Bridgestone finding the right ball for golfers
B-Fit app goes from a computer, scheduled fittings onto the iPhone and into the hands of golfers on the tee
CLIFTONPARK, N.Y. » The annual Northway 8 Demo Days event continues to draw large crowds as golfers travel to try out the latest technology and are looking tofinda fewmore yards on a drive and get the opportunity to swing away for free all weekend.
While the majority of the vendors were peddling new sticks, Bridgestone Golf territory sales manager Chuck McGuire was on hand to provide golfers with a proper fitting for the most numerous item in any bag — the golf ball.
The elusive dimpled, often lost and even more often sworn at by any duffer, is the key to any round and McGuire provided the opportunity to suggest the best ball in the Bridgestone line-up of golf balls.
“We started the ball fitting program almost 10 years ago and at the time we would schedule ball fitters, you would come out to a course and get fit and at the most we could maybe touch 35 to 40 golfers a day with that process,” Chuck McGuire said. “Now with the ball fitting app (Bridgestone Golf B-Fit app) it’s very exciting because anybody can download it so instead of 1,000s of impressions it can be millions.
“All you need it two guys, go out on the range or out on the first tee and you can do a ball fitting right there. You measure you club head speed, spin, launch angle and find out what the right ball is for you.”
If a golfer hasn’t met up with a Bridgestone staff advocate on a golf course or at an area retailer and missed McGuire at the Northway 8 golf event, the ball fitting app is also available on any computer.
The traditional Bridgestone GolfBall Selection Guide has a database of more than 300,000 live launch monitor fittings that can put any golfer in the right Bridgestone golf ball.
The program asks what brand and ball you currently play, gender, age, driver distance, average score, shot shape and shot trajectory.
“We have been fitting for so long that we have hundreds of thousands of fittings so we know every type of golfer there is, so when you do answer those questionnaires we’ve tested that golfer before that is similar to you and we know the data already,” McGuire said.
“Now it’s just getting it into the hands of everybody, so you have the self-validation and you can look at your own swing and study that. It’s a really good tool for the ball fitting first, but then maybe people who have never been fitted for anything to try and get them into the process of doing it and showing them how much it could benefit them.”
The B-Fit app is available in the Apple App store and McGuire used it throughout the weekend, including fitting Frank Cipollino from Philmont.
McGuire entered the basic information into the app and then used the phone’s camera to record three swings from Cipollino at the driving range.
“He gave me B330s he said was the best ball for me,” Cipollino said. “I played (Titleist) Pro V1 because I like the spin. Especiallywhen you are around the green, that’s my main thing ismy short game and he said that’s the best one to use.
“Everybody has always been distance, they don’t understand. Get in the fairway and when you’re around the greens youwant the spin. You want a ball you can trust in and you know when it’s going to spin and when it’s not going to.”
McGuire said Bridgestone has built the best ball in the industry with its unique company tools.
“Bridgestone is obviously a tire company, a rubber company, so the amount of patents, research and development that we have is unmatched,” McGuire said. “A lot of our testing and technology will come from Japan fromthe tire plants.
“The Slip Res cover on our golf balls was something that was discovered by the tire division to be self-healing for flat tires. That technology crosses over, sowe feel like we have a distinct advantage over any other company when it comes to the rubber, polymer technology that we have. That just translates down to the golf ball and in combination with our ball fitting and our research and development we focus on the golf ball, that’s our No. 1 focus.”
Bridgestone’s line-up includes four versions of the B330, two versions of the E6 along with the Precept Laddie, Powerdrive and Lady Precept options.
“The E6 is our most popular golf balls designed for straighter flight, so most golfers have a problem with hitting it straight, so that’s guided for them and the tour balls, depending on your swing speed and your preference around the greens,” McGuire said. “We have six premium golf balls that can fit anybody, we also have the Precept brand for value golf balls, the Precept Laddie, the power drive and we also make a lady golf ball too. We literally have a golf ball for everybody.”