Callaway FT Optiforce Driver Review - Forum Testing

[Wake]

What kind of results were you getting? I found that the draw setting works very well. I was putting everything on the left side of the fairway due to my alignment being off after hitting slices and fades for so long. I just need more practice time to dial it in and I think I'll be putting them in the center all day.

I was aiming down the right side of the fairway and missing on the left side. It was too much draw, borderline hook. I could hit a straight ball or baby fade, but it took me REALLY trying to hold it off. I had better results with the neutral setting. My ball flight was dang near perfect.

 

[War Eagle]

Quick clarification needed.

When you say "longer than my normal gamer" you mean the shaft length correct?

Yes, I am referring to physical length. That's why it took me a bit to readjust.

 

[Wake]

Yes, I am referring to physical length. That's why it took me a bit to readjust.

It seemed to be a bit longer than your gamer in tee ball length as well.

 

[War Eagle]

It seemed to be a bit longer than your gamer in tee ball length as well.

That too.

 

[Smithfaced]

I had the Optiforce 440 out on the course yesterday. And I have to tell you the overall weight of the club is extremely light as people have said but not so light that you lose contact with the overall feel of the club. I hit it 5 times twice very well, three times just okay and I think that was more due to the weight than anything else. I prefer a heavier shaft in the 60-70g range.

The head shape is my favorite feature about the club. A smaller gloss black head. The illusion of a deep face is present but not actually a reality. The 440 head is compact and gives me the look if a deep faced driver. I love this feature. I'm looking forward to more testing with a heavier shaft.

I've been thinking about what shafts I'm going to try out after I put the stock shaft through it paces. I prefer a heavier shaft as well but I am liking the lighter weight Diamana. What shafts have you been contemplating?

 

[War Eagle]

Optiforce Forum Testing Review;

Sitting here thinking about my two rounds with the Optiforce, I have so many thoughts to kick around that it's not even funny. What I can gather from my two rounds is that this driver is definitely a good fit for what I look for in a driver, but at the same time, I need to hit the range and really work on my driver swing and unleash the full potential of this driver.

Performance;
As I said previously, the technology and specifications of the Optiforce is the complete package of what interests me in a driver. Lighter weight, less drag due to improved aerodynamics, and a face that is a bit smaller than other drivers on the market. For me, it just sits perfect to my eye, and that alone is something that inspires confidence on the tee.
With the Optiforce, what I am seeing in terms of performance is without a doubt impressive. I can play my shot as I want, which is typically a fade. The higher spin head on the Optiforce compared to my previous driver has turned a large swooping cut in to a tight fade that I can rely on. Rather than playing my shot from the left line of the fairway all the way to the right cut of the fairway, I am finding myself sitting in the middle of the fairway due to the reduced movement from left to right. On top of the reduced movement in flight from left to right, the distance is easily 15-20 yards longer.

• I put the two drivers head to head on a Par 5 on Sunday, and I hit both shots just about as perfect as I can. It was a wide open par 5, and I aimed directly toward the yardage stakes in the fairway. Both were a nice little cut, that is what is typical of my swing. Both balls were great tee shots for me, but it was apparent after my tee shot with the Optiforce, that the overall results were a bit more impressive. In terms of ball flight, my launch was a bit higher, and gave me a ball flight that is much more ideal than my typical mid ball flight. The biggest difference was when we got to both balls. Right in the same spot of the fairway, however, the Optiforce was easily 20 yards in front of the other shot. This is in wet conditions, with no roll, so both shots were looked at as all carry. Gaining that distance is a big deal for me, as I am not the longest hitter off the tee. I dont think that 20 yards is an average improvement, but without a doubt the Optiforce was giving me a slight distance gain than I am used to off the tee during my round.

Adjustability;
During my range session prior to my round, I took the time to make some adjustments to the Advanced Optifit Technology. The adapter here on the Optifit is a bit different than most others out right now. It has two cogs that can be adjusted, and each of them plays an interesting role. Whereas you would think that each cog affected loft or face bias, that is not the case. Each cog has settings for loft ( +/- ) as well as face settings (Draw/Neutral). The booklet that comes with the driver shows a few settings, but while I was first confused by it, adjusting it on the fly was quite easy, as the cogs only fit together in certain settings. I found myself intrigued by the D+1* setting. Giving me a slightly closed face, and adjusting the loft up to 11.5*.

While on the range, I was hitting one of two shots; Straight or a slight Draw. Playing with another THPer had him baffled, as me hitting a Draw is about as rare as it comes. But shot after shot on the range, the draw was there. Unfortunately for me, I reverted back to my stock swing on the course and found that I was playing a small cut off the tee, regardless of where the setting was. This is a product of my swing flat, not so much the driver setting. However, what I found on the range is, when I work on my swing and put the swing I want on the Optiforce, the settings, do in fact produce the result that I want. This falls in line to what I said earlier, in that I need some range time to really dial in this driver and unleash what it can do for my game.

Struggles;
I hate using this word here, as I have not had a ton of struggles with this driver. The one issue I have had with this one is it's length. Stock it comes at 46", which is a full 1" longer than my previous driver. While this doesnt typically cause an issue for me, I struggled at the start of my round with addressing the ball too close, and was not hitting shots that were very impressive. Obviously, being an inch longer, I needed to make adjustments to my setup. Once I focused in on this, my shots were what I was looking for.



So far, with two rounds in the book and a range session prior to my second round, I have to say that I am impressed with the Optiforce. As I said at the beginning of this post, the technology packed in to this driver is really the perfect package for me when I am looking at Driver specifications. Lighter weight, less drag, and increased club head speed for more distance...easily three things that can benefit me off the tee. I definitely realize that some dedicated range time on my swing and it's relationship with this driver is needed, but even without it, the results have been quite impressive for me. I look to spend some time on the range later in this week, to focus on a few things; My swing. Performance with the Optiforce. Adjustability and the settings that the Advanced Optifit Technology offer the golfer.

Feel free to fire any questions you may have my way!

 

[tpluff]

War, I've never had the honor of a round of golf with you, but seeing that you are hitting a slight draw with this makes me excited for all us faders. Are you doing anything different with your set up (also associated with the extra 1") that could cause this or is it the specific setting you put it at causing it? Great insight from everyone so far.

 

[War Eagle]

War, I've never had the honor of a round of golf with you, but seeing that you are hitting a slight draw with this makes me excited for all us faders. Are you doing anything different with your set up (also associated with the extra 1") that could cause this or is it the specific setting you put it at causing it? Great insight from everyone so far.

The draw was primarily on the range where I was a bit more concentrated and willing to get away from my "comfort" swing.

The draw was coming on the draw setting, with the face slightly closed.

 

[Kobey]

Nice post War. Your experience has been almost identical to mine. I've only had one round with the Optiforce so far, but I really feel it's going to be a game changer. The added distance is great all by itself, but when you add in adjustments that actually work for me it's a no-brainer. I plan on getting some range time in before my round on friday to get it dialed in.

I was planning on sticking with unadjustable drivers from now on because I never obtained good results with my R11S. No matter how I adjusted it, nothing seemed to really change much. I prefer to take my grip first and hover and the Optiforce is designed to do just that. Moving the head instead of the shaft is a revolutionary design in adjustable drivers as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Canes]

War, you mentioned the stock shaft being 1" longer than your previous driver. Do you think Callaway did that on purpose to help add more distance?

Also, how does this compare to the Razr Fit Xtreme 460cc model? (not sure if you've demoed that one?)

Thanks for the write ups, and keep up the good work!

 

[greggdrews]

Everyone says you can tell how light the optiforce is and I've read it's around 290gm overall. I've tried to do some searches on how heavy my 910d3 is or the R1 etc but cant really find total club weights. Just wondering if anyone has any info to compare it's overall weight to other top drivers.

 

[#Cookie]

War: great stuff man and you certainly have me curious. Getting that fade to a slight draw or straight is admittedly nice but that 10 yards is just impressive.

Are you seeing any negatives yet? I saw where you typed struggles but didn't really see anything after that which I would consider a struggle.

 

[War Eagle]

War: great stuff man and you certainly have me curious. Getting that fade to a slight draw or straight is admittedly nice but that 10 yards is just impressive.

Are you seeing any negatives yet? I saw where you typed struggles but didn't really see anything after that which I would consider a struggle.

Not too many negatives at this point, Cookie. I have hat to adjust my setup with this driver in hand, due to the physical length. But an issue for most, but when that has cause me a few problems.

My miss right now with the Optiforce is high on the club face. Working to find the proper the height, mixed with the club being longer had been something that I need to iron out. A few pop-ups have been the result of that.

All in all, for me, the only struggles I have found lie with me and my setup. Some dedicated range time should hey that fixed with out issue.

 

[blugold]

Callaway FT Optiforce Driver Review - Forum Testing

I'm sure it's been covered. But any issues with the length and weight causing tempo issues?

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

War- does Callaway recommend not getting a shorter shaft for this driver?

 

[JB]

Not too many negatives at this point, Cookie. I have hat to adjust my setup with this driver in hand, due to the physical length. But an issue for most, but when that has cause me a few problems.

My miss right now with the Optiforce is high on the club face. Working to find the proper the height, mixed with the club being longer had been something that I need to iron out. A few pop-ups have been the result of that.

All in all, for me, the only struggles I have found lie with me and my setup. Some dedicated range time should hey that fixed with out issue.

Coming from the very deep Classic XL driver, this miss does not surprise me. I missed there too early on. A slight tee height adjustment could be the ticket.

 

[#Cookie]

Not too many negatives at this point, Cookie. I have hat to adjust my setup with this driver in hand, due to the physical length. But an issue for most, but when that has cause me a few problems.

My miss right now with the Optiforce is high on the club face. Working to find the proper the height, mixed with the club being longer had been something that I need to iron out. A few pop-ups have been the result of that.

All in all, for me, the only struggles I have found lie with me and my setup. Some dedicated range time should hey that fixed with out issue.

That's pretty promising man. How much longer over stock is this compared to the XLC? I was one that took off almost an inch off the XLC for more consistent contact but am playing the R1 at stock with no issues.

I'm still shocked that you were able to find the straight/draw with this because IIRC you tried that with the XLC without too much success.

 

[dcbrad]

Sorry for the delay on this post. I had hoped to get it posted yesterday afternoon, but life/work got in the way and I had to wait until this morning to finish up some thoughts on my first round and trackman session with the FT Optiforce.

What I wanted to do with this post is go through some of the numbers I got from the Trackman session I had over the weekend at Pine Lakes Golf Course with PGA pro Chris Carfangia. He was nice enough to allow tnolan and I to come down and spend a couple of hours with him on his Trackman, and also get his opinion on it as well. I also want to go through and periodically and assess Callaway’s marketing points on this club. What are those you say? Let’s list what Callaway has on their website: (http://www.callawaygolf.com/global/...drivers/ft-optiforce-driver/ft-optiforce.html)

Speed Optimized Technology

• Lightweight head, shaft and grip combined with an advanced aerodynamic head shape help reduce drag by 23% to increase clubhead speed, providing superior ball speed and distance.

23% less drag claim based on calculated energy loss due to drag throughout the downswing of 440 model 9.5* vs X Hot Pro 9.5*

Advanced OptiFit Technology

• An Advanced OptiFit Hosel allows golfers to adjust the loft of the clubhead and the directional bias to either Draw or Neutral for optimum shot trajectory

Speed Frame Face Technology

• A combination of VFT and Hyperbolic Face Technology creates a larger sweet spot and fast ball speed for maximum distance. This technology also saves weight that can be redistributed to the perimeter of the clubhead for a higher MOI.

Let’s now break that down to what I have been seeing with this club:

Speed Optimized Technology: You have to notice right off the bat that the “23% less claim” is an “in house” number so to speak. Meaning they are comparing this to their own drivers, in this case, the X-Hot Pro. So the 23% less drag can be a bit misleading, just because I don’t think there has been a comparable test with every single driver out there. So, with that in mind, less drag is going to equal more head speed, which in turn is going to increase ball speed, all other things being equal. Here are some of the numbers from a comparison run with the Bridgestone J40 445 9.5* and the Callaway FTOptiforce 460 set at 10.5* in the neutral setting. These are averages for about 8-10 swings with each club

	J40	FTOptiforce
Club Head Speed	105 mph	108 mph
Ball Speed	147 mph	154 mph
Spin	3500 rpms	4200 rpms
Distance (carry)	240 yards	256 yards

You can see right off the bat that with the FTOptiforce, I was able to generate (on average) a faster club head speed which in turn created a faster ball speed and produced a longer carry on my drives. One downfall was that I spun the FTOptiforce more than I did the J40. This makes sense though, as the J40 is one of the lowest spinning heads out there. So some more spin was going to be expected. Also, my swing is definitely not perfect and I tend to spin the ball a little more.

Another thing to note is that the FT Optiforce plays at 46” and my J40 plays at 44.5”. That is going to create some difference in club head speed and distance as well which could be partially contributing to the increase in numbers across the board with the Optiforce.

Advanced OptiFit Technology: The hosel is very unique and pretty technologically advanced as some of the previous testers have posted about. Changing the loft/lie is very easy. You first find what loft you want, whether it is 9.5*, 10.5*. 11.5* or 12.5*, then you decide whether you want the face to be Neutral or more of a draw bias. The nice thing about it is that the shaft doesn’t move like on previous drivers. This allows you to put the grip the way you want on the shaft and not have to worry about using a 360 grip of you don’t like looking at the logos. Callaway I think has hit a home run on this part of the technology.

Speed Frame Face Technology: In the 460 model, the CG(Center of Gravity) is moved toward the front (face) of the club slightly, with it being more centrally located in the 440 model. This is going to allow for slightly more forgiving face in the 460 and allow you to have some more workability with the 440. I will say that in my experience with this club, misses on the heal and the toe are going to be slightly shorter, but you are still going to get a great ball flight out of those types of shots.


1[SUP]st[/SUP] Round Thoughts: Just a few extra things to add about my round because War Eagle did a great job of hitting some of the same points that I have noticed with this club.

-Right off the bat, I am noticing that the Diamana shaft is a much higher launching shaft then the Aldila R.I.P. Alpha that I have in my J40. As you saw in the numbers though, I am not losing any distance and actually have put about 15 more yards on my drives. I estimated a few in the 270-280 range on the course as well. One thing that can be said right off the bat is that this driver is LONG.

-I have had a much better time hitting straight balls with the driver on the Draw bias setting then I do with it in the Neutral setting. I am able to control the ball much easier and I am more accurate with it as well. I toyed around with the 9.5* setting, but it seems to be 10.5* with the draw bias is something that is perfect for my swing right now.

-There is definitely an adjustment period. With any new equipment there will be, but this is a much different driver than my J40, and things I knew that worked with my swing on the J40, don’t necessarily work with the FT Optiforce head. I’ve had to really toy around with how far I am away from the ball. This driver is longer and lighter than my current driver, so my proprioception with it is still a work in progress. It’s almost like I seem to lose that “feel” of where the driver is in my back swing, which can lead to some squirrely results. I also have had a little trouble getting under balls, and I believe that has to do with positioning myself too close to the ball.

-Accuracy has been a pretty big surprise as well with this club, especially on mis-hits. You really aren’t going to lose the ball right or left much if your club face is square at impact but you just miss it on the heel or the toe. What you are going to do is lose distance. Probably anywhere from 10-20 yards, depending on how it is hit.

That sums up my thoughts so far. I would really like to see how the RIP shaft from my J40 would do in this FT Optiforce head. So what I might do is pull the Diamana out and try to put the RIP in and see how the results change. I am going to talk with one of my local shops and see what they can do about that, since I have no experience pulling graphite shafts from drivers.

One thing you definitely need to do is TRY THIS DRIVER. It has the ability to really change your tee game!

 

[War Eagle]

War- does Callaway recommend not getting a shorter shaft for this driver?

Not that I know of. However, with the stock length being at 46", the design is more than likely intentional to assist with getting a bit more club head speed.

Coming from the very deep Classic XL driver, this miss does not surprise me. I missed there too early on. A slight tee height adjustment could be the ticket.

It was a bit frustrating for a while, as I knew exactly what the problem was but the miss was still there. Luckily its a quick and easy fix at setup.

 

[War Eagle]

That's pretty promising man. How much longer over stock is this compared to the XLC? I was one that took off almost an inch off the XLC for more consistent contact but am playing the R1 at stock with no issues.

I'm still shocked that you were able to find the straight/draw with this because IIRC you tried that with the XLC without too much success.

It's an inch longer than my XLC.

I was a bit baffled by the draw as well. Wake was in shock. In fact, he ran from the range to the cart to get his phone so he could post in this thread about it.

 

[War Eagle]

Brad- Great writeup. Those numbers are absolutely fantastic, and about what I figured you would see going to this driver. Increased spin off the driver, paired with increased club head speed and a better launch = more carry distance for you. You hit the ball a mile with that J40, but like me, you seemed to struggle with launch. I think the lighter head weight paired with the higher launching shaft is just going to be the perfect setup for you.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Those are impressive numbers, especially with the Optiforce. Big jump in ball speed and distance.

 

[dcbrad]

Brad- Great writeup. Those numbers are absolutely fantastic, and about what I figured you would see going to this driver. Increased spin off the driver, paired with increased club head speed and a better launch = more carry distance for you. You hit the ball a mile with that J40, but like me, you seemed to struggle with launch. I think the lighter head weight paired with the higher launching shaft is just going to be the perfect setup for you.

I have struggled with the same things you have, getting used to playing a driver at 46" instead of 45" or 44.5". Like I said in my post. This driver is light, and sometimes it can get a little squirrely up top in my back swing because my body is trying to figure out where that thing is. I am excited to get it out again this week and weekend.

 

[#Cookie]

Outstanding write up Brad! Love the numbers from the track man session.

16 more carry yards right out of the gate. Thanks for explaining the adapter and how it works. Sounded like people were confused early but I like how 1 is loft and 1 is face angle....definitely more simple than the r1.

Add in dispersion forgiveness (one thing I really love about the r1) and this sounds like a winner.....and I need to test in person...soon.

I did hit it well in MB even with the wrong shaft for me.

 

[JB]

That jump in ball speed is pretty incredible. Really enjoying the last few writeups in here. This thread has me so intrigued.