Callaway Bertha Mini 1.5 - THP Review Thread
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- #203
Different shaft.
I understand.
Had a decent first round out with this one. First swing with this was on the first tee box so no warm up at all.
I had an issue all day of hitting most everything off of the heel and some so far off the heel that only like half the ball made contact with the club face.
Forgiveness: it's there and in a big way at least off of the heel. My heel misses showed a low/mid flight with a weak fade to it but they were keeping me in play. Definitely a ball speed drop as distance was probably 20-25 yards shorter of a well struck shot in the middle. The thing that I enjoyed the most was the dispersion on misses. With driver I can miss bad enough left/right that I'll find myself re-teeing or dropping out of a water hazard. Today there was none of that, misses that didn't stay in the fariway were consistently just a few yards off of the fairway and this was a fairly tight course overall playing at 6,000 yards and VERY VERY wet.
For the day I was 7/13 with this off the tee and with the slight misses of fairways it was enabling me to still get around the green if not on in regulation.
I only hit the driver once today and that was on the 3rd hole after I already had a ball in play with the Mini. Neither were hit great but the misses were comparable from a ball striking perspective and there was a difference of right about 10 yards between the shots.
The front 9 was played at stock 12* and back was at 11* in draw setting. The 11* dropped flight just a tad.
Am I pulling driver out of bag yet? No, this is taking the slot of the 3w but won't be used off the deck. Both of my playing partners and I actually enjoyed the sound, was a solid thwack but nothing out of the ordinary of what I am accustomed to hearing on the course with people playing a variety of clubs. Far from anything obnoxious and is entirely a non issue for me.
After things dry out some this week I plan to have a range session with this one and try my Speeder 665 in it also just for grins. More to come but I'm pleased with the purchase.
I had an issue all day of hitting most everything off of the heel and some so far off the heel that only like half the ball made contact with the club face.
Forgiveness: it's there and in a big way at least off of the heel. My heel misses showed a low/mid flight with a weak fade to it but they were keeping me in play. Definitely a ball speed drop as distance was probably 20-25 yards shorter of a well struck shot in the middle. The thing that I enjoyed the most was the dispersion on misses. With driver I can miss bad enough left/right that I'll find myself re-teeing or dropping out of a water hazard. Today there was none of that, misses that didn't stay in the fariway were consistently just a few yards off of the fairway and this was a fairly tight course overall playing at 6,000 yards and VERY VERY wet.
For the day I was 7/13 with this off the tee and with the slight misses of fairways it was enabling me to still get around the green if not on in regulation.
I only hit the driver once today and that was on the 3rd hole after I already had a ball in play with the Mini. Neither were hit great but the misses were comparable from a ball striking perspective and there was a difference of right about 10 yards between the shots.
The front 9 was played at stock 12* and back was at 11* in draw setting. The 11* dropped flight just a tad.
Am I pulling driver out of bag yet? No, this is taking the slot of the 3w but won't be used off the deck. Both of my playing partners and I actually enjoyed the sound, was a solid thwack but nothing out of the ordinary of what I am accustomed to hearing on the course with people playing a variety of clubs. Far from anything obnoxious and is entirely a non issue for me.
After things dry out some this week I plan to have a range session with this one and try my Speeder 665 in it also just for grins. More to come but I'm pleased with the purchase.
Having hit this at the PGA store yesterday, I was excited to have the chance to it this on the course today. Enjoyed the feel of this club. Very solid contact with a different sound.
Definitely saw the forgiveness today cookie. You kept it in play even off that heel shot.
Thanks for letting me take a swing with it. I was definitely not ready for that hook though. I have to say that I actually kind of like the sound off this club. Hope to have the chance to swing it again some day. Maybe a few swings on the range next time out.
Definitely saw the forgiveness today cookie. You kept it in play even off that heel shot.
Thanks for letting me take a swing with it. I was definitely not ready for that hook though. I have to say that I actually kind of like the sound off this club. Hope to have the chance to swing it again some day. Maybe a few swings on the range next time out.
Yep, you got it and we will pull it out of the draw setting for you. Can also try the speeder 665 from my driver (or any shaft you have with the optifit adapter.
Not familiar with optifit. So the speeder 565 and Kuro Kage are interchangeable on the Mini?
Standard Callaway adapter works on BB drivers, mini, fairways, and hybrids.
I've got the 1.5 12* on the way, with KK X, thanks to a gift card burning a hole in my wallet.
This is going to be an interesting experiment for me, and may be of interest for folks who are weighing the merits of the 1.5 versus a strong 3 wood, because I currently play a 12* TEE E8 beta (w/ Rogue Silver 70X), which I like off the deck because it can get me home on any par 5, but which is only okay, not great, off the tee because of it's modest face height. The way I see this playing out, I may ultimately keep just the 1.5 or the E8 and sell the other, depending on relative performance and if one seems like it would be used significantly more than the other on the course . . . or, I may keep them both, putting one or the other in the bag depending on the track.
BTW, if I'm making the correct inferences from Jman's posts, the one 3w from which he got equal or superior ball speeds to the 1.5 is the TEE E8 Tour (not beta), so it'll also be interesting to see whether the 1.5 can match my identically-lofted E8 beta (not that it's important, more of a curiosity).
This is going to be an interesting experiment for me, and may be of interest for folks who are weighing the merits of the 1.5 versus a strong 3 wood, because I currently play a 12* TEE E8 beta (w/ Rogue Silver 70X), which I like off the deck because it can get me home on any par 5, but which is only okay, not great, off the tee because of it's modest face height. The way I see this playing out, I may ultimately keep just the 1.5 or the E8 and sell the other, depending on relative performance and if one seems like it would be used significantly more than the other on the course . . . or, I may keep them both, putting one or the other in the bag depending on the track.
BTW, if I'm making the correct inferences from Jman's posts, the one 3w from which he got equal or superior ball speeds to the 1.5 is the TEE E8 Tour (not beta), so it'll also be interesting to see whether the 1.5 can match my identically-lofted E8 beta (not that it's important, more of a curiosity).
BigTex
Well-known member
Same as in the X2 also isn't it? Sets up some potential mix and match test for me.
Yes, was trying to list many options but not all inclusive.
zooropa
Well-known member
jman, how did this compare to the aeroburner mini, flight and distance wise? As much as I like this mini, I could flick it to get something with a black head. I'd love to see a pic of it address with a ball.
Haggis
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I am curious if anybody who has hit this has also played the SLDR mini and could compare them. I have a SLDR mini in 16 degrees that I hit really straight; however, with my old man swing speed (93ish for driver) I had to get it with a senior shaft to get adequate air under it. The 1.5 claims to have a higher MOI so that I think a 14 degree would be fine. I hit the 1.5 at the golf store yesterday and it had my launch right at 14 which is good. Distance wise I never trust in them as I don't like hitting in those dark, seemingly cramped areas. I was averaging 190 in the air with 210 after roll, which seemed a bit on the low side since I hit my 7 wood that far. I had the same issues when testing the Heavenwood--it showed 170 carry and 180 total. At a demo day I was ripping it much better and now consistently hit it 200 yards.
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- #215
Similarly. Distance and launch edge is here with the 1.5, but sound/feel for me goes aero.
kc720
Active member
Hit the 14° at the range this morning. Not the best swing today since I'm sore all over from helping family member move. 7 hrs of furniture moving is bad for the golf swing lol. Any case at 14 neutral setup I saw a pretty good launch off the tee. Distance seemed very close to driver judging by the eyeball. The feel at impact is definitely unique. A very solid feel. A bit windy so the sound didn't register well but definitely more tinny when missed toward heel as expected. First impression with seeing ball flight is promising. I didn't hit off the deck today, with swing feeling like melted jelo I figured I'll wait lol
Got to see this in Golf Galaxy today at lunch. It's a little longer and a little lighter than I hoped it would be, but I didn't have enough time to get some swings in. Maybe later in the week.
Well looks like mine will be in KC tomorrow. Unfortunately I will be in Arizona and then Las Vegas to play Wolf Creek this weekend, so earliest I can have feedback is Sunday. Was really hoping to receive mine at the end of last week like some others did. Oh well, looking forward to hitting it.
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Hit this today at Golfsmith...interesting.
kc720
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Interesting bumped to intrigued.
BigTex
Well-known member
Playing the 3Deep now and in same boat. So far I have only hit the Mini on the simulator, not on the course or driving range. On the sim I would say ball speed modestly higher with the Mini, with a little higher launch. Hard to say on the dispersion. Hope to get a demo this week from PGA and hit it one the range and course.
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- #225
Higher launch, better ball speeds, and a good bit better ball speed retention in my experience from the "Deep" models.