Callaway Releases Big Bertha B21 Driver

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Hit this driver 20+ times tonight at the range. I heeled the first couple, which is something I never do. This resulted in a different sound/feel. The ball did start straight then curved to the right. Nothing super extreme, but definitely a left to right ball flight. I adjusted my stance and setup and started piping them straight down the range. This driver is legitimate! Its almost like riding a bike with training wheels. You’re swinging well, it rewards you with a higher ball flight that carries a long way, and when things kinda stray, it has enough ”safety” built in to put you back where you should be. If you struggle with hitting the driver, you have to try this B21!

 

[Turtlerancher]

Hit this driver 20+ times tonight at the range. I heeled the first couple, which is something I never do. This resulted in a different sound/feel. The ball did start straight then curved to the right. Nothing super extreme, but definitely a left to right ball flight. I adjusted my stance and setup and started piping them straight down the range. This driver is legitimate! Its almost like riding a bike with training wheels. You’re swinging well, it rewards you with a higher ball flight that carries a long way, and when things kinda stray, it has enough ”safety” built in to put you back where you should be. If you struggle with hitting the driver, you have to try this B21!

This right here is what has me so intrigued by this driver, the ability to tame my occasionally bad swings and keep the ball in play. If it can help keep me from having to make a hero recovery shot just once or twice a round it will be worth it.

 

[Jman]

This right here is what has me so intrigued by this driver, the ability to tame my occasionally bad swings and keep the ball in play. If it can help keep me from having to make a hero recovery shot just once or twice a round it will be worth it.

This is the thing I believe is overlooked by many. Yes, we all get that no club will fix a swing, but there is absolutely no doubt a club can make a swing more playable, and this does that more than any driver over worked with before.

 

[tommyhaka]

I agree with you.
[/QUOTE]

This is the thing I believe is overlooked by many. Yes, we all get that no club will fix a swing, but there is absolutely no doubt a club can make a swing more playable, and this does that more than any driver over worked with before.

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in

 

[Jman]

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in

I totally but respectfully disagree. We are the vast minority here in terms of shafts and skill, this one was designed at a HUGE segment of the bell curve and the stick RCH options are going to work for the VAST majority of them.

 

[Tenputt]

I agree with you.

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in
[/QUOTE]
There is no more discussion about using a shaft that is different than the stock shaft with this driver than any other driver discussed in the forum. In fact, I dare say that there is less. It would be interesting if you would refer to the posts in the thread where posters have stated that they purchased three or four shafts along with this driver.

 

[Thornton Melon]

Does it look like Callaway will include this club in a trade in bonus in the future? Asking for a friend...

 

[Duffer Seamus]

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in

With all due respect to somebody who has obviously been playing golf a lot longer and plays a lot better than I: ISTM you come up with some of the most outrageous statements I've seen--at least wrt this club.

I don't seek to be confrontational, but have you even watched the video and read the bulk of this thread? Callaway went to a great deal of trouble to design shafts for this club that harmonized with the design of the club head to produce the desired game improvement. That doesn't necessarily mean those shafts will work best for everyone, but there are capable players here who've changed the shaft and found the stock shaft performed better. Furthermore: Which four shafts, and is one expected to essentially double the cost of their driver purchase, at least, to buy additional shafts which may or may not improve their performance with the club? Wasn't it you insisting equipment won't trump a good swing? (A view with which I agree--mostly.) ISTM now you're going to the opposite extreme.

 

[Jman]

110 realm swing speed and a stock stiff RCH....

 

[Turtlerancher]

I agree with you.

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in
[/QUOTE]
WTF, not if you get a fitting. Most of the guys on this thread just happen to have shafts that work well for them or have blind purchased and have swapped a few shafts.

 

[Edsland]

I bought the b 21 with the 45 light flex shaft. GG had me on their monitor between the 45 and the 55 RCH shafts along with my 2016 M 2 regular shaft. Hands down the 45 was way better for my swing, im not a big slice but at times I can find the tree line to the right at times. With the 45 shaft I gained 25-30 yds which at my short distance is huge. I couldn't reach 200 with my old one or the 55 shaft. With the 45 shaft I was getting 220 with a lot more ball speed, 1 finished 230 which I haven't seen in 15 years. Some might say just change the shaft in the M 2 for same result but the b 21 head had a lot to do with it too. The 55 shaft still beat my M 2 by 10 yds and all stayed in play. I played 4 rounds with the new one and results are the same on the course, I had approach shots that where new looks for me in a good way. Best money ive spent in a long time, being a high 80's low 90's player i can safely say try one If your on the fence.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Nobody gives credit to the shaft. You have to remember, you need to buy 3 or 4 shafts aa well when buying this driver to get it tuned in

Or get fit, that’s the cheaper and more practical way to optimize any club. I think Jman is right that the RCH will be good for the vast majority of golfer who this driver is targeting. But it’s still wise for everyone to get fit, if possible, IMO.

 

[DataDude]

All I will say to some criticism in this thread is that if you don't try this driver that's your loss not ours. If you don't try it then you don't know what your missing and you definitely shouldn't poo poo something you've never even hit.

 

[tequila4kapp]

110 realm swing speed and a stock stiff RCH....

View attachment 8971550

Those are insanely good numbers. And point taken about stock shaft and your swing speed. I had the opposite experience with my 92-96mph SS in Regular flex and needed to adjust shafts and lofts. Like with any other club it’s wise to hit the club first, get fitted if possible, before buying.

 

[Jman]

Those are insanely good numbers. And point taken about stock shaft and your swing speed. I had the opposite experience with my 92-96mph SS in Regular flex and needed to adjust shafts and lofts. Like with any other club it’s wise to hit the club first, get fitted if possible, before buying.

Always, and we will always advocate for people to do that.

My point is, Callaway knows what they’re doing here, and this one is aimed at imo the biggest segment of amateur golfers out there, most who will pick a club off the shelf and go. We here on THP and other forums are the educated minority, we sometimes forget though that we are indeed the minority.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

My point is, Callaway knows what they’re doing here, and this one is aimed at imo the biggest segment of amateur golfers out there, most who will pick a club off the shelf and go.

<raises hand> That's more-or-less me.

Mind you: For a $500 investment I'll almost certainly take the extra step of paying for a fitting to improve the odds that it'll work out to be a good investment for me, but, unlike many others here: I cannot afford many $500 misfires upon which I might have to take a $100 or better loss in resale. Never mind $400 or more for a selection of experimental shafts. So I watch this thread with interest, see how it's working out and for whom.

(Given the one poster who was surprised that, as a result of his fitting, he was fit with a senior flex shaft, I'm even more inclined pay for a fitting now than I was before.)

 

[thewilderside]

Ah man, I really wish I could get back to at least the range and hit this again. It's been a week and I really miss it

 

[Turtlerancher]

Ah man, I really wish I could get back to at least the range and hit this again. It's been a week and I really miss it

C'mon man, never to cold for a Green Mountain Boy!!

 

[Snickerdog]

My test B21 arrived from Cap @McLovin today so hoping to hit it tonight after work, if not I will have it on course on Sunday.

 

[thewilderside]

C'mon man, never to cold for a Green Mountain Boy!!

You're right the cold is less of a factor. However, the rain/snow is where I take a pass on the range. Golf course; sure I'll bite the bullet. Range, nah

 

[Just_Hacking]

My B21 came in yesterday and will be in the bag for tomorrow's round. I did have a chance to test it out week before last and really like what I was seeing. I was getting more roll out of it than I was on my Rogue at least on the day I tried it. I am really looking forward to see how it fairs tomorrow.

 

[Snickerdog]

So out of the box this looks good. I like the shinny head cover. I also like the color of the head itself, the blue and red complement each other.
This came as a 9° head with the stock stiff shaft. I grabbed the shag bag and headed north of town to the high schools football field. ( I can blast balls to the north and into the empty field and woods) Gives me right at 200 yards to the woods so anything that falls short I know is a bad hit. Also hitting from the end zone gives me a target line thru the other goal post uprights.

First impression on the first hit was that this driver is softer/more muted sounding than my Mavrik Max. (all comparisons will be to the Max)
While this in not a bad thing, being a person that has hit the G400 Max and the loudness of that driver this seems almost to soft sounding to me.
I know that seems odd to most, but I like a bit of crack/sound off the driver.

The stock shaft feel fine to me, a regular flex may do a bit better for me as that is what I was fit into.
20 shots, ten at 9° and ten at +1/N
First ten at 9° and I saw a nice straight to baby fade (3-5 yards) hard to range distance but most all reached the trees. I had a few that didn't because of not catching it center face. I had a few shots that did seem to fall out of the sky, I would attribute this to somewhat topping the shot.
Toe hits seemed to still maintain good distance.
One thing for sure is if you cross over you will get the result of a nasty pull hook!!!!

Once I moved up to +1/n i seemed to have some better results for my swing. I
I didn't really notice a higher ball flight as expected. (eye test ) What I did notice was that the fade mostly disappeared and became straighter for me. It also seemed to give me a bit more carry.
y
A couple takeaways for me and these are initial thoughts with only a short range session, I will have it on course on Sunday and I think give me a better understanding of distances and ball flight.
1. Initial impression I was expecting more of a wow factor, but I didn't get that.
2. Not a fan of the muted sound, as stated before I like a bit more sound/crack to the driver.
3. From reading the reviews of others I was expecting a bit more launch and height to the shots. (I was using all Titleist mixed balls)
While seeing good height, I don't think it was any higher than my Mavrik Max. Again eye test only.
4. This does definitely seem to keep the ball going in a straight flight to a small 3-5 yard fade. No slices at all on the initial shots.
5. I was able to hit some small draws with this in the 5-7 yard range.

This was a quick session with 20 shots and some breaks in between so I didn't just pound 20 balls in 5 minutes. Overall I would say that this is a driver I could play and will put into play on Sunday and have some better thoughts. There is a big difference playing the course and seeing ball flights and hitting known distances targets on course.
I think with one of my regular flex shafts that I am used to will provide some different results that might give me a better feeling of the head and the way it plays.

 

[Tenputt]

So out of the box this looks good. I like the shinny head cover. I also like the color of the head itself, the blue and red complement each other.
This came as a 9° head with the stock stiff shaft. I grabbed the shag bag and headed north of town to the high schools football field. ( I can blast balls to the north and into the empty field and woods) Gives me right at 200 yards to the woods so anything that falls short I know is a bad hit. Also hitting from the end zone gives me a target line thru the other goal post uprights.

First impression on the first hit was that this driver is softer/more muted sounding than my Mavrik Max. (all comparisons will be to the Max)
While this in not a bad thing, being a person that has hit the G400 Max and the loudness of that driver this seems almost to soft sounding to me.
I know that seems odd to most, but I like a bit of crack/sound off the driver.

The stock shaft feel fine to me, a regular flex may do a bit better for me as that is what I was fit into.
20 shots, ten at 9° and ten at +1/N
First ten at 9° and I saw a nice straight to baby fade (3-5 yards) hard to range distance but most all reached the trees. I had a few that didn't because of not catching it center face. I had a few shots that did seem to fall out of the sky, I would attribute this to somewhat topping the shot.
Toe hits seemed to still maintain good distance.
One thing for sure is if you cross over you will get the result of a nasty pull hook!!!!

Once I moved up to +1/n i seemed to have some better results for my swing. I
I didn't really notice a higher ball flight as expected. (eye test ) What I did notice was that the fade mostly disappeared and became straighter for me. It also seemed to give me a bit more carry.
y
A couple takeaways for me and these are initial thoughts with only a short range session, I will have it on course on Sunday and I think give me a better understanding of distances and ball flight.
1. Initial impression I was expecting more of a wow factor, but I didn't get that.
2. Not a fan of the muted sound, as stated before I like a bit more sound/crack to the driver.
3. From reading the reviews of others I was expecting a bit more launch and height to the shots. (I was using all Titleist mixed balls)
While seeing good height, I don't think it was any higher than my Mavrik Max. Again eye test only.
4. This does definitely seem to keep the ball going in a straight flight to a small 3-5 yard fade. No slices at all on the initial shots.
5. I was able to hit some small draws with this in the 5-7 yard range.

This was a quick session with 20 shots and some breaks in between so I didn't just pound 20 balls in 5 minutes. Overall I would say that this is a driver I could play and will put into play on Sunday and have some better thoughts. There is a big difference playing the course and seeing ball flights and hitting known distances targets on course.
I think with one of my regular flex shafts that I am used to will provide some different results that might give me a better feeling of the head and the way it plays.

One thing that I would note is that I would expect your Mavrik Max to launch higher, so what you are seeing is probably accurate. The max will definitely be higher spin and for those who need the launch and spin, the Max may well be a better fit.

 

[Snickerdog]

One thing that I would note is that I would expect your Mavrik Max to launch higher, so what you are seeing is probably accurate. The max will definitely be higher spin and for those who need the launch and spin, the Max may well be a better fit.

It will be interesting to try on Sunday on course. I know when I did my fitting last year they lofted me down to try and bring spin down, and this should do it without having to do that. I am going to try and play 9 with my normal 2020 Chrome Soft to see how it does then on the back nine with balls to like a Q-Star Tour to compare a bit. I will probably use my gamer shaft as it is regular flex.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

A couple takeaways for me and these are initial thoughts with only a short range session, I will have it on course on Sunday and I think give me a better understanding of distances and ball flight.
1. Initial impression I was expecting more of a wow factor, but I didn't get that.

That was my initial impression, too, but I wrote that off to being me, not the club. I definitely was not striking well or consistently.

2. Not a fan of the muted sound, as stated before I like a bit more sound/crack to the driver.

Yeah, it's kind of anti-climatic, isn't it? I agree with you it may be a silly nitpick, but, yeah...

3. From reading the reviews of others I was expecting a bit more launch and height to the shots.

Can't comment on that. See my response to (1), above.

What is the loft on your Mavrik Max?

4. This does definitely seem to keep the ball going in a straight flight to a small 3-5 yard fade. No slices at all on the initial shots.
5. I was able to hit some small draws with this in the 5-7 yard range.

As poor as my own test was, what little I was able to glean from it pretty much mirrored what you experienced.

Once I'm hitting my driver more consistently I'll be giving the B21 another try.