How Matt Kuchar picked up 10 yards with a Bridgestone prototype ball

Matt Kuchar failed to defend his Mayakoba Golf Classic title, but it was still a good week for the nine-time Tour winner. The respectable T14 showing was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the par-3 8th during the final round — and it came using a new Bridgestone Tour B X prototype golf ball in action for the first time this week.

The Tour B X prototype has been gaining traction on Tour going back to September when Bryson DeChambeau switched balls after finding an additional 750 RPMs of spin around the green. In Kuchar’s case, a combination of distance and greenside spin led to the ball shakeup.

During testing leading up to Mayakoba, Kuchar, who ranks 247th of 248 on Tour in driving distance (276.5 yards), found an additional 1.5 miles per hour ball speed with the ball, which equated to an additional 4 yards. With the rollout, Kuchar was consistently seeing an increase of 10.5 yards per drive.

Although you can’t count on rollout number, the ball speed and distance bump were sufficient enough to green-light the switch. Kuchar also reportedly saw similar launch characteristics with a lower total spin off the tee. Spin also increased around the green, where he picked a couple hundred RPMs with the scoring clubs.

Kuchar’s first week with the ball produced similar distance numbers to what he’s seen in the past, but it’s worth noting that was on a water-logged El Camaleon course. He’ll have another opportunity to see how it handles this week at the RSM Classic.

To hear more gear insights from Jonathan Wall and True Spec’s Tim Briand, subscribe and listen each week to GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast: iTunes | SoundCloud | Spotify | Stitcher