Saw some new Callaway Woods last night (The Epic Thread)

[Warrick]

The head may be a step forward in tech, but visually, a step back for sure.

 

They had it going with the both DBD's and the original SZ, a more compact looking 460 head with a clean crown and nice matte or gloss finish. Why do we need colors,chevron, bumps, and all that stuff? On the normal Epic, can understand, SZ makes no sense IMO.

 

I suppose if the performance is there, a trip to Continental could clean it up a bit.

[getair23]

I was also wondering what Continental could do with the Epic. If you get the non carbon fiber portion of the crown painted. It might look like a a Bio Cell +. That being said, I like how both heads look and frame the ball.

[EaglesGolf99]

If the "Callaway Turbulators" aren't necessarily painted silver, per se, and it is more of a reflection at address, could Continental really do anything to change?

[misplacedtexan83]

The head may be a step forward in tech, but visually, a step back for sure.

 

They had it going with the both DBD's and the original SZ, a more compact looking 460 head with a clean crown and nice matte or gloss finish. Why do we need colors,chevron, bumps, and all that stuff? On the normal Epic, can understand, SZ makes no sense IMO.

 

I suppose if the performance is there, a trip to Continental could clean it up a bit.

 

Releasing the SZ to the masses, so threw the kitchen sink at it.

 

Still waiting to see it. If they are just the XR16 then they wont be noticeable over time.

 

Stoke about a glossy finish though..

[Warrick]

If the "Callaway Turbulators" aren't necessarily painted silver, per se, and it is more of a reflection at address, could Continental really do anything to change?

 

Well, just a full on matte black re-do, including the sole. mix in some white. You may still have those little (whatever you call them) bumps, but would be very subdued.

 

Just a thought, not a fan of green.

[HISPL]

Just wait till you see the driver in person, the appearance is actually quite seamless in the transition to the carbon look toward the rear of the crown and the aerodynamic aids I found help with alignment.

 

I'm a traditionalist in most aspects of the game (love my welt construction shoes, white wooden tees, white balls, leather grips etc etc) but will definitely have this in the bag ASAP!

 

And regardless of the appearance the performance will have you pulling out the wallet and placing an order for one anyway!

[golfho50]

Can't see any crown bumps or turbulators on photo. Can anyone who has

seen head up close describe where and how many there are on crown? Also

are they on both the BB and SZ?

[getair23]

Both heads look great. No need for a paint job. They will also be available through u-design.

[Warrick]

Just wait till you see the driver in person, the appearance is actually quite seamless in the transition to the carbon look toward the rear of the crown and the aerodynamic aids I found help with alignment.

 

I'm a traditionalist in most aspects of the game (love my welt construction shoes, white wooden tees, white balls, leather grips etc etc) but will definitely have this in the bag ASAP!

 

And regardless of the appearance the performance will have you pulling out the wallet and placing an order for one anyway!

 

That may be true, but it will still get redone at Continental. I don't want other colors or that chevron. I line the ball up out towards the toe and find those alignment aids on drivers annoying.

 

I was just discussing another aspect of the driver, surely would not let a bit of cosmetics stand in the way if it is all it is supposed to be.

[Warrick]

Both heads log great. No need for a paint job. They will also be available through u-design.

 

I will be waiting for a head on the BST, last thing I need is another expensive shaft with a Callaway adapter. I think Continental is cheaper also.

 

You know this would be easier to bicker about if they just released some quality pictures, but sounds like that is another 3-4 weeks out.

[misplacedtexan83]

Warrick...Ill gladly take your expensive shaft with Callaway adapters off your hands.

 

I mean if you need to clear out some space for new clubs ;)

[Warrick]

Warrick...Ill gladly take your expensive shaft with Callaway adapters off your hands.

 

I mean if you need to clear out some space for new clubs ;)

 

You don't exactly have cheap one in your gamers...lol

 

Not to sidetrack, but how do you like the Hashimoto in your fairways?

[Nessism]

Question: How did he gain 8 yards? Spin or ball speed?

 

Answer: Ball speed - smash factor is higher

 

Second question: how can the smash factor be higher than other clubs since pretty much every driver made in the last 10 years has been maxed out for CT per the rules set forth by the USGA?

 

Answer:?

 

Possible reason: CT measurement as performed by the USGA's pendulum drop test does not accurately measure COR, and the Epic head has a higher COR from the "Jail Break" bars, yet still conforms to the CT testing limit.

[misplacedtexan83]

Warrick...Ill gladly take your expensive shaft with Callaway adapters off your hands.

 

I mean if you need to clear out some space for new clubs ;)

 

You don't exactly have cheap one in your gamers...lol

 

Not to sidetrack, but how do you like the Hashimoto in your fairways?

 

Ha ha..

 

Phenomenal in the FW but it didn't work out in the driver.

 

Now it's just sitting in a bag downstairs. Tipped it 3/4 and don't know if I should of done that.

 

The speeder is tipped an inch, so I was going off of that. Went with it because of the characteristics of the purple durple but black :(

 

 

Oh well...onto whatever Epic fits the best.

[chris975d]

Are they both 460cc? Also, has anyone tested these against the 2016 sub zero?

dccbryan

 

Epic SZ was way more forgiving than OG Sub Zero for me...not even close.

Epic SZ felt better than the XR SZ. I concur that the Epic SZ is a lot more forgiving.

I'm guessing (purely guessing) that for those who have played the 815 DBD that the Epic SZ will be considered more forgiving right?

 

I have the numbers (percentage increase in forgiveness) written down somewhere after talking to my Callaway rep while prebooking orders for the driver's for the first part of the year, but even the Epic SubZero is substantially more forgiving than the DBDs (815 and 816), as well as the 2016 sub zero. This is a sub zero "for the masses".

[Noke]

Question: How did he gain 8 yards? Spin or ball speed?

 

Answer: Ball speed - smash factor is higher

 

Second question: how can the smash factor be higher than other clubs since pretty much every driver made in the last 10 years has been maxed out for CT per the rules set forth by the USGA?

 

Answer:?

 

Possible reason: CT measurement as performed by the USGA's pendulum drop test does not accurately measure COR, and the Epic head has a higher COR from the "Jail Break" bars, yet still conforms to the CT testing limit.

 

And I think off the rack drivers can vary in how close they actually are to the limit.

[Les Strokes]

Are they both 460cc? Also, has anyone tested these against the 2016 sub zero?

dccbryan

 

Epic SZ was way more forgiving than OG Sub Zero for me...not even close.

Epic SZ felt better than the XR SZ. I concur that the Epic SZ is a lot more forgiving.

I'm guessing (purely guessing) that for those who have played the 815 DBD that the Epic SZ will be considered more forgiving right?

 

I have the numbers (percentage increase in forgiveness) written down somewhere after talking to my Callaway rep while prebooking orders for the driver's for the first part of the year, but even the Epic SubZero is substantially more forgiving than the DBDs (815 and 816), as well as the 2016 sub zero. This is a sub zero "for the masses".

 

Looking forward to trying these heads from Callaway. My wife swapped out her M2 for an XR16 so I tried it and even with the regular flex I saw better dispersion than my M1. Tried the XR16 and SZ in stiff just recently and really liked them. Now just waiting to compare them to the 2017 offerings.

 

Personally I don't focus on the crown too much I focus on the back of the ball, and what I've seen of the Epics is fine for me. But I do prefer the overall gloss black metallic paint job on the Titleist 915 I once had and the M1/M2 contrast look is great. For me the sharp contrast of the Triton strip is less than ideal but I'm still going to give it a whack. BTW one of the prototype Tritons had a grey fade type of stripe, they should bring that back as their main paint job IMO.

[tyro]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Danny Willett is also using an Epic at the UBS Hong Kong tournament. There is obviously some live footage, but also some pics on Getty Images if you do a search. Looks nice and and sounds very nice on the live footage. It seems to have more of that solid Callaway sound back again.

[Juice1121]

The head definitely looks busy. The raised aero bumps look a lot like the XR. Not a huge fan of that as well as the green towards the back. Also, both drivers look identical at address. But hey, if it works, the looks won't matter too much to me. Will be looking at u design and finishing options though if this wins a spot in the bag.

 

As far as I understand, the sz with the heavier weight in the back has a very high moi. I was told it was higher than the epic regular. But, that doesn't sound right and I am not 100% sure.

[ctv1]

As far as I understand, the sz with the heavier weight in the back has a very high moi. I was told it was higher than the epic regular. But, that doesn't sound right and I am not 100% sure.

 

This is entirely possible, the Epic SZ is a simpler head construction without the track so there is more discretionary weight available to be moved around by the Callaway engineers.

[ctv1]

Possible reason: CT measurement as performed by the USGA's pendulum drop test does not accurately measure COR, and the Epic head has a higher COR from the "Jail Break" bars, yet still conforms to the CT testing limit.

 

As I understand it the Jailbreak technology is not changing the COR or CT. It has nothing to do with the flexing of the face. Rather it is reducing the amount of energy that is being lost because the bottom and the crown are flexing. Thus the Epic heads are more efficient at transferring the energy to the ball.

 

This is important because until the other manufacturers figure out how to duplicate this (within the constraints of Callaway's patent) Callaway will have a distance advantage that no other manufacture will be able to match using current designs.

[MrFlapjack]

Possible reason: CT measurement as performed by the USGA's pendulum drop test does not accurately measure COR, and the Epic head has a higher COR from the "Jail Break" bars, yet still conforms to the CT testing limit.

 

As I understand it the Jailbreak technology is not changing the COR or CT. It has nothing to do with the flexing of the face. Rather it is reducing the amount of energy that is being lost because the bottom and the crown are flexing. Thus the Epic heads are more efficient at transferring the energy to the ball.

 

This is important because until the other manufacturers figure out how to duplicate this (within the constraints of Callaway's patent) Callaway will have a distance advantage that no other manufacture will be able to match using current designs.

 

Makes sense to me. The energy that was going into bulging of the crown and sole is now going into the ball.

[Palauan Hammer]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Danny Willett is also using an Epic at the UBS Hong Kong tournament. There is obviously some live footage, but also some pics on Getty Images if you do a search. Looks nice and and sounds very nice on the live footage. It seems to have more of that solid Callaway sound back again.

 

Interesting you mention that, I was watching the Hong Kong Open and when Danny tee'd off I was thinking that his driver sounded awesome. Didn't realize it was the Epic.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

It didn't sound awesome, it sounded EPIC. ?

[chickenpotpie]

Possible reason: CT measurement as performed by the USGA's pendulum drop test does not accurately measure COR, and the Epic head has a higher COR from the "Jail Break" bars, yet still conforms to the CT testing limit.

 

As I understand it the Jailbreak technology is not changing the COR or CT. It has nothing to do with the flexing of the face. Rather it is reducing the amount of energy that is being lost because the bottom and the crown are flexing. Thus the Epic heads are more efficient at transferring the energy to the ball.

 

This is important because until the other manufacturers figure out how to duplicate this (within the constraints of Callaway's patent) Callaway will have a distance advantage that no other manufacture will be able to match using current designs.

 

Makes sense to me. The energy that was going into bulging of the crown and sole is now going into the ball.

 

Yes, but as I said earlier in this thread, if this is true, this head would fail the COR test. This would imply that more than 83% of the energy is being transmitted to the ball. I believe it could get around the CT test though.

[tyro]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Danny Willett is also using an Epic at the UBS Hong Kong tournament. There is obviously some live footage, but also some pics on Getty Images if you do a search. Looks nice and and sounds very nice on the live footage. It seems to have more of that solid Callaway sound back again.

 

Interesting you mention that, I was watching the Hong Kong Open and when Danny tee'd off I was thinking that his driver sounded awesome. Didn't realize it was the Epic.

 

That was what clued me in too. I heard it and then thought, "That sounds so much more solid than the XR16!"

[Mob]

I saw the Epic SZ head today, and I have to say that cosmetically, I am disappointed. Way too busy for me, but I am a minimalist. While it maybe well done, it certainly isn't to my taste. That being said, if it is as good as everyone is saying, then I would go the UDesign or Continental route. If it were just the carbon fiber fade look, I could deal with that.

[3woodvt]

I saw the Epic SZ head today, and I have to say that cosmetically, I am disappointed. Way too busy for me, but I am a minimalist. While it maybe well done, it certainly isn't to my taste. That being said, if it is as good as everyone is saying, then I would go the UDesign or Continental route. If it were just the carbon fiber fade look, I could deal with that.

At least you're not a Nihilist.

[hef63303]

I cannot get the thread of the Callaway trip to open. Anyone else having this problem?

[ksmiffi]

Maybe it's hidden within the 64 pages here...but does anyone know if the SZ will be available left hand?