Bridgestone e12 Speed Ball

In this Bridgestone e12 Speed Ball review, Nico Bollini puts the ball in play to see what type of feel and performance golfers can expect

Bridgestone e12 Speed Ball Review

The e12 Speed is a three-piece distance golf ball with much more of a long game focus for faster swing speeds, in contrast to the e12 Soft ball that focuses on a soft feel and performance for slower swingers.

Upon pulling this ball from the box and juggling with your wedge,  you'll notice the firm feel and very clicky sound that may not feel you with excitement to put it in play. But at least off the tee, you know it will be more than competitive thanks in part to the higher compression compared to the e12 soft.

Around the greens hitting pitches and putts, the firm feel is just as noticeable as it is off the tee and the surlyn cover means you don't get the backspin or reaction around the greens you expect if you play a urethane covered ball. Longer pitches have a higher flight, which bolsters stopping power to a degree, but leave yourself short-sided on a downslope and you'll likely have a lengthy putt for par.

Iron shots with this ball feel good. You can compress it and it feels solid, providing a consistent reaction of the face and strong, repeatable ball flight. This e12 Speed ball felt closer to a tour performing ball with the irons and provided more consistency, something golfers for whom iron play is a strength will really value.

It is of the tee that golfers will get the most enjoyment from putting this ball in play. We were pleasantly surprised with how fast it came off the face. It felt hot, and compared to a notable premium tour ball from another manufacturer the average ball speeds were similar. While the tour ball just beat it in terms of overall distance, the e12 Speed was less than a handful of yards behind - not bad for a ball that costs half as much.