William L. Coney Blog: First Look: Bridgestone Tour B XS Tiger Woods Edition Golf Balls

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

First Look: Bridgestone Tour B XS Tiger Woods Edition Golf Balls

There may be no entity on Earth happier about the return of Tigermania than Bridgestone Golf. When Tiger plays, more people watch and the better Tiger plays, the more closeups of Tiger's ball. And as Tiger's ball is the Bridgestone Tour B XS, you can't put a price tag on that kind of branding gold.

Tiger still moves the needle like no golfer since Arnie, and Bridgestone is riding that wave. In a company press release, Bridgestone is claiming more than double sell-through of balls at national retail partners in the weeks that Tiger plays when compared to last year. The company also says it sees a similar increase in eCommerce sales.

So with proverbial iron red hot, why not capitalize with Limited Edition Tour B XS Tiger Woods Edition balls?

Charity Balls

These are Bridgestone's normal Tour B XS balls, but with the same custom TIGER personalization Tiger uses on his gamers. You also get a sweet Tiger box, and Bridgestone donates a portion of the profits to the TGR Foundation.

The TGR Foundation is Tiger's official charity and is in its 22nd year. In Tiger's words, the TGR Foundation's purpose is to "equip kids with a solid education and the mindset to persevere. We are quietly impacting an entire generation for the better."

The program has served more than 165,000 students (88% are minority, 85% lie below the poverty line and 97% are first in their families to ever attend college), introducing them to STEM - or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - education. According to TGR's website, the foundation helps students in need to thrive in school, their communities, and the working world. The Earl Woods Scholar Program enjoys a 98.7% graduation rate, one of the highest rates for a scholarship program in the U.S.

The Tiger Edition balls will retail for $49.99 per dozen - 5 bucks more than the non-Tiger models - and will be available beginning April 1st.

A Ball Fitting Update

Bridgestone's online ball fitting program is taking a bit of a leap forward with Find My Ball. The new fitting tool gives you three options: I'm New To The Game, I Know My Game, and I've Been Fitted.

I'm New To The Game is, obviously, for newbies and simply asks for your average score and your preference for either feel, accuracy or distance. I Know My Game is a little more in depth, asking for your age, gender, and current ball brand and model along with your average score and performance preference.

BSG TIGER EDITION LIFESTYLE 5

I've Been Fitted asks for launch monitor data, including driver club head speed, carry and total distance, ball velocity, launch angle, and spin, as well as current ball, average score, and performance preference. Once you give Bridgestone your email address, it'll make a ball recommendation and direct you to retailers as well as provide you with a link to buy online directly from Bridgestone.

You also get a reliability score - obviously, the more info you provide the more confident Bridgestone is with its recommendation. There are limitations to this type of online fitting tool, but then again, there are limitations to an in-person ball-fitting as well. Bridgestone bases its online recommendations on data collected from its in-person fittings.