Bridgestone e6: Key Takeaways

Bridgestone’s No. 1 selling ball gets a larger, softer core. Two-piece construction for players who like soft feel. $21.99 per dozen. Available at retail Feb. 26.

Today’s announcement of a new Bridgestone e6 golf ball comes as somewhat of a surprise. It’s a bit ahead of Bridgestone’s normal two-year cycle so perhaps Bridgestone is getting a jump on Q1 sales.

Over its 15-year life, the Bridgestone e6 has morphed into a soft, two-piece, value-priced distance ball. And this newest version is touted as the softest-feeling e6 yet.

“It’s evolved over time,” says Bridgestone Golf Ball Marketing Manager Elliot Mellow. “Our goal is to focus on the core e6 player who’s looking for distance and soft feel. But we also want to create a product that would resonate with the three million new and returning golfers.”

Bridgestone e6 – Softly, Softly

The 2019 Bridgestone e6 iteration was, with a compression of 44, among the softest balls Bridgestone had ever produced. Technically, the new ball is a bit firmer at 45. But Mellow says that, with this ball, 45 is just a number.

“It is a soft ball. But our gradational compression core is really the key to this product being able to perform. The core is one piece of rubber but it’s firmer on the outside for speed and softer on the inside for feel.”

That’s a Bridgestone signature. The worldwide rubber giant has perfected the art of making cores with varying degrees of firmness. Or, in the case of the Bridgestone e6, softness.

“It acts like a multi-layer ball even though it’s a two-piece ball,” adds Mellow.

Even so, I know math and math says 45 is firmer than 44. Well, according to Mellow, the new core in the Bridgestone e6 is both larger and softer than the 2019 version. In addition, the Surlyn cover has been reformulated to create an overall softer feel at impact.

Parting Thoughts, Price and Availability

It’s important to remember the brand we know as Bridgestone Golf is only about 15 years old. Technically, Bridgestone has been making golf balls in the U.S. since 1990 but that was under the Precept brand name. The Bridgestone e6 was one of the first balls the company introduced under the new brand and since 2005 it’s been Bridgestone’s top-selling ball.  That trend continued last summer post-lockdown and Mellow says the Bridgestone e6 has found a bit of a following with new golfers.

“It’s a category that for many years we didn’t participate in in a meaningful way,” admits Mellow. “But over the last two years, since e6 went to a two-piece construction, it’s made us look at this category a little deeper than we traditionally would have.

“We’ve added a little more innovation with the gradational slope of the new core, knowing that this category has created some traction for us.”

The new Bridgestone e6 will retail for $21.99 per dozen (same as the previous model) and will be available in white and in optic yellow. There’s no word on an update to the e6 Lady golf ball but the betting here is one should come by spring.

The new e6 will be available at retail starting Feb. 26.

For more information, visit Bridgestonegolf.com.

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