January 11, 2011
New Love on Bridgestone Tour Team in 2011
Bridgestone Signs Renowned 20-Time PGA TOUR Champion Davis Love III
COVINGTON, GA - One of the most accomplished golfers of the modern era,
Davis Love III has joined the
Bridgestone Golf PGA TOUR Team, complementing a stellar group that includes
Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar,
Brandt Snedeker and Lee Trevino.
With 20 victories on the PGA TOUR over a 22 year period, Love is one of only four
players under the age of 50 to earn the coveted lifetime Tour exemption. His career
is highlighted by a major championship win at the 1997 PGA Championship and two
Players Championship victories in 1992 and 2003. He currently ranks sixth on the
all-time career money list, with over 40 million dollars in tournament winnings.
Beginning his PGA TOUR season this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Love will play
the new Bridgestone TOUR B330-S golf ball
and Bridgestone Golf prototype irons
(3-PW). In addition to his new Bridgestone equipment, Love will showcase
the Bridgestone brand on his Tour bag, hat and glove.
"Freddie and I go way back, we've played a lot of golf together and I consider him
one of my best friends on TOUR. He's been telling me for years about how great Bridgestone
is, so I finally decided to look into them for myself and I liked what I found,"
said Love. "I learned that they have industry-leading products and really creative
marketing, two things that really peaked my interest. With the
B330-S, I'm getting
more distance out of my driver and long irons and I feel very ready to compete in
2011."
"I'm really excited to be part of a brand that has the momentum of Bridgestone,"
Love continued. "To rise from a virtual unknown to the #2 golf ball in the industry
in just six years is amazing. I've been paying attention to what they've been doing
over the past few years and I really respect their efforts to educate consumers
on how to find the proper ball for their game, and their ads are some of the most
fun I've seen. I look forward to showing the world a bit more of my personality
in the 2011 ads. There is even one spot where I get to ride my bike. Motorcycle riding
is right up there with hunting and fishing as my favorite things to do off the course,
so that's pretty cool. I couldn't be more pumped about being on the Bridgestone
team."
Dan Murphy, Bridgestone Golf's Vice President of Marketing, expressed clear delight
in the company's Tour line-up for 2011: "What a coup for Bridgestone, to start the
new year with an icon such as Davis Love III on our Tour Team. His enthusiasm for
our new B330-S ball and our entire brand
momentum has infused us with tremendous energy as we enter the 2011 season."
DLIII and Ball-Fitting Was Love at First Sight
As the #1 ball-fitter in golf, Bridgestone launched its relationship with Davis
Love III by first exploring his swing speed and other launch conditions, ensuring
that Davis would be fitted with the perfect ball. After extensive testing at Bridgestone's
state-of-the-art R&D Center in Covington, GA, Davis selected Bridgestone's
new TOUR B330-S golf ball.
Designed for swing speeds greater than 105 mph, the TOUR B330-S features Bridgestone's
proprietary new RD10 resin mantle layers
for higher initial velocity and an overall softening of the mantle.
Like the TOUR B330, the B330-S features a SOFT Urethane 330-dimple design seamless
cover for the ultimate in piercing consistent flight, and tour-level spin and control
on the greens. However, for 2011, the TOUR B330-S dimple pattern was redesigned
to compensate for its softer cover and compression, and slightly higher driver spin
that comes as a result. Bridgestone engineers have created a new shallower 330-dimple
pattern with modified dimple spacing, designed to reduce up-shoot spin, creating
a flatter trajectory and wind performance consistent with that of the B330. Because
of his preference for a more penetrating ball flight, the new dimple pattern of
the B330-S fit him perfectly.
"I have been playing golf a long time," Love stated, "yet, even after all these
years, I found the Bridgestone ball-fitting process to be tremendously revealing
for me. I am confident that the new B330-S matches my swing properties as I picked
up more distance off the tee just by switching to it."
To date, Bridgestone has also fit nearly 100,000 consumers through its launch monitor
based ball-fitting initiative. For those that are not able to attend an in-person
ball-fitting, Bridgestone now offers several convenient options to help find the
right ball for your game. Bridgestone's multiple convenient options include: Click
(go.bridgestonegolf.com), Call (877.411.BFIT), or Text (BFIT to 55678)." More information
is available at www.bridgestonegolf.com/bfit.
# # #
Editor's Note: High-Res images of all Tour Staff and all new Bridgestone equipment are available upon request.
Bridgestone Golf, Inc., based in Covington, GA, manufactures and markets premium
golf balls, clubs and accessories under the Bridgestone and Precept brand names.
Bridgestone is represented on a world stage by a number of internationally famed
golfers including
Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar,
Davis Love III, Brandt Snedeker,
Paula Creamer, Nick Price,
and Lee Trevino.
Bridgestone Golf, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd.,
whose headquarters are in Tokyo.
Bridgestone Golf, Inc. is proud to be the #1 Ball Fitter in Golf as the industry
leader in live launch monitor fittings. Bridgestone provides three ways for golfers
to find the ball that best fits their game: live fittings through the
Bridgestone Ball Fitting Challenge, live online
chats with ball fitting
experts through its B-FIT service, and an easily accessible
Online Ball Selection Guide. For more
information on ball fitting, including a complete schedule of Ball Fitting Challenge
events, visit www.bridgestonegolf.com.
