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Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
Such a good night with this tonight during sim league. Started off with G SF Tec, and then Mini 1.5. Then played the back 9 with this and 9 more bonus holes. Minus 2 bad swings(pull, and big ole cut) this thing was perfect. Carry distance was up, ball flight was back to what it was at the end of last year. Found a comfy tee height tonight and took smooth swings with it and let it perform. Tonight it clearly was better than the Ping(which wasnt bad). Mini driver was strong and was a good option, but with how I was hitting this, there was no need for it on the back 9. Hope it continues out on the course this weekend.
 
Hitting this on the range today...just continues to be silly good. So much fun to hit. I love having a driver I don't even have to think about and just know it's going to perform.
 
The forgiveness of the GBB continues to amaze me every time I play. Hit three balls off the heel this past weekend that felt horrible. When I arrive to the balls in the fairway, they are only about 10 yards shy of where I normally am with good contact.
 
I am continually surprised by the versatility, length and forgiveness of this driver, and I am an old man in comparison with most guys here. Haven't played much because my swing would cause a hypnotic stare with my partners, so I've spent time with my instructor eliminating the loops...

I have a GBB 9 that I had set to 10 with a 55g Oban Isawa -- played 9 holes and thought flight was high, but driver is very controllable as to where you want to put it. Set it down to 9 degrees, put it to fade 3/4 of the way. On the course, the Isawa might have been a tad loose at the tip or maybe something else was going on -- inserted Oban Kiyoshi Purple 65 S and the heavier shaft may help - the Purple was about 5 yards longer on similar strikes and straighter for me.

On 4 balls, 4 fairways, straight and long - I mean 240+ is long for an older guy and all carry as fairways are soaked. Maybe it's the golfstrong workout.

The GBB is a revelation - do not fear a 9 deg if you are set up for a +3-4 or more positive angle of attack and have the mid launching shaft.

Have a SpeedRulz A Type 60 S coming -- was impressed by its energy. It will be an interesting and fun golf season if my knee holds up and I do as my instructor says...
 
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I am going to need lessons on the driver I was fit into. I am hitting a lot of slices, when I went for my fitting, I was hitting them very well with some draw. However, when I get solid contact, the ball launches like crazy. Some serious distance.
 
Desmond said:
Have a SpeedRulz A Type 60 S coming -- was impressed by its energy. It will be an interesting and fun golf season if my knee holds up and I do as my instructor says...
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I have to ask. What is "shaft energy" ? First time I've ever heard it mentioned.
 
May have to try this on the range with the tipped Elements Chrome + I just got - would be curious to see if it works better for me with a shaft I've had proven results with in other heads.
 
Jman said:
So, I plugged a SpeedRulz A-Type into this one today for grins and yeowza. I enjoy the setup I was fit to a ton, but there is something legit going on with the Speed Rulz, just a really nice feel and solid ball flight.
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Right there with you on this combo. Liking it really well.


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erock9174 said:
I have to ask. What is "shaft energy" ? First time I've ever heard it mentioned.
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A made-up term to give a description to what the shaft seems to give the ball relative to other shafts I've played. The shaft imparts or the ball seems to have more urgency/energy and runs like a bat outta' hell in my limited initial time with the A Type 60 (but in a weaker flex than I'd purchase).
 
Oh this driver.

While I've hit others I do prefer the sound to now, which I never thought would happen, I still haven't hit anything that reacts as well to all misses as this. High, low, heel, toe, it retains more ball speed than almost anything I've tested. Yes, it spins a little more for me than others I have, but spin isn't always the enemy and Im in a great spot thanks to my ECPC fitting at #TheGrandaddy with the Rogue i/o 70x back in.

So many good drivers out right now, and I freaking adore it, but this one for me is just hitting on all cylinders even after as long as I've had one in the bag.
 
Took this out for it's maiden voyage yesterday, definitely gonna have to play around with the adapter and sliding weight to get it set optimally. Can't wait for the 36 holes I'll be playing this weekend. This driver is going to get used extensively.
 
I love this driver.... I probably hit only 3 or 4 near the middle of the face today... Yet saw minor distance losses and was in a more than acceptable position.. This will be gamed for a long time.
 
Cam007 said:
I love this driver.... I probably hit only 3 or 4 near the middle of the face today... Yet saw minor distance losses and was in a more than acceptable position.. This will be gamed for a long time.
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Nice Cam, I know what you mean, as I keep working on my swing plane the GBB has been the ultimate in keeping me in play lately.
 
Anyone know what the playing length (to the end of the grip) would be if you put the GBB 3w shaft in the GBB driver head ?

I hit this combo surprisingly well today at the range and forgot to have it measured.

I'm guessing 43.5" or so. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
 
Got out with my GBB tonight with the Hasimoto shaft in it, and put it head to head against my XR with the Rogue 70S i/o. I was crushing both of them (finally found my driver swing again!), and I saw that for my swing, the XR was launching higher, and on average was about 10 yards shorter than my GBB. I also have my GBB setup perfect for me and it seems to be very forgiving and always wants to go straight, while my XR wants to fade a little too much for my preference. Both are great drivers, but I'm absolutely loving the GBB with the hashimoto pairing, and I don't see that combo leaving the bag anytime soon.
 
I swapped out the Fuji Evolution II TS for a Matrix 60X4 White Tie and all I can say is wow. Like a true club ho, I had traded this in but ended up getting it back from Golf Mart. I'm glad I did. Despite my ongoing struggle with consistency off the tee, last Saturday I hit the best drive I've hit in years with it. I'm talking a 320 yard BOMB on a long dogleg left par 5. It's safe to say my GBB isn't going anywhere now :D
 
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I've been going back and forth on it for a while and I finally decided to pick one up! Only had a few swings with it so far but I love it!


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mr.hicksta said:
I swapped out the Fuji Evolution II TS for a Matrix 60X4 White Tie and all I can say is wow. Like a true club ho, I had traded this in but ended up getting it back from Golf Mart. I'm glad I did. Despite my ongoing struggle with consistency off the tee, last Saturday I hit the best drive I've hit in years with it. I'm talking a 320 yard BOMB on a long dogleg left par 5. It's safe to say my GBB isn't going anywhere now :D
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That was a bomb, and you hit some really solid ones into the wind on Sunday too.
 
Went to the range and hit 100 balls to get my settings finalized. I needed more than 100. I also used a tip I got from my pro about hitting the ball on the inside (4 o'clock drill) and creating a draw, or at the least straightening out my shot. It worked for the most part. Right now I have my settings at standard/draw on the shaft, and full draw on the club head.
I need to see if a different shaft will help because I can't get a good feel for the driver and the shaft I have is a bit on the heavy side.
 
Germerican said:
Went to the range and hit 100 balls to get my settings finalized. I needed more than 100. I also used a tip I got from my pro about hitting the ball on the inside (4 o'clock drill) and creating a draw, or at the least straightening out my shot. It worked for the most part. Right now I have my settings at standard/draw on the shaft, and full draw on the club head.
I need to see if a different shaft will help because I can't get a good feel for the driver and the shaft I have is a bit on the heavy side.
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From my experience (unless it's just me and I'm weird), having the weight all the way at draw takes away a bit of the feel/sound at contact. When it's set over to fade or directly behind the face it becomes more lively. But a heavy shaft may also add to that.
 
Have a 10.5 GBB on the way, I have a 13.5 and have it set to 12.5. I am fighting hitting the ball too high, so I am thinking the 10.5 set at 11.5 or 10.5 may be just the ticket for me. Man do I hope so, I haven't hit a driver this well in a long time.
 
DawgDaddy said:
Have a 10.5 GBB on the way, I have a 13.5 and have it set to 12.5. I am fighting hitting the ball too high, so I am thinking the 10.5 set at 11.5 or 10.5 may be just the ticket for me. Man do I hope so, I haven't hit a driver this well in a long time.
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I'm with you on hitting this well. Once I got out of my head and just swung the club, it straight performs.
 
After two weeks of Sim League play, I can report the GBB experiment is a success. Back to back, I am seeing about the same distance as my old Ping G15 9.5 stiff shaft, but dispersion is much tighter - five of seven fairways - and spin is down almost 10%, from about 4300 rpm to 3900. Changing from an e6 to a Supersoft further reduced spin to about 3500-3600 rpm. Sim reported distances have been shorter across the board (including new irons) compared to what I am used to, but I expected to lose some distance initially with the swing changes, which are discouraging coming over the top and giving an in-to-out swing path about 70% of the time. However, my son, son-in-law and others are seeing a similar loss of distance in their games, and they are not doing anything new with clubs or swing. Also, I expected to have to set the weight about halfway to full draw, but I think I will end up closer to neutral, especially as I get the swing lined out. I suspect the 9.5 loft will eventually go to 10.5 as I develop a flatter swing. Nice to have those options.

Love the club, love the Kuro Kage Black TiNi 50 in stiff. The fitter made a great choice.
 
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