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Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
Just grabbed a mint condition 10.5* head and cover for $170.00. Already have 3 shafts to put in it so didn't figure there was any sense in paying a lot more for a complete club.
 
Thanks Dog Daddy for the assist on shaft specs. I was in that section earlier and did not find them. My error in missing that
 
DawgDaddy said:
The DotD thread was my downfall, I ordered a used CALLAWAY GREAT BIG BERTHA 13.5°. It has the Bassara 42 in a senior flex but I do have 4 regular flex shafts with the Callaway adapter so that is not a problem. Because of the holiday I won't get it until the end of next week but I am excited to get it. I got it for $258 in very good condition so it was a great deal.
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I see here that you have 3 or 4 alternate reg. flex shafts from your prior callaway Bertha driver (s). The good news is even if that senior flex Bassara feels too weak or is not your favorite now, you can just put it to the side for now, age into that one down the line and for now pick the best of your others. Look forward to your thoughts on the Bassara. Personally I am afraid of that one in an R flex, even though ultralight can be a good shaft for me. I would like to hit it in a stiff flex but it may not be offered that way. Congrats, hope the Bassasa or one of your other shafts work perfect for you.
 
Sox Fan said:
Just grabbed a mint condition 10.5* head and cover for $170.00. Already have 3 shafts to put in it so didn't figure there was any sense in paying a lot more for a complete club.
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Great buy Scott, well done. You make my deal seeking heart proud!
 
Much to #Cookie's dismay, the GBB head has landed in south GA! Can't wait to hit it, paired with the Matrix Reign Black, this coming weekend. May be tempted to bomb some balls throughout the neighborhood before then...haha.
 
Sox Fan said:
Much to #Cookie's dismay, the GBB head has landed in south GA! Can't wait to hit it, paired with the Matrix Reign Black, this coming weekend. May be tempted to bomb some balls throughout the neighborhood before then...haha.
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Can't wait to hear how you smash it Scott. These neighbors better have insurance

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Q: Were do you consider the 'hot spot' on the face is..., were do 'you' engage your best nutted shots on the face...

Q: Do you set up / frame the ball at address exactly on Callaway GBB Crown's (< ) mark... or heal/toe side of it to get your best contact
 
ProZoneGolf said:
Q: Were do you consider the 'hot spot' on the face is..., were do 'you' engage your best nutted shots on the face...

Q: Do you set up / frame the ball at address exactly on Callaway GBB Crown's (< ) mark... or heal/toe side of it to get your best contact
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I have only had about 75 swings over 2 sessions with the GBB but I will answer these anyways.

The hot spot I found was is across the middle of the face to ahout 1/4 of a ball's diameter towards the toe, and half way up the club face (depth wise- so middle as well).

I set up to the ball at the chevron.

Edit: To expand on this a little, I was seeing ball speed all across the face, very very exception ball speed. Usually off center hits turn out poorly for me, and with the GBB they were still very playable.

One of those "I'll take that" kinda results if you know what I'm getting at!

On that note, I found that contact towards the toe on bad swings was more forgiving for me, no matter what shot shape I was trying to play. (Significant because coming over the top and missing toe side is not as ideal as missing heel side, and vice versa, but they were both just as good in my experience when swinging OTT.)

That's getting pretty technical. I had a hard time explaining it, so ask if you don't understand my feedback. Might only make sense to me because I barely did so myself lol.


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I am usually a good driver of the ball (currently 62.7% fw...as high as 74%)...and am having trouble hitting repeatable 'solid' with the GBB head. I have a inside out swing.
The shaft I am using is 757 out of my 816. 816 actually felt more solid to me
GBB is quite hooky for me, at least the miss hits are playable and still get close to the 150y marker left fw/rough. I am setting up face open, with a release at impact to get it nutted into FW (@ N -1/full fade/strip lead tape toe). I have to strike just right to get it...swing 'slightly' easier its left, slightly firmer its right. Feels like I am on a knife edge. Perhaps I need to groove / range practice a straighter swing plane into the ball, with impact tape or I most likely, will be looking for a deeper face neutral design.
 
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ProZoneGolf said:
I am usually a good driver of the ball (currently 62.7% fw...as high as 74%)...and am having trouble hitting repeatable 'solid' with the GBB head. I have a inside out swing.
The shaft I am using is 757 out of my 816. 816 actually felt more solid to me
GBB is quite hooky for me, at least the miss hits are playable and still get close to the 150y marker left fw/rough. I am setting up face open, with a release at impact to get it nutted into FW (@ N -1/full fade/strip lead tape toe). I have to strike just right to get it...swing 'slightly' easier its left, slightly firmer its right. Feels like I am on a knife edge. Perhaps I need to groove / range practice a straighter swing plane into the ball, with impact tape or I most likely, will be looking for a deeper face neutral design.
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I know everyone is different, but this is a weird occurrence to me. I feel like I can hit it nearly anywhere on the face (which I do, unfortunately) and I always seem to get good results distance wise. No you can't hit it dead on the toe or heal, but any shot that even resembles towards the middle or high on the face seems to go plenty far and still pretty accurate.
 
Everyday I pass by my GBB, knowing I still can't use it for a couple months. I really wish the stock GBB cover were a bit more unique.

I thought the Alpha 815 cover was awesome, with the GBB cover sort of falling short style wise in comparison (being pretty much the same style wise). The ladies cover in blue looks cool, as did the XR cover.
 
Got email notice that my GBB is out for delivery, sooooo excited.
 
It's here and it looks brand spanking new! I am excited to get it out. If I can get to the driving range today I will but if I don't make it today it will be Friday before I get to road test this beauty.
 
My GBB will be relegated to the office staff bag at the end of the month. For some reason that has been discussed before, the head just doesnt work for me. Shame cause I really like the APW design of the head.
 
I am confused at the moment. With the new XR being announced, where does it fit into the lineup with the GBB and DBD?

XR - for picking up clubhead speed
GBB - for greater forgiveness
XR Pro
DBD - for low spinners?
 
braddman19 said:
I am confused at the moment. With the new XR being announced, where does it fit into the lineup with the GBB and DBD?

XR - for picking up clubhead speed
GBB - for greater forgiveness
XR Pro
DBD - for low spinners?
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Same place it did last year in my opinion.
To me it falls between GBB and DBD, but outside of being the same brand, they are very different lines of clubs. Looks, sounds and feels really different and comes in at a different price.
 
ProZoneGolf said:
I am usually a good driver of the ball (currently 62.7% fw...as high as 74%)...and am having trouble hitting repeatable 'solid' with the GBB head. I have a inside out swing.
The shaft I am using is 757 out of my 816. 816 actually felt more solid to me
GBB is quite hooky for me, at least the miss hits are playable and still get close to the 150y marker left fw/rough. I am setting up face open, with a release at impact to get it nutted into FW (@ N -1/full fade/strip lead tape toe). I have to strike just right to get it...swing 'slightly' easier its left, slightly firmer its right. Feels like I am on a knife edge. Perhaps I need to groove / range practice a straighter swing plane into the ball, with impact tape or I most likely, will be looking for a deeper face neutral design.
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I would suggest practicing with a tour stick or 4 iron placed by the ball in line with the target. Try bringing the club back on the visual line you just made on the ground in front of you. Come down on the close side of it before impact, and finish on the far side of the line after contact. I would also suggest a lighter shaft as it would be easier to manipulate and control when coming down. What you are describing sounds like you are smothering the ball and it has nowhere to go but left. Imagine you are playing ping pong and hitting top spin smashes, coming down from the inside and spinning the golf ball left.


I just put a UTx and a dual cog tip on my AD DI-6x and will have a lot more feedback on the way. My XR Pro decided to start going stupid long, even with the poor launch stats, so this will be a fun little battle for the spot in the bag.

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alez367 said:
My GBB will be relegated to the office staff bag at the end of the month. For some reason that has been discussed before, the head just doesnt work for me. Shame cause I really like the APW design of the head.
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I would love to take it off your hands if my experiment works out. What loft is it?

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I don't think I've seen this posted anywhere in this thread - has anyone been able to acquire a second sliding weight for the GBB?
 
bbuonic81 said:
I don't think I've seen this posted anywhere in this thread - has anyone been able to acquire a second sliding weight for the GBB?
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Def needs one under 45'...the big washer from a Cally sleeve screw will fit in the weight port (1 SW pt), or go to Ace Hardware and get a few more, or slap lead tape on the pear
I will say the GBB weight is approx 4grams, 816 3grams...Cally may have other weight sizes
 
BigCountryStein said:
I would suggest practicing with a tour stick or 4 iron placed by the ball in line with the target. Try bringing the club back on the visual line you just made on the ground in front of you. Come down on the close side of it before impact, and finish on the far side of the line after contact. I would also suggest a lighter shaft as it would be easier to manipulate and control when coming down. What you are describing sounds like you are smothering the ball and it has nowhere to go but left. Imagine you are playing ping pong and hitting top spin smashes, coming down from the inside and spinning the golf ball left.


I just put a UTx and a dual cog tip on my AD DI-6x and will have a lot more feedback on the way. My XR Pro decided to start going stupid long, even with the poor launch stats, so this will be a fun little battle for the spot in the bag.

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Think I am done with GBB...it looks like a down the line to OTT dream come true. I just need a deeper face
Been playing every day since 19th...I am striking everything else well, and not rusty by any means
I plane train in my PVC Swing ring 2-3 times a day...my plane is not that far inside I believe, but no smother or yank left, I just swing slightly inside out with a usual draw, not a push or a hook like its a knife edge. I did glue up two fav shafts I had in my quiver (Fuji 7.1x, Attas T2 8x)..still a little inconsistent...I'm not going to to to change my swing for this head...
I did slap some impact tape on the range and was getting some low, slightly heal shots for a few shots. My usual shots with other drivers are center face, to center thin...mean while at the range I was nutting my 8i shot after shot at the 155y marker. The round the other day hit 4 greens with my 3i for Driving left
I have had a lot of drivers over the years, Adams XTD Ti (nice but low) Ping G25 9.5 (best), G25 10.5 (Draw), G30 (bit hooky) FlyZ+ (low Rfw), 815 (solid better than 816), 816, GBB
Brought a old friend again off e-bay.. Ping G25 9.5 that I hit 10y less and hit dead straight all day long, that I can go at it 100% (if needed) and still hit FW's more often, I may shave its face to hot it up
Selling GBB Head/sleeve...
 
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braddman19 said:
I am confused at the moment. With the new XR being announced, where does it fit into the lineup with the GBB and DBD?

XR - for picking up clubhead speed
GBB - for greater forgiveness
XR Pro
DBD - for low spinners?
Click to expand...
Callaway has a tool to help you decide.

http://www.callawaygolf.com/driver-fitting-tool/

It looks like basically you have the GBB and DBD as the "flagship", more adjustable drivers at a higher price point, with the XR and XR Pro being the more budget, less adjustable models. Kind of like R15 and Aeroburner from TM last year, but hitting the full matrix of handicap and price point. GBB and XR for the higher handicap players, DBD and XR Pro for the better players.
 
ProZoneGolf said:
Think I am done with GBB...it looks like a down the line to OTT dream come true. I just need a deeper face
Been playing every day since 19th...I am striking everything else well, and not rusty by any means
I plane train in my PVC Swing ring 2-3 times a day...my plane is not that far inside I believe, but no smother or yank left, I just swing slightly inside out with a usual draw, not a push or a hook like its a knife edge. I did glue up two fav shafts I had in my quiver (Fuji 7.1x, Attas T2 8x)..still a little inconsistent...I'm not going to to to change my swing for this head...
I did slap some impact tape on the range and was getting some low, slightly heal shots for a few shots. My usual shots with other drivers are center face, to center thin...mean while at the range I was nutting my 8i shot after shot at the 155y marker. The round the other day hit 4 greens with my 3i for Driving left
I have had a lot of drivers over the years, Adams XTD Ti (nice but low) Ping G25 9.5 (best), G25 10.5 (Draw), G30 (bit hooky) FlyZ+ (low Rfw), 815 (solid better than 816), 816, GBB
Brought a old friend again off e-bay.. Ping G25 9.5 that I hit 10y less and hit dead straight all day long, that I can go at it 100% (if needed) and still hit FW's more often, I may shave its face to hot it up
Selling GBB Head/sleeve...
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I'm not sure how you can hit a draw when you bring the club back inside and come out over the top on the way down? Maybe I misunderstood or you meant something else. Either way sorry it didn't work out for you. It is a great head.

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I'm gonna get some swings in with this beast tomorrow. I will be swinging a 10.5 head with an AD DI-6X and a 6M3 stiff and will give some more feedback then.

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I'm trying to decide between the Fujikura Evolution TS II 665 or Aldila Rogue Silver 70 in my GBB. The former is available now and the Aldila will be at Golf Mart on Monday. Should I scoop up the Fuji or wait on the Aldila?
 
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