Bridgestone e6 to feature new two-piece construction with same focus on flight and feel benefits of low compression

The Bridgestone e6 name has resonated with average golfers and their search for the right golf ball since its introduction in 2005. Touted for its straighter flight, three-piece construction and soft compression, the ball often was the company’s top-selling model.

So the news that a new Bridgestone e6 is on the way will surely cause a stir, especially when the new version will feature a new formulation. The good news for e6 fans is that its focus on a soft feel hasn’t diminished. If anything, the new construction will allow it to be enhanced.

While Bridgestone’s e12 Soft and e12 Speed balls will be the company’s premier three-piece, mantle layer with ionomer-cover options for distance and feel, the new e6 will be repositioned as a softer, two-piece ball that will be more affordably priced. Emphasis on softer, said Bridgestone’s Elliott Mellow.

“We definitely wanted to continue the heritage of the name of e6 with this ball,” he said. “By removing the mantle layer and going to a lower-compression golf ball, the consumers that had historically selected e6 on soft feel, they have a preference where feel trumps everything else.”

Mellow said the new e6 will be a 44-compression ball, on the low side for the industry and the lowest compression for a Bridgestone ball, save for the companion e6 Lady, which will check in at four compression points lower.

The e6 performance characteristics are centered on straighter flight, in addition to the soft feel. The two are designed to work hand in hand, as the low compression is designed to produce less spin with off-center strikes and less-than-direct impact force for many average golfer shots. Bridgestone has long held with its “e” family of balls that the softer construction helps reduce slice and hook spin for more optimized flight and better overall distance for average golfers compared to some multi-layered urethane cover balls focused on higher swing speed elite golfers.

Not to be overlooked will be the pricing on the e6, which will now be the lowest for a ball labeled e6 in its history. “If you look at where consumers are putting their money, the two-piece, low-compression balls have been a notable category that we haven’t been playing in in a meaningful way in the past,” Mellow said. “We know that consumers are basing their purchase decision on that price and on that kind of softer compression.”

In stores this week, the Bridgestone e6 will be offered in white and optic yellow, while the e6 Lady will be available in white and optic pink. Retail price is $22 a dozen.