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Big Bertha Alpha Driver Review

SuperStroke
#Cookie said:
Tpluff: I can't WAIT to see you have some fun with this beauty at Caledonia. I'll tell you where and when to bomb and watch you bomb away.

Probably too much club for #1. :)
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You'll get to see Kevin as well and GregDan and the Callaway staffers if they choose it. But I'm more looking forward to seeing you play it (if you are at the time, if not leading up to it). She's the sister of Big Bertha from another mister, a mister that's just a freak.
 
Played 18 today on a very short track tips were 5500 shortest course I think I ever played. Anyway used the alpha on the first hole 305 yard hole was pin high off to the right of the green by 10 yards. Then I decided to use my new Bertha 3 wood the rest of the front I didn't have much success with it so went back to the alpha on the back 9 and hit every fairway. Was crushing it. I really have found with the shaft I just need the right tempo and this club flat out dominates. Wrong tempo and I still lose them right that's what happened on the first hole cause I aimed left since I had zero warm up and my neck had been bothering me from a work injury. But I def got the tempo right on the back felt great to get my game together for the back 9 after a horrible front
 
Buckjob said:
Played 18 today on a very short track tips were 5500 shortest course I think I ever played. Anyway used the alpha on the first hole 305 yard hole was pin high off to the right of the green by 10 yards. Then I decided to use my new Bertha 3 wood the rest of the front I didn't have much success with it so went back to the alpha on the back 9 and hit every fairway. Was crushing it. I really have found with the shaft I just need the right tempo and this club flat out dominates. Wrong tempo and I still lose them right that's what happened on the first hole cause I aimed left since I had zero warm up and my neck had been bothering me from a work injury. But I def got the tempo right on the back felt great to get my game together for the back 9 after a horrible front
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dude I can't wait to witness this!
 
It kinda sucked cause I wanted to just hit the 3 wood well and I didn't. But I guess getting a brand new club and throwing it in the back with I even hitting a 3 wood in years prob wasnt the best idea. Lol funny thing is I feel like I need to fill a gap now because of the alpha
 
Buckjob said:
It kinda sucked cause I wanted to just hit the 3 wood well and I didn't. But I guess getting a brand new club and throwing it in the back with I even hitting a 3 wood in years prob wasnt the best idea. Lol funny thing is I feel like I need to fill a gap now because of the alpha
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5 Deep.
 
Buckjob said:
It kinda sucked cause I wanted to just hit the 3 wood well and I didn't. But I guess getting a brand new club and throwing it in the back with I even hitting a 3 wood in years prob wasnt the best idea. Lol funny thing is I feel like I need to fill a gap now because of the alpha
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Indian, not the arrow there friend. Spend a little time with it, it's a great 3w, I think it will fill the job better than anything in their line.
 
Played my league last night and it was scramble night. It was really windy for some reason, I would say winds were 20-30mph at times and the way the course was set up, you were either blasting it into the wind or had a killer tail wind when teeing off. Some thoughts from last night:

-Every drive last night was a straight arrow, which was really awesome to see. I still have trouble trying to describe the sound of the Alpha, but that combo of feeling/sound when you connect is unlike anything I have felt, just solid in general.

-Windy conditions - This driver performed really well in the wind last night. I didn't feel like I saw drives ballooning up to the moon with the head wind. I did see a bit of a drop off in distance, but nothing significant. When the wind was at my back, I saw some internet distances for sure. There is a 520 yard par 5 that I am usually about 250-260 out off the tee on a normal day. The wind was at my back last night on this hole and I stepped up and absolutely murdered a ball down the left side of the fairway. It stopped at the 200 yard marker, by far the longest drive I have had in a long time.

-Off Center Hits - I have found in my time that the off center hits (laterally) haven't been near as penalizing as I thought. Are there distance losses? Yes. Is there a bit more spin? Sure. But from a control standpoint, I haven't found that catching a ball way out on the toe has been unplayable. In fact, I made it a point to look for the ball mark after each shot last night and found that some of my best drives from a trajectory and even a distance standpoint, were a ball length from center towards the toe side. It's something breeds a bit of confidence for me, as I was a bit worried going with the Alpha because of the "less forgiving" label. The spin reduction for me has helped my drives immensely.

-Loft Up! - I played my Bridgestone Driver at 9.5°, and I made that decision back in January/February of last year based on an incomplete knowledge of what loft does and how it works for you swing. I have been playing the Alpha at 10.5° and like I said before, I am getting probably 15-20 yards more of carry then may J40 driver. This may be attributed to a bit of a higher launching shaft as well, but I have no doubt the added loft has helped my carry distance immensely. I may tinker a bit and try putting it up to 11.5° just to see what happens.

Overall, another immensely positive experience with the Alpha driver. A driver that I have a feeling will be in my bag for a very long time.
 
Mward said:
Indian, not the arrow there friend. Spend a little time with it, it's a great 3w, I think it will fill the job better than anything in their line.
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Oh I'm well aware what it was. I hope I didn't come across thinking it was the club lol I know it's pretty long I was hitting it far just not straight I'm heading to the range in a few to hit a bucket the 3 wood will be the main club used today wanna mess with the settings see what works best for me.
 
Buckjob said:
Oh I'm well aware what it was. I hope I didn't come across thinking it was the club lol I know it's pretty long I was hitting it far just not straight I'm heading to the range in a few to hit a bucket the 3 wood will be the main club used today wanna mess with the settings see what works best for me.
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Just get angry with it, usually solved everything.
 
Smashed BBA off the tee yesterday. Played with a guy that's usually 20-30 yards longer off the tee and Bertha tightened the gap to 10-15 yards yesterday. Only had one bad miss as well so that's pretty exciting.
 
Had a #berthalong moment today with the Alpha

18th hole, 440 yard Par 4 where your can't see the landing area because it's uphill.

I smoke my drive - crushed it. I get up over the hill an I see a ball left center of the fairway about 175 out.

"Dang!" I thought. "I guess it there was a Slight breeze into us and we were uphill"

Well I get up to the ball, put my bag down, and realize it's not mine. Hmm, okay, so where am I?

I see a an object just into the first cut past the 150 marker so I start walking to it. Could this really be my ball? Sure enough, sitting 133 yards from the green was my ball. That's 307 yards, uphill, and into a little breeze.

Forget #berthalong. It was #internetgolferlong
 
Definitely another quality Offering for the 2014 drivers out there this year. My top 3 are the current Gamer with the i25, the 430 TP SLDR , and now the Alpha after some swings in demo and with Niteowl03's at the range. I would have to get on trackman to see differences and shaft combos would come into play, but these are some solid offerings this year each with there own twist on the technology.
 
I had been struggling with the driver as of late (definitely a swing issue), but. I tinkered with the Alpha adjustments a bit just to see if I could get a little help. I increased the loft to 10* and flipped the gravity core up. The result is that I'm hitting some towering shots with this driver that seem to carry a long way.

I'm also noticing that the Alpha seems more forgiving in this setup. I don't know if it's the extra loft or the increased spin (or both), but balls seem to have a tighter dispersion with this setup. I suspect that I'm giving up a touch of distance on perfectly hit balls (the ones that go #InternetLong). But overall I think I'm picking up a couple more yards.

I'll keep the setup like this for the next couple rounds and see how I like the results. After one round, I'm really pleased.
 
ATLGolfer said:
I had been struggling with the driver as of late (definitely a swing issue), but. I tinkered with the Alpha adjustments a bit just to see if I could get a little help. I increased the loft to 10* and flipped the gravity core up. The result is that I'm hitting some towering shots with this driver that seem to carry a long way.

I'm also noticing that the Alpha seems more forgiving in this setup. I don't know if it's the extra loft or the increased spin (or both), but balls seem to have a tighter dispersion with this setup. I suspect that I'm giving up a touch of distance on perfectly hit balls (the ones that go #InternetLong). But overall I think I'm picking up a couple more yards.

I'll keep the setup like this for the next couple rounds and see how I like the results. After one round, I'm really pleased.
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Fairway finder..... Going to be fun tomorroe


Proud Member of #TeamParadise
 
The Alpha was really good for me today.

I had a couple of loose swings early in the round that missed their targets. But, in general I was hitting some really nice drives today. A high, usually tight, draw that seemed to carry a long way.

The setup really seems easier to hit, and it also seems much more forgiving on mishits. I'll be staying with this setup for the foreseeable future.
 
Guys any idea what a tour issue head cost?
 
I'm not sure I'm longer than the Xhot Pro set up I had last year, but it seems to be more consistent which is far more important for me.
 
tpluff said:
No idea. Have no interest in acquiring one though. What's the difference?
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I believe it's 8 degrees of loft and has a fade bias. I could be wrong. And they are not for sale to the public
 
It's suppose to make you hit them straighter and further :D, I had one land on my laps unfortunately I don't need one. I posted it for sale at the marketplace.
 
This driver sounds absolutely amazing on the screws. There's a very notable sound difference when making contact on the sweet spot, and launch characteristics improve to a more boring, penetrating straight flight. It's obviously a personal opinion, but I'd argue this is one of the most consistently straight drivers on the market this year, assuming you've got the right shaft in the head.
 
So quick recap of the Alpha performing down in Ocean City.

- 4 drives of 300+ yards
- longest drive was 318 (wind aided)
- drove the green on 3 par 4s (ranging from 279-295)

Man, I love this driver.
 
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