Callaway BB, GBB, BBB vs Burner, Bubble 2, etc. vs 975D

[Sky High Handicap]

How about a thread where we compare the whole assortment of those classic 1990's Heads by Callaway, Taylor Made, Titleist, and anything else that comes to mind.

 

I owned all three sizes of the BB heads in succession, starting with a brand new BB with a Memphis 10 shaft. I was so proud of that first BB. Then the GBB seemed to just crush the ball. Then the BBB looked huge, like a coconut on the end of a stick.

 

I played a Titanium Bubble 2 for a good while, but I hit the GBB and BBB longer back then.

 

The price of the 975D didn't come down until after I had already stopped switching clubs in rapid succession. I finally got around to trying one a few years ago, and I loved it. I then wondered how it would compare to the GBB head to head. So I have tried a few of each here lately, and I have a definite preference for the 975D,

 

Regarding those 1990's heads, I wish I would have jumped to Titleist a long, long time ago. I wish I would have been cherry picking nice used Titleist clubs and putting them both into play, and into the closet all these years since then. My own little hoard. I missed out I guess.

[scomac2002]

You haven't missed out on anything, SHH. I picked up (one at a time) a set of Callaway BB Warbird woods last year. I still see all kinds of early Callaway metal woods (and Titleist too for that matter) on ebay. You have to be patient to get them cheap, but they're out there. They hit good too! The newer models maybe more forgiving, but I'm not sure exactly how much you gain; probably less the poorer a player you are! :tongue:

[Blade Junkie]

I had all three of the Callaways you mention.

 

The original Big Bertha Warbird was by far the best for me. Mine was the 10 degree version with the RCH-90 Firm shaft. Still have it. Used to be able to hit that about 260 yards (mainly carry) with a slight draw, and straight down the middle about 8 times out of 10. Drove plenty of Par 4s in excess of 300 yards if there was a bit of run.

 

Drank the Kool Aid for the "upgrade" to the Great Big Bertha (maybe about 5 yards longer) and the Biggest Big Bertha, at which point my driving went wildly erratic, partly due to the club (just didn't like it that much) and some developing back problems as I hit my 30s, which turned my nice draw into a horrible "wafty" fade, and about 50-60 yards shorter as well.

 

The Big Bertha Warbrid driver was 195cc, the Great Big Bertha 253cc, and the Biggest Big Bertha, which seemed enormous at the time, was a gut busting 290cc. All rather small beer compared to the modern day behemoths !

[NRJyzr]

Sky, you definitely haven't missed out on anything by not playing Titleist. I really don't get the Cult that's grown up around that company.

 

Yes sir, here I am to rain on the parade. LOL

 

Titleist originally didn't want to release the 975D, preferring the 976R. The tour players' wide preference to the 975D forced them to reconsider.

 

They had completely given up on forged blades, going to the cast DCI/962/962b and then the 990/990b. Part of the reason for their having gotten out of the blade market is possibly that Mizuno, MacGregor, Wilson, etc, were doing it better; the Tour Models they offered were not particularly well received (this is second hand, but generally accepted, info I picked up in the early days of golf forums). They had to be beaten about the head and shoulders repeatedly with the obviousness of the money they were losing by not jumping on the Tiger Woods bandwagon, before finally succumbing and releasing the 681 set.

 

They were big believers in the supremacy of the wound ball, to the point they nearly lost a significant portion of their ball/shoe/glove PGA Tour staffers, including their flag bearers, such as Davis Love III. The only reason they released the Pro V1 was this impending mass exodus. It seems some of the pros appeared to believe a not insignificant reason for Tiger's US Open win was due to the Tour Accuracy golfball. ;)

 

Now that I've got my soapbox rant out of the way.... (lol at me)

 

Though it apparently spins more than the modern clubs, I think the original Great Big Bertha is actually a viable club today. Aside from the rather obvious forgiveness difference afforded a driver head nearly twice as large in terms of displacement. ;) While the Ping TiSI was the club that spawned the COR discussion, and ultimately the COR rule, it's been said by many the GBB was actually the first club providing real benefit along these lines.

 

It's a pain to reshaft, compared to others, because of the s2h2 "hosel" and borethru, but there's a valid reason so many pros jumped all over the GBB in the mid 90s. :)

 

If you want to really wax nostalgic, and if you can find one, take a look at a Goldwin AVDP XL or XXL driver. A largely solid block of milled aluminum (with a nickel face IIRC), 260cc or 300cc in size. Reshafting might be an issue, but they can be great fun. For a very long time, my longest ever drive was with a Goldwin XL.

 

There are even some fun components produced in the 90s. :)

[birly-shirly]

[...]

It's a pain to reshaft, compared to others, because of the s2h2 "hosel" and borethru, but there's a valid reason so many pros jumped all over the GBB in the mid 90s. :)

 

If you want to really wax nostalgic, and if you can find one, take a look at a Goldwin AVDP XL or XXL driver. A largely solid block of milled aluminum (with a nickel face IIRC), 260cc or 300cc in size. Reshafting might be an issue, but they can be great fun. [...]

 

Seems like there was a time when it was de rigeur to made drivers awkward to reshaft. The bore-through Titleists are a headache too - especially if you're trying to save a graphite shaft. Lots of manufacturers had proprietary ferrules and hosels serving I'm not sure what function.

[Wriggles]

I haven't had experience with any of the other drivers mentioned except the BB, GBB, and the BBB. At present, I have two BB, a 9 and 10 deg, two GBB, an 8 and 9 deg, and a BBB 11 deg.

 

The GBB is my favorite of the bunch, either loft. It's slightly longer than the BB's. The BBB is my least favorite, in fact, I don't really care for it. Maybe, it's the higher loft, but is yards shorter than the others. Looks awkward to me, also.

 

I play the GBBs the most, but when I really get nostalgic, I'll play the BB. I recall when all the three models came out, I thought anyone paying full price was crazy. One guy I didn't know too well bought two GBB's at full $500 retail. He showed me the one he was playing that day. I thought he was Donald Trump or someone like that. Nuts.

 

All my clubs are factory stock shafts. I bought them used, for reasonable cost. I was still playing wooden woods when these clubs came out. However, I did buy a couple clones. I still have an MG original T Rex. Last year, I reshafted it with a collapsible two piece shaft. Still plays pretty well.

[EKELLY]

Sky, you definitely haven't missed out on anything by not playing Titleist. I really don't get the Cult that's grown up around that company.

 

Yes sir, here I am to rain on the parade. LOL

 

Titleist originally didn't want to release the 975D, preferring the 976R. The tour players' wide preference to the 975D forced them to reconsider.

 

They had completely given up on forged blades, going to the cast DCI/962/962b and then the 990/990b. Part of the reason for their having gotten out of the blade market is possibly that Mizuno, MacGregor, Wilson, etc, were doing it better; the Tour Models they offered were not particularly well received (this is second hand, but generally accepted, info I picked up in the early days of golf forums). They had to be beaten about the head and shoulders repeatedly with the obviousness of the money they were losing by not jumping on the Tiger Woods bandwagon, before finally succumbing and releasing the 681 set.

 

They were big believers in the supremacy of the wound ball, to the point they nearly lost a significant portion of their ball/shoe/glove PGA Tour staffers, including their flag bearers, such as Davis Love III. The only reason they released the Pro V1 was this impending mass exodus. It seems some of the pros appeared to believe a not insignificant reason for Tiger's US Open win was due to the Tour Accuracy golfball. ;)

 

Now that I've got my soapbox rant out of the way.... (lol at me)

 

Though it apparently spins more than the modern clubs, I think the original Great Big Bertha is actually a viable club today. Aside from the rather obvious forgiveness difference afforded a driver head nearly twice as large in terms of displacement. ;) While the Ping TiSI was the club that spawned the COR discussion, and ultimately the COR rule, it's been said by many the GBB was actually the first club providing real benefit along these lines.

 

It's a pain to reshaft, compared to others, because of the s2h2 "hosel" and borethru, but there's a valid reason so many pros jumped all over the GBB in the mid 90s. :)

 

If you want to really wax nostalgic, and if you can find one, take a look at a Goldwin AVDP XL or XXL driver. A largely solid block of milled aluminum (with a nickel face IIRC), 260cc or 300cc in size. Reshafting might be an issue, but they can be great fun. For a very long time, my longest ever drive was with a Goldwin XL.

 

There are even some fun components produced in the 90s. :)

The best clubs out there continue to be built by companies nobody has ever heard of. Nice piece on Titleist. Back then everyone was fighting for their piece. They sure got it right with the ProV, as nothing I've played is even close. All these crap wedges out there are just Wilson copies, as well as the $$$ putters that Ping should be getting juice on every sale.....TM is the #1 driver on Tour because they pay ANYONE who will play it.....And Nike actually loses $$ every year in the golf club sales game.....People won;t buy junk just beacause Tiger/Rory hit it......lol

[birly-shirly]

Well, you know, let's not be too hard on Titleist for listening to their staff. Big companies have done worse down the years.

 

I don't even remember how the 975R compared to the D - but I do remember that for a while there seemed to be an outrageous number of them in play on tour, even with people not apparently contracted to play Titleist. Although, prior to the 975 family, I'm not sure anyone would have accepted a contract to play a Titleist driver for a living...

 

The same was true of the BB through BBB, though. As I recall, TM was very dominant in drivers when they were still predominantly steel headed - so these are both pretty mould-breaking product families.

[TimV]

It's all very subjective I think.

I have played/gamed all of the drivers mentioned and the only one I still play is the 975D.

[Muirfield Willie]

Got an old big Bertha heavenwood in my bag right now. Just pulled the original Memphis 10 steel out for a cheap graphite, back weighted and regripped. Gonna hit 50 on Saturday so i can't wait to get out and give it a rip.

[EKELLY]

All 3 were good clubs, but my Callaway's were possessed. I was 30 yards longer with Bertha, ball just climbed better. As for today, I don't buy the hype. All 3 are near equal in my book, and I play with fitters that always have the new toys....LOL

[wolfie64]

I loved this Era . In my bag in middle school going into high school golf I had the

975j

Warbird 4 wood

2-pw eye 2

56. 60 588

B60

I played some of my best golf back then but also no job at the course all day about everyday. Wish I still had all of to play with a couple times a year

[Hatchmanss76]

Gamed them all in order.

Big Bertha 9°_Aldila RCH 90 Stiff

Big Bertha_3 wood Memphis 10

Taylormade_3 wood Bubble Shaft Stiff

Big Bertha Warbird 9°_Aldila RCH 90 (blue/grey same as BB)? Stiff (there were rumors about made for's of this shaft in the Warbird range) it was crap against my BB which I still had.

Great Big Bertha 9°_ whatever graphite stiff was stock

Big Berth Warbird_3+ wood Aldila RCH 96 Stiff

Biggest Great Big Bertha 9°_whatever graphite stiff was stock

Hawk Eye 9°_whatever graphite stiff was stock

Callaway VFT Pro wood in stiff (worst 3 wood ever owned)

Titleist 975D 9°_Graffolly stiff

Ping G2 14°_3 wood Ping Stiff

ERC II 9°_whatever graphite stiff was stock

 

Gave the game away for 6 years and found the ERC II was banned when I took it up again in 2012

 

In that time I gamed the following irons:

Callaway S2H2_Memphis 10

Callaway Big Bertha (series II)_Memphis 10

Callaway X12's_memphis 10

Orlimar 302_DG S300

Titleist DCI 990_DG S300

Ping Eye 3 Balde_JZ Stiff

 

I still have the same DCI 990's, G2 3wood, 975D, ERC II and have acquired S2H2 irons, BB Drivers in 8° (Memphis 10) and 9° (RCH 90 stiff) and Warbird 3 wood (RCH 96 reg) in the last12 months along with other Vintage iron sets from the 80's.

 

Apart from the ERC II, all have been game 1 or more times in the last 12months.