Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero - Is this Real Life????

[cma8516]

> @Booker said:

> > @cma8516 said:

> > i hit it vs ts3, F9, and m5. EFSZ beat them all.

> > this is all from trackman - averages from 7-10 shots with each. Swing speeds in the 110-112 range.

> > EFSZ -- 279 carry, 298 total, ball speed 164, spin 2715

> >

> > M5 -- 267 carry, 285 total, ball speed 162, spin 3184

> >

> > F9 -- 277 carry, 297 total, ball speed 166, spin 2908

> >

> > TS3 -- 259 carry, 270 total, ball speed 161, spin 3680

> >

> > Cobra was right up there, but my dispersion with the EFSZ was better so thats what i went with.

> > This was all with a speeder 661 TR X-Stiff shaft

>

> Those are pretty high spin numbers I would have tried a few different set ups to get the spin down around 2400 whether its shaft weight/profile/length or Sw or loft. Don't know anyone who has spun the ts3 at over 3500 rpm.

 

I've always trended towards being higher spin, mostly i think its due to the fact that i have a negative AOA sometimes. Working on reversing that. I hit the TS3 in the Even Flow white as well and was around 3200, another thing i should have included in the details was smash factor. TS3 i was only around 1.43-1.45 between the two shafts, the EFSZ i was 1.48 average.

[Lord Helmet]

I like the look of the standard 3w, not the sz. Im going to be trying them next week, drivers and 3w. See if anything can beat my current setup (see sig).

[i_once_shot_a]

Posted this on Not allowed because of spam but not here yet.

 

Recently tested the Flash Sub Zero and WOW…ball speed numbers were off the charts, spin numbers were great as well.

 

For some context, with my normal M1 440 gamer (9.5 Atmos Black 7x, fade weighting), if the ball speed hits 170-172, it was crushed. Generally my spin is 2400-2700 with it. The spin was the reason I game the M1 440 in the first place. I can pop it out there 300 when I am swinging well, but that’s certainly not every day.

 

First swing with the Flash (9* Fade Weighting, AD-IZ 6X) felt like I missed it a touch so I go look at the trackman numbers, 172 ball speed, 290 carry 310 total…on one that felt like a whiff. Hit a couple more, ball speeds start hitting 175-176. Hit 10 total with it, take out two complete wipes and the two longest (to make it fair) I was averaging 309. Blown away by the speed and spin of this club.

 

Then I took it to the course and couldn't keep it on the planet, way to much hook in that 6X IZ shaft. Figured it was a touch soft for how I load the club, felt great just went way left. On the back nine I threw in a Tensei White 7 TX and hit missles with it, dead straight or a tight draw. It also wentshockingly high for having it cranked down to an "8" with a low launch profile. Next step is to see how much speed I lose with the Tensei 7, the setup goes so straight I may not care!

 

It also sounds really bad...about the only negative thing I can say about it.

[tigerfan23]

> @"Lord Helmet" said:

> I like the look of the standard 3w, not the sz. Im going to be trying them next week, drivers and 3w. See if anything can beat my current setup (see sig).

 

The standard 3 wood looks much better

[t4t3r]

I like the SZ 3w much more which is what I ended up ordering. The standard head is the same as the epic, rogue, etc - it may be pretty square but it looks closed to me. Have to roll it over on the sole a bit to sit more neutral. When I first tried the regular epic 3w head it was ok and then it started to fall left more and more often.

[LUMA]

Yeah they are long. My OG Epic SZ is about 15 yards+ longer than the TS3 in the Hazardous Smoke I tried. I'm going to do an outdoor fitting in May with Titleist and see if they can get me to put a TS3 in my bag... I love the look of that driver down at address.

 

I have an older XR hybrid I got for free that's almost too long. 19 deg can easily go 3 wood distance if I crank it. Kinda stupid for a hybrid honestly.

[nsxguy]

OK, I've tried and written about basically every new offering for the last 2 months or so. Almost $600 is a big number for me nowadays and I'm not laying out that kind of scratch without being "sure".

 

Tried 'em all and the only driver *I* could get to match the EFSZ was the Honma TW747 460 (455 was right there too). I seemed to be more consistent day-to-day with the EFSZ. With the Honma, when I was "off" I was really off. On those kinds of days the EFSZ was much closer to "normal". The "beauty queen" of this year's drivers, the Cobra F9, I couldn't keep on the planet, with ANY of the shafts I could get my hands on.

 

Got about 10 yards more carry on very good strikes due to the lower spin and slightly highers ball speeds and about 12 yards more carry on "slight" misses.

 

So I found a 10'5 head on the 'bay and a Hzrdus Yellow; the combination I had the greatest success with in the store. I'm a bit puny by WRX standards. My MAX carry is right around 235 and mostly around 230-232.

 

Played my own ball yesterday and other than one block right, hit it very well. Maybe even straighter than my beloved Fusion with Hzrdus Black.

 

Today I played a scramble with it. Most of the day I was hitting it long and very much in control. I was a bit surprised actually. Hit it even better than yesterday.

 

Sad to say I'm the longest hitter on my team and we have this hole that's about a 232 (lasered) carry over water. Since we had a couple of balls safe AND the 1.5-2 club wind was pretty much directly behind I decided to take a whack at it.

 

"Toed" it so badly I almost missed it. But the line was perfect and over the corner of a villa so we couldn't see the result but I was sure it was wet. When we go to find the balls, there's one way up on my line about 25 yards or so over the water. Can't possibly be mine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but it WAS. About 255 off the tee. Ri-donk-u-lous.

 

Below is a picture of the face. I've circled the ball mark.

 

 

 

 

[tigerfan23]

i ordered sz 10.5 tensi blue... pumped

[pjonesgolfer]

how's the forgiveness on the SZ model?

[sbjinx]

So I played with a buddy who had the flash sz and I was impressed. It wasn’t anything special when I was hitting it in the stores but outside I was hitting some bombs with it....well past my M5. Ugh, what to do now

[Kmac]

Sounds like you’re getting a new EFSZ, lol

[BearQ]

> @Kmac said:

> Sounds like you’re getting a new EFSZ, lol

 

A 3+ turned -2 down with red dot adapter would be so hzrdus

[ironcat]

Didn't work for me. I hit the regular Epic straighter and further more often.

[SwooshLT]

> @pjonesgolfer said:

> how's the forgiveness on the SZ model?

 

I'm an accurate driver of the ball but seeing my ball in play this often is almost arrogantly confident! Plus ,FOR ME, working the ball either way vs. Stuck with Bruce Lietzke fade......best driver I've had in at least 10-15yrs

[nsxguy]

> @pjonesgolfer said:

> how's the forgiveness on the SZ model?

 

Based on the photo I posted below I'm willing to say "Very good".

 


 

[jonnymc44]

> @nsxguy said:

> OK, I've tried and written about basically every new offering for the last 2 months or so. Almost $600 is a big number for me nowadays and I'm not laying out that kind of scratch without being "sure".

>

> Tried 'em all and the only driver *I* could get to match the EFSZ was the Honma TW747 460 (455 was right there too). I seemed to be more consistent day-to-day with the EFSZ. With the Honma, when I was "off" I was really off. On those kinds of days the EFSZ was much closer to "normal". The "beauty queen" of this year's drivers, the Cobra F9, I couldn't keep on the planet, with ANY of the shafts I could get my hands on.

>

> Got about 10 yards more carry on very good strikes due to the lower spin and slightly highers ball speeds and about 12 yards more carry on "slight" misses.

>

> So I found a 10'5 head on the 'bay and a Hzrdus Yellow; the combination I had the greatest success with in the store. I'm a bit puny by WRX standards. My MAX carry is right around 235 and mostly around 230-232.

>

> Played my own ball yesterday and other than one block right, hit it very well. Maybe even straighter than my beloved Fusion with Hzrdus Black.

>

> Today I played a scramble with it. Most of the day I was hitting it long and very much in control. I was a bit surprised actually. Hit it even better than yesterday.

>

> Sad to say I'm the longest hitter on my team and we have this hole that's about a 232 (lasered) carry over water. Since we had a couple of balls safe AND the 1.5-2 club wind was pretty much directly behind I decided to take a whack at it.

>

> "Toed" it so badly I almost missed it. But the line was perfect and over the corner of a villa so we couldn't see the result but I was sure it was wet. When we go to find the balls, there's one way up on my line about 25 yards or so over the water. Can't possibly be mine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but it WAS. About 255 off the tee. Ri-donk-u-lous.

>

> Below is a picture of the face. I've circled the ball mark.

>

>

>

>

>

I had a strike like this on Saturday and still outdrove my playing partners! It is ridiculous how good this driver is. I just need to learn to aim right of target because this thing likes a baby draw.

Before Saturday I was consistently striking 1/2" toe of centre, so decided to stand as close as I could possibly feel comfortable with and everything was middled... apart from my high toe drive, but that was on 16 and I was tired! I was playing from distances my Titleist 915 wouldn't normally get me to, and it was still cool and the ball wasn't flying far. Happy with spending £450 on this.

 

[3_Jack_Par]

> @pjonesgolfer said:

> how's the forgiveness on the SZ model?

My most common miss with the driver is low on the heel. When I hit that shot, Trackman usually shows ball speed around 160 or lower. I hit one with the Flash SZ, and I was shocked to see 165, and it also flew pretty straight. Compared to the OG Epic SZ, it seems a little more forgiving directionally and it's certainly faster on off-center strikes.

[tgoodspe1991]

> @ssfranny said:

> I dont get how SZ supposedly so much lower spin than regular Flash the sliders are 16 and 12g in SZ and the forward weight is only 2g

 

The Sub Zero is a completely different head shape than the regular. Shorter front to back, deeper face, etc. Put them side by side and you'll see the massive difference in head shape.

[PNWGLFR]

I hit the Epic Flash SZ, F9, TS2, and TS3 with the GCquad. TS3 was the longest for me (9.5 / Evenflow White S65 Stiff) compared to the other Tensei/hazardous shaft combos on the Epic Flash SZ and F9 by 15yds. A bad hit still went a long way and straighter. I would have bought the Epic Flash SZ if it had a different shaft option but I didn’t want to pay another $$ upgrade. I did buy the Epic flash SZ 3wood because that was the furthest by 10-12 yds than Mizuno or TM and forgiving. I don’t doubt it’s crazy long but always keep in mind the shaft options. Some head/shaft combos work better for a particular swing.

[ian-500]

Borrowed the demo efsz with Tensei Blue 60x on course today (pro shop loan) and to be fair, it sounded a lot better than on the range. It also went very well. Hit parts of the fairway I'd never hit before. Very good driver. Still don't like the look of it though.

[gsrjc]

I just switched to the 9 Flash SZ from a M3 tour. I tried a bunch of combos at Club Champion and nothing could beat the Devotion 7 shaft that i was already using with the M3 tour and i tried a bunch. Later stuck the Flash SZ on the gamer shaft and got a few MPH higher on ball speed leading to about 6 yards more carry. The spin rate was about 200-300 RPM lower than previous setup. SS was 100 mph.

[SwooshLT]

> @ian-500 said:

> Borrowed the demo efsz with Tensei Blue 60x on course today (pro shop loan) and to be fair, it sounded a lot better than on the range. It also went very well. Hit parts of the fairway I'd never hit before. Very good driver. Still don't like the look of it though.

 

The look is the best part to me! Couldn't stomach epic sz and that was also to fade bias.....

[gmacgolfer78]

IT's Longgggggg when I tested it

[steveoly32]

Current gamer is/was Rogue SZ with GD Tour AD DI 6S. It's a beast. I tried the Epic Flash non SZ and absolutely loved the sound. It just sounded powerful, but spun way too much, so I traded it for a EF SZ head. This took a long time to even put some good swings together. Eventually figured it out with the sliding weight all the way to the heel and was getting good but not great numbers with the stock shafts (Tensei Blue being the most favorable). Even with gamer shaft, it was inline with, but never produced numbers that exceeded the Rogue SZ. And yeah, the sound on the EF SZ is pretty obnoxious. Very different from the standard EF sound which was excellent, IMO. So still have Rogue SZ with AD DI but in true WRX style, I have already turned my attention to the Cobra F9.

[gioguy21]

i know this thread was gathering a little dust -- i just had a fitting with the TS3, G410+, EF SZ, M5...the EF SZ won -- but not solely due to performance.

1) the TS3 ballspeed numbers were a bit low for me, the head looked massive, and the sound was good.

2) the G410+ spun...a LOT for me (high 2ks to mid 3ks), and just didn't like the look behind the ball

3) the M5 for me just, couldn't get in a good setting and it always felt really harsh off the face (not like the ball is mushing or trampolining off - just firm); but the ballspeed and spin numbers were really good.

4) the EF SZ had the second best ball speed (i think by 1-2mph less) to the M5 -- but it was predictable, felt great, sounded good and overall i had more confidence with it.

 

made the switch -- now i just need to decide on what shaft i want in it. currently playing the hzrdus smoke 70 x stiff

[FlyingLaw1]

I've got an Epic SZ... Should I try the Flash SZ?? Am I gonna want to switch?

[Ryan5508]

Hard to say honestly. The flash is a little more forgiving vs epic but nothing too dramatic.

 

I am currently testing out a flash sz with medicor results. I am not sure if it is the shaft but I am having issues with losing where the head is at the top of the swing and down. Shaft is a rogue silver 130 msi 60g. I really should of just picked up a 70g like I am used to.

 

I did a swing weight estimator and it puts the flash at d4. Compared to my g400 max it feels like nothing is there. That is also estimated at d4.

 

When I hit it well it is honestly very similar to the max. A lower launch but similar distance and flight. The big issue is the sound can be very harsh and loud. I have found the ball you play makes a big difference in the sound. It's worse sounding the harder the ball you hit. Something like a volvik vivid is quite. Tp5x/ksig is loud.

 

I just received some heavier weights in the mail today. Going to swap the 12g slider for a 17.5g. Practice swinging I can feel the head much better. I also picked up a 6g for the front weight to replace the 2g if need be. But I am already going to be pushing the swing weight as it is currently.

[Big A HG]

I just tried the EFSZ fairway wood last night. I've bagged the 909F 15.5 since that was a current model, and haven't had much incentive to change. However, I've started to use that club a bit more than usual and realized how different from a miss and ball flight standpoint than my other clubs, so I'm thinking it's time to make a change with the natural progression of my swing over the years. I wanted to go just a little bit of a higher loft, so opted for the 5 wood SZ tuned down to a 17 degree. Rep gave it to me with a Tensei shaft (can't recall which one), but after just a few balls I could tell it was way too spinny. The range was hitting into the wind, which was nice to see the accentuated effects of hitting range balls into the wind. Swapped the shaft for a HZRDUS Smoke and was hitting mid-flight bullets into the wind. It was a 3 wood type trajectory, but it felt easier to get into the air with the added left and slightly shorter shaft. Great combo and I plan on ordering one.

[gioguy21]

anyone know --- is there a way to get the epic flash SZ driver to be have a flatter lie setting with the standard adapter, other than the Neutral setting? sits very toe up.

 

i know there is a red adapter but, i don't know where to buy one without spending a ton of cash on one.

[Kmac]

> @gioguy21 said:

> anyone know --- is there a way to get the epic flash SZ driver to be have a flatter lie setting with the standard adapter, other than the Neutral setting? sits very toe up.

>

> i know there is a red adapter but, i don't know where to buy one without spending a ton of cash on one.

 

I dont think so. Does not appear to be any upright or flatter setting unless they dont say so. Been going back and forth with the Flash SZ and F9 myself. Leaning more and more towards the Flash SZ. Its very good.