We’re good at Teaser SZN where previews of upcoming golf equipment releases are delivered via the USGA conforming list, official tournament seeding periods and carefully crafted press releases designed to build anticipation without giving too much away.
Superlatives are an integral part of the strategy. Everything is a “project” these days, but full details remain under wraps until January. All of which is to say, this time of year we start to get a sense of what’s coming, but there’s not much clarity on how any one company has achieved its particular flavor of “better.”
Case in point: Bridgestone’s VS Proto family of golf balls.
New balls by the numbers
What should come as no surprise is that Bridgestone will once again offer four models in its urethane family.
The story behind Bridgestone’s “better” appears to be rooted in a new material or, at the very least, a fundamentally different formulation. Bridgestone says it explored more than 20 different material formulations while producing over 240 prototypes in multiple model variations before arriving at these final prototypes (which are almost certainly the four retail models).
Testing with regular golfers found gains in ball speed of 2.3 mph and 8.7 yards in distance, though the fine print matters here—those numbers are when golfers fit into the VS prototypes compared to their actual balls. Wins are never anything, but it also highlights the importance of ball fit, which most players still aren’t convinced is as important as club fit.
Much of the story (out of the gate anyway) centers on the performance benefits of tournament players. It’s early days, to say the least (no one can buy these balls yet), but the initial results are compelling. Jason Day gained 9.2 yards off the tee and posted +2,339 strokes gained from the green with an 8.6% increase in driver accuracy during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
In his first VS Black competition, Chris Gotterup averaged 312 yards off the tee (good enough for second in the field) and finished first in strokes gained off the tee with a remarkable +7,311.
Granted, this initial sample size is small, but the results at least hint at the notion that Bridgestone might actually be on to something.
For what it’s worth, renowned Bridgestone athlete Tiger Woods “confirmed the increase in ball speed” as he expressed excitement about putting the ball in play in 2026. Granted, that’s not exactly concrete data, but to be fair, Tiger is a little shocked right now. Again.
No word yet on what benefits Matt Kuchar or the St. Louis crew are seeing. Andre with the VS Proto series.
History of material science
Bridgestone’s approach is typical for this time of year. We get some compelling performance claims and some impressive data points, but actual engineering details remain under wraps until the official launch. What I can say is that when Bridgestone releases full details ahead of the PGA Show in January, expect a heavy dose of material science to explain the increased ball speed and improved flight stability.
Inevitably there will be perfectly legitimate questions about how Bridgestone was able to gain speed while staying within USGA rules. We’ll definitely ask them, although it should be noted that the USGA tests under specific conditions and what is true under the release conditions set by the governing body may not translate perfectly to other combinations of head speed, launch and spin.
It’s also true that while Bridgestone’s Tour BX is likely close to the initial USGA speed limit, other offerings with their various lower compression ratios almost certainly offered additional wiggle room. But as mentioned, both Day and Gotterup (and likely Tiger) are all sporting the VS Black, which is the successor to what we currently know as the Tour B X. So yeah, it’ll be interesting to understand the mechanics of what Bridgestone pulled off.
First impressions
That said, I spent some time on the course with VS Black. I loved it so much that I never got around to trying the other three models. The ball delivered solid distance without any noticeable drop off from what I’m used to, while green performance was solid (and we already know that Bridgestone balls are exceptional performers in wet conditions). While I can’t say it was significantly fairer than anything else I’ve played recently, it definitely wasn’t a step back in any meaningful way.
There’s still a lot to learn, but in a year where some compelling new tournament balls will hit the market, Bridgestone’s offering may be the most intriguing of all.
More information as it becomes available.
Why wait?
While new products often bring a lot of anticipation, they also bring discounts on existing inventory. So, as part of its readiness plan for whatever the VS Proto becomes, Bridgestone has discounted the current TOUR B series while supplies last.
Have your say
When was the last time you played a Bridgestone ball with any regularity? How interested are you in future models?
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