Bridgestone e12 Contact Review

The pitch is a dimple with a raised bump inside it, which Bridgestone says puts far more of the ball in contact with the clubface through impact. That reads like packaging copy, and half of it is, but the ball behaves differently enough to take seriously. It leaves the face straighter than its price suggests, and the sliced drive that finishes in the next fairway with a firmer surlyn ball tends to hold the first cut instead.

Compression sits in the low eighties, firm enough that you have to hit it properly. Between 85 and 100 mph it launches mid, holds its apex, and carries close to what a soft tour ball manages. Below 80 mph it feels like work and the flight goes flat. The strike is clicky rather than soft, with a faintly hollow note off the putter that the matte green and yellow versions do nothing to disguise.

The short game is the ceiling and Bridgestone does not pretend otherwise. A full wedge spins enough to stop on a receptive green, but a pitch from 40 yards releases through the landing spot and a greenside chip runs out like a putt. Play it if you want a straighter ball and would rather spend thirty three dollars than fifty, and accept that you are chipping to a spot rather than at the flag.