jdub
Member
Today my brother and I had the amazing experience of being fitted at the Ely Callaway Performance Center at Callaway Headquarters in Carlsbad, California. Ever since I followed the posts of the guys at The Grandaddy I knew I had to make a pilgrimage to Carlsbad. The 11 hour drive from Utah was well worth it.
Our fitter was John Mlynarski, who is a true professional. A little background on us: My brother is a 12 handicap and I am a 3. Our swing speeds are very similar. My ball striking is just a little more consistent.
Although we started late in the day, John took his time with us. We started at 3:00 and finished up at about 6:30. John made sure we were comfortable with the results of each part of the fitting before moving on. We first hit 6 irons. Although I purchased a combo set of Apex/Apex Pro irons a few weeks ago, I wanted to make sure the KBS V Spec shafts in my clubs were the proper fit. My numbers were great with these shafts, which was a big relief. I was hitting the 6 iron with about 85 mph SS around 170 yards of carry. Backspin was about 5400 and dispersion was very tight. Only change for me was John recommended I have my irons bent 1* upright. One thing I wanted to find out is if the gap between my 7 iron Apex Pro and 6 iron Apex was too wide. I was happy to find out that the gap was 12 yards. I'm very happy with that.
My brother was also fitted for a combo set of Apex/Apex Pros. He currently plays X Hot Pros and loves them. John fitted him for 1/2" longer and 1* upright. The results were amazing. All of the shots with the X Hot Pros were push fades. With the Apex at 1/2" long and 1* upright he was hitting baby fades about 5 yards longer than the X Hot Pros.
Next we were fitted for wedges. We both ended up with S grind in gap and sand wedges, and U grind in lob wedges.
Then we moved on to hybrids. We both tried the regular X2Hot, but did not like the size of the head or the way it set up to the ball. We LOVED the X2Hot Pro. Both of us really liked the Tour Green shaft. The face on this hybrid is so hot. Seems much hotter that the X Hot Pro hybrids we both currently have in our bags.
We both hit the Big Bertha fairway. I thought it was easy to hit of the deck and felt great. I could hit fades and draws at will. I will probably stick with my 3Deep as I really like the deep face off the tee. My brother hit the X2Hot 3 wood and liked it better than the BB fairway.
On to the driver. We both tried the Big Bertha and Big Bertha Alpha. We both currently play the FT Optforce 440 with Diamana S+ shaft. John said that the Optiforce was going to be tough to beat. He said it is just a great driver, and I agree.
Although the Big Bertha was a nice club, it did not fit my eye. Just looks too big compared to the Optiforce. My numbers were not bad. Hit it with the Fubuki Zeta shaft, loft and lie standard. Swing speed was about 102 with about 3000 rpm of backspin with launch angle of about 14*.
Next we hit the Big Bertha Alpha with Zeta Tour shaft. Loft was +1 and lie was neutral for me. Started with Gravity Core up. Swing speed was 102 to 103 with about 2600-2800 rpm of backspin and launch angle around 12*. Switched Gravity Core to down position. Spin dropped to about 2300-2400 and launch angle went up to 14*. Most of my shots were slight fades with misses being a slice. John switched the 7 gram weight on the toe to a 3 gram weight. Swing speed went up by 1 mph and shots flew a bit straighter.
Next John recommended I try the Tour Green shaft in the BBA. This gave me the best numbers overall. Spin dropped by a couple hundred rpm's to around 2100 and dispersion became much tighter. I was hitting very straight shots with a slight fade or draw. Results were that I hit the BBA with Tour Green shaft about 10 yards further (carry) than my FT Optiforce.
My brother did not see a lot of difference between his Optiforce and either the BBA or BB. Spin was about 400 rpm lower with BBA, but that was about it.
The final fitting was for putters. John watched us hit putts and then made recommendations. I have a slight arc to my putting stroke and John recommended a putter with medium toe-flow. I hit the Metal X-Milled #1 the best. Drained 4 out of the first 5 putts I hit from about 15 feet. Tried a few other putters...Tank Versa #7, Havok but I liked the Metal X-Milled #7 the best. It is very similar to my Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2.
In the end, I ordered the Big Bertha Alpha with Tour Green shaft. My brother ordered Apex/Apex Pro combo set (7-PW Apex Pro and 5 & 6 Apex) with KBS V-spec shafts. We will both be ordering the X2Hot Pro hybrid in 18*, and possibly 23*. I already have Mack Daddy 2 wedges, but my brother will be ordering a set.
John recommended the SR2 ball for both of us and gave us each a dozen as a parting gift.
Overall, this was just an amazing experience. If you are in the area, I cannot recommend ECPC highly enough.
Thank you, John and Callaway!
Our fitter was John Mlynarski, who is a true professional. A little background on us: My brother is a 12 handicap and I am a 3. Our swing speeds are very similar. My ball striking is just a little more consistent.
Although we started late in the day, John took his time with us. We started at 3:00 and finished up at about 6:30. John made sure we were comfortable with the results of each part of the fitting before moving on. We first hit 6 irons. Although I purchased a combo set of Apex/Apex Pro irons a few weeks ago, I wanted to make sure the KBS V Spec shafts in my clubs were the proper fit. My numbers were great with these shafts, which was a big relief. I was hitting the 6 iron with about 85 mph SS around 170 yards of carry. Backspin was about 5400 and dispersion was very tight. Only change for me was John recommended I have my irons bent 1* upright. One thing I wanted to find out is if the gap between my 7 iron Apex Pro and 6 iron Apex was too wide. I was happy to find out that the gap was 12 yards. I'm very happy with that.
My brother was also fitted for a combo set of Apex/Apex Pros. He currently plays X Hot Pros and loves them. John fitted him for 1/2" longer and 1* upright. The results were amazing. All of the shots with the X Hot Pros were push fades. With the Apex at 1/2" long and 1* upright he was hitting baby fades about 5 yards longer than the X Hot Pros.
Next we were fitted for wedges. We both ended up with S grind in gap and sand wedges, and U grind in lob wedges.
Then we moved on to hybrids. We both tried the regular X2Hot, but did not like the size of the head or the way it set up to the ball. We LOVED the X2Hot Pro. Both of us really liked the Tour Green shaft. The face on this hybrid is so hot. Seems much hotter that the X Hot Pro hybrids we both currently have in our bags.
We both hit the Big Bertha fairway. I thought it was easy to hit of the deck and felt great. I could hit fades and draws at will. I will probably stick with my 3Deep as I really like the deep face off the tee. My brother hit the X2Hot 3 wood and liked it better than the BB fairway.
On to the driver. We both tried the Big Bertha and Big Bertha Alpha. We both currently play the FT Optforce 440 with Diamana S+ shaft. John said that the Optiforce was going to be tough to beat. He said it is just a great driver, and I agree.
Although the Big Bertha was a nice club, it did not fit my eye. Just looks too big compared to the Optiforce. My numbers were not bad. Hit it with the Fubuki Zeta shaft, loft and lie standard. Swing speed was about 102 with about 3000 rpm of backspin with launch angle of about 14*.
Next we hit the Big Bertha Alpha with Zeta Tour shaft. Loft was +1 and lie was neutral for me. Started with Gravity Core up. Swing speed was 102 to 103 with about 2600-2800 rpm of backspin and launch angle around 12*. Switched Gravity Core to down position. Spin dropped to about 2300-2400 and launch angle went up to 14*. Most of my shots were slight fades with misses being a slice. John switched the 7 gram weight on the toe to a 3 gram weight. Swing speed went up by 1 mph and shots flew a bit straighter.
Next John recommended I try the Tour Green shaft in the BBA. This gave me the best numbers overall. Spin dropped by a couple hundred rpm's to around 2100 and dispersion became much tighter. I was hitting very straight shots with a slight fade or draw. Results were that I hit the BBA with Tour Green shaft about 10 yards further (carry) than my FT Optiforce.
My brother did not see a lot of difference between his Optiforce and either the BBA or BB. Spin was about 400 rpm lower with BBA, but that was about it.
The final fitting was for putters. John watched us hit putts and then made recommendations. I have a slight arc to my putting stroke and John recommended a putter with medium toe-flow. I hit the Metal X-Milled #1 the best. Drained 4 out of the first 5 putts I hit from about 15 feet. Tried a few other putters...Tank Versa #7, Havok but I liked the Metal X-Milled #7 the best. It is very similar to my Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2.
In the end, I ordered the Big Bertha Alpha with Tour Green shaft. My brother ordered Apex/Apex Pro combo set (7-PW Apex Pro and 5 & 6 Apex) with KBS V-spec shafts. We will both be ordering the X2Hot Pro hybrid in 18*, and possibly 23*. I already have Mack Daddy 2 wedges, but my brother will be ordering a set.
John recommended the SR2 ball for both of us and gave us each a dozen as a parting gift.
Overall, this was just an amazing experience. If you are in the area, I cannot recommend ECPC highly enough.
Thank you, John and Callaway!
