“Bridgestone,” may evoke images of automotive tires. But, for those who have experienced the new line of golf clubs from Bridgestone’s Golf division, you know that their line of clubs is all business and geared toward the better player, with recent offerings such as the GC Mid and GC OS irons reaching out to mid and higher handicap players as well. I had experienced Bridgestone’s J33 460 driver and J33 Forged Combo irons, and had come away very impressed with both products. In their J33 Fairway and Utility clubs, it appears the technology and performance that better players demand has been executed in fine fashion as well.

My test clubs that arrived were the J33 15 degree fairway wood with Aldila NV75 stiff shaft, and the J33 18 degree utility club with Aldila NV85 hybrid stiff shaft. They were both finished with a beautiful black paint and void of any alignment features on their crowns- a small detail appreciated by many lower handicap players. Also, both clubs sit square to almost slightly open at address. This is another feature geared toward the better player, as often times, a lower handicap player will struggle more with over-drawing their clubs. In this sense, the J33 fairway and utility are pure class without even swinging them. But, looks alone cannot get you home in two on a long par 5. On to the testing!

First up: the Bridgestone J33 15 degree fairway wood. Constructed of 17-4 stainless, I was a little surprised in the choice of material by Bridgestone. Most fairway clubs are utilizing 455-carpenter steel for higher rebound and ball speeds these days. Once I made contact with the J33, however, I realized there was no need for any hotter ball speeds off this club. The distance came very easily with this club. Easily as long as any fairway club I had hit previously, in fact. The feel was absolutely superb. Bridgestone utilizes a rubber elastomer compound inside the club head -which is said to reduce vibrations, and in turn, increase ball speeds. It seems to do the job nicely. The feel at impact is soft, yet quite hot. The 17-4 material seems well suited to providing good feedback as to where the ball has struck the clubface.

At the rear of the J33 Fairways is a tungsten weight. This seems to shift the club head’s center of gravity low and back. I found the J33 easy to hit off the deck. The club’s face is of a mid-height, and is of optimal size for hitting off the deck as well as off a tee. The clubface features the same alignment markings found on the J33 460 driver, which I found more than adequate in assisting with aiming the clubface, as well as a welcome visual transition.

The Aldila NV75 as a fairway wood shaft, with it’s mid-launch, and stable nature, is a good fit. With the center of gravity further back in the head, I had no issues elevating the J33 with this stock shaft. The ball flight was fairly high, in fact, but had a nice flatness that was still penetrating into a headwind. It was workable in both directions, and I was able to control the trajectory nicely with high, soft-landing fades, and hotter draws that had some run out on them. Finished with a stock Tour Velvet grip, all in all, the J33 fairways are pure class. The NV75 did seem to play slightly soft to flex for me, and in retrospect, I may have gone up to the next flex. But, with proper fitting and demoing of these fine fairway woods, their performance could be easily optimized. With a .335” hosel size like that of Tour clubs, they are ready for any re-shafting you care to tinker with.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Bridgestone J33 Utility club. This is the more wood-like club hybrid in their lineup, not to be confused with their “Airmuscle” utility irons. The J33 Utility wood has a good shape to it at address. It has a fairly compact size, which I found to be small enough to be effective from the rough. Yet, it is still large enough to not be intimidating at all when hitting from a tee or from the fairway. Again, Bridgestone used 17-4 steel for the club head and face. It has the same hot, yet soft, feel as the fairway woods. They again utilize the rubber “elastomer” inside the club head and a tungsten weight low and back in the club head. I was honestly surprised how easy the J33 Utility wood was to elevate, even from tight fairway lies. Normally I would use a 19º or even 20º club head for my 5-wood/ 2-iron replacement. The 18-degree J33 Utility launched on the mid/high trajectory I normally look for. The Utility wood retains the same ease of workability as the fairway woods, with trajectory control, as well as directional maneuverability being easy to attain. The offset if very minimal, and it sat very square behind the ball with a neutral weighting that added to its sense of workability.

I found the J33 Utility wood to be very long when using it off a tee, and even from the fairway. The ball seems to really come off the face with a lot of ball speed. The Aldila NV85 was a good fit for this club, offering a mid/high trajectory. Again, it seemed to play slightly soft to flex, and I would have gone with the next flex stiffer if I had to do it again. With a .355” hosel size, there are numerous manufacturers that offer that size, so re-shafting to optimize performance as you see fit should not be an issue. One thing that I wished would have carried down from the J33 fairway clubs and drivers was the easy-to-aim alignment markings on the face of the club. The full-face scoring lines did work nicely, however, in aligning the clubface.

I came away from my time with the Bridgestone J33 3 wood and Utility wood very impressed. I thought they would perhaps not feel as “hot” as the competition, given their 17-4 steel construction. But, with Bridgestone’s extensive experience in the rubber industry, the “elastomer” inside the club heads made them very hot, solid, and responsive. They possess a muted feel at impact that does not come at the expense of negating feedback. I definitely was not left wanting with regard to distance, or accuracy. The highly workable nature of these clubs was exactly what lower-handicap players are after. But, with the tungsten weighting in the rear of the club heads, they offer enough “easy-up” assistance that mid-handicappers will probably be able get along with them as well. Whether its teeing off on a tight driving hole, or going for it on a long par 5, the Bridgestone J33 fairway and utility clubs will allow you to “burn rubber” from the fairway.
Source: golf-gear-review.com