Tiger Woods is endorsing Bridgestone Golf in a new deal with the company to play their Tour B330-S golf ball, his first equipment endorsement deal since Nike Golf announced they would stop making golf equipment.
Woods played the Bridgestone Golf Tour B330-S golf ball in his return to competitive golf at the 2016 Hero World Challenge. After testing several balls in the lead up to the event, Woods found it to be the best option for him, and perhaps he found some comfort in Bridgestone having made several lines of Nike Golf balls before they invested more in their development and manufacturing processes.
“Finding the right golf ball is extremely important," said Woods in a release announcing the deal. "It’s an essential part of my equipment, and the Bridgestone B330-S ball is hands-down the best for my game. Controlling launch and trajectory is critical, and with this ball I feel I have total control to hit all shots accurately. I’m not just here to play – I’m here to win, and the innovative breakthroughs of the Bridgestone B330-S ball can help me do that.”
Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed.
Woods had a modest showing in his return, finishing 15th among 17 players to complete the event. However, he topped the field in birdies along with winner Hideki Matsuyama. Woods has always preferred a ball that delivers a little more spin than the modern Tour ball. The B330-S model, which is built for players with swing speeds over 105mph, provides that for Woods with a two-layer TourCore, while the SlipRes cover is designed to kill driver spin while maintaining greenside spin and control. Dual Dimple technology uses an inner dimple to reduce drag at early launch while the outer dimple encourages a shallow angle of descent to produce more rollout with the driver.
“As of right now, I’m longer than I’ve ever been. I’m about 6 yards longer," Woods said.
Woods will appear in all aspects of Bridgestone Golf marketing, joining the likes of Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Bryson DeChambeau.
At this time, Woods has not indicated any additional endorsement deals beyond the Bridgestone ball. However, Woods did game TaylorMade M2 woods in the Bahamas while sticking with his old Nike VR Pro blade gamers.
