#TheGrandaddy Recap Thread & Special Announcement

[T2GRN18]

Many of us hit the BB FW woods, a couple people bagged them
I'm certain. For me it was very forgiving both off the ground and off the tee. Not quite as long as the Deep versions, which I expected. But due to my swing I found that my launch angle was quite a bit higher than I'd like it to be. I didn't hit these on a launch monitor though. Aesthetically they are a great looking club similar to the Driver, with some adjustability.

 

[ATLGolfer]

Any thoughts on the BB fw? Seems like a lot of x2hot fittings.

I thought the BB FWs were pretty incredible.

I spent a long time with the 3W pounding balls out into the range. It has a shallow face, which I like for hitting shots off of the deck. But I also found it to be very easy off of the tee as well. The FWs seem to promote a straighter ball flight. I had very little bend in my shots.

I did not put the BB FWs onto the LM, but they seemed to be longer than my current FWs. I'm interested to see how the 3W works on the course when I get it in hand.

 

[under80]

Very cool way of telling THP'ers the captains.

 

[JB]

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

 

[ATLGolfer]

I certainly did.

I was Apex Pro all day before the testing/fitting began. But, I also told myself to leave the ego behind when I went through the fitting and to just go with the clubs that worked best for me, even if they were not the "elite" ones. While I can certainly play the Apex Pros, the Apex were the clear choice for me. I'm kind of proud of myself for sticking with the decision, because I have considered switching to the Pros several times since the fitting. I'm letting the numbers dictate instead of my ego.

Choosing a hybrid was also a pretty big deal for me. I have not really liked hybrids that much, and I have played with a 5W instead for years. Without testing different clubs, I probably would have gone BB 5W. But, I found that the X2Hot Pro 18* was incredibly easy to hit. Based on my experience, the hybrid was definitely the right call.

 

[T2GRN18]

I went in with the mind set of what ever the fitter felt was best for my game I would with. Harry saying that shortly after he dropped the 14club bomb really resonated with me. In my mind I though I would be best suited for the X2hot lines up and down the line.

As far as the driver goes, I'll admit I thought there was a chance that I wouldn't see the benefits of the BB Drivers. I had hit Hawks review driver the day prior and it wasn't really impressive, which I quickly learned that was all shaft miss match. I was amazed with the results from both the launch monitor and seeing the ball flight down range. The Gravity Core, and the hyper speed face, and the parameter weight changes made this club a complet bomber. Hammering drives that resulted in a little internal
Chuckle will be something I won't soon forget.

X2hot 5deep was just a blast to hit. I have the 3 deep now so I figured I would live these clubs. I went with the 2 and the 5. The thought process was with the 2 I have much more control, plenty of distance for tighter courses, and will afford me the opportunity to keep the Driver in the bag. It's no secret that there are times the drive gets me in trouble. The 5 is something I've wanted to get back in the bag. I'm not very solid with hybrids so this will be a great addition for the 230-240 range.

In talking with Nick and Garritt they both felt that I was better suited for APEX pro line. Which was a little shocking and a bit intimidating. I had talked myself out of the Xforgrd line several times throughout 2013.
Wedges.

It wasn't Roger Cleveland with us, but talking with both of the fitters. And really talking grinds, bounces, and techniques with them. I wanted to mix up the lower end of my bag. I went out on a limb here with the 50 56 64 set up. The large spacing has me a little concerned because it so different. This is an area of my game that I will be working hard on. With this set up it will force me to play
More to a number rather than just firing away and knowing Ive got a wedge to
Cover the gaps.

Putter selection was crazy! I've never considered rolling an Odyssey putter. But inside I rolled a couple and had a certain look and feel that I was looking for. I was torn between the 330 and the Rossi. It came down to the fact that I rolled 10 in a row with the Rossi and missed 1 with the 330. I could of quite easily gone either way. And honestly will probably end up with both in the stable.

 

[Tadashi70]

What were the major differences in performance with the driver fitting? How far apart were your choices? How many shaft head combination did you each try?

 

[T2GRN18]

What were the major differences in performance with the driver fitting? How far apart were your choices? How many shaft head combination did you each try?

The biggest thing I noticed with performance once I got the right shaft was it was easy to find the center of the face. The sound, the feel and the results were staggering. 107mph head speed, 167 ball speed, 13 launch angle, 2700 spin. Tight little draw and deep.
Thankfully the knowledge level of the fitter really played a role in how many combination I tried. 5 different with the Alpha. X2hot driver heads it only took a couple swings for them to see where I'd be best fitted.

 

[jlukes]

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

For me, I was fully expecting to be fit into the standard Apex or x2hot pro irons. During the fitting I hit everything and Gerrit said based on my miss (center, but higher on the face) and turf interaction with my steep swing, the Apex Pros would better suit me If I was comfortable with them. After a few swings with them, he could see right away that they gave me the best ball flight and it was just a matter of finding the right shaft.

As for the driver, I thought I'd go Alpha all the way as I needed to get my spin numbers down and the adjustable CoG would be the ticket I needed. I hit everything prior to the alpha, but my spin and launch numbers with the x2hot pro and standard big Bertha were still less than ideal. Ball speed was the best with the standard big Bertha. From there, Gerrit recommended I try the alpha, but he did the exact opposite of what I thought he'd do. He flipped the gravity core and put it in the high position. I said if I wanted to lower my spin, why would he do that? Gerrit responded by saying that because I tend to miss just above the center of the face, raising the center of gravity would raise the sweet spot of the face and thus improve my launch numbers.

My mind was blown.

And it was even more blown when I started hitting the setup he handed me. My ball speed was 2-3 mph slower with the alpha than it was with the standard Bertha, but because my spin was lower and launch angle higher, I was carrying the ball 15 yards further!

To answer Tadashi's question, I tried about 4 or 5 shafts in each driver head. Tour green, tour blue, fubuki zeta (2 variations) and finally settled on the whiteboard. The whiteboard gave me the best numbers in both the Big Bertha and Big Bertha Alpha.

As for woods, I thought I'd get the Bertha fairway, but Gerrit noticed my high on the face miss and immediately said 5deep. We went back into the shop and he got my the 5deep prototype he built just yesterday and let me take it out on the range! I was the first one to ever hit it! I put it head to head with the big Bertha and the 5deep won off the deck and off the tee. Gerrit had a great eye for what club would fit your swing and he was spot on again here.

 

[Pkielwa]

Did the fitters give advice on wedge lofts, setups and grinds? What things did they ask about in helping determine the best grinds for you?

Barry, I actually put a question about grinds for me on twitter and it got picked-up by Roger Cleveland! He was my source for determining grinds in my MD2! Pretty cool! I'm pretty confident in my grind selections, to say the least!

 

[Hawk]

Any thoughts on the BB fw? Seems like a lot of x2hot fittings.

Loved it. The Deeps were popular with a lot of guys, but I have no business going there.

Nice shape - not too big or too small.
Fairly shallow face.
Easy off the turf and the tee.
Adjustable.
Sounds good.

Really no negatives that I saw.

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

Absolutely did.

I assumed X2Hot would be the driver, since I play the original and coincidentally have the same shaft in it. Preferred the BB though.
X2Hot Pro irons weren't really on my radar at all.

 

[GregDan]

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

I had a setup I was looking to go with because for the last month leading up to the event, that's all I could think of.

But after hitting everything on the range and really learning the new products I went with something I was not expecting to at all. I ended up loving the new Deep series and put 2 in the the bag, 3 and 5, and I couldn't be happier. I was also really surprised by how easy the X2hot hybrids were to hit. I knew I was going to try them just to say I did but had no intention of putting one in the bag. That all changed very quickly when I hit the first ball. I knew after that one shot that one was going in the bag and it was going to stay there for a long time.

Wedges were another surprise to me as well. Not so much the lofts but the grinds were the biggest surprise. I was set on going shelf grind for my 54 and a c grind on the 58 but after talking with Garrit he quickly changed my mind and I went with the U grind. All in all I have a similar setup to what I was thinking before I got there but the clubs that filled all the gaps are not what I was expecting.

 

[GregDan]

Any thoughts on the BB fw? Seems like a lot of x2hot fittings.

I did like the BB FWs. They are long and have a hit face. But I was thinking about my game and I usually use my woods off the tee and don't normally hit many woods off the deck. The shallow face can get me in trouble sometimes so I wanted to try the Deep series. But a lot of guys liked the BB woods, they just didn't fit in their bag where they wanted.

 

[Pkielwa]

I was hitting the 5Deep off the deck about 230 or so. And at the ECPC the yardages are about 10-15 yards shorter than normal. That should give you a good idea as to how awesome these clubs are. I was hitting the X2hot 4w (17° compared to 18.5°) only 10 yards longer.

Whoa now, sister!!! 10-15?! So, I can add 10-15 yards to the 290, 296, 297 I hit with the BBA on the monitor?! Suh-WEEEEEEEEET!!!

 

[GregDan]

Whoa now, sister!!! 10-15?! So, I can add 10-15 yards to the 290, 296, 297 I hit with the BBA on the monitor?! Suh-WEEEEEEEEET!!!

Yes they said the range was shorter. Maybe not 10-15 but 5-10 at least. I tend to exaggerate sometimes.

 

[Pkielwa]

I'll be honest. Every time I have a good ball-striking day with my irons, I contemplate sending an email to Callaway to change the Apex to Pros. But, I listen to Ryan telling me to ignore the ego and play the clubs that performed the best. Without question, those were the Apex.

Plus, I know that I'm not going to have my swing dialed in all year like it is right now, and it will be nice having the extra forgiveness of the Apex during those stretches. It's absolutely the right call, even though I'm so freaking elite that I need the Pros.

Sounds like the extra draw you get with your Mizunos is for the same reason the Cally fitter told me why I was hitting more of a draw with the Apex Pro than X2 Hot Pros: head size. Smaller head, easier to turn over in the swing, more likely to hook. Longer head, heel-to-toe, less likely to turn, thus, smaller draws. That's what the Apex gave you vs the Pro and your irons. Pretty cool.

 

[Hawk]

I'm actually wearing a Grandaddy shirt and the blue pullover today. I drug everybody that visited over the holidays down and made them look at every piece of memorabilia too.

 

[ATLGolfer]

Whoa now, sister!!! 10-15?! So, I can add 10-15 yards to the 290, 296, 297 I hit with the BBA on the monitor?! Suh-WEEEEEEEEET!!!

I think it's probably closer to 5-10, but the range is a little short there.

I didn't see the numbers, but based on where the balls with the Alpha were landing compared to my RFE, the distance numbers with the Alpha could get out of hand.

 

[ATLGolfer]

Sounds like the extra draw you get with your Mizunos is for the same reason the Cally fitter told me why I was hitting more of a draw with the Apex Pro than X2 Hot Pros: head size. Smaller head, easier to turn over in the swing, more likely to hook. Longer head, heel-to-toe, less likely to turn, thus, smaller draws. That's what the Apex gave you vs the Pro and your irons. Pretty cool.

I think that's pretty spot on.

I'll just have to get used to playing a 3-5 yard draw on every approach shot. Shouldn't be that difficult.

 

[Pkielwa]

If you are looking for something to hit off the deck easier, go with the X2hot 3w over the 3Deep. The 5deep will be good off the deck or the tee. That is my take though. I highly encourage you to try both and see what works for you.

Or, even the Big Bertha. Lower profile... I had NO problems hitting this off the deck on the range at ECPC. Long and straight, and that was with the stock shaft!

 

[Pkielwa]

Do you guys remember the drive over to ECPC. That feeling when we were pulling up to the gate!

Riding shotgun, came to the bottom of the road, saw the sign, STOP!!! Pics all around! But, I can't see past the sign... Trees!!! Crap! Look left, security gate... Parking lot... Still can't see anything... Can we get THROUGH this gate PLEASE!!! Does anyone have the code?! Call Finley!!! Gate opens... We see Jason Finley, then Harry is there... Out of the van, look to my right at the range... Holy crap!!! This is where PHIL COMES TO GET FIT! This is the range I've been seeing in the pics online and in ads... Oh, Hi, Jason... Harry...

Yep, I remember it!

 

[Pkielwa]

Any thoughts on the BB fw? Seems like a lot of x2hot fittings.

I went with the BB, not the X2 Hot. I liked the look of the BB at address better. I wanted a lower profile face than the X2 Hot as well, and with the ability to adjust the face angle and loft, done! I hit my 3W off the tee some, but not a whole lot. I hit more out of the fairway... So, I wanted versatility, length, and straighter- my stock shaft in the Stage 2 I have is WAY too soft. I hook the heck out of it. I hit the 3 Deep just before we went inside, but it looked more closed than the Bertha, and if the Bertha looks closed, I can change that with a wrench. I didn't see a length advantage with X2 Hot vs the BB. The BB, for me, was every-bit as long and the adjustability was a huge factor. Plus the BLUE head!

 

[Pkielwa]

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

I thought for SURE I was going to end-up with the Apex irons! I would've put a Million dollars on it, I was so sure! I still can't believe the feel of the X2 Hot Pros! UNREAL!!! For me, they felt better than the Apex. Softer, more pure. That was not the opinion of others, but for me, it was amazing. Hawk and I both felt the same way about the X2 Hot Pro irons: blown away! When I saw the pics of them on here, before we went to The Grandaddy, I did not like the looks at all. I didn't think I'd even pick them up to hit them. I'm glad I did! Are they the prettiest iron? Nope. But, dang, if they didn't just flat-out perform for me. Feel, length, tighter dispersion, just awesome. Like you said when Harry announced the 14 club deal, I thought we'd all be going Apex/Apex Pro in some manner, with BBA drivers, etc. I just couldn't do it. I HAD to do what's best for my game, even though the Apex Pros were awesome as well, I need that extra heel/toe length to help me with reducing my miss, the hook. Yep, for sure, I ended-up with something completely different than what I thought!!!!

 

[tpluff]

Question for the #DreamTeam members.
How many of you went in with a certain setup in mind and came out with something different.
And I am NOT speaking of shafts that were fit, but rather club heads.

Oh most definitely. I was expecting to be in the Alpha category, but BB is just so solid all around the face, I couldn't say no to that especially when it took the fitter 3 swings to see that the Alpha would be outperformed by the BB for me. I listened to the guy that knew what was best and I'm glad I did. I was also expecting to go with the X2Hot Pro Hybrid line, but after talking with Hawk and remembering how differently I hit the two, I went with the normal X2Hot 4 hybrid. It was basically a trial by error thing for me whether I hit it well or not. I probably be using the BB 3wood and X2Hot 2deep for completely situations, but I was crushing both in those respective situations that it was confirmed to go with it. The last thing that I probably changed from my molded setup going in was the set AW. It may be a little thing, but I use the AW for full shots only and I just felt compared to the MD2 50* that I was better suited for the Apex AW.

 

[tpluff]

Any thoughts on the BB fw? Seems like a lot of x2hot fittings.

Andy, I was very happy with the BB 3wood and that's why I ordered it. It just felt a tad longer than the X2Hot 3w and I really liked the look at setup better. I think it's going to be a monster off the turf, just so easy to get the ball in the air with it.