OUZO Power
@K_Kyriopoulos
So this year I was very fortunate and I got an overhaul for my entire bag. The new set was comprised of the following clubs.
Driver: Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 9[SUP]o[/SUP] / Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki ZT-60 R-Flex 45.5” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
FW Wood #1: Callaway Big Bertha 3W / Fujikura Speeder VC 6.2 S-Flex 43” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
FW Wood #2: Callaway Big Bertha 5W / Fujikura Speeder VC 6.1 S-Flex 42.5” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Irons: Callaway Apex 4i-9i, PW, AW, SW / Project X PX95 5.0 Flighted Standard Length / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Wedge: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 S60[SUP]o[/SUP] / Project X PX95 6.0 Flighted Standard Length / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Putter: Odyssey Metal X Milled #9 HT / Black Shaft / Superstoke 3.0
About Me:
So here is a little background about me. I’ll try and keep it short. Not a good golfer. Haha. But I love the game. I can shoot depending on the track and day mid 80’s to mid 90’s. But I wont give up. I play around 25-30 rounds a year (Canadian short golf season) and I would say 2/3 are corporate scrambles. With 4 boys under 5 at home it’s hard to get out and play on the weekends when your wife needs your help at home for 2 days to catch her breath. My driver swing speed is around 100mph but I’ve seen it go as high as 110mph on my hulk moments of brilliance, and I have never been fit for clubs in the past. My previous set was Callaway RAZR FIT Driver & 3W, Callaway FT-iZ 3-4H, Callaway X-Forged 09 5-PW, Callaway Jaws X Series MD 52-58-64 Wedges and Odyssey White Hot #9.
There is no debating it. I am a Callaway homer. It’s just the way it is. I love their stuff. I am 100% of the belief all OEM’s make awesome stuff and there is no “junk”. But I just have a soft spot for Callaway when it comes to golf.
A few months ago I went on a trip to the Mecca of Golf in Carlsbad, California and visited Callaway. It was an incredible experience. Got to see the inner workings of Callaway and how things are done. Even got to go hit some balls at the Ely Callaway Performance Centre. The new stuff was just about to get rolled out to the masses. So I was looking forward to hitting the 2014 line before the general public. But one problem. Big problem that is, I’m a lefty. And there was no LH 2014 clubs when I went. L Talk about major bummer. But I made the best of it and had fun.
Why did I go with this setup?
Remember I said I never been fit before. And I’m big on feel. How the club feels in my hands, during the swing and at ball impact. I would say I’m 90% about feel. Well I was until recently that is where I have now made a compromise and have listened to the pros. More about that as we progress.
Driver: My big miss-hit is a slice. Yup I’ll confess. I am a slicer. Or was that is. But it still creeps back once in a while. When I started golfing 15 years ago I would banana slice everything. I can hit a brick and somehow I would slice it. Since then I have tamed it and changed my swing and worked with equipment that would help reduce the slice or effects of a bad swing.
The last 3 years I became an internet golfer. Started reading up on forums like THP for help. I learned about the impact of shafts, low spin, kick point, bend point, etc. So for the first time I took the plunge and bought myself an aftermarket shaft. After much research I purchased an Aldila RIP Alpha 60 S-Flex. Put it on my RAZR FIT 9.5 head and the results where instant. I could hit baby fades all day with it. Yea sure once in a while the sliced ball would come back. But I was hitting for the first time the majority of my drives around 260-270 and in the fairway I would say 75% of the time. There was one problem. And this applies to all the clubs and just not the driver. Freaking thing felt so boardy and harsh on my hands. Like swinging a 2x4. I liked everything about the shaft due to the results alone but hated the feel.
Then one day I went with Mrs. OUZO to the range. She’s a lefty also. And for fun I picked up her driver. BAM. They went straight but not far due to length and loft. But man it felt awesome. The women’s flex felt so awesome. OK, Make fun of me now, I don’t care. But the whippy shaft felt fantastic in my hands and I felt no pain.
Driver Head: So why did I pick the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 9[SUP]o[/SUP]? Spin baby. Drop that spin rate as much as I could to fight my high backspin numbers (3500 avg).
Driver Shaft: Why the Fubuki ZT? I went feel. I couldn’t go low torque again, it just felt terrible and I thought the low spin head would make up for dropping the spin rates. I even went with an R-Flex with the experience I had in my head after hitting my wife’s driver. I know I might have gone overboard here and went completely the opposite direction.
Other Shafts: Now I’m going to have to skip the selection process for the other clubs or else I’ll lose your attention by the time we get to the actual fitting experience. But in general the same process applied to the shafts for all the other clubs.
Grips: Why Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize? Because I hold my clubs with the GRIP OF DEATH. Like I want to choke them. I cant let off. I try but I cant. This resulted in a lot of pain in my hands and fore-arms. I also liked the really soft feel of them. Actually this was a good call. They really helped and the pain caused by my terrible powergrip is gone.
On The Course PRE-FITTING New Club Results:
Overall I would say I was happy with my selection. As for feel they all felt great. The new stuff was definitely an improvement over the old bag. I was killing the BBA with the odd errant drive. The Apex felt awesome. I loved the lighter shaft. Again an improvement over my older set. The distance was definitely improved but accuracy was a little bit of a problem. The FW’s I didn’t hit much so I cant comment. It just happened that I didn’t get much time with them. I was hitting the 3W great for the few times I hit it. But not doing so well with the 5W. We just couldn’t connect. I was happy I went with the set matching wedges. I find them so much easier to hit than a blade type wedge. That’s where things have really improved for me. I feel so confident 100 yards and in with the matching Apex wedges. The killer is the MXM #9HT. I don’t think in the last 15 rounds I’ve had to do a 3 putt even from bad/distant locations on the green from the pin. I’ve just meshed perfectly with it and the 20gr weights & Superstroke 3.0 combo.
CALLAWAY CANADA:
So after my trip and upon my return the boys over at Callaway Canada came in contact with me and offered to make things good. Yea they fixed Harry’s & Chads mess-up. Lol. I was very surprised and overwhelmed by their actions. They invited me over to get fit at their Toronto location. I have to say Bruce Carroll-Callaway Canada GM & Brent Mallard-Marketing and Product Manager are gentleman and awesome. Yea I’m going to name drop them because they deserve it. You all know Harry, Chad, Greg, Chris, Rhionna, Scott, Jason etc.. well these two gentlemen are of the same formula and their generosity and hospitality is second to none. It’s no coincidence they are with Callaway.
So they offered me two options back in January. Come in get fit now before I get my new clubs and order them based on the results, or wait a few months and go to their new location that’s going to be state of the art. I wanted to wait for the new location. But I also couldn’t wait for my new clubs. Who are we kidding? I wanted them badly. I wanted them to ride shotgun with me on my way to the office in 3 feet of snow in February, I wanted to have long talks with them and drink coffee together. Plus I would need them for a good 10-15 rounds before the new location was open.
Fast forward to mid-June and Brent gives me the call. The move happened and the new offices are up and running. What day works for you he asked me? We set it up and I couldn’t wait for that day. But then I asked myself, what is the point? Why trouble them and take up their time? I already have my clubs. Then the golf junky inside of me smacked me on the back of the head and said fool you’re going to go get fit.
Finally the day came when I get to visit Callaway Canada. Right when I get through the door Brent came and greeted me and introduced me to the pro-fitter Mike Lefevre. He gave me a tour of the place. It was awesome in there. And they treated me like a celebrity. Lol. I can safely say that the new Callaway Canada headquarters from an appearance and fitting capabilities perspective has nothing to be jealous of from the mothership in Carlsbad with the exclusion of the Top Secret R&D that goes on down there. The décor is top notch and the fitting facilities are state of the art.
Mini Spoiler: I also got to see the new 2015 Bag & Headwear Lineup in an off limits secured room with a vault door. Oh boy are all of you in for a treat. As for the bags. New direction. New colour schemes and patterns. Wide variety and some very cool BOLD patterns and colour combos. I loved every one of them. There was one I was about to grab and run away with. Yea Brent, that one I told you Callaway will have a hard time keeping up with Demand/Supply. And there was one bag I don’t think has been done before by any OEM. I personally have never seen anything like it. It’s a brilliant idea. This will definitely be a bag for the serious golfer that plays about 4 rounds a week to have in their stable of bags, one for special occasions. I know it sucks that I can’t say more. But I swore to not take pics or elaborate further on details. Just take my word for it. They all will be a hit.
What blew me away was the fitment area. And on screen they had……
Look familiar? Yup, you guessed it. ECPC in Carlsbad. Bet some THP #Grandaddy members are getting nostalgic even looking at this pic. Having been there I have to say. I was about to cry. I was fascinated and there were so many memories and emotions running through me. I think I needed a minute or two to settle down after that view. Almost let a tear go. I know Brent & Mike were talking to me. But I just had a blank stare looking at the ECPC range on the screen and unintentionally blanked them out. Brent & Mike if you picked up on that sorry guys.
The hitting mat was so cool. I never liked hitting off mats. My only experience was with driving ranges and local big box stores. And they felt harsh. I hated hitting off of them. But this mat was cool. You would never know it was a mat. I forgot to get details. But I’ll ask Brent what it was. I can say for sure it looks expensive. I swear it felt like hitting off of grass. I suspect there are some THP members that know what it is and what the product is called.
So Mike Lefevre gave me the lowdown on the fitting system they use. It’s a very elaborate system. Too complex for a guy like me, but for a true fitting freak like some of you Hackers in here I bet you would love it.
It’s called Aboutgolf. I believe it’s the same system Golf Channel uses. The main difference is that the folks in R&D at Callaway have developed their own fitting software to overlap about golf to provide a more technical experience. You can dumb it down to display the basics which is ideal for me or show hundreds of parameters if you’re super analysing your swing and results. I suspect for an inconsistent swing like mine dumbing it down is the best. I have a hard time replicating swing after swing.
In my case we did the typical parameters. Carry, Overall Distance, Spin Rate, AoA, Launch Angle, Dispersion, Swing Speed, Ball Speed. I believe anything else wouldn’t be of added value again due to my inconsistent swing.
The Aboutgolf system uses High Speed 3D cameras to take pictures of the club and ball at almost 2500 frames per second to pick up ball speed, trajectory and spin as well as clubhead speed and 3D path as well as clubface angle.
I found the system to work great and the type of shot I felt I hit was always represented in the shape of shot and the numbers were shown on the screen and believe me this thing will pick up some fairly big hooks and slices.
...... to be continued in next post
Driver: Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 9[SUP]o[/SUP] / Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki ZT-60 R-Flex 45.5” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
FW Wood #1: Callaway Big Bertha 3W / Fujikura Speeder VC 6.2 S-Flex 43” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
FW Wood #2: Callaway Big Bertha 5W / Fujikura Speeder VC 6.1 S-Flex 42.5” / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Irons: Callaway Apex 4i-9i, PW, AW, SW / Project X PX95 5.0 Flighted Standard Length / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Wedge: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 S60[SUP]o[/SUP] / Project X PX95 6.0 Flighted Standard Length / Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize
Putter: Odyssey Metal X Milled #9 HT / Black Shaft / Superstoke 3.0
About Me:
So here is a little background about me. I’ll try and keep it short. Not a good golfer. Haha. But I love the game. I can shoot depending on the track and day mid 80’s to mid 90’s. But I wont give up. I play around 25-30 rounds a year (Canadian short golf season) and I would say 2/3 are corporate scrambles. With 4 boys under 5 at home it’s hard to get out and play on the weekends when your wife needs your help at home for 2 days to catch her breath. My driver swing speed is around 100mph but I’ve seen it go as high as 110mph on my hulk moments of brilliance, and I have never been fit for clubs in the past. My previous set was Callaway RAZR FIT Driver & 3W, Callaway FT-iZ 3-4H, Callaway X-Forged 09 5-PW, Callaway Jaws X Series MD 52-58-64 Wedges and Odyssey White Hot #9.
There is no debating it. I am a Callaway homer. It’s just the way it is. I love their stuff. I am 100% of the belief all OEM’s make awesome stuff and there is no “junk”. But I just have a soft spot for Callaway when it comes to golf.
A few months ago I went on a trip to the Mecca of Golf in Carlsbad, California and visited Callaway. It was an incredible experience. Got to see the inner workings of Callaway and how things are done. Even got to go hit some balls at the Ely Callaway Performance Centre. The new stuff was just about to get rolled out to the masses. So I was looking forward to hitting the 2014 line before the general public. But one problem. Big problem that is, I’m a lefty. And there was no LH 2014 clubs when I went. L Talk about major bummer. But I made the best of it and had fun.
Why did I go with this setup?
Remember I said I never been fit before. And I’m big on feel. How the club feels in my hands, during the swing and at ball impact. I would say I’m 90% about feel. Well I was until recently that is where I have now made a compromise and have listened to the pros. More about that as we progress.
Driver: My big miss-hit is a slice. Yup I’ll confess. I am a slicer. Or was that is. But it still creeps back once in a while. When I started golfing 15 years ago I would banana slice everything. I can hit a brick and somehow I would slice it. Since then I have tamed it and changed my swing and worked with equipment that would help reduce the slice or effects of a bad swing.
The last 3 years I became an internet golfer. Started reading up on forums like THP for help. I learned about the impact of shafts, low spin, kick point, bend point, etc. So for the first time I took the plunge and bought myself an aftermarket shaft. After much research I purchased an Aldila RIP Alpha 60 S-Flex. Put it on my RAZR FIT 9.5 head and the results where instant. I could hit baby fades all day with it. Yea sure once in a while the sliced ball would come back. But I was hitting for the first time the majority of my drives around 260-270 and in the fairway I would say 75% of the time. There was one problem. And this applies to all the clubs and just not the driver. Freaking thing felt so boardy and harsh on my hands. Like swinging a 2x4. I liked everything about the shaft due to the results alone but hated the feel.
Then one day I went with Mrs. OUZO to the range. She’s a lefty also. And for fun I picked up her driver. BAM. They went straight but not far due to length and loft. But man it felt awesome. The women’s flex felt so awesome. OK, Make fun of me now, I don’t care. But the whippy shaft felt fantastic in my hands and I felt no pain.
Driver Head: So why did I pick the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 9[SUP]o[/SUP]? Spin baby. Drop that spin rate as much as I could to fight my high backspin numbers (3500 avg).
Driver Shaft: Why the Fubuki ZT? I went feel. I couldn’t go low torque again, it just felt terrible and I thought the low spin head would make up for dropping the spin rates. I even went with an R-Flex with the experience I had in my head after hitting my wife’s driver. I know I might have gone overboard here and went completely the opposite direction.
Other Shafts: Now I’m going to have to skip the selection process for the other clubs or else I’ll lose your attention by the time we get to the actual fitting experience. But in general the same process applied to the shafts for all the other clubs.
Grips: Why Wynn Dri-Tac Midsize? Because I hold my clubs with the GRIP OF DEATH. Like I want to choke them. I cant let off. I try but I cant. This resulted in a lot of pain in my hands and fore-arms. I also liked the really soft feel of them. Actually this was a good call. They really helped and the pain caused by my terrible powergrip is gone.
On The Course PRE-FITTING New Club Results:
Overall I would say I was happy with my selection. As for feel they all felt great. The new stuff was definitely an improvement over the old bag. I was killing the BBA with the odd errant drive. The Apex felt awesome. I loved the lighter shaft. Again an improvement over my older set. The distance was definitely improved but accuracy was a little bit of a problem. The FW’s I didn’t hit much so I cant comment. It just happened that I didn’t get much time with them. I was hitting the 3W great for the few times I hit it. But not doing so well with the 5W. We just couldn’t connect. I was happy I went with the set matching wedges. I find them so much easier to hit than a blade type wedge. That’s where things have really improved for me. I feel so confident 100 yards and in with the matching Apex wedges. The killer is the MXM #9HT. I don’t think in the last 15 rounds I’ve had to do a 3 putt even from bad/distant locations on the green from the pin. I’ve just meshed perfectly with it and the 20gr weights & Superstroke 3.0 combo.
CALLAWAY CANADA:
So after my trip and upon my return the boys over at Callaway Canada came in contact with me and offered to make things good. Yea they fixed Harry’s & Chads mess-up. Lol. I was very surprised and overwhelmed by their actions. They invited me over to get fit at their Toronto location. I have to say Bruce Carroll-Callaway Canada GM & Brent Mallard-Marketing and Product Manager are gentleman and awesome. Yea I’m going to name drop them because they deserve it. You all know Harry, Chad, Greg, Chris, Rhionna, Scott, Jason etc.. well these two gentlemen are of the same formula and their generosity and hospitality is second to none. It’s no coincidence they are with Callaway.
So they offered me two options back in January. Come in get fit now before I get my new clubs and order them based on the results, or wait a few months and go to their new location that’s going to be state of the art. I wanted to wait for the new location. But I also couldn’t wait for my new clubs. Who are we kidding? I wanted them badly. I wanted them to ride shotgun with me on my way to the office in 3 feet of snow in February, I wanted to have long talks with them and drink coffee together. Plus I would need them for a good 10-15 rounds before the new location was open.
Fast forward to mid-June and Brent gives me the call. The move happened and the new offices are up and running. What day works for you he asked me? We set it up and I couldn’t wait for that day. But then I asked myself, what is the point? Why trouble them and take up their time? I already have my clubs. Then the golf junky inside of me smacked me on the back of the head and said fool you’re going to go get fit.
Finally the day came when I get to visit Callaway Canada. Right when I get through the door Brent came and greeted me and introduced me to the pro-fitter Mike Lefevre. He gave me a tour of the place. It was awesome in there. And they treated me like a celebrity. Lol. I can safely say that the new Callaway Canada headquarters from an appearance and fitting capabilities perspective has nothing to be jealous of from the mothership in Carlsbad with the exclusion of the Top Secret R&D that goes on down there. The décor is top notch and the fitting facilities are state of the art.
Mini Spoiler: I also got to see the new 2015 Bag & Headwear Lineup in an off limits secured room with a vault door. Oh boy are all of you in for a treat. As for the bags. New direction. New colour schemes and patterns. Wide variety and some very cool BOLD patterns and colour combos. I loved every one of them. There was one I was about to grab and run away with. Yea Brent, that one I told you Callaway will have a hard time keeping up with Demand/Supply. And there was one bag I don’t think has been done before by any OEM. I personally have never seen anything like it. It’s a brilliant idea. This will definitely be a bag for the serious golfer that plays about 4 rounds a week to have in their stable of bags, one for special occasions. I know it sucks that I can’t say more. But I swore to not take pics or elaborate further on details. Just take my word for it. They all will be a hit.
What blew me away was the fitment area. And on screen they had……
Look familiar? Yup, you guessed it. ECPC in Carlsbad. Bet some THP #Grandaddy members are getting nostalgic even looking at this pic. Having been there I have to say. I was about to cry. I was fascinated and there were so many memories and emotions running through me. I think I needed a minute or two to settle down after that view. Almost let a tear go. I know Brent & Mike were talking to me. But I just had a blank stare looking at the ECPC range on the screen and unintentionally blanked them out. Brent & Mike if you picked up on that sorry guys.
The hitting mat was so cool. I never liked hitting off mats. My only experience was with driving ranges and local big box stores. And they felt harsh. I hated hitting off of them. But this mat was cool. You would never know it was a mat. I forgot to get details. But I’ll ask Brent what it was. I can say for sure it looks expensive. I swear it felt like hitting off of grass. I suspect there are some THP members that know what it is and what the product is called.
So Mike Lefevre gave me the lowdown on the fitting system they use. It’s a very elaborate system. Too complex for a guy like me, but for a true fitting freak like some of you Hackers in here I bet you would love it.
It’s called Aboutgolf. I believe it’s the same system Golf Channel uses. The main difference is that the folks in R&D at Callaway have developed their own fitting software to overlap about golf to provide a more technical experience. You can dumb it down to display the basics which is ideal for me or show hundreds of parameters if you’re super analysing your swing and results. I suspect for an inconsistent swing like mine dumbing it down is the best. I have a hard time replicating swing after swing.
In my case we did the typical parameters. Carry, Overall Distance, Spin Rate, AoA, Launch Angle, Dispersion, Swing Speed, Ball Speed. I believe anything else wouldn’t be of added value again due to my inconsistent swing.
The Aboutgolf system uses High Speed 3D cameras to take pictures of the club and ball at almost 2500 frames per second to pick up ball speed, trajectory and spin as well as clubhead speed and 3D path as well as clubface angle.
I found the system to work great and the type of shot I felt I hit was always represented in the shape of shot and the numbers were shown on the screen and believe me this thing will pick up some fairly big hooks and slices.
...... to be continued in next post
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