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2023 Callaway Big Bertha Lineup

SuperStroke
I'll have more of a detailed first impression tomorrow, but had to put this down now. After league I went and played a couple more holes. On our par 5 9th, I dropped a few balls at the 250 yard mark and took some swings. 2/4 got to the center of the green...not carry mind you, but they got there
 
Muchmore18 said:
I'll have more of a detailed first impression tomorrow, but had to put this down now. After league I went and played a couple more holes. On our par 5 9th, I dropped a few balls at the 250 yard mark and took some swings. 2/4 got to the center of the green...not carry mind you, but they got there
Click to expand...
It sounds like that thing is gonna be a weapon in your hands!
 
Great looking lineup. These are going to be great for a lot of golfers i am sure.

Muchmore18 said:
I'll have more of a detailed first impression tomorrow, but had to put this down now. After league I went and played a couple more holes. On our par 5 9th, I dropped a few balls at the 250 yard mark and took some swings. 2/4 got to the center of the green...not carry mind you, but they got there
Click to expand...
Damn that is impressive.
 
First round with the BB23 5 Hybrid today, it pretty much bears out what I saw on the range yesterday. It's easy to launch, it flies high and it doesn't go right - nice tight draws. It's pretty reassuring standing over a shot with trouble on the right, knowing that the ball is absolutely not going there unless you put a complete dumpster fire of a swing on it (and then you freaking deserved it!) :ROFLMAO: I'm not sure what kind of magic Callaway is conjuring to make anti-slice clubs that don't turn into hook machines, but I like it.
 
Alright so first impressions time! And just a reminder, this is only based on the 4i which I use a driving iron/long approach club in lies that I don't feel comfortable with a fairway wood (no hybrids in the bag). Let's get to it!

Looks

Hot damn. This iron is absolutely stunning. The smoke black chrome is a color I wish would always be an option for Callaway clubs. Truthfully, I wish it was satin, but I'm being nitpicky. Give me this finish all day and I'd be happy. They do mute it on the top line and the tungsten badge on the back which is a fantastic touch. The muted top line help thin it out a bit to the eyes but it's still a chunky club lol Here's a comparison of the top line of this, the RadSpeed and my UT
BB23 - RadSpeed - XForged UT
IMG_8175.jpeg

Also the offset was a bit much to my eye but again, expected with the class of club it is. It was one reason I loved the RadSpeed though, there wasn't a ton of it for the type of club it was.


The sole is pretty in line with what I expected. Bit chunky but nothing outrageous comparatively to the other two
BB23 - RadSpeed - UT
IMG_8169.jpeg

Feel/Sound

This one is going to be a bit of a critique. But part of that critique comes from how I was hitting it last night. It feels and sounds... "dead" is the best way I can describe it after one night. I can tell where it's coming out on the face, but almost everything sounds the same. Though I'd assume this is a byproduct of it being an SGI club.

Forgiveness

This is where this SHINES. I wasn't hitting it very well last night between the range, my actual play and then messing around on the course after league. I used the whole face. Found center a couple times but mostly low or on the toe. Besides one horrible shot that no club was fixing, the ball was still getting way out there. And it wasn't slicing or hooking. These were mostly dead straight or maybe a baby fade. That's going to be huge. Especially with my struggles with my UT and the RadSpeed still having some movement to it on bad swings (though never enough movement to hurt a ton). Keeping balls in front of me with the BB is going to help a ton!

Launch/Distance

This was a tough one. I couldn't for the life of me get the ball in the air. I know it's a very strong lofted club (I ordered one degree weak but still). Even off of a tee, I was struggling to get it airborne. Not sure it got more than 20-30 feet in the air...but they were almost all bullets. I mentioned above that I dropped a couple balls at the 250 yard mark and had two out of four end in the center of the green. Not sure how much they had to roll to get there but I'm not necessarily trying to hold greens with this club so I can live with not being able to launch it if it gives me that kind of distance and forgiveness that I was seeing.

Overall, it was hit or miss for my first time out but I'm already seeing more success that I ever got with the UT. Beating out the RadSpeed is going to take some work but BB23 4i is securely in the bag as of now to give me time to get used to it.
 
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Muchmore18 said:
Alright so first impressions time! And just a reminder, this is only based on the 4i which I use a driving iron/long approach club in lies that I don't feel comfortable with a fairway wood (no hybrids in the bag). Let's get to it!

Looks

Hot damn. This iron is absolutely stunning. The smoke black chrome is a color I wish would always be an option for Callaway clubs. Truthfully, I wish it was satin, but I'm being nitpicky. Give me this finish all day and I'd be happy. They do mute it on the top line and the tungsten badge on the back which is a fantastic touch. The muted top line help thin it out a bit to the eyes but it's still a chunky club lol Here's a comparison of the top line of this, the RadSpeed and my UT
BB23 - RadSpeed - XForged UT
View attachment 9192241

Also the offset was a bit much to my eye but again, expected with the class of club it is. It was one reason I loved the RadSpeed though, there wasn't a ton of it for the type of club it was.


The sole is pretty in line with what I expected. Bit chunky but nothing outrageous comparatively to the other two
BB23 - RadSpeed - UT
View attachment 9192242

Feel/Sound

This one is going to be a bit of a critique. But part of that critique comes from how I was hitting it last night. It feels and sounds... "dead" is the best way I can describe it after one night. I can tell where it's coming out on the face, but almost everything sounds the same. Though I'd assume this is a byproduct of it being an SGI club.

Forgiveness

This is where this SHINES. I wasn't hitting it very well last night between the range, my actual play and then messing around on the course after league. I used the whole face. Found center a couple times but mostly low or on the toe. Besides one horrible shot that no club was fixing, the ball was still getting way out there. And it wasn't slicing or hooking. These were mostly dead straight or maybe a baby fade. That's going to be huge. Especially with my struggles with my UT and the RadSpeed still having some movement to it on bad swings (though never enough movement to hurt a ton). Keeping balls in front of me with the BB is going to help a ton!

Launch/Distance

This was a tough one. I couldn't for the life of me get the ball in the air. I know it's a very strong lofted club (I ordered one degree weak but still). Even off of a tee, I was struggling to get it airborne. Not sure it got more than 20-30 yards in the air...but they were almost all bullets. I mentioned above that I dropped a couple balls at the 250 yard mark and had two out of four end in the center of the green. Not sure how much they had to roll to get there but I'm not necessarily trying to hold greens with this club so I can live with not being able to launch it if it gives me that kind of distance and forgiveness that I was seeing.

Overall, it was hit or miss for my first time out but I'm already seeing more success that I ever got with the UT. Beating out the RadSpeed is going to take some work but BB23 4i is securely in the bag as of now to give me time to get used to it.
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Great review, but I think your pictures all accidentally got reversed. The clubs all look backwards.

:ROFLMAO:
 
BigMac said:
Great review, but I think your pictures all accidentally got reversed. The clubs all look backwards.

:ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Well I'm glad you got that out of the way lol
 
Muchmore18 said:
Alright so first impressions time! And just a reminder, this is only based on the 4i which I use a driving iron/long approach club in lies that I don't feel comfortable with a fairway wood (no hybrids in the bag). Let's get to it!

Looks

Hot damn. This iron is absolutely stunning. The smoke black chrome is a color I wish would always be an option for Callaway clubs. Truthfully, I wish it was satin, but I'm being nitpicky. Give me this finish all day and I'd be happy. They do mute it on the top line and the tungsten badge on the back which is a fantastic touch. The muted top line help thin it out a bit to the eyes but it's still a chunky club lol Here's a comparison of the top line of this, the RadSpeed and my UT
BB23 - RadSpeed - XForged UT
View attachment 9192241

Also the offset was a bit much to my eye but again, expected with the class of club it is. It was one reason I loved the RadSpeed though, there wasn't a ton of it for the type of club it was.


The sole is pretty in line with what I expected. Bit chunky but nothing outrageous comparatively to the other two
BB23 - RadSpeed - UT
View attachment 9192242

Feel/Sound

This one is going to be a bit of a critique. But part of that critique comes from how I was hitting it last night. It feels and sounds... "dead" is the best way I can describe it after one night. I can tell where it's coming out on the face, but almost everything sounds the same. Though I'd assume this is a byproduct of it being an SGI club.

Forgiveness

This is where this SHINES. I wasn't hitting it very well last night between the range, my actual play and then messing around on the course after league. I used the whole face. Found center a couple times but mostly low or on the toe. Besides one horrible shot that no club was fixing, the ball was still getting way out there. And it wasn't slicing or hooking. These were mostly dead straight or maybe a baby fade. That's going to be huge. Especially with my struggles with my UT and the RadSpeed still having some movement to it on bad swings (though never enough movement to hurt a ton). Keeping balls in front of me with the BB is going to help a ton!

Launch/Distance

This was a tough one. I couldn't for the life of me get the ball in the air. I know it's a very strong lofted club (I ordered one degree weak but still). Even off of a tee, I was struggling to get it airborne. Not sure it got more than 20-30 yards in the air...but they were almost all bullets. I mentioned above that I dropped a couple balls at the 250 yard mark and had two out of four end in the center of the green. Not sure how much they had to roll to get there but I'm not necessarily trying to hold greens with this club so I can live with not being able to launch it if it gives me that kind of distance and forgiveness that I was seeing.

Overall, it was hit or miss for my first time out but I'm already seeing more success that I ever got with the UT. Beating out the RadSpeed is going to take some work but BB23 4i is securely in the bag as of now to give me time to get used to it.
Click to expand...
good stuff! by the way, 30 yards in the air isn't "struggling to get it airborne" in my books for a long iron ... unless you usually hit it 40+ yards I suppose. LOL. I expected it to read "feet" and then I was like wait a sec... :unsure::ROFLMAO:
 
shanewu said:
good stuff! by the way, 30 yards in the air isn't "struggling to get it airborne" in my books for a long iron ... unless you usually hit it 40+ yards I suppose. LOL. I expected it to read "feet" and then I was like wait a sec... :unsure::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL: I meant feet! It’s not getting in the air at all. It has now been corrected!
 
With the release of the Apex Pro line up today, a man needs to know his limitations. I believe I'm in the Big Bertha camp.
 
Absolutely................just because they look sexy, doesn't mean they play sexy in my hands.

I'm a Big Bertha guy for sure...........LOL
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
With the release of the Apex Pro line up today, a man needs to know his limitations. I believe I'm in the Big Bertha camp.
Click to expand...
I've only hit the hybrid, but if the rest of the line is as good you won't be disappointed. I have a few rounds in with it and really like the forgiveness and ease of launch.
 
I have about 10 rounds with the BB23 5 Hybrid to date. If you've ever had difficulty hitting hybrids, it's worth seeking out this line and giving them a try - it's almost effortless to elevate them and distance is very good. Despite being in the Super Game Improvement category, which are usually strongly draw biased, the BB23 hybrid doesn't go hard left on you. It's a very straight and very forgiving club, and a lot of us could use a lot more of that in our bags!
 
Had the BB 4i in the bag for a bit now. I still have a bit of a hard time getting over the offet of it. But it's not bad enough that I can't be confident with it. If I used a full set like that, I think I would struggle.

But besides that, I've absolutely loved it! Using a SGI iron as a driving iron continues to be confidence inspiring! Mishits still go and they essentially all go straight regardless of what I do. There's a distinct difference in feel on center hits and mishits but the distance is very comparable. I have a tee shot that I use this on every single time I tee off. Fairway percentage might be 80% or so and leaving a PW or below in to the green depending on conditions that day.

I even hit one through the fairway on my hands down best shot I've had with it. If they all felt and flew like that, I wouldn't need a driver. That's how far it went. Rocket. Launcher. Full stop. I've also gotten over the low launch issue I was having and now is a medium but piercing flight that just rolls and rolls.

Getting a UT back in the bag will be a hard thing for me. Sticking with these types of irons is most likely how I move forward with whatever irons end up coming out next year. Hell, maybe I even stick with this!
 
The BB23 5 hybrid is still in my bag, and I continue to be impressed by it. It's so easy to hit, and reliably straight. The look at address is reassuring, feel is solid and the sound is even good. I'll say it again, if you've ever struggled with hitting hybrids, the BB23 is worth a try for you.
 
Going to compare these two with a range session. Then, I'm thinking I'll take the big bertha on its maiden voyage for an afternoon nine.

20230921_135159.jpg
 
Tywithay said:
Going to compare these two with a range session. Then, I'm thinking I'll take the big bertha on its maiden voyage for an afternoon nine.

View attachment 9206420
Click to expand...
That should be an interesting comparison, can't wait to hear your thoughts.
 
Well, I don't have a ton of thoughts since I forgot to bring a good driver swing with me today. I found out that you can absolutely slice the Big Bertha off the planet. On the handful I hit next to the Paradym X, the BB definitely had a more penetrating flight. The Paradym launched quite a bit higher for me, but it does have slightly more loft, as the BB is a 9* and the X is 10.5* turned to -1. You could definitely see a difference in flights as the Big Bertha seemed like it kept going forward even on my slice swings. The Paradym X was kind of floaty and seemed to spin a ton. I think when I'm swinging it a little better, the BB has more potential for me, especially on windy days.

On the course, my distance wasn't great, but the fairways were soft and shaggy so wasn't a ton of roll. Some of that might also be the fact I was trying an AVX today when I usually play a much firmer ball. Even with my lackluster swing I managed 4/7 fairways with the Big Bertha, which is well above my average. I sometimes play 18 and don't hit 4 fairways, so I was happy with that. A couple of the misses were still very playable. Only one was off the planet and it was on my least favorite hole no matter the day. I'm sure that was in my head before I even swung. I might try to hit the range again over the weekend to get some more comparisons and see if I can dial my swing in. Plan to try the Bertha at +1* and see if it gets a bit more launch without adding too much spin. I play every Thursday and then have a tournament next Saturday and I'm thinking it will be Big Bertha in the bag, unless it doesn't treat me well at the range.
 
Aft
Tywithay said:
Well, I don't have a ton of thoughts since I forgot to bring a good driver swing with me today. I found out that you can absolutely slice the Big Bertha off the planet. On the handful I hit next to the Paradym X, the BB definitely had a more penetrating flight. The Paradym launched quite a bit higher for me, but it does have slightly more loft, as the BB is a 9* and the X is 10.5* turned to -1. You could definitely see a difference in flights as the Big Bertha seemed like it kept going forward even on my slice swings. The Paradym X was kind of floaty and seemed to spin a ton. I think when I'm swinging it a little better, the BB has more potential for me, especially on windy days.

On the course, my distance wasn't great, but the fairways were soft and shaggy so wasn't a ton of roll. Some of that might also be the fact I was trying an AVX today when I usually play a much firmer ball. Even with my lackluster swing I managed 4/7 fairways with the Big Bertha, which is well above my average. I sometimes play 18 and don't hit 4 fairways, so I was happy with that. A couple of the misses were still very playable. Only one was off the planet and it was on my least favorite hole no matter the day. I'm sure that was in my head before I even swung. I might try to hit the range again over the weekend to get some more comparisons and see if I can dial my swing in. Plan to try the Bertha at +1* and see if it gets a bit more launch without adding too much spin. I play every Thursday and then have a tournament next Saturday and I'm thinking it will be Big Bertha in the bag, unless it doesn't treat me well at the range.
Click to expand...

After reading your post tonight, it brought to mind a recent YouTube video I watched on these two drivers. Here's a link to the video:



Mike
MPM1960
 
Switched to a Big Bertha driver after playing Paradym X most of the year. Small sample size so far with only 4 rounds on the BB23, but according to my Garmin stats my avg is 7 yards further with the Bertha and I beat my long drive of the year by 4 yards already. I think it has the potential for more.
 
Still playing the BB23 5 hybrid. I was laughing on the course today at how ridiculous this thing is - the only way it could be easier to hit would be if I just sat there and watched while it went up and hit the ball by itself. Hit a green from 192 yards, and I don't hit greens from 192 yards. It's a really fun club, enjoying having it in the bag!
 
I’m just gonna leave this here for the Grandaddy guys! Don’t count Big Bertha out.
IMG_0502.png
 
These irons gave me the best overall numbers. They’re not the longest ( see Wilson DYNAPWR), but averaged a towering 100ft height, 47° decent angle, and 4900 spin, which was the highest spinning iron I tested today. They also had the greatest dispersion.
 
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