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The surprising Callaway Fusion driver


sfdoddsy

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On a whim (and because it was really cheap) i bought a Callaway Fusion driver head.

 

My expectation based on the few threads here is that it would be a high launch, high spin forgiving head aimed at those who need all the help they can get.

 

I beg to differ.

 

I've been doing some quasi-scientific testing of various drivers for those of us with less than spritely swings. I've tested the Epic, Epic Subzero, GBB and Cobra LTD.

 

And now the Fusion.

 

For me, when combined with the Hzrdus Black I used as a baseline, it has lowest spin of all the drivers I've tested. Not by much, but the opposite of what I was expecting.

 

When combined with its forgiveness, this makes it as least as long and accurate as its flashier brethren.

 

I've tried the Recoil that normally comes with the Fusion in an Epic and found it to play the way most people describe the Fusion.

 

Given that the price of one on eBay is 1/3 that of an Epic, it is worth checking out.

 

 

Mavrik Fuji Pro

G410/Epic Flash/Fli Hi Hybrids/woods
PXG Gen3 irons
Cleveland wedges
Odyssey Rossie OG 

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Fusion seems to be quite unterrated!

 

Heard a lot of great things. How about directional bias? Callaway claims its draw-biased, so how does it sit and play? Do like it, especially with the 44.5" option, but if there is anything that would really destroy my game, its draw bias =D

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Cobra Radspeed Big Tour @ 15.5°

Mizuno ST-Z 230 19°

Srixon ZX Utility MKII 23°

PING i230 5-U, +1/2", 2°up
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My normal shot is a draw, my evil miss is a pull hook.

 

On the launch monitor, with the Hzrdus Black, I actually hit the Fusion more right than I normally do.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1455006-the-sluggish-swingspeed-shootout-epic-vs-epic-sz-vs-ltd-vs-gbb/page__st__60#entry15342448

 

Based on those results I took it out for a practice on the course today and set it up for a draw (+1, D).

 

A few went more left than I'd like, so I suspect a neutral setting would be better.

 

I should note I had a different shaft in it (a Hzrdus Yellow I've never tried before) so I don't know if that contributed.

 

I'd say there is a draw bias, but not as much as the GBB or the standard Epic.

 

On the bright side, I hit some nicely controlled deliberate fades, so it is workable.

Mavrik Fuji Pro

G410/Epic Flash/Fli Hi Hybrids/woods
PXG Gen3 irons
Cleveland wedges
Odyssey Rossie OG 

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The Fusion is a great club that was quickly forgotten/dismissed on here due to the "Epic Leaks."

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TaylorMade BRNR Mini 13.5* Kai'li white- tx
Srixon ZX5 (4-6) ZX7 (7-pw) KBS tour 130-x
Mizuno T20 51* TT x-100

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Callaway PM Grind 64*
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Pro V1

 

 

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My normal shot is a draw, my evil miss is a pull hook.

 

On the launch monitor, with the Hzrdus Black, I actually hit the Fusion more right than I normally do.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1455006-the-sluggish-swingspeed-shootout-epic-vs-epic-sz-vs-ltd-vs-gbb/page__st__60#entry15342448

 

Based on those results I took it out for a practice on the course today and set it up for a draw (+1, D).

 

A few went more left than I'd like, so I suspect a neutral setting would be better.

 

I should note I had a different shaft in it (a Hzrdus Yellow I've never tried before) so I don't know if that contributed.

 

I'd say there is a draw bias, but not as much as the GBB or the standard Epic.

 

On the bright side, I hit some nicely controlled deliberate fades, so it is workable.

 

Thanks man, that helps! Sounds like I will give it a go, even though I gave up trying to find something that beats my 910D2

Callaway Rogue ST Max 10.5° @9.5°

Cobra Radspeed Big Tour @ 15.5°

Mizuno ST-Z 230 19°

Srixon ZX Utility MKII 23°

PING i230 5-U, +1/2", 2°up
Cleveland RTX Zipcore 54° Full Sole

Cleveland RTX Zipcore 60° Mid Sole

L.A.B. Golf DF 2.1

 

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The Fusion is a great club that was quickly forgotten/dismissed on here due to the "Epic Leaks."

Tis true. It's not the longest driver by any stretch, but the distance is good. It's saving grace is that it's either going straight, or it's going to draw. Period. And for a lot of people, that's exactly what they need.

DRIVER:  Callaway Rogue ST 10.5

FAIRWAYS:  Callaway Rogue ST 3, 9, 11 Fairway Woods

HYBRIDS:  Callaway Big Bertha 3 Hybrid, Rogue ST 4 Hybrid

IRONS:  Callaway Rogue ST 4-AW

WEDGES:  Callaway Jaws Raw 50 S Grind, 54 S Grind, 58 Z Grind 

PUTTER:  Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas

BACKUPS:  Odyssey Toulon Garage Le Mans Tri-Hot 5K Double Wide, MannKrafted Custom, Slighter Custom

BALL:  Testing

A man has to have options!

 

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I'm typically not a conspiracy theorist but I'm starting to believe that Callaway brought out the Fusion just so the market would see the "stretched design" that they knew most would not like so that they could then very subtly stretch the head design on the Epic and most wouldn't notice.

 

I have the Epic (and love it) but staring at it for a while now it seems to be a bit stretched (no where near the Fusion mind you) than their previous GBB or Alpha Drivers.

 

Just some random conspiracy for the day...

Callaway Epic Speed 9° Driver
Callaway Epic Speed 4W - Smoke IM10

Callaway Apex UW (21°)

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I don't have one, gonna get one as soon as CPO has them!

Background, I swing at 112-116 and my gamers are Razr Fit 8,5 / Fubuki K 70x , 816 DBD 9 / D+ 70x , XR16 - Pro 9 / Oban Kiyoshi Gold 75x, of the three my favourite is the RF, super forgiving and the longest & the sound is just WOW.

I played a full round with a buddy's Fusion paired with a Fujikura Pro 63x of mine & to be honest, this combo is a tad light but done everything my RF does, flew straight, mid/high, flat low spin bombs.

I was landing them in the same locations that I'm used to & they were rolling the same too, I'll see if I can fit and try all my shafts in it, there might be a better combo still???

BTW, all my other drivers have been trial & error to get them where they are now, this has been : just grab whatever shaft is laying around to try & boom.

Awesome driver!!!!!

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I found the Fusion to be the best overall driver I ever played . Forgiveness ,low spin , workable , fairway finding machine , distance .

There are longer drivers out there but this isn't far behind.

I tested it head to head with the Epic , my results fond the Fusion was lower spin and longer and straighter . Up against the Epic SZ

I found the sz was longer on solid strikes but the spin was too low for my ss which is around 95.

The bottom line best overall driver for me the hunt is over !!

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I see the Fusion slipping under the radar just like the FTiz & Razr Fit did, those two were super long and forgiving, the FTiz was likely missed because lots of ego's couldn't play a triangle.

The Razr Fit I think was missed because like sheep, the masses all chased after " white headed" multi sliding weight gimmicks.

They were both in my bag & I could not pick one over the other, what was a final decider for me was the slightly heavier RF.

I deffinately will get a Fusion.

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Does this use the same adapter as the epic? I'd guess it's the same. I'm curious now and would like to go hit one this weekend with the epic shaft I have.

 

“I think getting advice from guys who are sitting at the computer in their underwear while taking a break from porn is a very solid way to choose clubs.” - bluedot
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I actually liked the Fusion it was just too left bias. I need to be able to move it both ways and it just didn't let me do that. Be interested to toy with one and am like 15g of melt in the toe.

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I purchased an XR16 off the rack last year and was just bombing it, for me anyways (I'm not a long hitter 245 yards....but I was routinely getting 265 with the XR16). The swingweight just didn't feel right to me, so I went to a fitter and he had me try the Fusion head. It actually had really good numbers for me.

 

I purchased a custom shaft with a better swingweight but didn't pull the trigger on the Fusion head because the total cost was going to run about $800. However, my club had a Fusion demo head that I took out for about 5 rounds. I kept trying to get the Fusion to work for me, because I really liked the head and swingweight. I just could not get the Fusion head to pop. It was a really solid head....but I just could not get it to go. I've stayed with the XR16 and continue to be very happy with the distance I'm getting out of it. After 5 rounds and really trying to make the Fusion work....I just couldn't get within 15 yards of the XR16.

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Coming from a V-series driver - bombed it, but forgiveness not great and left would happen too often

GBB was far too draw-biased and a hook machine

XR16 was better, but didn't give me more than the V-series i thought

Fusion is a true Bomber - i can move around the weights to alter the swing weight - straight, forgiving and Long

Hitting more fairways and being out there is the goal - this club is/was completely overshadowed with the Epic

hidden Gem

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So which club is more draw biased?

 

Epic or Fusion?

 

Also, are the heads in stock trim the same weight or is one a little lighter?

For me, the Fusion is a tad lighter, 2-4g & I did not miss left with it at all, yes some did go left but those were bad lazy hip swings.

I have hit the Epic 4 times, with all drawing, granted it was not mine & the shaft was not near my spec so I just stopped trying, but I still preferred the sound & feel of the Fusion.

The thing with the Fusion is that besides the shape, it reminds me so much of the FTiz tour in that it is so forgiving, I can really grip it & rip it without fear, this driver just wants to go straight.

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Fubuman, i was thinking of the FT IZ also !! That was one of my first custom built drivers 5 years ago!! Low spin bullets!

2020 18 July mid winterNZ
Ping Rapture 2006 10.5
Nike VrS 3wood
Callaway Razr Edge5 wood

MP100=33 9876 5/mp63
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60     RTX2
ProPlatinum NewportTwo
2002 325gram +8.NewGrip
Dont hesitate to buy one!






 

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I was fit for a Fusion on Good Friday. Ball flight was pretty straight and when I nailed the ball it was rolling out to around 260. A controlled swing for me is about 86mph. When I go after the ball, which is my bad shot, I get up to 92-94mph. When I did this in the fitting I was getting some nice high fades. More often than not my swing speed creeps up sub consciously in a round so it was good to know that the Fusion doesn't cause the issues my R15 did (SLICE!!! FORE!!!!)

 

Can't wait for build to complete and get this out on the course. I think I can do even more damage with it.

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I like my Fusion driver. I thought nothing would replace my BIg Bertha V but it did. I'm playing it at 44.5" and was expecting to give up some distance to make more fairways but that has not been the case. It's just as long and straight off the tee. I'm certainly glad I made the switch.

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I've played a Fusion since October.

 

The head is relatively low spin, I find it less draw biased and less spinny than either the XR16 or GBB.

 

Yes, the head is made to go straight. I prefer a slightly softer triangle like an Epic but the Fusion offers great fairway finding ability. As a result, I don't care.

 

I play it 2 ways -- 10.5 at +1 and neutral lie angle, or 10.5 and D lie angle.

 

It is a fairway finder for me at 44.5, even on not-so-sweet swing moments.

Father, Wannabe Golfer, Novelist

 

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a good friend of mine surprised me -- we were playing two weeks ago and he shows up with his 'new toy'. he has a 110-113 swing speed, moderate load, smooth tempo.

 

his toy? fusion driver, 9.5*, kiyoshi white 75g x, 45", hotmelted to D5.

 

he's typically long but has trouble going left or right now and then - he missed just 2 fairways and both were easily within play. I was shocked at how well it wanted to hold a straight line -- and went for days. I didn't ask to hit it since, that's just how I feel about other peoples clubs but, it sounded great.

 

this driver (as others mentioned above) absolutely got lost in the shuffle. superb.

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Dark Speed LS / 3w (dialed to 15.5*) / Denali Blue 70TX

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My dad picked up a "used" one that had the stock Rogue Max from an Epic in it and the only thing used about it was the fact that someone bought it and brought it back. The very next day, he only misses one fairway and the Rogue brought his spin down more than the stock Recoil did so he ended getting an extra 15-20 yards. Coming from having a bad slice that would absolutely kill his distance and maybe hit 2 fairways a round, this was an amazing pickup for him.

 

If you can get the right shaft for you, this head is really good. I tried his out on the launch monitor and as someone with a 112 ish swing speed who uses an 80 gram X flex driver shaft, this didn't really spin up as much as I thought it would.

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I'm still trying to get along with mine. I have the 12g weight playing at 44.5" with a fubuki 60g shaft, and I mine was lacking significantly in distance behind my Mizuno JPX EZ set at same loft, same 44.5" length, with a slightly heavier Fubuki shaft.

"Of all the hazards, fear is the worst" - Sam Snead
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The stock Fusion shaft is the Recoil 450. I have tried it in an Epic. It felt too light for me, and on the launch monitor spin was a lot higher than I prefer. Mind you, for me the Epic head spins more than the Fusion.

Mavrik Fuji Pro

G410/Epic Flash/Fli Hi Hybrids/woods
PXG Gen3 irons
Cleveland wedges
Odyssey Rossie OG 

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