Bridgestone Ireland have been a client of ours for a number of years now and happily, some of the projects we have worked on have been outside the box- just as we like it.

We are always discussing different projects and we had suggested racing a race car against a gold ball as something of a prank- for social media purposes. When Bridgestone wanted to announce their continuing support of the young Irish Golfers with the “Order of Merit”, we needed some action- and a venue.

Our thoughts immediately turned to Mondello Park and the BMW Experience. These high powered machines are shod with Bridgestone Tyres and so fitted the bill to perfection. A little bit of research showed us that a well driven golf ball leaves the club at almost 190 km/h so we thought the race might be a little one sided. However though, both aerodynamics and gravity soon take their their toll on the ball’s speed and trajectory. On the other hand, the BMW M2 Competition is one of the fastest accelerating saloon cars on the market and as the ball was slowing, would still be pulling like the proverbial train! This gave us exactly the ingredients needed for a proper race!

A trial event the day before the event showed that our calculations were correct and if we started the race at the final corner, it would be remarkably close at the official start/finish line.  As you will see from our video, which will be posted in a weeks time- it was incredibly close on the day, and the various press and attendees were hugely entertained- before enjoying lunch and some hot laps in the M2 alongside one of Mondello Park’s professional instructors.

Ireland international golfer Conor Purcell tees off at the Bridgestone Orders of Merit launch, Mondello Park, Naas, Kildare, Ireland.  Picture Fran Caffrey / Golffile.ie