Chris Gotterup earned his second win of the season at the WM Phoenix Open. But with his first win at the Sony Open, he ensured a Bridgestone ball witnessed a PGA Tour win ahead of its official launch. And that became the turning point in his golf game. 

Speaking to Golf Digest, Chris Gotterup recalled that upon transferring to the University of Oklahoma in fall of 2021, the program had long been using Bridgestone golf balls.

So when his coach encouraged him to test some leftovers, despite having previously rotated between TaylorMade and Titleist models, he did not hesitate to experiment, but "ended up playing Titleist when I first came out of school.”

During his time at the Korn Ferry Q-School, he learned that Bridgestone was interested in working with him. He even visited their facility after attending the Haskins Award ceremony. That’s where he spent a testing session in the wind and met with the people designing and manufacturing the ball. 

“I thought, ‘Wow, this thing is amazing.’ That was before even hitting it,” Gotterup confessed. “Then, after hitting it, I was like, Alright, I’m playing the final stage of Q-School, I’m gonna throw it in for that. If I like it, great. I ended up coming in third, and the rest is history.”

Yes, we’re talking about the Bridgestone vs Black prototype carrying the ‘MindSet’ technology markings. It’s now popular as the Bridgestone 2026 Tour B X ball. The company’s VeoSurge technology, combined with personalized fitting, elevated Gotterup’s game. 

Chris Gotterup and Bridgestone Acted in Synergy for the Wins

Following his victory at the WM Phoenix Open, Chris Gotterup admitted, “I couldn't have done it without Bridgestone and the new TOUR B X with MindSet.”

Meanwhile, the President of Bridgestone Golf, Dan Murphy, sent the credits for the golfer’s skills. He told the Conway Bulletin, “We believe deeply in Chris' ability, heart, and competitiveness and knew he was destined for big things.”

Apart from the new golf ball, Gotterup used the Ping G440 LST (HZRDUS Smoke Black 70), 7.5 degrees driver; TaylorMade BRNR Mini, 13.5 degrees 3-wood; TaylorMade Qi35, 18 degrees 5-wood, Bridgestone 220 MB irons; TaylorMade Milled Grind 5 (46, 52, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind prototype (60 degrees) wedges; and TaylorMade Spider Tour X X1 putter. 

But did the choice of clubs also affect his gameplay this season? We’ll let you answer that in the comments.

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Joyita Das