If you have been on this forum for any period of time, you have seen mention of The Grandaddy. The greatest amateur event ever created. The 2024 edition is coming and we have The Captain in @jlew and a group of forum members, but there are still spots left and you could be one of them after this contest.
It is an all expenses paid trip of a lifetime.
What’s Included
Airfare
Hotels
Club Fitting at ECPC
Full Bag of Callaway Equipment
Tour Callaway HQ
Meet R&D
Play Golf with Callaway
Play at One of the Finest Courses You Will Ever Step Foot On…THE HIDEAWAY
In a Nutshell, Everything You Could Imagine
And so much more
This contest is called “The Birth” because we are feeling a bit nostalgic today.
The Contest
Your job will be to tell us about the first Callaway golf club you ever purchased. Why did you buy it? How did it perform? What replaced it? You have 50 words or less to accomplish the task. Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear, tell us about your journey.
Qualifying
You must be a 2024 or 2025 Albatross Club Member to enter. The club is open to anybody and helps benefit a wonderful charity. Not a member and want more details? Click here to find out what the AC is all about.
How to Enter
This one involves one step and not skimming : )
1. Tell us about your Callaway Birth : )
The first Callaway golf club you ever purchased. Why did you buy it? How did it perform? What replaced it?
You only have a certain amount of words. Make them count. Then sit back and see if you get your ticket punched to the Grandaddy of em All! This one may be judged. Read the entire post.
Good luck everybody. This contest will remain open until end of day Saturday the 12th.






The Epic Driver was my first Callaway purchase. I purchased it because of the hype about the Jailbreak technology. It was longer and easier to hit than my previous driver. I played it almost two years and replaced it with a new Ping driver.
My first Callaway club was X2 Hot Driver: I bought it (2014) because I thought a Callaway club at half off (pro shop sale) was the bargain of a lifetime! I got three years of solid Callaway performance before replacing it with King F7 going into the 2017 Morgan Cup.
The original Big Bertha Driver. It was so revolutionary and cool – like going from horse & buggy to a Corvette – I just had to have it. I gamed it for about 15 years, until someone convinced me the shaft was too soft. Replaced it with a Ping G something.
I needed clubs to try golf with friends. While at Play It Again Sports, I saw the Big Bertha driver. Remembering the hilarious commercials, I couldn’t resist. When I managed a decent swing, the ball would go for miles. Such a fun club! Replaced it with an M4 years later.
My first Callaway club was a set of Diablo Forged irons I picked up pre-owned from the local driving range shop. They were fantastic for me and set the hook in, especially for forged iron sets, and then I upgraded to 2016 Apex pros. I miss those irons!
My first Callaway club purchase was the Big Bertha 454 Driver. I was previously using a Ping Si3 that went nowhere but was straight. The 454 was straight and went forever and I bought it after trying my teammates. I went from being behind the longest people on our team to hitting it by everyone.
I ended up working in golf and a very good friend was a Nike rep and worked a deal to play all Nike clubs after school.
Entry:
I was given a gift card to Golfsmith when I was stationed at Ft. Hood, TX. I loved the looks of the Big Bertha X-12 irons and bought them. I loved them and I dropped into the low 90’s with them. I replaced them in 2014 with Callaway Apex.
This is such a good team. Learning first hand. Great opportunity! Make sure you guys read the whole prompt and answer all parts of it! (As a teacher, I’m used to guys responding to only 1 of my two questions in a short answer/essay)
My entry:
X Hot Pro 4 hybrid. Was struggling with 5 wood. Read good things on THP, but wanted to try for myself. It ended up being the club I was most confident in and a weapon for years. Replaced with an Aerojet hybrid, only when I got into the Morgan Cup.
Fun contest! Good luck everyone
[IMG alt=”what if GIF”]https://media1.giphy.com/media/34C52oEhjEX9m/200.gif[/IMG]
i have never owned a callaway club ?
probably the first thing that comes to mind….
[IMG alt=”why are you the way that you are GIF”]https://media0.giphy.com/media/hyMFaxhuQkZTq/200.gif[/IMG]
I was walking through a golf store that was going out of business and bought Steelhead X-14’s on a whim. I was new to golf and these were great for my skill level at the time. Played them until the badges fell off the back and replaced with X-20’s.
Clarification for people entering: will odyssey putters count here? That may help some people out.
First I ever bought myself was the Apex UW. Just getting back into golf and needed a hybrid. Was going to Goat Cup 2022 had to have Callaway in the bag. I mentioned it so easy to hit it was like cheating [USER=19461]@JasonFinleyCG[/USER] said that would be great marketing.
Maybe
Not an official entry:
The great big Bertha driver was my intro into Callaway, after reading THP reviews and thought I’d give it a shot. I ended trying it “animal style” and it was incredible. It ended up being replaced by the GBB Epic. Callaway now gets first go for every driver.
Friend had the S2H2 3 wood mid 90’s, Tried it, loved it and I bought the driver and 3 wood. Played them for prolly 5 years. Bought the Tuttle putter too. Finally replaced by a TM TI Bubble. I am back now crushing Chrome Tours with a Paradym Smoke.
[QUOTE=”JB, post: 12653853, member: 3″]
Callaway golf club you ever purchased. Why did you buy it? How did it perform? What replaced it?
[/QUOTE]
Business trip to Maui. One round with rental Steelhead clubs. Won the long drive with the 3-wood with the uniflex steel shaft! Bought one when I got home. Used it until replacement with Ping i3 a couple of years later.
i was on a business trip to Maui. Could only play one round so I rented a set of Steelhead Plus woods and irons with Uniflex steel shafts. won the long drive contest with the 3-wood! Bought one when I got home, used it until switching to Ping i3.
In the late 90’s I got to golf with our CEO. He played Callaway irons and a Big Bertha driver. I saved credit card points for two years, and was able to buy X18 irons years ago, and have been hooked on Callaway ever since.
Bought my Dad the original Big Bertha for Christmas in 91. Liked it so much I bought myself one later that year.
This is fantastic!!
Callaway X2Hot 3 Hybrid. It was the very first hybrid I had and it blew me away. I still sometimes look for them in the used bins because I’d like to have one again. I’m sure it won’t feel the same, but for nostalgia.
It just made those longer Par 3’s a little bit easier and I loved it. Really changed the way I looked at Callaway.
I first bought a Mavrik SubZero driver. It simply outperformed the TaylorMade drivers that I buy every year at my fitting. On course it was too low spin and unforgiving. It was replaced by a Cobra SpeedZone Xtreme because i was seeking more forgiveness.
Callaway birth was also my THP birth. Set of used X2 Hot irons and I found a review thread on THP. Decided Ping Eye2 weren’t going to cut it. Loved X2 Hots and helped me get hooked on golf. Had fitting and moved to P790s
Good luck everyone entering.
Entry:
1st Callaway club was a used Great Big Bertha driver at a whopping 190cc that I bought at Edwin Watts in Orlando around 1995. It was my 1st steel head wood. I eventually replaced it with a much larger Big Bertha Steelhead Plus at 205cc. Both steel shafted IIRC
Not an entry.
My first purchased Callaway club was a used Rogue Driver. It was the first modern driver I purchased when i got back into golf after nearly 30 years away from the game. It was quickly replaced by an Epic Flash driver that I won on THP.
My entry:
The Big Bertha made its appearance at my favorite golf shop. I was a beginner. It was my first Callaway club purchase. I wanted it. I was a slicer. It transformed my tee game. Thereafter, I was all in on anything “Callaway.” I replaced it with the Great Big Bertha.
This is a great contest, please read through and good luck to all who enter.
These contests are GREAT! Good luck to all that enter this “Chance of a Lifetime”.
***ENTRY***
2001, I spied the Odyssey 2 ball putter in the pro shop. Gorgeous! Exciting! Sexy! I HAD to have it! Countless hours on the practice green, a season in the bag, missing everything inside 3 feet, I realized this relationship was OVER! For 2002, the Anser returns to the bag.
First Callaway club I bought was a Diablo Edge hybrid, bought to replace long irons in my Ping Eye2+ set. It performed very well, as I learned I was much more successful with hybrids than long irons! Eventually replaced by a Cobra Baffler Rail H.
Since that was my entry, and I saw @JB (strong?) "maybe" prior to posting, I took the chance. c’est la vie!
My first Callaway club was a set of Roque irons that performed pretty good. I bought them after rave reviews online. loved the sound and feel on a great strike. My replacement was a set of Taylormade M6 irons due to my hitting less of a hook with them.
My first Callaway golf club was the Big Bertha Driver which I got because I was intrigued with trying out a metal wood. It worked very well for me but then Callaway came along with the Great Big Bertha and that replaced the Big Bertha.
I have always played Taylormade, but went through many different wedges until I bought a Callaway Jaws Raw 60 "my birth". I have played it since purchase and have added the jaws raw 52. Only a new set of same will go in the bag when they come out.
Big Bertha 2004 irons. Black Friday purchase. Performance was way better than I realized. Purchased Cobra Amp Cell after I quit playing for years. The set had a 10 iron.
The first Callaway clubs purchased was a set of Xtreme clubs. Was very new to the game and began to play more. They worked well for my high handicap. Then began replacing individual clubs, first a Rogue driver and ultimately with the Morgan Cup set of Cobra’s from 2020.
The first Callaway club I bought was a B21 driver from [USER=14378]@Tywithay[/USER] , paired with a Callaway RCH shaft from [USER=50607]@Thrillbilly Jim[/USER]. It transformed my game. Although I switched to a Srixon ZX5, I recently returned to the B21, helping me lower my handicap from 18 to 15!
Oh how I would love to participate in the event and this contest, but my youngest is moving to NYC first half of Dec, so I am out. Good luck to all who enter.
I will say, my first was the original Ti irons (for a bit of irony), but my big thing with Callaway is how they stepped up to support a junior golf program/project I helped start at my kids elementary school in the early 00s. At a time when not a single other OEM even gave me a sniff.
I’ll leave it there, but as a result of that, Callaway always gets a shot from me anytime I am looking at new equipment.
Entry:
Born: Original Steelhead driver. Played poorly; concluded Callaway = hype (I sucked, not the club…anyway)
Born again: Callaway Epic Driver. Blown away by it. Distance of the club it replaced plus way more forgiveness. Led to me playing a Callaway offering in every spot at one time or another.
Another Grandaddy contest!! ??
C’mon people! This thread should never leave Page 1!
[QUOTE=”Steve2100, post: 12655048, member: 57217″]
C’mon people! This thread should never leave Page 1!
[/QUOTE]
Facts.
Another great opportunity, thanks again THP and Callaway Golf! My first Callaway club was an Odyssey putter, so I hope that counts. This wasn’t an easy one, and it doesn’t help when the club’s name uses up 10% of my word count, but I made it work. Here’s my entry:
Odyssey Works Versa 2-Ball Fang putter. I loved the look, the two-ball alignment, and the feel of the FusionRX insert. Unfortunately the insert‘s metal mesh came loose, Callaway replaced the insert with a Microhinge style, which I hated. Replaced with milled-face putters, first was a Cleveland HB SOFT #11.
Not an entry:
My first Callaway club was a Big Bertha Warbird 3 wood sometime around 1995. Played it for several years and worked out great for me. Can’t remember what replaced it and why…maybe I was actually a THPer way back then ?
Great contest that brought back good memories – my entry:
My Birth – 1991 Big Bertha driver, bought for the hype, and it mostly delivered. Used for 2 years of small college golf and then some. Performance? Loved it, slightly disliked it, then loved it again…repeat about 10 times. Got sucked in to a bubble shafted driver that replaced it.
Big Bertha 816 DBD. Glorious shape, smaller size, deep face and just a perfect sound. Owned pretty much every model up until 2019. Was a glorious time and best drivers for me. Numbers took me a different direction for a while, but the AI Smoke TD sits at the helm.
Hawkeye VFT irons were my first purchase and first “real” set of irons that I bought to upgrade my Walmart clubs. It was eye opening what I was missing with the performance these provided (distance and accuracy). I upgraded from there to X-18 Irons that I got from [USER=42578]@Nerdy[/USER].
Callaway X-12 irons. I wanted a REAL set of irons (no boxed set nonsense). Changed my game immediately. I’ve had at least one Callaway club in the bag ever since (2001). They were briefly replaced by a set of Nike Slingshots (which were replaced by Callaway Fusions).
Official Entry
X-Hot Pro irons. Was looking to upgrade my old set from HS and these had good reviews at a solid price. They were players shape and FAST. A later fitting even recommended I keep them. Naturally I upgraded and went down the forged rabbit hole with Wilson V4’s.