- Moderator
- #426
It's always great to get numbers, but it's all about how the club reacts on a tee box (for me).
I probably missed it - What shaft have you paired with it?
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond Driver Review Thread
It's always great to get numbers, but it's all about how the club reacts on a tee box (for me).
I probably missed it - What shaft have you paired with it?
If I can be honest, it wasn't all that different for me than the Alpha. It actually produced slightly more spin and lower ball speed for me.
Average spin and ball speed with the DBD was 2550 and 158mph.
Averages with my Alpha were 2300 rpm and 161mph.
Launch was identical and I had 6 more yards of carry with my Alpha.
Just my experience. I liked the DBD and how it set up but I feel there isn't a large difference between this and the Alpha for my game.
fujikura blur ts65.
Its almost golf season back home. I can smell the pull hooks and penalty drops.
kc720
Active member
I thought it was more forgiving than the alpha. Perhaps the head shape suited my eye better? Really didn't like the original alpha shape. It's a demanding driver still. Long when it on the screws but more apt to get lateral movement when wielded by someone as inconsistent as me. Definitely lower spinning than the 815 alpha and DEFINITELY less forgiving. You can more than likely punish golf balls with it though.
- Moderator
- #430
Same shaft in both heads? Same loft/GC setup?
- Moderator
- #431
pull hooks are illegal.
I suspect you're right (within my realm of punishing anyways). I think there's something a bit special about R-MOTO as well. I really need to spend time with this one.
Yes sir. Project X Handcrafted LZ shaft. Gravity core up and weights in a fade bias. Both heads at 9°
- Moderator
- #433
I'm having a hard time fathoming that considering the marketing that is going into DBD.
Swingweight looks slightly different (from D3 to D4) but i couldn't imagine that making all the difference.
That was at least 15 swings with each driver. I'd hit 4 or 5 with a driver then switch to another. I hit my Alpha, the Alpha 815, DBD and JPX 850. The Mizuno had a different shaft obviously.
Floor-is
New member
Callaway test day today, tried the BB815 three wood with weights. Was awed by the results I got. (Heavy weight forward, 16° head with lowered loft, Motore Speeder Shaft)
Then was given a DBD with Motore Speeder 665 in stiff. No launch monitor unfortunately.
Love the look, love the sound, love the feel. Not as long as the other 815, but so nice with the deeper face! Whenever I have the money to finally switch clubs in the bag I'll put this in my 'must try for fitting' list.
It had the standard Motore Speeder shaft, tried an old Motore Speeder VC 7.2 tour stiff, was a bit on the heavy side in swing weight for me
Then was given a DBD with Motore Speeder 665 in stiff. No launch monitor unfortunately.
Love the look, love the sound, love the feel. Not as long as the other 815, but so nice with the deeper face! Whenever I have the money to finally switch clubs in the bag I'll put this in my 'must try for fitting' list.
It had the standard Motore Speeder shaft, tried an old Motore Speeder VC 7.2 tour stiff, was a bit on the heavy side in swing weight for me
flog2424
Philippians 4:13
Took my DBD for its first run today and overall was impressed. I hit some absolute bombs and even the mishits were equal to where my old driver was on average. I played with the setting and have it at 9.5 with GC up. My one miss all day was a little skinny but this just kept going. I love this club
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- Moderator
- #437
Man, I wouldn't mind taking a few cuts with this thing alongside you to hear thoughts.
What shaft are you playing in it?
flog2424
Philippians 4:13
The Rogue..... I just swing and stand there in awe, it truly is something. I'm not a long ball hitter by any means but this gets me close to feeling respectable with driver distance again. It's about the same starting line as my SLDR but it just stays in the air. Now that the settings fit my eye, I would love to get on a launch monitor and see what the numbers are
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- Joined
- Apr 20, 2012
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Hitting a 9 with the Rogue set at -1 neutral is still amazing to me. Lateral misses can be compounded but most I've seen can still be played. Funny thing sound...without looking up it seems I can tell how good./bad the result may be.
The Alpha never felt or performed the same for me. Numbers or on the course.
The Alpha never felt or performed the same for me. Numbers or on the course.
I've had the black tie, oban 7, fubuki and 757 in this head and the rogue won out. I haven't found it to be punishing in any way. My one suggestion to anyone testing it would be make sure you try the core both ways. It's plays entirely different for me going from up to down.
- Moderator
- #441
Care to expand on that one Scott? What's the biggest difference with the core up vs down for you?
flog2424
Philippians 4:13
For me the GC completely changed the club as well. Down I hit it very high with a little too much spin but more forgiveness all over the face. When flipped up, it seems to really lower the spin but a little more penal to me. I hit some low on the face that were ok on a direction standpoint but we're kind of spinny... The ones that were good are so good though that I'll take the suffering more on mishits
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I'm the opposite of Flog. I think it may come down to where you hit the ball on the face typically and your AoA. I've known people who've hated the DBD one way but then loved it just flipping the core. I like it both ways really but get a higher ball flight with it up and my spin increased. But it didn't balloon on me like others who didn't like it up and it's still a penetrating flight. Just higher than one would expect from a low low set up.
With it down, a little less height and more roll out. Less spin. But I get the occasion knuckle ball.
I feel fortunate being able to play it both ways. When it dry's up, I think I may find myself playing it up more, but low is where I see the best results so far.
BTW, my miss tends to be a hair high and slightly towards the toe and I think it's the sweet spot on this face personally.
flog2424
Philippians 4:13
I realized that I flipped the core up after putting the loft down which would make sense in terms of forgiveness and getting a little less spin, they basically cancelled each other out. I remember being on the range last week with core down at 9.5 and I wasnt getting the carry so I lofted back up (Short term memory here)
The naming of this driver is over the top: Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond. Really? :bulgy-eyes: I'm sure it's a great driver, but the Callaway marketing people might need a vacation.
tpluff
I <3 GAWLF
It goes along with how it is marketed. Double Black Diamond is an experts only ski term, so they brought it over to golf. I think it gets across a pretty good message about who a club is for.
And now to get back on track, boy did I see some bombs hit with this over the weekend!
lightningbolt44
Well-known member
Big skier here who lives in a ski town. I get the reference. No offense meant to anyone. It just struck me as quite a name. I humorously imagined someone on a tee box saying, "I think I'll pull out the Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond." Maybe I just have an odd sense of humor. Again, I don't mean any offense. I have no doubt it is a very, very good driver.
tpluff
I <3 GAWLF
Yeah you're just a little late on the naming humor
I've heard it more commonly referred to as the Double Black Diamond, or DBD. Either way, its unique and you know what it is.
Heh, I like alien. Yeah I am getting back into golf after a significant time away. The industry and trends are all new to me. In the ski world, you would call me a jong. All fun to me!