Bullitt5339
New member
To me, it sounded very similar to my old FT-9 driver.
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Callaway Bertha Mini 1.5 - THP Review Thread
To me, it sounded very similar to my old FT-9 driver.
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- #78
Nowhere near that loud. Does have the composite sound though, it's not anything I'd call near being bad, but its there and I need to talk on it, ya know?
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- #79
I'm going to add, you get more of that sound higher on the face, as expected it decreases a good bit as you get more to center.
Seeing really nice carry numbers on a sopping wet course, working a lot of numbers too so should have some interesting stuff when I break them down
Seeing really nice carry numbers on a sopping wet course, working a lot of numbers too so should have some interesting stuff when I break them down
- Joined
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- Messages
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- Reaction score
- 1,662
That's good that it's not as loud. The old Callaway drivers leave a ringing in the ears.
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James, what are you using to get the numbers?
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- #82
An abacus.
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- #83
Yeah nooooooooowhere near that.
Bullitt5339
New member
It's definitely not that loud, it just has the same type of sound.
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Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk
I hope it's the abacus feature on the official launch monitor of THPAn abacus.
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Formally HoosierGolfer
I agree. Reminds me a little of the FT-9 driver.
kc720
Active member
Boo. The box I received only had the 60° pm grind... perhaps next week...
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Formally HoosierGolfer
For me, I'm not seeing a lot of difference when struck in the center in an area maybe egg size. Toe hits are still a little right, but maybe not as bad as a 460cc driver. I have not had any off the heel, so I can't say much in that area, but if you can find anything close to center and an inch or so each direction across the face, it is pretty forgiving. From center and up, I see about the same ball flight (off the tee).
From the turf, I'm catching most low on the face of course and flight is still good and distance is good as well. Little harder to hit off a really tight lie, but still gets the job done. The thin faced XR woods are much easier off the turf, but the Mini is longer for me off the tee than the XR 3 wood, and the Mini is very straight. Great par 4 driver for sure. Great on any tight hole. Less chance of any head twisting at impact versus the larger 460cc heads.
Robman7
Active member
That's still a yay moment in my book
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- #90
So, after doing some math (You said there would be no math!)...how about some thoughts?
I played 27 holes today, and hit and recorded the Mini 18 times, never hitting driver but 3 times as extra balls to get some "today" numbers that I can talk about here in a bit...but I digress. I want it out there that the reason for no range time, our range is under water and it isn't a water range...so...yeah.
Of the 18 swings I recorded with it, there were 4 true misses, which I'll get to in a minute, but first, the averages...and keep in mind I'm no internet golfer sadly so don't make fun.
Some thoughts on these numbers, first off, I'm not a big fan of throwing up my numbers because I don't believe in saying "club x clearly does this" like some other places do, I know that EVERY club performs differently for EVERY person. That said, the smash average shows me that I'm not quite comfortable yet, which is a given, but there were some swings that were on the nuts where I hit 1.49 on 5 different swings and the low of the non misses hit 1.36 so take it all FWIW. In terms of ball speed the average for where my SS with it was is pretty right on with what I expected before I crunched the numbers, high ball speed hit 156 which is great for me and the low was 134 on what was my easiest swing of all the recorded data (super tight and short par 4).
Whats interesting here is compared to the drivers I hit and recorded, the SS was 4mph lower with the Mini and the Ball-Speed was about 6mph lower on average. IMO, this comes back to the shorter length of the club and frankly these averages above are much more in line with my 3W in terms of SS. I don't want to, and will not, look to far into it all because it was the first time out with the Mini and I know if that smash average comes up, so too will the ball speed, etc. etc. etc.
In terms of launch, its definitely mid-high at 14* for me when paired with the Kuro Kage, incredibly stable, and frankly I like the driver weight shaft over the fairway weight for this. I did not tinker with the settings as I want some bone-stock-standard numbers and play-time. Tomorrow though, I'm going to branch out and mess with the Opti a bit.
Misses are misses. I really honestly and truly hope people aren't expecting a world changer here, a miss is a miss. If you slice, you will slice this. If you hook, you will hook this. Heel side misses were met with an average ball-speed drop that falls between what I see with an "optimal" for me driver and fairway, there is a definite "heel fade" to these misses and IMO its not any less accentuated than I see with anything else driver or fairway. On the toe, the drop was a little more but the spin also seems to drop a good bit out there too and the draw flighting appears as well. Based on mass, footprint, and MOI, there is a level of forgiveness off the tee that I don't see with a standard 3w, but it isn't life altering to be totally honest. I know some will see and talk about things they see here, but being totally honest its right at what I expected, its not "the most forgiving thing ever" but its going to be better for many off the tee than a 3w for sure. Its a fine line to walk to be excited and let that blur results, and being honest about what one is seeing.
Sound wise, its definitely got some composite throwback to it, there is definitely some "ting" in there, particularly when struck high on the face. It not a super "solid" sound, there is some resonance to it and as I mentioned a composite nature. That said, its not super loud, and its not a turn off, but it is different than I expected.
Aesthetically, damn it sets up mean. Its a great look, a great depth, and a solid overall footprint that gives some confidence off the tee. Now, to me, its still not going to be as confidence inspiring as a 460cc head (or at least as a 460cc head should be in comparison...IMO). Also, the stock grip is not very good, honestly it amazes me that they haven't moved to something else given all the no-charge shaft options etc that Cally offers. Its a little nit-picky thing I know, but just something in my noggin.
Off the deck...yes...I hit it off the deck. LOL! About 8 times just to see. For me at my SS I was seeing a mid to low-mid ball flight, nothing like I see with a standard 3w off the deck, but this was at 14*, 16* and 15* tomorrow could see different results there. Its hittable off the deck, yes, but I like that Callaway has pointed out its mainly for stronger SS's, and I really believe that completely. I don't know that a mid to high 90's SS player will seen any benefit to trying to take it off the deck...but thats just my thoughts and feelings on it.
In all, its great at what its designed to do, and I absolutely DO think that it has some versatility for certain players. For me, it screams driver-compliment, but I know others will think otherwise, as good as it is off the tee in length and launch and hittability, I still don't see a benefit to taking the biggest clubface out of the bag. I played 27 holes with this as my non Par 3 tee club from 6550 though, and had NO issues getting around the course, the distances were leaving me the short to scoring irons/wedges that I expect on my course which is something that has to raise an eyebrow. Its a niche club, it really is, but its a pretty damn fun niche club.
Hope this wasn't too rambling, but I've got lots swimming in my noggin here.
I played 27 holes today, and hit and recorded the Mini 18 times, never hitting driver but 3 times as extra balls to get some "today" numbers that I can talk about here in a bit...but I digress. I want it out there that the reason for no range time, our range is under water and it isn't a water range...so...yeah.
Of the 18 swings I recorded with it, there were 4 true misses, which I'll get to in a minute, but first, the averages...and keep in mind I'm no internet golfer sadly so don't make fun.
| DISTANCE | SS | BALL-SPEED | SMASH |
| 254.6 | 103.5 | 148.1 | 1.44 |
Some thoughts on these numbers, first off, I'm not a big fan of throwing up my numbers because I don't believe in saying "club x clearly does this" like some other places do, I know that EVERY club performs differently for EVERY person. That said, the smash average shows me that I'm not quite comfortable yet, which is a given, but there were some swings that were on the nuts where I hit 1.49 on 5 different swings and the low of the non misses hit 1.36 so take it all FWIW. In terms of ball speed the average for where my SS with it was is pretty right on with what I expected before I crunched the numbers, high ball speed hit 156 which is great for me and the low was 134 on what was my easiest swing of all the recorded data (super tight and short par 4).
Whats interesting here is compared to the drivers I hit and recorded, the SS was 4mph lower with the Mini and the Ball-Speed was about 6mph lower on average. IMO, this comes back to the shorter length of the club and frankly these averages above are much more in line with my 3W in terms of SS. I don't want to, and will not, look to far into it all because it was the first time out with the Mini and I know if that smash average comes up, so too will the ball speed, etc. etc. etc.
In terms of launch, its definitely mid-high at 14* for me when paired with the Kuro Kage, incredibly stable, and frankly I like the driver weight shaft over the fairway weight for this. I did not tinker with the settings as I want some bone-stock-standard numbers and play-time. Tomorrow though, I'm going to branch out and mess with the Opti a bit.
Misses are misses. I really honestly and truly hope people aren't expecting a world changer here, a miss is a miss. If you slice, you will slice this. If you hook, you will hook this. Heel side misses were met with an average ball-speed drop that falls between what I see with an "optimal" for me driver and fairway, there is a definite "heel fade" to these misses and IMO its not any less accentuated than I see with anything else driver or fairway. On the toe, the drop was a little more but the spin also seems to drop a good bit out there too and the draw flighting appears as well. Based on mass, footprint, and MOI, there is a level of forgiveness off the tee that I don't see with a standard 3w, but it isn't life altering to be totally honest. I know some will see and talk about things they see here, but being totally honest its right at what I expected, its not "the most forgiving thing ever" but its going to be better for many off the tee than a 3w for sure. Its a fine line to walk to be excited and let that blur results, and being honest about what one is seeing.
Sound wise, its definitely got some composite throwback to it, there is definitely some "ting" in there, particularly when struck high on the face. It not a super "solid" sound, there is some resonance to it and as I mentioned a composite nature. That said, its not super loud, and its not a turn off, but it is different than I expected.
Aesthetically, damn it sets up mean. Its a great look, a great depth, and a solid overall footprint that gives some confidence off the tee. Now, to me, its still not going to be as confidence inspiring as a 460cc head (or at least as a 460cc head should be in comparison...IMO). Also, the stock grip is not very good, honestly it amazes me that they haven't moved to something else given all the no-charge shaft options etc that Cally offers. Its a little nit-picky thing I know, but just something in my noggin.
Off the deck...yes...I hit it off the deck. LOL! About 8 times just to see. For me at my SS I was seeing a mid to low-mid ball flight, nothing like I see with a standard 3w off the deck, but this was at 14*, 16* and 15* tomorrow could see different results there. Its hittable off the deck, yes, but I like that Callaway has pointed out its mainly for stronger SS's, and I really believe that completely. I don't know that a mid to high 90's SS player will seen any benefit to trying to take it off the deck...but thats just my thoughts and feelings on it.
In all, its great at what its designed to do, and I absolutely DO think that it has some versatility for certain players. For me, it screams driver-compliment, but I know others will think otherwise, as good as it is off the tee in length and launch and hittability, I still don't see a benefit to taking the biggest clubface out of the bag. I played 27 holes with this as my non Par 3 tee club from 6550 though, and had NO issues getting around the course, the distances were leaving me the short to scoring irons/wedges that I expect on my course which is something that has to raise an eyebrow. Its a niche club, it really is, but its a pretty damn fun niche club.
Hope this wasn't too rambling, but I've got lots swimming in my noggin here.
Very good info Jman. I have been thinking about a "driver dodger" club for a while. After my driver I have a Octane 4w that I use quite a bit however no distance (200 avg). This club looks like a possibility but also I've looked at the TM mini driver. The TM has a little bigger head and about half the cost. Still up in the air about it but your post is a big help.
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- #93
Yeah, I believe the SLDR Mini is 25cc larger than this.
I was going to ask you about the "off the deck" but I saw you mentioned that. I wonder what Callaway considers high swing speed. Is it 100-105 or is it TEE level 110.
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- #95
I cover all my bases in a review.
Who knows, if you were to ask ME, the higher the better, but in my head 105+ sticks out. I can hit it off the deck and get it up just fine with my SS in that range, but if you get steep you're not in a good place, plus remember its 14*, most am's cant effectively hit 14* off the deck.
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Miller Time
Twitter - @joshmlr
Enjoyed that review, Jman. Love how this club looks, but I just don't really see a need for this club in my bag. That's not to say I don't want to hit it though. And I'd really love to see some higher SS guys hit it off the deck and be amazed. I bet this could be a monster for some folks.
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Formally HoosierGolfer
I think that is completely up to you. Mine is set at 15 degrees because I'm also using it as a 3 wood.
Good stuff Jman! Thank you for all the info.
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- #100
Its honestly too personal for us to say for sure. Depends on how you launch the ball and what conditions you play in really. Plus, at that loft I could really see the Speeder being a better shaft for many launch wise.