Bridgestone Tiger Tour B XS Ball Review
GolfMagic tests out the ball used by Tiger Woods himself, the Bridgestone Tiger Tour B XS.
Tiger Woods might be a TaylorMade player, but when it comes to his golf ball, he's used Bridgestone for a number of years. Although they're not as widely used on Tour, Bridgestone produce some of the best golf balls money can buy and the Tiger ball is definitely up there with the best.
TECH
The Bridgestone Tour B XS features a Gradational Compression Core, designed to deliver high ball speeds to give you more distance. The ball has a low compression rating and Bridgestone has aimed the Tour B XS at low handicap golfers. The Gradational Compression Core also decreases the side spin, making it more accurate than other low compression golf balls.
It also has a urethane cover that features Bridgestone's SlipRes technology, which increases friction to offer more control, better feel and increased durability. The Tour B XS ball also features Dual Dimple technology, to enhance aerodynamics and increase distance, which is done by reducing lag when the ball is in the air.
Consistent flight and performance are a result of the proprietary Seamless Cover Technology, which is featured in all of Bridgestone's golf balls. The performance and aerodynamic balance comes from a manufacturing processes that creates a perfectly balanced dimple pattern.
PERFORMANCE
The Bridgestone Tiger Tour B XS ball was a phenomenal ball from tee to green. Something that stood out immediately was the powerful sound it seems to produce, especially off the tee. In most cases, a ball's sound will react to the sound of your driver so you think that every ball sounds pretty much the same, but there was definitely something different about this one.
The amount of spin this ball produced was very impressive, especially with the mid-irons. With a wedge in hand, you expect to get a lot of spin from the highest quality golf balls, but the high spin and quick stop I was getting with my mid-irons took me by surprise and made distance control a lot easier.
The ball feels soft, but not as soft as a TaylorMade TP5 or a Titleist Pro V1x. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because the Tour B XS provided a lot of distance and a lot of spin, a fantastic combination. The only reason I'd like it a little softer would be for putting as it would have helped the feel on the greens, but it still didn't disappoint with the putter out.
What also took me by surprise with this ball was its durability. The premium golf balls can sometimes be a little quick to crack or scuff, such as a Pro V1. TaylorMade seemed to have addressed this issue with its latest TP5 and TP5x balls, using a new coating for 2019 and the Bridgestone ball reminded me of that in a way, as it went through some pretty vigorous testing and came out clean on the other side.
VERDICT
Money aside, you can see exactly why this ball is good enough for Tiger Woods. For a low compression golf ball, the Bridgestone Tiger Tour B XS was still pretty forgiving. The spin rate was a personal highlight as it generated a lot of spin and grab around the greens and the spin control with mid-irons was surprising. If you want a golf ball that provides distance but still all the spin you need to maximise your distance control, then GolfMagic highly recommends the Bridgestone Tiger Tour B XS.
RRP £40 per dozen.
For more information visit: bridgestone.com
