced driver Tiger Woods is using at the 2021 PNC Championship pro-am round on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Scott Audette/Associated Press

While the driver appears to meet with Tiger’s liking, the 15-degree Stealth Plus+ 3-wood may not have earned its spot yet. On Friday, Tiger also had his old 15-degree SIM 3-wood in the bag too.

Finally, while TaylorMade released the new Milled Grind 3 (MG3) wedges this summer and there is a Tiger Woods Grind version of the MG3, Tiger was still playing the MG2 wedges on Friday.

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Tiger Woods to use new Bridgestone ball, may use new TaylorMade driver at PNC Championship

New equipment may be on display later this week in Florida.

As soon as Tiger Woods announced he and his son Charlie are going to compete this week at the PNC Championship, the event became appointment television for the golf world. Everyone wants to see the 15-time major winner play for the first time on TV since his car accident in February. We also want to see how Charlie, who is now 12, has improved since he stole the show last year at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando.

For equipment junkies, this year’s PNC Championship could be even more special because, according to Golfweek sources, there is a good chance that Tiger (and possibly Charlie) will be using some yet-to-be-released prototype equipment.

On Monday, TaylorMade’s Stealth and Stealth Plus+ drivers were added to the USGA and R&A’s Conforming Driver lists. That means the clubs have been tested and deemed legal for play by the game’s governing bodies, a process that has to take place before a driver can be used in an official competition.

Historically, TaylorMade and other manufacturers request that the USGA and R&A add new gear to the lists a few days before the first PGA Tour event of the new year. The idea is to keep the new gear under wraps as long as possible. The addition of the Stealth and Stealth Plus+ drivers was conspicuously early, but it would allow anyone who has a Stealth or Stealth Plus+ to use it at the PNC Championship.

While Woods was swinging the same TaylorMade SIM driver on the range at the Albany Golf Course two weeks ago that he used at the 2020 PNC Championship, it’s safe to assume that, as a TaylorMade staff player, the company has sent him a Stealth and Stealth Plus+ driver to try.

On Wednesday, Woods took to social media to announce that he is planning to use a prototype Bridgestone ball.

Woods has played Bridgestone’s Tour B XS ball ($45.99 at Carl’s Golfland) for the past several seasons, and in the image he posted, you can clearly see XS printed on the boxes.

Bridgestone has not released any details about the ball, but Woods said, “I’ve been working with Bridgestone’s R&D team on an updated version of my ball since the 2019 Zozo Championship. The process of perfecting this ball has been really fun.” he went on to say, “I have tested the new Tour B prototypes at home, and I’m looking forward to putting them into play at the PNC Championship. This event is the perfect spot for me to take the prototype testing to the next level.”

If history is a guide, both the TaylorMade Stealth drivers and the Bridgestone Tour B XS ball should be officially released sometime in January.

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Golf balls: See inside the most popular balls in golf

Take a closer look at some of the most popular golf balls.

Let me start out by stating the obvious: Kids, don’t try this at home. And grown-ups, you might not want to do this either. Using pipe cutters and hacking up a few dozen golf balls to reveal what they look like inside gets expensive.

In general, the outer appearance of golf balls has remained fairly unchanged for more than a century. Tiny depressions called dimples cover the balls to improve their aerodynamic properties. White is still the most popular color, but yellow balls are common and several manufacturers even offer red, orange and green balls. Some offer balls that feature high-visibility patterns that involve multiple colors.

Under the outer cover, golf balls have transformed in recent decades and they all look different. Manufacturers are consistently trying to develop cores (or multi-core systems) that transfer energy from the club to the shot more effectively. The rubber materials that are used are all synthetic, because natural rubber varies too much in quality. Those materials are often blended with other materials into a mass that looks like cake batter. The core material is mixed and rolled into sheets before it is cut into plugs that look like D-sized batteries. The cores are then placed into molds that are heated and pressed, forcing the core material into a round shape.

Joel Botelho works in the core molding area at Titleist Ball Plant III in Fairhaven, MA.–(Golfweek/Tracy Wilcox)

The color of a golf ball’s core does not mean anything. According to a spokesman for Titleist, different colors are added to rubber mixtures so factory workers can quickly identify material batches for different balls and keep them organized. Red, blue, purple, orange: The colors are irrelevant. But neatly cutting a ball in half reveals its layers and just looks cool. Below are several popular balls, cut in half, to show you what they look like under the cover.

New golf balls of 2021 for every budget and handicap

A list of new golf balls for every budget and handicap in 2021.

Plenty of golfers think a golf ball is just a golf ball. “They’re all white, round and sit on the ground,” they chime. But smart golfers know that’s not true.

Trying to find the best golf ball for your game and budget can be a challenge, whether you’re a scratch player or just starting out. And while it’s true that the right golf ball won’t transform you into a pro, it can make a big difference in what you see off the tee and around the green.

Most well-made golf balls are built in layers featuring a soft rubber core with a thin and durable cover made from either Surlyn, which is great for durability, or urethane for extra spin on chips, pitches and shots hit into the green.

With so many options to choose from and a variety of pricing tiers, it sometimes can feel just as difficult to purchase the correct golf ball as it is to consistently turn in a solid scorecard. Depending on your budget and what you are looking for from your ball, we’ve identified our favorite golf balls for 2021 to help any player improve their score:

Winner’s Bag: Bryson DeChambeau, Arnold Palmer Invitational

A complete list of the golf equipment Bryson DeChambeau used to win the PGA Tour’s 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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The golf equipment Bryson DeChambeau used to win the PGA Tour’s 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational:

DRIVER: Coba King LTD (7.5 degrees), with LAGP Axis Blue 60X shaft, 45.75 inches long

FAIRWAY WOODS: Cobra King prototype (10.5 degrees), with LAGP BAD prototype 70X shaft, 43 inches long; Cobra King Speedzone Tour (13.5 degrees), with LAGP BAD prototype 70X shaft, 41 inches long

IRONS: Cobra King Utility prototype (4, 5), King Forged Tour ONE Length (6-PW), with LAGP Graphite Rebar prototype shafts, each is 37.7 inches long

WEDGES: Artisan prototype (47, 53, 58 degrees), with LAGP Rebar prototype shafts

PUTTER: SIK prototype

BALL: Bridgestone Tour B

GRIPS: Jumbo Max Tour

Bridgestone e6 golf balls (2021)

The updated Bridgestone e6 golf ball has a new core designed to help moderate and slow-swinging golfers get more distance.

Gear: Bridgestone e6 golf balls (2021) 
Price: $21.99 per dozen 
Specs: Two-piece, Surlyn-covered ball. White and optic yellow 
Available: Feb. 26  

Fifteen years ago, Bridgestone released the first version of the e6 golf ball, and from the beginning, it was designed with recreational golfers in mind. Today, pros like 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods use Bridgestone Tour B Series balls because they have fast driver swing speeds, but with the release of the new e6, Bridgestone is continuing the tradition of making the e6 ideally suited for moderate- and slower-swinging golfers who want more distance.  

The new e6 features a two-piece construction with a Surlyn cover over an extremely large rubber core. In this version, Bridgestone has utilized a new core formulation to make the ball feel even softer at impact and provide more speed off the tee.  

The e6 does not produce much spin off the tee. That should not only help moderate-swinging players get more distance, but it should also help to reduce sidespin that results in hooks and slices, so the ball flies straighter.  

Bridgestone was able to make that core larger because it could also make the Surlyn cover thinner. While it is durable, it will not make the ball dance like a top on the greens like Tiger Woods’ Tour B XS, but that’s not the type of golf mid- and high-handicap golfers tend to play. The e6 provides plenty of greenside spin and control for players who anticipate chips and pitch shots to release and roll to the hole. 

Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau extend deals with Bridgestone Golf

On the eve of the 2020 Masters, Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau have signed new golf ball endorsement deals with Bridgestone.

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Basketball and baseball writers often refer to players as assets that can be swapped and traded to help a team improve its chances for success. Bridgestone Golf certainly sees Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau as significant assets, but by announcing that the 15-time major winner and the newly-crowned U.S. Open winner have signed long-term contract extensions, it’s clear they are not going to be on the golf ball market any time soon.

“Tiger’s involvement in the R&D process was critical to the development of our breakthrough REACTIV cover technology, and Bryson is just as enthusiastic about participating in R&D as any one of our engineers,” said Dan Murphy, the president and CEO of Bridgestone.

The financial details and precise duration of the new endorsement deals were not disclosed.

Woods and DeChambeau have appeared in several commercials together for Bridgestone, playing off DeChambeau’s scientific approach to golf and Tiger’s ability to be, well … funny on camera.

Tiger Woods won the 2018 Tour Championship, 2019 Masters and the 2019 Zozo Championship, his 82nd PGA Tour win, using a Bridgestone Tour B XS ball. While Woods officially became a Bridgestone staff player in 2016, the Covington, Ga.-based company manufactured the ball Tiger used to win the Memorial Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championships in 2000 even though it was sold under a different brand’s name.

Bryson DeChambeau was victorious in September at Winged Foot using a Bridgestone Tour B X.