RECAP: LIVE Q&A with Callaway Golf on Great Big Bertha & Big Bertha Alpha 816 Drivers! Wed August 1

[ram01002]

With the crazy tour success of the PM grind wedges, will we see this idea evolve in your future wedge lines?

[creecool]

Is it true that the MD3 wedges were designed to similar specs to the X forged wedges, that I feel may be the best wedge design ever?? Will there ever be a raw finish option that seem so popular on tour??

[cliffhanger]

I have noticed more and more big box stores are using the Chrome Soft on their putting greens for golfers to use while demoing putters, have you guys seen an increase in putter sales and how has that impacted ball sales?

[campion]

I currently play a 2014 BBA it is a fantastic driver and I'm not sure I'll change but as soon as the club fitter gets the new heads in I'm going to put them head to head.

My question is are you planning on releasing weight kits for these heads? I really prefer to play my woods shorter then your stock offering. I find it really frustrating as a avid golfer, who knows the importance of fitting, that you guys don't readily make available adjustable weights for the many clubs you have with weights.

Secondly, I'm a huge fan of your proponent network of club dealers/builders. In fact this is the reason I have a full bag of callaway products. Please just give these guys weights so the can easily adjust the swing weight of your drivers, fairways, and driving irons without the hassle of hotmelt or excessive tip weighting.

Please keep innovating and pushing the limit and keep buying your products.

[JGalls]

Do you ever yourselves offering a premium glued (non-adjustable) driver? Or will it stay in the past?

FT-Tour is still one of my all time favorites.

[DTown3011]

[quote name='JGalls' timestamp='1439814025' post='12153422']
Do you ever yourselves offering a premium glued (non-adjustable) driver? Or will it stay in the past?

FT-Tour is still one of my all time favorites.
[/quote]

Currently playing a RAZR Hawk Proto (same as FT Tour) so I'm with you on this one!!!

GBB on the way however....

[g_winner]

Loving the return of the Great Big Bertha.

Do you have plans on releasing a glued hosel driver any time soon? Since its seems to get properly fit for one of these adjustable drivers you need to go to a club fitter anyway, seems as though a club fitter could bend the hosel and adjust the weight more easily and provide better fitting. Also TMAGs aeroburner has become quite popular on tour and courses and it doesn't have all the adjustability.

Have always loved Callaway since the Big Bertha days, just wish could simplify it just a little more and go with a driver that doesn't require a tool pouch.

[campion]

[quote name='DTown3011' timestamp='1439816136' post='12153592']
[quote name='JGalls' timestamp='1439814025' post='12153422']
Do you ever yourselves offering a premium glued (non-adjustable) driver? Or will it stay in the past?

FT-Tour is still one of my all time favorites.
[/quote]

Currently playing a RAZR Hawk Proto (same as FT Tour) so I'm with you on this one!!!

GBB on the way however....
[/quote]

I too would be all over a glued model, especially if it improved performance. I think they look so much better.

[bu11dog]

I've been loving the Periscope videos and the partnering with the Bryan Bros. I'd love to see more commercials with those guys. Oh, and more Periscope too. A periscope tour of some of your facilities would be AWESOME. I'd be willing to do the live video for you (wink wink).

Are most tour pros playing the 816 or does the GBB have a solid following as well?

One of the ever popular Holy Grail topics is obtaining a higher launch while maintaining low spin. How do you do that and how much of a challenge is it to get? How much does the shaft play into the equation?

[hayzooos]

Doc - This one is for you: Will you please make the next Mini with the weighting from the 815 fairway woods? I think having the ability to not only have an adjustable shaft, but also to move those weights from front/back light/heavy would be the ULTIMATE when it comes to the Mini market. I think you nailed the size with the latest release of the Mini, but throw us a bone and let us tinker with the front/back weighting of everything

[Brooks_Cupcake]

Gents

Great work on the progression of the BB line. I am actually scheduled for a fitting on Wednesday, and having a head to head against my 915!

My question is the following:

With driver distance nearly maxed out with most vendors, how does Callaway see their innovation transitioning to other product lines such as irons or wedges?

[IFAggie]

Thank you for considering this question. Every year new drivers are introduced to the golfing community with the promise of longer distance, more control, lower CG, greater ball speeds, etc. Although it can be frustrating as a golfer trying to keep up with the latest and greatest, I understand why this is done and generally don't get caught up in all the hype. However, I would like to know why these models of drivers, particularly the Great Big Bertha, is better than last years models and will it really provide greater distance/improved accuracy? Please convince me that I'm not just buying into some cosmetic changes. Thank you again for your consideration.

[youngunz5840]

how come the great big bertha does not have a gravity core as well as the sliding bar?

[highergr0und]

Have you entertained the idea of selling heads and shafts a la carte?

[Dissident]

With all the moveable weights, adjustable adapters, changeable face angles & shaft options now available are we making choosing a driver for the average players too daunting? Do you have any data to signify either way if all these options are making a difference? Would we(average players) benefit both financially and with playability if we went back to the drivers of yesterday? Thanks for your input and help in educating us golfers.

[3 piece]

I'm still gaming the RAZR FIT XTREME, so I am sure I will see a major increase in performance with the GBB. With all the shaft options I imagine that it is recommended to get fit. Correct?

[highergr0und]

If you have 19 stock no upcharge shafts, combined with the 2 heads, the different lofts, weight settings, gravity cores, sliding weights, and hosel changes, you're in the thousands of possible combinations that a potential customer could use with your drivers.

What are you doing to ensure that the customer gets the best one for them?

[3 piece]

Has there been any major enhancements to the R-MOTO face or is the same as it was originally designed?

[razr]

With the success of the XR line with your tour players and from the perspective of a consumer that pays attention to what there playing. Why should I consider this product over the simplified XR tech. I currently play an XR pro over the 815 DBD I bought last August. I'm intrigued by the new tech but just don't want to trade up and then go back. Thanks in advance

[FrankTheTank312]

I always think it's awesome when companies make themselves available like this to the consumer. Certainly makes the company seem more relatable to the average joe golfer.

My question to the panel here is about the customer service you guys provide, and how it seems to have evolved in the past ten years. About ten years ago my experience with Callaway customer service was not so good when I have some trouble with my driver and it turned me off from Callaway products. With that said, all reviews online are overwhelmingly positive in terms of your customer service and how accommodating Callaway Golf is to their customers these days. Is this something that you guys have really focused on improving for the last decade or did I just have some bad luck with the person my father and I dealt with at the time?

Also worth noting: that despite the unfortunate experience years ago I am indeed waiting to hit the GBB and BBA before I pull the trigger on a new driver for myself.

Thank you again for taking the time to speak to the WRX community.

[jon12]

When are the preorders of the Great Big Bertha driver shipping out? Also I ordered one with a Rogue I/O shaft - will I have to wait longer than others? Thanks

[dieselmd]

Thanks for participating on this forum. Keep up the great work guys! Also, when are you guys coming up to Thermal? I need to get you guys on the racetrack.

[cmatthews77]

This may have already been posted but curious what the reason for removing 'gravity core' (which IMO is one of the coolest adjust-ability ideas to come out in a long time) from the more mass marketed GBB? I LOVE the expanded gravity core port idea in the Alpha 816 DBD but not sure I want to shift to a 'better players' model.

P.S. Kudos to working in the 'fitting' message into the marketing behind the new products over just the blanket statements of longer and better.

[cmatthews77]

When can we expect new Callaway talks on these products?

[sandiegonative]

[size=3]Hello Great Big Bertha Week!!! #GBBWEEK

Thank you GolfWRX and Callaway for the interactive Q & A session and of course for the opportunity to win a GBB.

My questions are based on Monday's [url="http://cmp.callawaygolf.com/2015/08/17/rd-whitepaper-the-short-versions/"]"R&D Whitepaper: the short version(s)"[/url]

[b]1. How did Callaway go about determining the "variables (14° launch angle, 2,400 RPM backspin,1.50 smash factor, 0 RPM sidespin) that promote greater potential yardage"?[/b]

I understand the marketing states "[u]they are definitely within reasonable reach of the average player[/u]", but were the numbers based on robotics testing or data analysis of actual fittings done at the ECPC?

[b]2. With so much emphasis put on launch angle and spin (rightfully so), when and will the [url="http://cmp.callawaygolf.com/2015-custom-shafts/?_ga=1.33135678.1419253773.1437692518"]2015 Custom Shaft Reference Guide[/url] be updated soon with the 19 different shaft options?[/b][/size]

[size=3][b]BONUS Question:[/b][/size]
[size=3][b]3. The original R-MOTO Face on the 815 Drivers was phenomenal. Are you able to discuss specific differences between the original and the new Advanced R-MOTO Face?[/b][/size]

[ladahl]

[quote name='ladahl' timestamp='1439823415' post='12154302']
[quote name='rebby' timestamp='1439524974' post='12134694']
The primary question that I have revolves around the availability of additional weights. I love the availability of shafts but without being able to fit the shaft and the feel (weight-wise), that's not quite as beneficial as it could be. So... hopefully, additional weights will be as easy to procure for the 816 as they were for the 815.

Since that question has been asked, let's talk OptiFit instead. What are the actual measured values when adjustments are made. For example, I know that the D setting makes the club more upright, how much more upright? 1', 2'? What about loft? We know that adjustments in loft are actually obtained via adjustments in face angle. With OptiFit technology, how much is face angle actually being affected?

Another question that comes to mind concerns driver length. With the average driver length on tour being somewhere in the neighborhood of 44.5", why is that "stock" drivers off the rack are closer to 46"? Wouldn't it make more sense to have the stock length of a driver more in the 44.5-44.75" range???

Many thanks to Callaway for doing this.


[/quote]

I'm going to piggy-back on Rebby's question: Will additional weights be available for purchase to try different shafts/lengths without hot-melting, etc? Thanks in advance!
[/quote]

EDIT: I was able to figure out that they are the same thread/size as the UT weights. Now where can we order 7, 8, 9 gram weights?

[3 piece]

Great Big Bertha is great but what are going to call the Mini-Driver? Not So Great Big Bertha? Bitty Bertha? Bertha Lite? Diet Bertha? Skinny Bertha? Almost Great Big Bertha? Jarod?

[ZAP]

I would be interested in seeing some of the testing numbers with the gravity core in different positions.
I'm still playing the BBA from 2013 and trying to decide between just upgrading to the 815 or going straight into the 816.

[jtudhsnae]

I tend to miss towards the heel with the driver.
Which new 816 driver and what positions for the weigths would I be best to start with?

[stevepona]

Are you interested in using your tech and experience in other sports categories? If so, I have a pretty compelling opportunity to partner...(very serious)