Key Takeaways
- Bridgestone adds weekend shifts to its Covington, Ga., factory.
- The factory is now running 24/7.
- Overall production capacity is up by 30 percent over pre-COVID levels.
Good news if you’re a fan of Bridgestone golf balls.
Bridgestone is kicking its golf ball production into overdrive this month. The company says it has boosted production capacity at its Covington, Ga., ball plant by 30 percent as of Feb. 1.
That tally, by the way, is a 30-percent increase over 2019 levels, not 2020 COVID-related adjusted capacity levels.
“Through January, we had been running three shifts five days a week,” says Bridgestone Golf CEO Dan Murphy. “Starting in February, we added two 12-hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays so we’re running 24/7 now.”
Bridgestone Golf Balls: Full Tilt, Full Time
Murphy, who returned to Bridgestone Golf as CEO nearly three years ago, says the additional weekend shifts are intended to be permanent, as the company has hired new workers to handle the extra load.
“We wouldn’t do it temporarily or lightly,” he says. “We’re confident the industry will continue to do well and we still think there’s plenty of pent-up demand for golf.”
Bridgestone, like many other manufacturers, shut its plant last spring. Once the plant reopened, Bridgestone returned to round-the-clock Monday through Friday shifts to meet demand.
“Our production cycles were just a little bit off last year,” Murphy says. “We had the shutdown but we pushed hard at the end of the year. On top of that, we added some ways to increase production in those existing hours.”
Bridgestone Golf Balls for Export
Bridgestone makes its Tour B and new e12 balls in Covington as well as the e6 ball. Most of those are sold domestically but Murphy says the plant is also helping meet Bridgestone’s worldwide demand.
“We do quite a bit of production for overseas. The Korean market is increasing and the UK market had been growing. I expect good things to happen in Canada when they open up again in the spring.”
Murphy says Bridgestone has been building 2021 inventory through the fall and winter. Shipments to retailers started in January and will continue hot and heavy into March.
“It’s Year Two for the Tour B ball but the second-year lull hasn’t really happened yet,” Murphy says. “We’re seeing really encouraging orders for that ball as well as for the new e12.”
A Future for Bridgestone Clubs?
While Bridgestone tries to reclaim golf ball market share, the company hasn’t released a new golf club in more than a year. And, as far as we can tell, no releases are in the pipeline for at least the first part of 2021. Is Bridgestone going to say “so long” to its golf equipment business?
Murphy insists the answer is “no.”
“We’re really, really good at golf balls. We have great clubs, too. But from a business perspective, golf equipment is a little more complicated. With quarantines, lockdowns and all the craziness we’ve experienced, we felt it was smart to stick to our strengths.”
Off-course sales stats dating back to last summer show Bridgestone as virtually non-existent in the wood, iron and wedge categories. Murphy says Bridgestone will bring on some new gear eventually but it’s clearly not a priority.
Longtime Bridgestone staffer Fred Couples recently switched to PING although he still games Bridgestone balls. Brent Snedeker has also left the fold, leaving Matt Kuchar as the only Bridgestone staffer still gaming the company’s clubs: a JGR Tour B driver, 2015 vintage J15CB irons and an even older J40 52-degree wedge.
When viewed through that lens, it’s probably best to keep expectations for Bridgestone’s golf club business fairly low.
The Market Share Game
Bridgestone is in a “win some, lose some” golf ball market share battle with Srixon for fourth place. Both companies are on the heels of third-place TaylorMade and all three are looking up at Callaway and Titleist. Bridgestone’s sales mix is interesting. Its top-selling single ball is the $20 per dozen e6 and the rest of its market share is spread equally among all its other balls. The Tour B series makes up roughly 25 percent of its off-course sales.
For his part, Murphy remains confident the golf boom of 2020 will continue into 2021 and beyond.
“The factors that led us to the COVID boom are still there. People are still working from home and they’re still socially distancing. And if working from home becomes more permanent, going out and playing a late-afternoon nine is going to become more common.”
For more information, visit Bridgestonegolf.com.
Simms
2 months agoGood for Bridgestone, how about the club companies…Ping just emailed me they are 4 to 5 weeks behind with irons…at this rate they will have new models out before we can put any wear on the latest models?
Martin
2 months agoBridgestone and Taylor Made Combination would be a good fit. They already have some of the same Tour Players. Bridgestone makes good clubs but TM has more brand awareness.
WYBob
2 months agoJohn: given the feedback on your article regarding Bridgestone’s need to offer the Tour B X and the Tour B XS in optic yellow, can you provide that input back to Bridgestone Golf. Given they offer optic yellow in the Tour B RX and Tour B RXS, and those balls have a similar urethane cover to the Tour B X and Tour B XS, it should be a simple thing to implement. If they are not offering optic yellow for marketing reasons, they are losing clients to Pro V1, TP5, and Z Star and should rethink that marketing strategy. Thanks…
Dickard
3 months agoTook my tour b x-cb to club champion last month, they couldn’t beat them, dispersion and smash factor. The feel of these irons are still better than the new ZX-7 which are endo forged too. Only way to get 4 additional yards was to put me in the new apex. Their HF-2 irons are super solid if you want stronger ball speed.
When their forged irons come back to the states. Ill be one of the first in line.
This year im playing the tour b x ball. You won’t regret trying that ball.
Bigaram
3 months agoI third that notion that if they came in yellow I’d switch grime prov1x
WYBob
3 months agoRegarding golf balls- the Tour B X and Tour B XS are exceptionally good balls and every bit as good if not better than all the other premium balls in the market. The only shortcoming is that they do not offer those 2 ball models in Optic Yellow. As a result, I tend to purchase Optic Yellow Pro V1’s or TP5’s (and I had been a long-term Bridgestone Tour B player). The optic yellow just works better with my aging eyesight. If Bridgestone would offer those 2 models in Optic Yellow, I’d be a loyal Tour B customer again. Regarding clubs, I still have a set of Bridgestone J33 Combo irons and a set of J33 cavity back irons (plus a J33 3 wood and J33 hybrid) which were incredible Japanese forgings. Bridgestone lost their way design-wise in the last few years. If they would get back to their Japanese roots and offer classically designed forged irons similar to what Srixon is now doing, they could be right up there with Mizuno and Srixon. They just need to get back to desirable quality forged irons. Just my 2 cents worth…
Michael G
3 months agoCompletely on the same page as this post. I’d play the Tour B X if it was in Optic Yellow. My eyes are unfortunately far below average as well.
Mat
3 months agoSame. I play the white one. The tour x is a great ball. But the lack of yellow is a massive disappointment. I’m going to look at other options if they don’t start. I used to order yellows from Japan…
Deacon Blues
3 months agoMy sentiments exactly. As an ex-tennis player old enough to remember when tennis balls were white, I’ve been a yellow ball advocate and player for several years now. I’d consider the Bridgestone Tour balls if they were available in yellow, but since they’re not I’ll stick with Srixon Z-Stars.
Mike
3 months agoGood article. First off, Bridgestone clubs are DOA,. They shouldn’t even waste plant space with them. For whatever reason I’ve never used Bridgestone balls that much, but I am looking to give them a try this year. Not sure if the B RX or the e12 would benefit my game but I definitely will test them both.