50 Words or Less
The Bridgestone JGR CB Forged irons are traditional irons with extra offset. They make it easy to hit high, long, straight shots.
Introduction
“Offset” is a dirty word in most golf conversations. Irons with offset are derided as “shovels” and “for hackers” while irons with minimal offset are fetishized, even by high handicappers.
In designing the JGR CB Forged irons, Bridgestone took the same attitude that they did with their new golf ball commercial: forget the herd, let’s do what works. They designed an iron with additional offset to promote higher trajectory and better shots.
Looks
The Bridgestone JGR CB Forged irons do have a lot of offset. And it is a little jarring to see that much offset on an iron that’s otherwise so traditional and clean. As much of an elitist as I am about gear, it took me about two minutes to get over it. The top lines and soles are thin, the cavity is clean, and the toe has a pleasing, rounded shape . If you want to get hung up on offset, that’s fine. I think that in totality this is still a really good looking stick.
Sound & Feel
The first few swings I took with the Bridgestone JGR CB Forged irons had me thinking, “These feel good, but not great.” They had a forged feel but not that buttery softness that’s so sought after. Then I caught one truly flush and had a mouth-open, “Wow!” reaction. Catching one pure feels sensational – crisp and hot. It’s one of the best feeling sweet spots in memory.
All that illustrates the point that these irons have excellent feedback. Hitting it around the center feels good but not great. When you wander a little further out, you’ll know that too.
Performance
When I started the testing, I, like most gear snobs, expected all the offset to launch the ball a mile left. Wrong. Without making any compensations in my set up or swing, the JGR CB Forged irons launched shot after shot into a neat pile in the middle of the range.
Another common perception is that offset launches the ball too high with a weak, ballooning flight. Wrong again. They do launch the ball a little higher – on average, about 1.5 degrees higher than my gamers – but the ball flight was strong. The ease with which I hit these high made me sad that the set ends at a 5I.
What surprised me the most about the JGR CB Forged was the distance. While the comparison was not perfect (different lofts and shafts), I found the Bridgestones to be a few yards longer than my current gamers. Most importantly, they produced higher launch and more carry distance on thin shots, my most common miss.
Overall, the Bridgestone JGR CB Forged irons continue one of the most impressive trends in golf equipment: amazing performance being packed into traditional looking irons.
Conclusion
There are going to be plenty of golfers who write off the Bridgestone JGR CB Forged irons because of the offset. If you’re one of the golfers who is smart enough to give these a real shot, you can enjoy hitting it past the snobs. These irons have tremendous feedback and feel in addition to delivering some of the more impressive performance I’ve seen this year.
Bridgestone JGR CB Forged Irons Price & Specs
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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Hey Matt, can you compare the jgr to the j15cb?
Mat,
Unfortunately I can’t, I don’t have any experience with the J15CB.
Best,
Matt
Matt,
You may be the first to review this set of Irons.
I have a set of these Irons as a progression from the JGR Hybrid Irons. Would you say with the way these iron are set up, are they on the GI side of a SGI iron or a SGI side of a SG iron?
Do you see these as a upper teens HDCP iron?
How would you compare these to the Srixon Z-565’s?
Mark,
I think these can work for an upper teens player. They may not offer the most help in terms of ball speed, but they have solid forgiveness.
The Z 565 is a bit larger, has a touch less offset, and has slightly more forgiveness in terms of ball speed.
Best,
Matt
Matt…. when are u going to do a review on the New Bridgestone Tour B XD Drivers?
John,
When they send one in for review. :)
Please get on social media and let Bridgestone know you want to see a review on PluggedInGolf.
Best,
Matt
Matt: How are these compared to the Bridgestone GC Mid Irons, I’ve had for quite some time, would you say better or similar
Mike,
I haven’t played the CG Mids, so I can’t give you a comparison.
Best,
Matt
I have played the j15 pf and j15 cb models and these are easier to hit and longer then both. Bridgestone has a winner here, never have hit a iron that goes through the turf like these!
After reading your article I jumped straight in and gave these irons a shot. I was playing MP25s and I am a 7 handicap– I loved the look and feel of pured shots but was demoralized when a little off — decrease in distance and carry. After hitting the JGRs I love the look (traditional with a hint of GI) and completely impressed with the performance. Good swings are rewarded and off swings are reminded but not totaled punished. Great clubs and s great dead on review.
Hi Matt–just came across this review after googling the iron. I recently saw these in a local golf shop. I’m an improving 14 HC, currently playing mizuno JPX 850 forged for the past 3 years. Any thoughts on comparing the two? I’m not one to switch clubs a lot, but still struggle with consistency on my strikes. My misses tend to be pulls and hooks.
Thanks,
RJ
Rus,
If pulls and hooks are the problem, I would probably not choose an iron with this much offset. Beyond that, I don’t have any thoughts on comparing these to the JPX-850 because I haven’t tested them head to head.
Best,
Matt
Bought a set with the smacwrap graphite shafts only played one round with them but they are keepers longer then my Nike OS forged and the feel in great .