FT-3 tour vs. FT-5 tour, FT-9 tour, FT-Tour, FT-IZ?????

I'm interested in how the FT-3 Tour stands up to and compares to the other FT series drivers. Pro/Cons & Strength/Weakness.

Any input appreciated.

Hated the FT-3 but LOVE the FT-Tour

The first FT series driver that I really liked was the FT-9 Tour and the FT Tour just blows it away. I can't comment on the FT-IZ because I have yet to hit it.

Played the FT-3,5 and FT-Tour, but the best is the FT-iZ it's the straightest driver I've ever used.

I have owned and gamed the FT-5 Tour (w/ V2), the FT-9 Tour (w/ Fuji Pro65) and currently the FT-9 Tour (w/ Whiteboard). Played the FT-5 Tour for two seasons and it was a very good step up from the Nike SQ Tour (w/ NV) that I had been playing. The last two seasons I have been playing the FT-9 Tour and it was nice step up from the FT-5 due to the lower spin, more forgiveness and a more appealing head shape and sound. I was perfectly intent with playing the FT-9 Tour until I recently stumbled upon a used FT-3 Tour (w/ Graphite Design Tour AD W-60) in my local golf store. I hit a few into the net and was blown away by how hot the head felt and how the shaft nicely loaded and released. I took the FT-3 Tour out to demo on the course and long story short I ended up buying it.

Head to head, both the FT-9 and FT-3 launch about the same (12-13*) but the FT-3 surprisingly spun less by about 200 RPMs and increased my swing speed by about 2-3 MPH. Best swing with the FT-3 was 10-12 yards further than the best with the FT-9. However, the FT-9 is more forgiving but the FT-3 is no slouch either and all things considered the FT-3 is now in the bag.

Doing some research on my newly discovered FT-3 I started seeing it being compared to the FT Tour, which I hit earlier in the season but wasn't overly impressed with. I recently gave it another go (w/ stock VooDoo) and hit is side by side with my FT-3 and FT-9. The FT Tour looks, sounds and feels great but it got smoked by both my FT-3 and FT-9.

Swing Speed - I have a pretty smooth transition
------------
FT-3 Tour - 112 (avg.)
FT-9 Tour - 110 (avg.)
FT Tour - 108 (avg.)

Launch
-------
All about 12-13*

Spin (Prov1)
-----
FT-3 Tour: 2400-2600
FT-9 Tour: 2600-2800
FT Tour: 2600-2800

I Cally rep will tell you the FT-3 Tour was made for the tour and wasn't originally sure if it was going to be released to the public. Yes the head spins less than any other FT head. The engineers were sent back to the drawing board to reinvent the FT-3 Tour and what they came up with was the FT TOUR. Basically a FT-3 Tour with a bigger sweet spot. I have had 3 different FT-3 Tour's and one FT TOUR. Yes the FT-3 can hit it a couple yards longer IF you hit the dead center and that just comes down to spin. I'll take the 2 extra fairways per round. I still have a FT-3 as my backup.

[quote name='radtech' timestamp='1288832077' post='2773190']
I Cally rep will tell you the FT-3 Tour was made for the tour and wasn't originally sure if it was going to be released to the public. Yes the head spins less than any other FT head. The engineers were sent back to the drawing board to reinvent the FT-3 Tour and what they came up with was the FT TOUR. Basically a FT-3 Tour with a bigger sweet spot. I have had 3 different FT-3 Tour's and one FT TOUR. Yes the FT-3 can hit it a couple yards longer IF you hit the dead center and that just comes down to spin. I'll take the 2 extra fairways per round. I still have a FT-3 as my backup.
[/quote]

This is what I was seeing in many posts which is why I felt I needed to hit the FT Tour after stumbling upon the FT-3 Tour. I took about 15 swings with both the FT Tour and FT3 Tour and I was nutting both but the swing speed wasn't even close between the two. I couldn't get above 108 with the FT Tour and I was consistenly at 112 with a few over with the FT3 Tour. I am guessing that the difference in swing speed and distance was due to the shaft but I didn't have time to try any other shafts in the FT Tour other than the stock VooDoo, which felt nice and tight. Both shafts (GD Tour AD and VooDoo) were stiff shafts and maybe the difference came down to me being able to better load the GD Tour AD. Personally, I have found the FT-3 Tour to be very forgiving even on slight mishits but then again I am hitting the sweet spot most of the time with my drivers.

Tried FT Tour, FT-9 tour and FT-iz at the Cally performance center using Fubuki Tour 63x. CHS, BS, LA and Spin rate almost identical for all three (For FT Tour CHS 1-2mph faster and SR about 100 lower than other 2 ). Used to Game an FT-5 tour with Axis red 60x. All three seem to spin the ball a little less than the FT5 did which is what i am after. 

Bought an FT-IZ tour off eBay to hit more fairways.  Havent got around to changing out the stock VooDoo which doesnt suit my game at all with regard to feel or dispersion. Its sitting in a cupboard waiting for me to goma and buy a shaft. 

BTW i also have an ERC fusion..the forerunner of the FT-3. Its a cracker of a club. 

I still game my FT-3. I remember briefly trying the others as they came out but didn't feel that they were any better. Never really gave a full on head to head comparison but I just love the feeling of puring a ball right in the center of the FT-3.

If your swing find the sweet most of the time than the FT-3 Tour is it period. Try to find a FT TOUR with the Matrix shaft Callay was offering as a free upgrade. It turns that head into a fairway distance beast. Plus I like the fact the FT TOUR is 1.5 degrees open.

I still own an FT-3 Tour for a reason. It's what others have said. Callaway found that it's still one of their highest performing drivers when the sweet spot is hit. But that's the key, you do need to put a good swing on it.

IMO, FT 5 Tour, FT 3 Tour, and FT Tour are very close in distance. Forgiveness goes to FT 5 Tour, then FT Tour and FT 3 Tour. The weakness of the FT 3 Tour was the stock shafts they had to offer.

I'm currently playing with the FTi-Z , 9*, Stock Aldila Voodoo (Stiff).

I really really like the clubhead. The 9* club head sets up square(although most people think it's closed, it is not). It has a very very solid sound to it. Not too pingy and not to thud'ish.

The jury is still out on the shaft, I definitely need to be fitted for a shaft but am not looking forward to shelling out some more money. The driver alone was $400.

I've hit the FT 5 and FT 9. I liked the sound and feel of both but I'm confident that the FTi-Z is the longest. Good Luck.

[quote name='mosesgolf' timestamp='1288837877' post='2773382']
IMO, FT 5 Tour, FT 3 Tour, and FT Tour are very close in distance. Forgiveness goes to FT 5 Tour, then FT Tour and FT 3 Tour. The weakness of the FT 3 Tour was the stock shafts they had to offer.
[/quote]

Really?? I had a factory installed Diamana Blueboard 73g shaft. If I recall...most manufacturers back then had limited options for stock shafts...

I currently own an FT-3 Tour and FT-9 Tour. I used to own a regular FT-9 and have demoed the FT-5. Longest of the bunch was FT-3 Tour BY FAR. I have a Whiteboard in my FT-9 Tour and, while it is quite long and very accurate, it can't touch the FT-3 Tour for distance. I even had one of those awful PL Blue shafts in the FT-3 and nothing was even in the same ballpark. The only thing I have ever hit that came remotely close is my Adams 9015D (which might have a slight edge on the FT-3). I like the FT-3 Tour maybe a little more because it is less open. Getting repaired now by Callaway and will be going back into play with a better shaft.

Btw, FT-5 is the worst of the bunch you mentioned. Stay away!

I have owned the FT-3, played the FT-9 and currently game the FT-Tour. No doubt the FT-3 was the longest. Had a pink Aldila NV shaft and a pink Winn grip (purchased this set-up on eBay) - called it my "ladies' driver". Most of my longest drives were achieved with the FT-3, but was spraying it most of the time. I remember in a scramble tournament I crushed a few drives >315 yds and won the long drive (which was a first). Normally hit 260-280. FT-3 + HX Hot....it was da bomb.

FT-9 was mainly an i-mix infatuation - loved tinkering with different shafts.

The FT-Tour is in my bag now. It is long and more forgiving than the FT-3. The feel and sound are simply awesome, especially the center cut strikes...tremendous distance.

Hopefully, i-mix isn't dead...all those shafts!!

[quote name='Skaffa77' timestamp='1288840812' post='2773447']
[quote name='mosesgolf' timestamp='1288837877' post='2773382']
IMO, FT 5 Tour, FT 3 Tour, and FT Tour are very close in distance. Forgiveness goes to FT 5 Tour, then FT Tour and FT 3 Tour. The weakness of the FT 3 Tour was the stock shafts they had to offer.
[/quote]

Really?? I had a factory installed Diamana Blueboard 73g shaft. If I recall...most manufacturers back then had limited options for stock shafts...
[/quote]

I agree with mosesgolf! Stock shaft was Aldila NVS, which was not a very good shaft for strong swings! BB is another story, are you sure it was not an upgrade option you got?

I had the ft-3 Tour 8.5* with a vs proto- Awesome!! then i went to a ft-3 tour 8.5* Fade with a DVS 80 -- Really awesome!! Now i have the FT-5 T Tour authentic back with the VS proto. It bombs! I hit it a mile. My buddy still carries the ft-3 and i have thought about going back to it. Graham McDowell won the us Open this year with the ft-3. I haven't hit the ft-9 or the ft tour for fear of my wallet being emptied - i typically stay two versions behind because everything is cheaper. My advice would be - if you have $ go with the ft tour, if you are trying to save $ find a good ft-3......The shaft will be the kicker on them though!

I normally play tour versions with open faces of the callaway drivers but I recently picked up an FT-5 Fade regular model with the vista pro 70 stiff and to me it plays even better than the tour version, my drives are 10-15 yards longer than the FT-3 tour I had before so I'm not sure why everyone is saying that the Ft-5 is not a very good driver, I think it depends on the person not the club, the ft-5 looks wayyyy better to me than the FT-3. IMHO

By the way the ft-3 I had was same specs just different profile head. Same shaft.

When I got back into golf in 2006 I got an 9° FT-5 with a factory installed Fujijura E360 (the standard shaft in the FT-5 Tour) and hated it. I switched out several shafts in it and the best results with a V2 65S.

I traded that FT-5 for an FT-3 Tour 9.5° with a V2 76X and did not play it much because the shaft was way too strong for my swingspeed at that time. I relegated it to my second backup driver that I rarely used because I bought an I-mix FT-5 9° and FT-5 Tour 9.5° heads and a few different shafts. I ended up donating the FT-3 to a charity to use as a door prize in a charity golf scramble at a local course. The winner of the FT-3 at the charity scramble traded it in at the pro shop and there it still sits today in the used bin with a price tag of $175. (Callawaypreowned.com FT-3 prices are in the $75 to $100 range.) I should have never given it away.

With the FT-5 I-mix heads I preferred the 9.5° tour with either a Matrix X-con 6stiff or a Whiteboard 73X (depending on the weather conditions of the day).

When the FT-9s came out I got an I-mix 8.5° Tour and hit it too low. I traded that head for a 10.5° Tour and had excellent results with it and the whiteboard 73X shaft. That driver is now my backup.

My current driver is an FT-Tour 10.5° with the stock Voodoo stiff. This has been the best driver of the bunch by far for me. I've hit some of my longest and most accurate drives with it this summer as compared to my previous drivers over the past 22 years that I have been playing. I wish I could have my FT-3 back with a similar shaft so I could compare it to the FT-Tour. The only thing is that while I am getting awesome results with the stock Voodoo, the shaft ho in me wants something that has a better feel. So over the winter I will be looking at other shafts for this incredible head.

[quote name='cmusic' timestamp='1288895000' post='2774433']
When I got back into golf in 2006 I got an 9° FT-5 with a factory installed Fujijura E360 (the standard shaft in the FT-5 Tour) and hated it. I switched out several shafts in it and the best results with a V2 65S.

I traded that FT-5 for an FT-3 Tour 9.5° with a V2 76X and did not play it much because the shaft was way too strong for my swingspeed at that time. I relegated it to my second backup driver that I rarely used because I bought an I-mix FT-5 9° and FT-5 Tour 9.5° heads and a few different shafts. I ended up donating the FT-3 to a charity to use as a door prize in a charity golf scramble at a local course. The winner of the FT-3 at the charity scramble traded it in at the pro shop and there it still sits today in the used bin with a price tag of $175. (Callawaypreowned.com FT-3 prices are in the $75 to $100 range.) I should have never given it away.

With the FT-5 I-mix heads I preferred the 9.5° tour with either a Matrix X-con 6stiff or a Whiteboard 73X (depending on the weather conditions of the day).

When the FT-9s came out I got an I-mix 8.5° Tour and hit it too low. I traded that head for a 10.5° Tour and had excellent results with it and the whiteboard 73X shaft. That driver is now my backup.

My current driver is an FT-Tour 10.5° with the stock Voodoo stiff. This has been the best driver of the bunch by far for me. I've hit some of my longest and most accurate drives with it this summer as compared to my previous drivers over the past 22 years that I have been playing. I wish I could have my FT-3 back with a similar shaft so I could compare it to the FT-Tour. The only thing is that while I am getting awesome results with the stock Voodoo, the shaft ho in me wants something that has a better feel. So over the winter I will be looking at other shafts for this incredible head.
[/quote]

You won't believe how the Matrix X-con 6 turns the FT TOUR into a long drive club. The shaft and the club head both bring done the spin numbers!

personally i hink the FT-i LCG is the longest head i have hit, i have an 8.5* with a XXX HOF Sadlowki shaft in it, cut to 45in. i murder the hell out of that club, why i dont game it i dont know lol but man do i crush it lol

[quote name='1overpar' timestamp='1288845728' post='2773562']
[quote name='Skaffa77' timestamp='1288840812' post='2773447']
[quote name='mosesgolf' timestamp='1288837877' post='2773382']
IMO, FT 5 Tour, FT 3 Tour, and FT Tour are very close in distance. Forgiveness goes to FT 5 Tour, then FT Tour and FT 3 Tour. The weakness of the FT 3 Tour was the stock shafts they had to offer.
[/quote]

Really?? I had a factory installed Diamana Blueboard 73g shaft. If I recall...most manufacturers back then had limited options for stock shafts...
[/quote]

I agree with mosesgolf! Stock shaft was Aldila NVS, which was not a very good shaft for strong swings! BB is another story, are you sure it was not an upgrade option you got?
[/quote]

I played a couple of FT 3 Tours w/ the NVS shafts and they were noodles even in x flex. Got a hold of one Fade biased weighting w/ a Diamana Blueboard 73 x and that was one sweet club. Let a friend borrow it and he didn't want to give it back.

We are lucky that the oem's caught on and have offered premium heads matched with premium shafts. IMO, boards like Wrx and BSG were instrumental in making the oems realize how big this market was. Taylor Made seemed like the first one to get this going w/ the TP line. R510 TP w/ the 757 shafts. Now that was an awesome club too.

I still hit my FT-3 today and have tried/ordered both the FT-5 & 9 and they could not even come close to the FT-3, so I sold both of them. The FT-3 is so much more of a sold head than the aforementioned, it seems to me to be a matter of physics, whereby the other heads seemed to hollow/light/paper like to impart as much force into the ball.

By the way, I custom ordered mine with a Blue Board 73X shaft, so I wouldn't have to play that crap that came with it!!! I am sure that made a huge difference as compared to the FT-3 owners blogging who played the stock shafts and really cant fully appreciate the FT-3 head with a best of the best shaft!!!

I've playe d the FT-3 Tour and FT-5 only. The FT-3 Tour was one of the longest clubs I've ever hit, but it was not very forgiving. The stock NVS shaft was pretty awful as well.

i got my FT-3 tour 9.5* in a trade...it's in mint condition and has a fujikura z com six BT-46 S flex shaft...am not sure if this is a stock shaft or aftermarket..

... i was about to put it up for sale after hitting it a few times as i didn't like the sound at impact..

when i saw grahaem mcdowell use one to win the US open i got curious and decided to try it again...

and wow!...i was hitting my longest and straightest drives with them vs my hyperX tour at that time...

i just replaced it recently with a tourstage VIQ mx driver but it's still my back-up driver...

The 3 is solid no doubt but not as forgiving as the others. Most forgiving of tha group iz, 9 not far behind. They are all long pick the shaft that fits you and bombs away.

anyone have any info on how the ft-3 tour plays with the grafalloy blue shaft?