Posted July 14, 201410 yr Will TourStage and Bridgestone become one? Looks to be the case and it explains why TourStage has let go many of their JPGA tour players. It also explains why they were missing at the Japan Golf Show for the first time since its inception.
July 14, 201410 yr Author And it's no longer made at Endo...www.bs-sports.co.jp/press/2014/g0714_bsg_dr/g0714_bsg_dr.pdfwww.bs-sports.co.jp/press/2014/g0714_bsg_iron/g0714_bsg_iron.pdfwww.bs-sports.co.jp/press/2014/g0714_bsg_fwut/g0714_bsg_fwut.pdfwww.bs-sports.co.jp/press/2014/g0714_bsg_wedge/g0714_bsg_wedge.pdfwww.bs-sports.co.jp/press/2014/g0714_bsg_ladies/g0714_bsg_ladies.pdf
July 14, 201410 yr I've just bought my 1st set of Tourstage irons: MR-23 US Blades. A few years old now but look fantastic. Have read that they're quite demanding but feel great and have a relatively low ballflight. We'll see how these go. They should make me concentrate on my swing if nothing else!
July 14, 201410 yr Too bad...that 709 line-up of irons was one of the best from blade to CB that anyone's put out ever.
July 14, 201410 yr The 'Titleist' of JDM I think Chris called them in the past?..... it sure looks like they've dumbed them down (and not just by dropping the Endo forgings) so yeah, now look more like Titleist.... wonder if the prices will reflect this apparent watering down for the US Market? Edited July 14, 201410 yr by corky3
July 14, 201410 yr Bridgestone in the US do make some good golf balls, same with TourStage in JDM land, hopefully this closer marriage will help at least produce innovations there, while I do agree with the comments on the clubs above...
July 14, 201410 yr Author These do not look JDM, at first sight without knowing and by looking at the fit and finish I could guess they were not Endo made, that doesn't mean they aren't good, I'm sure coming from bridgestone the homework was done and they perform admirably but I have a feeling that Bridgestone will produce global models and not JDM/USDM models separately. Which is fine as we need to work on our USDM forum section anyway. on that note guys we are considering moving some JDM brands that now have an official U.S presence into the USDM forum after we enhance that section. JDM clubs should be unique to the JDM market or at the very least a limited release that's not available in the states. This would include brands like Bridgestone, Fourteen, ONOFF ( non labo ), Epon NA, Miura NA, etc.. If you have any thoughts on this or if someone is interested in moderating and contributing we can compensate for that, it's pretty dead right now buy we have a road map to make is a great section that provides value.
July 14, 201410 yr Too bad...that 709 line-up of irons was one of the best from blade to CB that anyone's put out ever. Couldn't agree more. Absolutely fantastic. This is a big boooooo.
July 15, 201410 yr I think there will be a JDM line of Bridgestone stuff, just like TM, Callaway, Titleist.
July 15, 201410 yr Would this include their shoes and other accessories as well? I hope not, Tourstage has some of the best looking designs I've seen in golf shoes.
July 15, 201410 yr shame... they got me into JDM Same here. I will say this makes perfect sense for Bridgestone. Absorbing TS will make them a full line golf company. Should also help them with costs in all departments by streamlining and consolidating. I think it will also bring the newest tech faster to the Bridgestone eq. I think this is a good and very smart move by Bstone, It's a tough market out there. This is going to make them a bigger, better player.
July 15, 201410 yr Looks like they are launching a new site: http://www.bs-golf.com/ A lot of "coming soon" but it looks like the B330 ball series will be heading to Japan (which in my opinion, is a spectacular ball).
July 16, 201410 yr Epon relegated to USDM just doesn't seem right some how. A strong USDM forum does hold value but I can't see how endo designs should be categorised as USDM.
July 16, 201410 yr It'll still probably be great stuff, I just have a hard time separating "Bridgestone" from tires. I much prefer the Tourstage name, sounds like it's more serious as opposed to an offshoot of their tire business.
July 16, 201410 yr I asked my friend who owns a golf shop in Japan and he told me that there product life cycles over the past few years have become too fast for their target market, their clothing line as also looked very stale and dated and basically their sales have tanked. I think within the male Japanese tour pros they lack a star name, or a golfer that's easily marketable. They've not really had a distinct offering either for a few years - for me the V Series and the X Series worked well but then they cut back on the V-Series, except for the driver and ball, then they had the GR in between the X and the V - then they expanded the GR series, whilst at the same time diluting the core X-Series products. IMO their last couple of driver lines have really lacked that wow factor that I used to associate with TourStage - I think they've started following rather than leading. I don't know how well they'll do with Bridgestone golf in Japan as they've always had a Bridgestone line (amongst others) set at a much lower price point... Hey ho that's why I stick with the 'Ji-Kurabu' small manufacturers...
July 16, 201410 yr It'll still probably be great stuff, I just have a hard time separating "Bridgestone" from tires. I much prefer the Tourstage name, sounds like it's more serious as opposed to an offshoot of their tire business. Couldn't agree more.
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