Bridgestone Golf has reinvented the golf ball as we know it. The company teamed up with Tiger Woods for a transformational golf ball innovation, solving the riddle of spin separation.

The company’s new TOUR B family delivers a game-changing combination of driver distance and greenside control unlike anything ever before, thanks to Bridgestone’s new REACTIV Urethane® cover.

The 2020 TOUR B balls are offered in four distinct models, each designed to appeal to a wide array of swing speeds and feel preferences – TOUR B X, TOUR B XS, TOUR B RX and TOUR B RXS. It’s being played by notable tour pros, including Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Matt Kuchar.

“Off the tee, ball speed is up and this new TOUR B XS is definitely longer while still being in my window,” Woods says.

Key Technologies

Smart Urethane

A urethane cover is a key characteristic that distinguishes a premium golf ball from lesser models. Urethane covers have significant roles in the spin off the driver and the feel around the green, as well as the ball’s durability. Bridgestone says extensive engineering has allowed it to create “smart urethane,” which it calls REACTIV. We caught up with Bridgestone during the 2020 PGA Show to see how the material reacts differently depending on the force of impact—rebounding more quickly on a driver swing and offering a softer touch on wedge shots.

Tour specifics

The 2020 Bridgestone ball lineup includes two balls—Tour B X and Tour B XS—that were created specifically for players with swing speeds exceeding 105 miles per hour. Both balls are three-piece constructions with the REACTIV cover, and utilize the company’s Gradational Compression Core and Active Acceleration Mantle to promote distance. The Tour B XS offers a softer feel and more spin around the green, and is the ball Tiger is using.

Different approaches

For golfers who don’t swing it quite as a hard as a tour pro, Bridgestone is offering its Tour B RX and B RXS balls. RXS offers a slightly softer cover for the most greenside spin, while the RX offers strong feel and “hit-and-sit” performance. Each three-piece ball uses the REACTIV core. These are the balls being used by the likes of Fred Couples and Rocco Mediate.