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Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver Preview Thread

SuperStroke
DevRickus said:
10.5 in all 3 heads I used. All shafts were in the 55-60gm except the D200 had the stock shaft that was like 39 grams. Launch angle was in the 9.5-11.5 range. Like I said, I have absolutely zero doubt this will work for alot of people. I feel like maybe I am just not the target demo for majority of clubs coming out these days and that's fine.
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It happens. Good luck!
 
We are going to take a few moments of ddec's fitting and break them down into a shorter video that still has the information. Really interesting stuff coming from his time on the monitor with the fitter.
 
JB said:
We are going to take a few moments of ddec's fitting and break them down into a shorter video that still has the information. Really interesting stuff coming from his time on the monitor with the fitter.
Click to expand...


Very cool looking forward to seeing it
 
I just went to Dick's and hit the GBB vs my BB using my shaft. Here's what the results were
BB:
109.6 SS
158.9 BS
1.449 smash
16.25 launch
2519 spin
272 carry
293 total

GBB:
108.7 SS
157.7 BS
1.457 smash
16.03 launch
2350 spin
273.8 carry
296.1 total

It's interesting to see I still got a few more yards out of GBB even with a mph less of SS. I definitely need to get on a range and hit it as I kept hitting the net in my follow-through #TallPeopleProblems
 
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Pkielwa said:
I just went to Dick's and hit the GBB vs my BB using my shaft. Here's what the results were
BB:
109.6 SS
158.9 BS
1.449 smash
16.25 launch
2519 spin
272 carry
293 total

GBB:
108.7 SS
157.7 BS
1.457 smash
16.03 launch
2350 spin
273.8 carry
296.1 total
Click to expand...
Impressive numbers from both. Now, find somewhere and get fit into the BEST shaft for the GBB for you. Then let's compare. You may have it already, but you don't know.
I will, in time, get over to hit the GBB. Very excited to see this myself.
 
afwcardinal said:
Impressive numbers from both. Now, find somewhere and get fit into the BEST shaft for the GBB for you. Then let's compare. You may have it already, but you don't know.
I will, in time, get over to hit the GBB. Very excited to see this myself.
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That's going to be a significant challenge... I'll have to go to a place in Dallas, maybe, like Cool Clubs, that actually CAN fit me for the best shaft. That's how I was fit for the Bertha- in Michigan at Miles of Golf, where they have every shaft you can imagine. It won't be anytime soon!!!
 
I'd really like to give this this driver some whacks ! I believe I could tell better how it works by whupping up on those Callaway folks in the Grand Daddy


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Its beginning to sound like a broken record of feedback in this one. Today I got on the FlightScope and here is what I found.

Spin right around 2690 (which is what I look for)
Ball speed up 4.6 mph compared to previous driver
Smash factor at 99% instead of the 93-94 I seem to get out of most.
Carry distance 2.94 yards further than my previous driver.

I still believe with a full fitting, I will be seeing closer to what ddec was getting, but off the rock, I am getting more carry than my previous gamer, which was fit for me.
 
JB said:
Its beginning to sound like a broken record of feedback in this one. Today I got on the FlightScope and here is what I found.

Spin right around 2690 (which is what I look for)
Ball speed up 4.6 mph compared to previous driver
Smash factor at 99% instead of the 93-94 I seem to get out of most.
Carry distance 2.94 yards further than my previous driver.

I still believe with a full fitting, I will be seeing closer to what ddec was getting, but off the rock, I am getting more carry than my previous gamer, which was fit for me.
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I went and hit this again today - for the first time on a monitor. I didn't have my A swing - it was more like my Z swing. Smash factor was above 1.4 on the vast majority of swings, and I was nowhere near the center. i think the fitting (for shaft and length) will get me to a point where I'm finding the middle, and I'm excited for those numbers when I see them.

And what you've said about the sound is 100% spot on. This is one of a few drivers that I've tested that I like the sound of as much, if not more, than the '14 driver.
 
Played this for second time and my swing was not on point. I hit several low on the face and off the toe and heel. I still enjoy the forgiveness from this head and the better than expected results from it.

I hit hit two decent drives with it and when hit good it feels good, sounds good and the ball flight is a nice mid-high piercing flight. Once I get some range time to work and get comfortable with this I am sure I will see really good results
 
I'm not holding my breath for the DBD. this driver checks all of the boxes, except 'ego'

8ff579badefcb72c0ac05bbda47c1fe7.jpg
 
#Validation
 
blugold said:
I'm not holding my breath for the DBD. this driver checks all of the boxes, except 'ego'

8ff579badefcb72c0ac05bbda47c1fe7.jpg
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You can't spell Blugold without ego...or something like that!

HA!

Those numbers look really good. Hope you're buying one
 
Has anybody hit the GBB with the PX LZ red 60 6.0-6.5? Probably the 6.5; I seem to do well with the 60wt x shafts. Or does anybody have any first hand intel on the shaft? Not talking about the $250 handcrafted upcharge one, but the one offered as a stock option. Interested in thoughts about that combo.

The GBB is one of the few Callaway drivers I've been very interested in lately, although I did own the DBD for awhile.
 
Tito Santana said:
Has anybody hit the GBB with the PX LZ red 60 6.0-6.5? Probably the 6.5; I seem to do well with the 60wt x shafts. Or does anybody have any first hand intel on the shaft? Not talking about the $250 handcrafted upcharge one, but the one offered as a stock option. Interested in thoughts about that combo.

The GBB is one of the few Callaway drivers I've been very interested in lately, although I did own the DBD for awhile.
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I tried it with lz pro (stock red one from xr pro) in 6.5. Personally I prefer the blue in 6.5. Not sure why. Best to go try it yourself
 
blugold said:
I'm not holding my breath for the DBD. this driver checks all of the boxes, except 'ego'
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That's solid. How's that compare to your current gamer?
 
Tito Santana said:
Has anybody hit the GBB with the PX LZ red 60 6.0-6.5? Probably the 6.5; I seem to do well with the 60wt x shafts. Or does anybody have any first hand intel on the shaft? Not talking about the $250 handcrafted upcharge one, but the one offered as a stock option. Interested in thoughts about that combo.

The GBB is one of the few Callaway drivers I've been very interested in lately, although I did own the DBD for awhile.
Click to expand...

Played it with the Red until my Grandura shaft came in for testing. Liked it quite a bit and worked similar to how the LZ shaft worked in the XR. If you are making it to a THP Event this year, you can take mine on the course for some course testing if you would like.
 
Based on how much I liked the BB815 and feedback/buzz, I have such a positive view of the GBB. Usually when I have that kind of feeling/hunch about gear, it turns out very well. I don't know when I will get a chance to demo one, but this is one of the few clubs I will go out of my way to try. I will enjoy continuing to read the feedback.
 
Took the 9° head out for demo today and played 36 holes. I brought my own shaft thanks to alex (kuro kage tini 60g stiff tipped .75 inch) playing at stock length, it still takes me by surprise how light it is. I hit some good drives with it and some bad. I think I'd like a heavier head. Does anyone know what the stock head weight is?
 
Yesterday I had the opportunity to demo the Great Big Bertha on the course.

I chose the 10.5* head and paired it with the Fuji Speeder 565 S.
My swing speed is in the low 90’s so I should be in an R flex but after hitting the Kuro Kage R flex way too high on the simulator the 565 in S seemed like a better fit. Also I prefer a slightly firmer feel with my driver. Because I like my drivers at 45” I simply choked down a little with this one.

On the range I tried various settings and seemed to end up with stated loft, draw lie, with the sliding weight ¾[SUP]’s [/SUP]to the heel side. This seemed to produce nice mid/high tight draws.
I am not well versed with the Optifit hosel as my last Cally driver was the Xhot which just had the 3 settings. So it took me a while to figure out what everything did.

First impressions. Very nice feel and sound. It reminded me of the Xhot’s softer feel but with a nice thwack at impact. At address it seemed like the lie angle is very upright which I don’t mind because it fits my eye as I prefer a draw shot shape. Felt very easy to get the face closed at impact. The Optifit hosel seemed to really work. I put it +2 on the range and the ball flight was simply too high. I didn’t mess with the sliding weight all that much. Started out at neutral and ended up moving a little towards the heel/draw side and left it there.

Once I was warmed up I decided to play a round.

My current gamer is a G30 SF Tec with Tour 65 R flex at 45”.
The course was empty early during my round so I hit them both.

Hole 1:
GBB – 210 - right side of fw
G30 – 205 - middle fw

Hole 2:
Bertha – 246 - middle
G30 – 228 – lost it right over the tree line

Hole 3
Bertha - 224 – first cut right rough
G30 - 198 - middle

Hole 5
Bertha - 242 - right rough – in play
G30 - 261 - right rough – in play

Hole 6
Bertha - 225 - middle
G30 - 221 - middle

Overall avg:
Bertha 229 - 3/5 fw
G30 223 - 3/5 fw

On the 3 drives that hit the fw:
Bertha 227
G30 208

I played the G30 once I got paired up with another single player. But later in the round I broke out the GBB and hit it 3 more times. Overall I ended up with 6/10 fairways hit and an average yardage of 232 with my longest at 251. Course conditions were soggy and temps were a bit cooler (60’s.).
I must say I walked away pretty impressed with the GBB.
 
Really excited for this review to go up soon, had a lot of fun on it.

Even post data collection for the homepage, the more I hit this, the more I see that I really enjoy. And admittedly I'm enjoying seeing others getting out and hitting it and seeing what we have been talking about in terms of spin and launch.
 
Mine is arriving today... I won't be home until Friday night. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
 
Planning to find a place to demo this today. Can't wait to get my hands on it.
 
today looks like a good day to get your GBB on.
 
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