Equipment

GolfWRX Deep Dive: Bridgestone’s MindSet golf balls

Published

2 years ago

Jun 27, 2024

Visual technology in golf balls isn’t new. Heck, golfers have been drawing lines, dots, and other designs on their golf balls for years.

As of last year, most ball manufacturers had taken the plunge of offering some sort of ornamentation or alignment aid on their golf balls. However, Bridgestone had not. Why? Well, the company wasn’t interested in decorations for the sake of aesthetic appeal and felt if it was going to add any designs to its golf balls, there had to be a proven benefit to doing so. “We have always believed that the only reason to sell printed golf balls was if it provided added value to consumers,” Dan Murphy, President of Bridgestone Golf said at the time of the release.

Enter MindSet.

The MindSet process was created by Bridgestone Golf staffer Jason Day and his long-time mental coach, Jason Goldsmith.

“Jason Goldsmith and I worked together to develop a pre-shot system that went beyond the simple visualization I did when I was a kid. He understood how critical pre-shot visualization was to my game, but also knew I needed a more structured, complete routine,” said Day. “Now Bridgestone has made The MindSet process available to all golfers, which is going to be a game changer for a lot of people.”

To learn more about MindSet, GolfWRX caught up with David Vogrin, Director of Marketing at Bridgestone Golf.

GolfWRX: Before digging into the application of MindSet to Bridgestone golf balls, talk me through the history of MindSet.

DV: We’ve been exploring the concept of visual innovation on golf balls that enable players to improve their focus for several years. During that time, we studied the process of how our tour team used visual cues on their golf balls to get into the zone and perform consistently under pressure. The work on the project was stalled during COVID as we scrambled to meet the increase in demand that we saw during that time. In 2022, we signed Jason Day and he re-energized the project. Soon after researching Jason Day’s history with mindfulness techniques, we quickly realized that he would be the ideal candidate to work with to finish our work on the concept.

GolfWRX: For the layperson, can you drill down on the steps of the MindSet process?

DV: It is simple when you break it down. First, you “Identify Your Target.” In this step you gather information and take care of the pre-shot work that every golfer does before hitting a shot: determine the shot distance, figure out what is happening with weather elements such as wind, rain, etc., and ultimately decide on the shot and club you are going to hit. The second step is “Visualize the Shot Path,” which is a step a lot of everyday golfers skip over we’ve discovered. Here you connect to the target and visualize the shot you want to hit. People have different ways of executing this step, and one way is not necessarily any better than another. Some golfers will visualize the shot like watching a movie or golf on TV. Others will imagine a shot tracer line from where they hit their ball to the target. Some golfers are more kinesthetic and will choose to connect with the target/shot they want to hit by rehearsing the swing. Regardless of your preferred method, the idea is the same, connect your mind to the target. The final step is “Focus on the Dot.” This is where the magic happens. In this step, golfers focus on the green dot, while keeping their minds focused only on the target, then they pull the trigger to execute the swing.

GolfWRX: How does Jason Day fit into this picture?

DV: When we signed Jason and started this project up again, we knew his long history of using mindfulness techniques. We reached out to his team and were introduced to his performance coach, Jason Goldsmith. Goldsmith walked us step by step through the process he and Day have installed that keeps Jason focused. We broke the process down into key elements to make it digestible for the consumer. All successful professional golfers use a process to focus and perform under pressure, yet no golf ball manufacturer has ever endeavored to distill this process down to make it accessible to consumers or to apply it to a golf ball. Now we have. The cool thing about MindSet is that it works for top professional golfers like Jason Day as well as the recreational player.

GolfWRX: Finally, to the ball. How did this partnership come about?

DV: Once we started working through our concept and the process that Day was using, we quickly agreed that we could create a visual cue on the golf ball that would represent the process for Jason Day and consumers as well. From there, we created multiple iterations of prototypes on the golf ball to represent the process. Choosing the colors and the design became intuitive: the outer red ring represents the first step, the inner gold ring represents visualization, and the green dot represents the focal point for Jason (and now all golfers) who will use the MindSet process. Jason provided incredible feedback while working through the prototyping process until we landed on a design that would work for him and all golfers. It was a great experience and process for our team and his.

GolfWRX: Looking at the particulars, how does a golfer “use” a Bridgestone ball with the MindSet graphic?

DV: Aside from the green dot, which is where you focus before executing the shot, the rest of the design on the ball is a visual cue to remind players of the process steps that will enable them to be prepared to hit a shot. In practical terms, golfers only have the ball in hand off the tee and on the putting green. As they become assimilated in the process, they will be able to use the process even when the MindSet mark is not visible by focusing on a different focal point of the ball when they are ready to execute the shot. An example of this is focusing on the B mark, the side stamp, or even a dimple.

GolfWRX: What results are you seeing/what feedback are you getting from golfers who have put a MindSet ball in play?

DV: The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We have conducted tests with consumers of all skill levels and have seen over 80% of golfers who used the MindSet golf ball and process improve their score by an average of nearly three shots per round. With some players improving by 5 shots, 7 shots, and even 9 shots per round. Also, we believe this is a discipline and the longer you use it the more benefit you are going to see. This is an innovation that every golfer can use to help them play better.

Learn more about Bridgestone’s MindSet Tour B golf balls here.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.