Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Review Thread

[JB]

With new APW you can't put it all the way out like before. Fade setting is more of a neutral. Probably looking at adding lead tape to the toe area


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While I understand that, I still dont see how its draw biased. Im sure I am wrong and just dont see it, but the offset is not there, the internal weight is not there and you can move it to be draw or fade biased. What am I missing?

 

[uman]

GBB is out of the bag for right now. The draw bias on the club is a little too much right now. Hopefully in two weeks when I start seeing a swing coach I'll be able to work it back in the bag.


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You may have already done this , have you tried moving the weight deep into the fade setting? When I tested the GBB that is where I had to go. For me having the weight at draw or even anywhere on the draw side was a big problem. For me any draw bias was reduced by moving the sliding weight to the perfect position that still produces draw ball flight w/o fearing drives that go to deep in the rough left.

I only hit it one time at the range, hit about 20 balls. My experience is limited by that but I was very impressed.

 

[Alez367]

While I understand that, I still dont see how its draw biased. Im sure I am wrong and just dont see it, but the offset is not there, the internal weight is not there and you can move it to be draw or fade biased. What am I missing?

Nothing. Probably a mental thing at this point but with GBB I've not been able to hit a fade. Nor control the draw.


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[uman]

There is nothing I am aware of from the technical head design that would make the head per se draw biased. When I hit it it produced draw flight. At my age I . call that a good thing.

 

[JB]

Nothing. Probably a mental thing at this point but with GBB I've not been able to hit a fade. Nor control the draw.


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Gotcha. I was just trying to figure it out based on the original post about draw bias.
Thanks for helping.

 

[Chump Fries]

I'm hoping in a few weeks to get up to Memphis and head to Felix clubworks and try out a GBB with my handcrafted shaft. The handcrafted plus my XR pro has just been too low of a club for me. I'm thinking the extra spin/forgiveness of the GBB might be a good fit.

 

[Daddio]

For me, even with the APW in fade setting, produces a slight draw. I believe it's stated in the videos from Callaway that the new APW was moved closer to the heel to get a more pronounced draw bias. I can say with 100% accuracy that it works as described.


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Wanted to let you know it's not just you alez. My results with this one were very similar. In testing, I was more prone to more big draws and hooks with this one, even set full fade and -1 loft compared to most heads. Looking back at my data, full fade on the 14 model seemed to provide me a little more anti hook protection too.

 

[uman]

Wanted to let you know it's not just you alez. My results with this one were very similar. In testing, I was more prone to more big draws and hooks with this one, even set full fade and -1 loft compared to most heads. Going full fade on the 14 model provided a little more anti hook protection for me too.

Very similar to my experiences as well, both with the GBB and my gamer the 2014 Bertha. I could get it under control with settings close to full fade though. Also can still hit a baby fade if I absolutely have to, but it can be a little scary trusting that one.

 

[erock9174]

I had a SLDR 14* and even in the extreme fade setting and lower loft (open face setting) I hit mostly duck hooks.

In demoing the GBB 10.5 I had the adapter at standard/neutral and weight a touch to the draw side and it was nice high baby draws. I would say it's probably easier to turn over than most clubs but never found it hook prone.

 

[Big SoIL]

Looking at the face of the GBB from a squared setup you can see how much extra club is out on the toe compared to the face. I think that's why the APW is set up where it is and the neutral setting is more toward the heel. I think it only has more draw bias because they extended the APW track all the way down the heel instead of stopping short like the 2014 model. That's probably the next step of the evolution of this line is to bring the APW further out on the toe, but who knows. Hope you can get it worked out Alez367.

 

[ProZoneGolf]

Need more fade: option for more fade is to unscrew the front weight approx 4-5 grams. and go all lead tape strips on the outer toe to rear pear. Try 3 strips of lead tape should do it...MOI should go up too :bashful:

Consider a stiffer shaft, or higher bend point, ....perhaps selecting another side of the shaft in the opti-sleeve could help

 

[Jman]

Looking at the face of the GBB from a squared setup you can see how much extra club is out on the toe compared to the face. I think that's why the APW is set up where it is and the neutral setting is more toward the heel. I think it only has more draw bias because they extended the APW track all the way down the heel instead of stopping short like the 2014 model. That's probably the next step of the evolution of this line is to bring the APW further out on the toe, but who knows. Hope you can get it worked out Alez367.

The change in size/position of the apw was actually because it was the most optimal location in manipulating flight both ways based on their research. When I worked this one up for the homepage review I actually hit it on all track locations on monitor and the flight most definitely alters, moreso than the 2014 model I also got to review when I went back through and compared the data.

I do find it interesting so many are calling it a draw biased design because it's not what I've seen over almost a full season at all, but we all are different for sure.

 

[JB]

I do find it interesting so many are calling it a draw biased design because it's not what I've seen over almost a full season at all, but we all are different for sure.

There will be people that struggle with all different drivers for sure, but the design of the club is definitely not draw biased. No more so than any other, based on the amount of weight that is placed there. In fact its less than a number of them.

 

[jhstew1]

There will be people that struggle with all different drivers for sure, but the design of the club is definitely not draw biased. No more so than any other, based on the amount of weight that is placed there. In fact its less than a number of them.

i have noticed people calling it "Draw" bias have it set up so poorly, when i tell them to just let the club sit on the ground & then grip it, they realize why they thought it was a draw bias

 

[Jman]

There will be people that struggle with all different drivers for sure, but the design of the club is definitely not draw biased. No more so than any other, based on the amount of weight that is placed there. In fact its less than a number of them.

Oh I agree in a large way, nothing about it in my testing showed me it was draw biased, nothing.

 

[Big SoIL]

The change in size/position of the apw was actually because it was the most optimal location in manipulating flight both ways based on their research. When I worked this one up for the homepage review I actually hit it on all track locations on monitor and the flight most definitely alters, moreso than the 2014 model I also got to review when I went back through and compared the data.

I do find it interesting so many are calling it a draw biased design because it's not what I've seen over almost a full season at all, but we all are different for sure.

I guess that's kind of what I was getting at Jman. It felt to me like it was pretty neutral and by changing the setting on the hosel and the APW you really can manipulate the ball flight. My miss has always been a slice and I was able to get it set up where my miss was a hook, but I could still hit a fade with it when I tried. That's why I mentioned the amount of club on the toe side of the face and I'd say that's why the APW was moved around toward the heel to keep the club head weight neutral. I guess what I should have said was that it has more draw bias, but you can also set it up for more fade bias also. If I set it up neutral on the hosel and fade bias on the APW I probably couldn't keep from hitting a slice.

I'll try it next time I get it out. With all the rain we're getting here right now who knows when that will be. I've only had the GBB out once and I still have a lot of testing and tuning to do. So far my initial thoughts are that this club can definitely work for a lot of people.

If someone is having trouble with the hooks could they could add another sliding weight to the APW like some of the guys from the ZooCrew did to get more fade bias and raise the MOI?

 

[Nebgolfer]

Oh I agree in a large way, nothing about it in my testing showed me it was draw biased, nothing.

Take this fwiw, but my fitter at ECPC mentioned during my fitting that this club had some draw bias to it, and that was his reasoning for putting the APW in the fade position. Granted, I don't know how much draw bias compared to any other club out there, but he said it was there.

 

[Jman]

I guess that's kind of what I was getting at Jman. It felt to me like it was pretty neutral and by changing the setting on the hosel and the APW you really can manipulate the ball flight. My miss has always been a slice and I was able to get it set up where my miss was a hook, but I could still hit a fade with it when I tried. That's why I mentioned the amount of club on the toe side of the face and I'd say that's why the APW was moved around toward the heel to keep the club head weight neutral. I guess what I should have said was that it has more draw bias, but you can also set it up for more fade bias also. If I set it up neutral on the hosel and fade bias on the APW I probably couldn't keep from hitting a slice.

I'll try it next time I get it out. With all the rain we're getting here right now who knows when that will be. I've only had the GBB out once and I still have a lot of testing and tuning to do. So far my initial thoughts are that this club can definitely work for a lot of people.

If someone is having trouble with the hooks could they could add another sliding weight to the APW like some of the guys from the ZooCrew did to get more fade bias and raise the MOI?

We were told by the R&D guys when we were in Cali for #TheGrandaddy that the added weight is MUCH MUCH more to hit a specific weighting than anything else.

Take this fwiw, but my fitter at ECPC mentioned during my fitting that this club had some draw bias to it, and that was his reasoning for putting the APW in the fade position. Granted, I don't know how much draw bias compared to any other club out there, but he said it was there.

Simply going off of all the drivers I've hit/reviewed in the past few years, its not really what I would call draw biased based on data. Much more neutral than anything, which when compared to other heads in line like the 816 could definitely make it seem a bit draw biased since they tend to go the other way.

 

[JB]

Take this fwiw, but my fitter at ECPC mentioned during my fitting that this club had some draw bias to it, and that was his reasoning for putting the APW in the fade position. Granted, I don't know how much draw bias compared to any other club out there, but he said it was there.

Adapters have added weight to the hosel area and because of that, the heel side can have added weight. Figure between 5-10 grams. This weighting is similar to M1 and G30, with clubs like Vapor Pro having a tiny bit more.

 

[lightningbolt44]

Adapters have added weight to the hosel area and because of that, the heel side can have added weight. Figure between 5-10 grams. This weighting is similar to M1 and G30, with clubs like Vapor Pro having a tiny bit more.

This is interesting to me and something I never though of even though I always break a clubs design down in my head. I will be very curious how adaptors continue to evolve as I am sure some breakthroughs are still in store for those.

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[JB]

This is interesting to me and something I never though of even though I always break a clubs design down in my head. I will be very curious how adaptors continue to evolve as I am sure some breakthroughs are still in store for those.

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I know we have something on this elsewhere, but shaft adapters are not all created equal. Some companies (Cobra) have even hollowed out a portion of the head design (hosel area) to remove weight and make it more neutral. Callaway is right in the middle of the pack in terms of weight due to addition of the adapter.

It goes back to the idea of can someone tell the difference in 5 grams, and the answer is...On the internet they can.

 

[lightningbolt44]

I know we have something on this elsewhere, but shaft adapters are not all created equal. Some companies (Cobra) have even hollowed out a portion of the head design (hosel area) to remove weight and make it more neutral. Callaway is right in the middle of the pack in terms of weight due to addition of the adapter.

It goes back to the idea of can someone tell the difference in 5 grams, and the answer is...On the internet they can.

Curious if with the advancements in nano technologies and materials we see some of the tech that is going into shafts come over to adaptors. Also curious if the head is the exact same other than an adaptor vs a bonded driver how the performance characteristics would change if at all.

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[JB]

Curious if with the advancements in nano technologies and materials we see some of the tech that is going into shafts come over to adaptors. Also curious if the head is the exact same other than an adaptor vs a bonded driver how the performance characteristics would change if at all.

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We might. I have a graph I will put out in an article soon about weights for different companies.

 

[Miller Time]

9/10 fairways with the GBB playing the middle tees today. My one miss was a toe hook that still was only a couple of feet out of the fairway, but with plenty of distance. Hit a lot of wedges into greens.

Confidence is sky high with the big stick in my hand right now.

 

[JB]

9/10 fairways with the GBB playing the middle tees today. My one miss was a toe hook that still was only a couple of feet out of the fairway, but with plenty of distance. Hit a lot of wedges into greens.

Confidence is sky high with the big stick in my hand right now.

Im with you Miller Time. I feel the exact same way. Its a unique thing for me to stand on the tee box with confidence, as its something that has only come the last 18 months or so.