Bridgestone Golf J40 Iron Review - A Lot More Than Just A Golf Ball Company

Now that Brandt Snedeker has just taken home the 2012 Fed Ex Cup by winning the Tour Championship we thought we would test the irons Brandt used in helping him get to the top spot this year. Brandt is one of Bridgestone Golf's top sponored golf professionals along with Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III and Freddie Couples.

When you think of the Bridgestone Golf, odds are you think of the hot, new B330 and eSeries golf balls, both of which have become very popular recently. What you might not know is that Bridgestone has produced a couple sets of stunning forged irons that have silently flown under the radar.

That is until now...

APPEARANCES:

We tested out both sets of new Bridgestone irons: The Bridgestone J40 Cavity Backs (CB) and the Bridgestone J40 Dual Pocket Cavity (PC). Beginning with the Cavity Backs, each iron demonstrates the appearance and feel that Tour professionals are looking for. At address, the thin topline, short heel-to-toe profile and raised face design look like an iron designed for true shotshaping. But turn it over and you'll see the Cavity Backs are really a modified cavity back, with a perimeter-weighted design and added weight placed behind the sweet spot. This does two things that a standard blade doesn't. It increases forgiveness, which helps golfers hit longer shots, all while retaining the ability to work the ball that comes from the traditional shape. The J40 Dual PCs have a extended profile from heel to toe and two pocket cavities behind the face, both designed to increase the forgiveness factor. Both irons are forged, both have sole designs for versatility (the CBs with slightly more), and both come with Project X steel flighted shafts. Oh, and as for looks? Just look at the photos. They're sweet from head to toe.

FEEL & PERFORMANCE:

As much as we wish we could keep it a secret, the J40 CBs and PCs are much, much more forgiving and longer than you might expect. Yes, they're forged and feel soft and buttery as you'd expect, but they both are very forgiving on miss-hits and distance, even on slightly off-center hits. In the case of the CBs, we felt as though each iron was up to one full club longer than similar forged irons we've tried lately. We realize the strong Project X shaft may have something to do with that, but shots hit with these irons bore through the air with a Tour-like trajectory. In regards to the PCs, they too were long, and a tad more forgiving with the middle and longer irons. That said, it's important to consider these irons were tested by a single-digit handicapper, one of whom already plays forged irons. So don't think these irons are any sort of game-improvement irons. They're not. They're a Players iron, with game-improvement qualities built right in. The PCs had a higher trajectory (albeit only slightly) than the CBs, and the longer irons (4-6) were more forgiving.

EVALUATION:

Both irons, the CBs and the PCs, surpassed our expectations in terms of distance and forgiveness. As for versatility, we didn't have issues hitting different types of shots either. We did feel that they may be better suited for stronger players, possibly due to the Tour-friendly Project X shafts, which combined, might make it more difficult for an average player to hit higher shots. Nonetheless, with the proper iron frequency (flex), that could make a big difference.

We liked both irons a great deal, and couldn't decide on which we favored more. We actually made ourselves a best-of-both-worlds combo set using the Pocket Cavity irons as our long irons (3-6 iron) and the Cavity Back irons as our scoring irons (7-PW). For you forged-irons junkies (like us) who want either an iron that's long and forgiving that's also forged (the PCs), or a forged iron that's also long and forgiving (the CBs), you can't go wrong with these two options. Great Job, Bridgestone!

You can order the Bridgestone J40 Cavity Back Or Dual Pocket Iron Set at a great price at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment.