Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Review Thread

I hit this club really well today. Missed on one hole, but other than that I just love it. I find myself feeing so confident I am pulling it on every single hole I can.
 
I hit this club really well today. Missed on one hole, but other than that I just love it. I find myself feeing so confident I am pulling it on every single hole I can.
Same here, and that's a big reason I'm looking at a 3w again instead of mini.

Effin silly fun driver.
 
I hit this club really well today. Missed on one hole, but other than that I just love it. I find myself feeing so confident I am pulling it on every single hole I can.


I must get this club in my hands sometime. The love for my SLDR is waning....
 
Hit this driver two times now (rogue silver and KK) and just can not get comfortable with it - it really bugs me. I don't even want to try the 816 because I know i need the forgiveness, but damn both the 815 and GBB just haven't worked for me.

The lack of face/crown contrast annoys me, but that wouldn't effect every single swing I try to put on it. I am baffled why the GBB hasn't performed for me.
 
I must get this club in my hands sometime. The love for my SLDR is waning....

You really do, its silly fun. Literally have never tested anything that responds like this head laterally and vertically.
 
I've never felt more confident with a driver than with this in my hands. I don't fear missing anymore. It's honestly incredible.
 
I've never felt more confident with a driver than with this in my hands. I don't fear missing anymore. It's honestly incredible.

Ditto.

Misses still happen, but what I feel like I can get away with and still stay in play is crazy. JB made fun of me at Disney for one drive I was pissed about at impact because I got it so far on the heel, that still ended up in the middle and about 235.
 
So today on FlightScope pre round I decided to tinker a bit. I have been noticing a flight that appeared exactly where I like it, but after recent testing of others and seeing low peak numbers I wanted to test for myself.

Peak height for me after 26 balls is 31.3 yards. At a launch angle of 13.9 and spin at 2797. Smash factor is at 1.49 9on These shots. This all done with the Grandura 590 which I find gives me the best ball flight I have tested in either of my two drivers.

Here is where it gets interesting for me though. On 5 balls where smash factor was below 1.44 my peak height only dipped to 27.89 yards. So while I am losing some height due to spin getting zapped with ball speed, the retention was good enough to keep me with solid carry numbers.

Overall I am still really enjoying this and have some cool tests coming up.
 
I've never felt more confident with a driver than with this in my hands. I don't fear missing anymore. It's honestly incredible.

How many shafts did you try? Did changing shafts drastically change the feel of the swing for you? Like I said, I tried the Rogue i/o silver and KK Tini and did not like either in the head. I do enjoy the standard rogue silver in my fairway wood, but I guess the i/o is drastically different.

Wish the Fuji Pro was a no upcharge option as I have enjoyed that shaft immensely. Are there any shafts that are free upgrade that compare to the Fuji Pro 60?
 
So today on FlightScope pre round I decided to tinker a bit. I have been noticing a flight that appeared exactly where I like it, but after recent testing of others and seeing low peak numbers I wanted to test for myself.

Peak height for me after 26 balls is 31.3 yards. At a launch angle of 13.9 and spin at 2797. Smash factor is at 1.49 9on These shots. This all done with the Grandura 590 which I find gives me the best ball flight I have tested in either of my two drivers.

Here is where it gets interesting for me though. On 5 balls where smash factor was below 1.44 my peak height only dipped to 27.89 yards. So while I am losing some height due to spin getting zapped with ball speed, the retention was good enough to keep me with solid carry numbers.

Overall I am still really enjoying this and have some cool tests coming up.
Those are really solid numbers! I can clearly see your statement of best driver you've ever gamed is backed up by the numbers :)
 
Those are really solid numbers! I can clearly see your statement of best driver you've ever gamed is backed up by the numbers :)

So far for me it is. There are so many good clubs out there I am so fortunate to be able to test them with great technology.
 
How many shafts did you try? Did changing shafts drastically change the feel of the swing for you? Like I said, I tried the Rogue i/o silver and KK Tini and did not like either in the head. I do enjoy the standard rogue silver in my fairway wood, but I guess the i/o is drastically different.

Wish the Fuji Pro was a no upcharge option as I have enjoyed that shaft immensely. Are there any shafts that are free upgrade that compare to the Fuji Pro 60?

I tried about 6-7, and yes different shafts changed it dramatically for me. The LZ red felt pretty bad for my swing honestly, and if that was the only shaft I wouldn't have liked this driver very much. the Rouge I/O and Speeder 665 felt the best with the Rouge I/O being a little better for my numbers. I am picking up an Aldila tour green to try as well.

As for the Fuji pro, I'd try the Speeder 665. It's a really good shaft with this head
 
That height for you JB sounds really solid. Is that higher than normal or right on par with your prior setups? I'm trying to picture your normal cut and if that's the same etc with this driver or better.
 
I've never felt more confident with a driver than with this in my hands. I don't fear missing anymore. It's honestly incredible.

Ditto.

Misses still happen, but what I feel like I can get away with and still stay in play is crazy. JB made fun of me at Disney for one drive I was pissed about at impact because I got it so far on the heel, that still ended up in the middle and about 235.

Confidence and forgiveness stands out for me. The matte black head took some time getting used to, but it's an afterthought now.

During my last round I hit some shots where I was sure were short and way offline. The combo of the Grandura shaft and the GBB kept me respectable from a dispersion and distance perspective.

I'm looking forward to dialing in this driver even more the months leading up to #TheGrandaddy
 
Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Review Thread

That height for you JB sounds really solid. Is that higher than normal or right on par with your prior setups? I'm trying to picture your normal cut and if that's the same etc with this driver or better.

Higher. As you know I used to hit it lower than you and robbed me of carry distance. Somewhere in the area of 21 or so yards. Then a couple of months ago after watching your AOA at FlightScope I changed something to get more neutral. After doing so my previous driver was getting close to 24 yards peak. Testing a few others put me in similar spot. This got a little higher with no increase of spin.
 
Higher. As you know I used to hit it lower than you and robbed me of carry distance. Somewhere in the area of 21 or so yards. Then a couple of months ago after watching your AOA at FlightScope I changed something to get more neutral. After doing so my previous driver was getting close to 24 yards peak. Testing a few others put me in similar spot. This got a little higher with no increase of spin.

I'll have to pay attention next time we play, I'm trying to picture this higher flight.

This driver is of course a ponder. An evil, beautiful ponder.
 
I'll have to pay attention next time we play, I'm trying to picture this higher flight.

This driver is of course a ponder. An evil, beautiful ponder.

Do it.
 
This may not be the place, but a question about launch angles and apex of ball flight. If I'm getting close to 14* of launch but my peak is over 33 yds. Does it matter as long as I'm not seeing a ballooning effect? I don't know what the descending angle was off the top of my head, but it's not uncommon to get zero to little roll off the driver for me.
 
This may not be the place, but a question about launch angles and apex of ball flight. If I'm getting close to 14* of launch but my peak is over 33 yds. Does it matter as long as I'm not seeing a ballooning effect? I don't know what the descending angle was off the top of my head, but it's not uncommon to get zero to little roll off the driver for me.

Does it matter? Yes. With no ballooning, it would depend really.
 
This may not be the place, but a question about launch angles and apex of ball flight. If I'm getting close to 14* of launch but my peak is over 33 yds. Does it matter as long as I'm not seeing a ballooning effect? I don't know what the descending angle was off the top of my head, but it's not uncommon to get zero to little roll off the driver for me.

If your spin is low, that launch and max height is really good Kevin. What you can't control is where you play, which has a lot to due with your rollout.

Carry travels though. If you're 265 in the air, that's a real number that won't change when you play out of state and you don't have crazy stupid elevation haha
 
Does it matter? Yes. With no ballooning, it would depend really.

If your spin is low, that launch and max height is really good Kevin. What you can't control is where you play, which has a lot to due with your rollout.

Carry travels though. If you're 265 in the air, that's a real number that won't change when you play out of state and you don't have crazy stupid elevation haha

Thanks, I don't want to take this thread off topic to far. I like what I'm seeing so far with the lofting up. But it has me wondering what is the tipping point to where I start to lose distance.
 
Thanks, I don't want to take this thread off topic to far. I like what I'm seeing so far with the lofting up. But it has me wondering what is the tipping point to where I start to lose distance.

Adding loft can also increase spin. You could always play with the Flightscope Trajectory optimizer to see what your breaking point might be in terms of losing distance because of too much launch
 
UPS note: I will have this in hand tomorrow, yuss!!
 
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