Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Driver Review Thread

Putting the 815 back into play in the AM. Gaming the i25 for the first time today I learned you can't trust what a Sim spits out at you. Toe hits with the ping were pretty penalizing compared to the 815. I also don't feel it was any longer on shots off the sweet spot. I did crush a few but for right now I need all the forgiveness I can get.

Would love an 815 with racing stripes lol


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Spring182 said:

Putting the 815 back into play in the AM. Gaming the i25 for the first time today I learned you can't trust what a Sim spits out at you. Toe hits with the ping were pretty penalizing compared to the 815. I also don't feel it was any longer on shots off the sweet spot. I did crush a few but for right now I need all the forgiveness I can get.

Would love an 815 with racing stripes lol


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Off topic...

There are easy options for adding the racing stripe to a club without one. Here's the first one google threw out.

https://www.clubcrownstripe.com/index.html

Back on topic...I so want an 815, but I have to wait at least a little while for funding.

I hit the 815 today at the range with a Fubuki ZT60 shaft but the I didn't hit it as well as my Ping Anser or my X2 Hot Pro. The ball flight on the 815 was a little too high - a shaft issue for sure so when I have more time I will try the 815 with some different shafts as I certainly like the look of the head better than any of my drivers.

On a very windy day (25 to 30mph) I hit this driver pretty well. Into almost three club wind I still got decent distance. riding the same wind, I hit driver 9 iron on a 525 yd par 5. In crossing winds, while it affected the flight, it did not bat it around too much and still was in play.

Hopefully its ok, but I'm going to jump into this forum review with some thoughts of my own.

FINALLY was able to get out the last two days (and this morning to the range!) and probably tomorrow as well thanks to the weather working itself out finally. Played HORRIBLE yesterday off the tee but honestly it let me get more finite on some thoughts compared to the day before when I was on pretty well with the drivers.

LOOK/AESTHETICS:

Its a good looking head. I know its been talked bout but the deep blue on the crown is something else, you really don't realize its metallic deep DEEP blue tendency until you finally get some direct sunlight haha! The shape is what I expected having played the last 3-4 Cally drivers at some point, PERSONALLY I would prefer no alignment aid, but thats majorly personal I know. The sole is pretty slick, I'm a fan of the red accents and the use of the silver/satin metal in there myself, more busy than we have seen from them prior, but it definitely works when you get it in hand. Sets up extremely well behind the ball too, no, its not a small footprint, but the shape flows well to conceal most of the size to my eye.

SOUND/FEEL:

I was trying to think of how I'd describe this the last day or so, its become repetitious that we talk about how good the Callaway drivers sound, well, when its true its true. There is no one who does a composite driver and gets the sound so right time and again, there are still several companies out there that could benefit from putting more focus on the acoustics and getting it right as it can be a game changer for how performance is initially perceived by the user on the course (looking at you PING). The 815 has that solid yet slightly resonating sound to it I really expected it to have, on the nuts it sounds/feels like a cannon, on misses you can ALWAYS tell acoustically. It was mentioned 6-7 times yesterday while playing the different sounds on misses...add to that it also changes when the core is flipped. Its a good sound an d a good feel though to me, though those who just don't like the composite drivers will probably still not be comfortable with it. For me, there is little better out there in terms of sound.

FLIGHT/LAUNCH:

I know I got the 12* head and YES I have read through here on the talk of launch angles, but I did not expect this to be the launch monster it is for me. No, its not to the extent of the V-Series in launch or spin, but its not the gap I expected and it definitely launches more than my beloved Bertha did last year. Played with the core in both positions and was getting a heck of a launch either way, in fact I've ended up turning the head to -1 (11*) and going core up because my impacts have been higher on the face with it so it saw the most consistent ball speeds for me on the range with my SC100, but it was a hell of a lot closer in both positions than I expected, FOR ME. Spin is definitely in that mid range for me from what I'm seeing and compared to my Vapor Pro the VP is a good amount lower spinning, with that so too it is lower launching. When not swinging like I've not swung a club in three weeks, the ball flight I'm getting at -1 (11*) paired with the new Diamana 60 S+ it right where I like it on the higher end of the mid-high spectrum.

DISTANCE:

I'm seeing some good distances with the 815 Alpha to be honest, its not the longest driver that I have, for me, still but its longer than the Bertha was for sure. The smash numbers I was seeing are really solid as well, which lends to the increase in distance from Bertha, when not sloppy yesterday I hit a couple of BOMBS with it outpacing my group a good bit on both, the prior day I was finding better final locations off the tee than I did all last year with Bertha. I really think if I can get my impact back down from being a little higher and flip the core down though, I'll see even more. That's pretty cool to think about if I'm being honest.

FORGIVENESS:

Center strike to center strike, the 815 isn't longer than my gamer right now, it also trailed by 2 MPH for me in ball speed there and a bit in smash. That said, where it makes up for it is forgiveness. Having been a Bertha fan and having read JB;s comments on the forgiveness of this head I kinda thought I knew what I would see, but actually SEEING is something else entirely. I've got no problem looking anyone in the eye and telling them they have IMPROVED the forgiveness in the 815 Alpha from the Bertha, which I have said time and again is the best driver out on the toe I have ever played. Ball speed retention on misses on the toe and high on the face were shocking, my gamer has got solid retention there but this was something else, the R-Moto is definitely something I would say. Retention on the heel was OK, and the biggest drop I saw was low on the face, but when I can't remember if I tested low on the range when I had the core DOWN or not. Laterally all around though, I'm not sure I've hit a driver that can keep this type of overall ball speed retention and spin off of those shots, laterally its just really really a solid head.

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So, its been fun so far, yesterday withstanding hahaha, but Friday and this morning I was hitting it really well on the range. Between it and my gamer there are pro's and con's for me in both ways, but I expected that as they're two different heads and focuses, and I emphasize in my opinion. I'm looking forward to some more time with it tomorrow on the range and on the course as I get my swing back in shape. Definitely deserving of the talk though and I have no problem saying that.

Looking forward to more thoughts from the testers, its a heck of a head to have a forum testing on and should definitely bring in lots of talk about it from the reviewers.

I forgot also, Cace takes his 815 to pound town.

Today was my second round playing with the 815. It's funny James hit on a lot of the areas I had thoughts on & my comparison is only to the 2014 BB. He said it way better than I could so I won't repeat that, but here are my thoughts.

Sound will be a recurring theme from many I have a feeling. This driver just sound legit to me. No other way to describe it. When you do miss it laterally you hear a higher pitched sound & when struck in the center or close to it, it's a muted thwack that lets you know you've caught one.

Distance wise I'm finding myself a club to club and a half longer. I've played two course I play fairly frequently and on both I had approach shots/distances that I did not see last year with my BB. Where I would have a long iron or hybrid into the green, I now have a mid iron or 6i at most.

I'm currently playing my 9* head at +1/N with the core down. I don't have hard numbers, but there are a few holes with forced carries and they were a non issue. I played with Jank today and a few times we both commented on how the distance is there with this one. The technology packed into this one works and truly delivers as advertised for me.

Took about 25 swings on the range with the 815 and did some tinkering. I switched to core down and reaffirmed that the ball flight is just way too high. I did notice a slightly higher sound but then again my impact today was just off center towards the heel. I went back to core up and delofted to 8* in the -1 Neutral setting. It was okay but I did fade a few which didn't happen at 9*. I probably should have switched the heavier weight towards the heel now that I think about it. Looking forward to playing 18 tomorrow and get more feedback.

OUZO Power said:

Thanks boys. Cause I play a fade and it's just ingrained in my mind that if I drop the loft (From my RAZR FIT days) I'll amplify the fade.

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A RazrFit is my backup, so I know of what you speak.

Haven't noticed it on either last year's Alpha or this year's. Both had minimal visual change in face angle at address, but I'll admit that for a little bit I think the notion of fade bias became something of a self fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, my bad miss is low left, but my best drives usually have a baby fade to slight push to them. In my head, I'm much more ok with a sligtly open face than a curved one.

Jman, when you dialed the 12 down -1 to 11 degrees what was the typical ball flight, meaning was the more open face producing more fade action ( how much) than the standard 12 setting. Since I have hit this one in the 9 degree head my preliminary thoughts are the launch is high enough in the 9 head and if I really needed to tinker and go up to say 9.5 would rather accept the slight close face as opposed to getting a 10.5 and possibly need to go down to 9.5 or possibly 10 ( more open).

I am on the fence, have multiple drivers I like, the much dreaded SLDR really performs for me, should not (logically speaking) even be pondering this one , but I AM.

8/12 fairways today and I couldn't be happier with this driver. It's early but the Rogue shaft seems to be a good combo for me. I hit a few towards the heel (my miss) that faded just off the fairway. I probably lost about 15-20 yds but kept me in play. I'm still tempted to try out the DI-6 shaft and will do so on the range this week.

I tried a Tour Green shaft today and did not get along with it at all. Pushed every drive to the right. Also had a considerable loss of distance. It is a stiff shaft, I normally use an extra stiff. Which might have something to do with that.

Going back to my Tour Blue extra stiff tomorrow to see if my drives are as straight as they were on Saturday.

uman said:

Jman, when you dialed the 12 down -1 to 11 degrees what was the typical ball flight, meaning was the more open face producing more fade action ( how much) than the standard 12 setting. Since I have hit this one in the 9 degree head my preliminary thoughts are the launch is high enough in the 9 head and if I really needed to tinker and go up to say 9.5 would rather accept the slight close face as opposed to getting a 10.5 and possibly need to go down to 9.5 or possibly 10 ( more open).

I am on the fence, have multiple drivers I like, the much dreaded SLDR really performs for me, should not (logically speaking) even be pondering this one , but I AM.

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I'm one who thinks the effect on the face is overplayed by most when the loft is adjusted. I -1/N, I see no issues.

I tend to agree with you Jman. A slight twist of the wrist squares the face easily. I've not noticed any difference myself.

Put 9 holes in yesterday and hit the big stick 7 times. It was the first time in a long while that I have hit 7/7 fairways. I brought my best swing with me yesterday and hit some great drives. The weather was beautiful with no wind and 70°. I played it at 10.5°,N, Core down and while I've hit other sticks farther, I've never hit anything more consistant then what I did yesterday.

With that said, I picked up a X2hot off craigslist for dirt cheap ($75) with a Graphite design Aura gold shaft in it that I will get some data and comparison with. I swing about 87mph on average so maybe this shaft will be better for my game than the stiff Speeder which feels heavy and a little too stout. I'll get some head2head with the X2hot vs 815 then swap that shaft into the 815 and see how it works for me.

Mine is supposed to be here today. I'm like a kid waiting on Santa to show up!

Took this to the range this morning. I got the 10.5* head with the Rouge silver. Feels nice and solid at impact. Ball flight was a little higher than I'm used to, but it was also straighter than I'm used to. My normal swing is a fade with misses being a slice. First swing at 50% was a duck hook left which I've never done before with a driver. I messed around with the core and for now will leave it down. I did turn it down a degree to 9.5* and that got my height closer to what I'm used to.

It was only 40* this morning so all clubs across the bag were playing shorter than usual, but I was still getting decent yardage out of it. I have a tee time Saturday afternoon so I will be able to get some warmer weather and actual balls instead of the rocks my range calls balls.

Overall I'm happy with it and it was only day one, so hopefully it will continue to improve for me.

Golfever said:

I tried a Tour Green shaft today and did not get along with it at all. Pushed every drive to the right. Also had a considerable loss of distance. It is a stiff shaft, I normally use an extra stiff. Which might have something to do with that.

Going back to my Tour Blue extra stiff tomorrow to see if my drives are as straight as they were on Saturday.

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For me the tour green is a great match lowers the spin and the flight a bit but not too much if you normally use X Flex I would give that a try

bamabonners said:

I've been playing with Alpha 815 since the day it came out...couple different shafts as well. I like the club better than the previous alpha, but not better than my X2 Hot. I'm going to put the alpha 815 in the backup bag for now.


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Wow, I am polar opposite! I had the x2hot and could not hit at all (and believe I tried to no end!). Today, I tried the 815 and it is officially the best driver I ever hit. I hit it all over the face and that thing still went long and straight. Truly impressive!

Seems to me like the X2Hot and this 815 are designed to be VERY different from a spin perspective. While I don't have an 815 (yet?), I was comparing a 2014 Big Bertha and an X2Hot with both my Speeder 661 shaft and the Tour Blue, and with the same shaft in each head, I got much less out of the X2Hot due to it spinning more. The shaft was a bigger difference, but it confirmed to me that the combination I was fit for BB/661 was better than any one of the other three combos (BB/Tour Blue, X2H/661, X2H/Tour Blue). I say all that to say that it doesn't surprise me at all that some people will have better luck with the X2Hot and some will have better luck with the 815.

Not picking on any comments above, but it sounds like Callaway knows what they are doing in having several releases with different characteristics geared toward the need of different golfers. :act-up:

adwillingham said:

Seems to me like the X2Hot and this 815 are designed to be VERY different from a spin perspective. While I don't have an 815 (yet?), I was comparing a 2014 Big Bertha and an X2Hot with both my Speeder 661 shaft and the Tour Blue, and with the same shaft in each head, I got much less out of the X2Hot due to it spinning more. The shaft was a bigger difference, but it confirmed to me that the combination I was fit for BB/661 was better than any one of the other three combos (BB/Tour Blue, X2H/661, X2H/Tour Blue). I say all that to say that it doesn't surprise me at all that some people will have better luck with the X2Hot and some will have better luck with the 815.

Not picking on any comments above, but it sounds like Callaway knows what they are doing in having several releases with different characteristics geared toward the need of different golfers. :act-up:

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The 815 and 661 is a monster combo

kc720 said:

The 815 and 661 is a monster combo

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Enabler :act-up:

Its amazing how I can have SO much fun with two heads that are as different as what I have in the bag right now.

Got this out again on Tuesday and still, the launch is what catches me the most, turned down to 11 is still towering, which I don't mind at all. I'm also 100% on JB's side in terms of lateral forgiveness, the ball speed retention I'm getting toe side and high is borderline insanity from what I have seen in the past with a LOT of drivers I have reviewed. It isn't as long as the Vapor Pro is for me, but I do gain forgiveness, its not as massive of a jump as some would expect, but its a jump from any driver I have hit there. The face tech is legit, and honestly that alone makes me want to hit the XR stuff (def not the looks). At setup, its not my favorite look/shape/size, but its not bad at all. Currently still core up because of my high face miss, but going to play it core down the next time I'm out and record the data to compare.

Fun club. Absolutely an improvement on Bertha, and I mean that completely.

Back to the range with mine this morning. Still playing with settings and ball tee height, but I will say this thing is damn forgiving. Being a high handicapper I struggle with making consistent sweet spot contact but am still seeing nice ball flight and distance on off center shots. Heel, toe and high it would still keep me in the short stuff and far enough into the hole to have a decent second shot.

Has anyone tried the 815 Alpha with the Diamana S+ 60 yet? Looking for some feedback on trajectory and feel. Mine is set to ship 2/17 but I can change the shaft if need be.