‘That Iron’ Swallows Up the Shinhan Donghae Open... Bridgestone’s Forged Masterpiece

[Financial News]  The heavy, buttery feel of forged irons is the most primal and captivating pleasure a golfer can enjoy on the fairway.
The electric thrill that travels through your hands when you strike directly through the sweet spot has a fatal magic: once you experience it, you can never go back to cast irons.
Bridgestone Golf, a master of forged irons, will unveil its next-generation lineup, the ‘B-FORGED’ series (100CB, 200CB+, and BITING SPIN2 wedges), on October 15. The series takes this essential pleasure to the extreme.
Inherited from the acclaimed Bridgestone 241CB and Bridgestone 242CB+ Iron models, which earned the absolute trust of tour professionals, the new lineup reveals Bridgestone’s uncompromising craftsmanship and fierce confidence through the word ‘FORGED,’ placed prominently in its name.



The tour-oriented 100CB iron, designed for elite players, focuses squarely on shot-making and feel. Its most notable change is the Impact Core, the heart of its feel at impact. The impact-area thickness has been increased by a remarkable 20% compared with the previous model, elevating Bridgestone’s signature deep, soft feel to an art form as the ball sticks to the face before springing away.
The design has also become more razor-sharp. The heel topline, which catches the golfer’s eye at address, has been lowered, while the leading edge has been refined into a straight line, creating a tense, sharp look that seems ready to fire toward the target at any moment. The Tour Contact Sole, praised on the previous model, has also evolved into a three-dimensional design. Cutting across the entire sole from toe to heel, its geometry allows the head to slice through and exit the turf cleanly, without snagging, even from tough Korean-style rough or hardpan.



The model receiving the hottest spotlight in this lineup is undoubtedly the 200CB+. At the recently concluded 40th Shinhan Donghae Open, Kosuke Sunagawa captured a dramatic victory with these irons, setting equipment enthusiasts’ hearts racing even before the official launch.
The 200CB+ strikes the perfect balance between the remarkable forgiveness of the Bridgestone V300, known as the ‘people’s iron,’ and the tour-level feel of the 100CB. Although its sleek shape resembles the 100CB, it uses a pocket-cavity structure with a substantially expanded inner pocket area inside the head. It intelligently guards against distance loss and hooks or slices on off-center shots, while its thickly designed back face completely eliminates the thin, flighty feel often associated with hollow cavities.



The essence of an iron ultimately lies in its stopping power. To prevent the ball from sliding across the face at impact, the B-FORGED series maximizes the friction created by its sandblasting process. The score lines have also been positioned lower, allowing more grooves to aggressively scrape up the dimples on the ball at the moment of impact. The pitching wedge (PW), which demands precise attacks on the green, receives even finer milling to create the magic of a ball stopping on contact as if the brakes had been applied.
Interestingly, to demonstrate this powerful feel, Bridgestone Golf inserted the explosive impact sound produced when Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) professionals Han-mil Jeong and Yu-ho Lee actually tested the clubs into its TV commercial without alteration. Rather than relying on forced superlatives, a single honest crack of impact best conveys the true value of forged irons.
As autumn approaches, golfers ready to attack the pin with a deeper, heavier feel at impact will find Bridgestone’s purpose-built B-FORGED lineup to be the most formidable strategic weapon in their caddie bags this season.

[email protected] Sang-il Jeon Reporter