anyone want to talk me out of buying an FT-5...?

[Diesel]

Tour model with Fuji 360...

i just hit this thing at the range, and i was dropping bombs... i hit about 12 shots, and only one was unnaceptable to me... the contact on that shot was a little high and right on the face... i seemed to find the center of the face on most shots, aside from the high right one...

the sound is a lot different than my R5, seems almost muted... doesn't seem like it's a powerful shot from the sound but the ball just kind of shot off the face...

anyone have any bad stories on the FT-5...

i'd like to try some other shafts before i jump into this though... i have to find a Cally retailer that has the opti-fit system...

[GenErr]

In all the time I've been here I've never seen anyone talked out of buying a piece of golf equipment - I think it is against the rules. LOL

[ckguy914]

I think my only argument would be that they'll probably be replaced by the end of this year or beginning of next year.

[kongo]

Try the VS Proto shaft with that head.... that might be a good combo!

[Deadpool_25]

Talk you out of it? Hmm...might be fun. Although I'm a little scared of 'teh banstick' I'll give it a shot...

 

1. If you didn't hit it on a launch monitor you probably shouldn't buy it.

2. If you didn't hit it well on more than one day you probably shouldn't buy it.

3. If you didn't hit it side by side with your gamer you probably shouldn't buy it.

4. If you didn't hit it side by side with other contenders you probably shouldn't buy it.

5. If the balls you were hitting weren't the same balls you game you probably shouldn't buy it.

 

 

How'd I do? :man_in_love:

[dlo]

here is on that i might get smeared for but what the hey:

 

before you buy the ft5, try the ft3. i think you will like it as much and save a few hundred bucks - you know, to buy more and different stuff.

[DemolitionMan]

If you seriously want to be talked out of it.....

 

I feel like I wasted almost a year on the FT-5 and had probably the worse driving stats over the course of the year. I tried different shafts and when I thought I had the right shaft, then I would find the launch was too high - no problem on a calm summer day, serious problem on a windy day. When I went to a lower launch shaft, then I gave up a lot of yards. There is very little feedback on this driver other than ballflight...it generally feels just loud. And it is loud, not Nike Sumo cover your ears loud, not Cobra noise pollution loud, but aside from those two, it's loud.

 

I finally got sick of making such a loud racket off the tee and not getting that great of distance. I traded it for a Burner TP and it's a far superior driver. It has a more muted sound, more easily controlled launch playing truer to loft, and more forgiving. I miss the once in awhile outright bombs that I hit with the FT-5, but unfortunately they were too few and too far in between. Cally drivers sure can be long, but in the feel and feedback department, they plain suck.

 

But like everything else in golf, mileage can vary, so really I shouldn't be able to talk anyone out of club if they personally like how it performs, looks, and feels. I just know for myself, it will be a long, long, long, long time before I ever put another Callaway driver in the bag.

[hayzooos]

I had the FT-3 a while back (actually still have it in the trunk) and moved to the FT-5 last year. It had the Grafalloy ProLite in there and I replaced it with the Grafalloy Comp NT. What a difference that makes. I also have an R5 TP with the same shaft you have. I feel like I can control the ball a bit more with the TM, but the distance of the FT-5 is obscene. I've had the new Grafalloy shaft in there for about a month or so, and haven't quite got used to it yet, but I'm getting there.

 

I can't see any glaring problems with the FT-5 at all. I have no clue why people seem to care/complain about the sound of the club...who gives a hoot if you wake up the dead when you're 320 down the pipe??!!

 

If I could hit a ball 300 yards straight down the middle of the fairway each time, I'd listed to it play "Viva Viagra" each and every time...and don't act like you wouldn't do the same!

[maskedman]

I won't try to talk you out of it, but my experience with the FT-5 was largely a bust. Even on a seemingly great swing with perfect contact, my yardage was always poor--with balls just dropping out of the sky. I wasted almost 6 months with this club before changing (back) to the PING Rapture. The Rapture is better by more than 20-30 yds. Just last week, I was paired with another guy and we got to talking about drivers we have used. He had an FT-5 story almost identical to mine, and he ditched it for something else and for the same reasons. As stated earlier, YMMV. My advice: keep looking.

[ozgoodz]

If you were to purchase the FT-5 maybe you want to checkout the ESPN golf school. Pay $500, get $400 in Callaway card money. Net result is a day of instruction for $100. Might not be a bad deal.

[slicer365]

If you have a 3 yr old and she accidently drops it on the concrete, Callaway won't fix the scratch. That's the only thing I can think of. Also, the price is a little too high.

[tomg1969]

I'm sure if you have the itch that NOBODY is going to be able to talk you out of buying one, however you asked so I'll share my experience.

I tried at least 8 diferent drivers last year, all with Speeder 757's, Pershings or Blueboards and if I were to ranke the results FOR ME, I would pit the FT5 at the bottom of the list.

I don't care much about sound one way or the other, it just didn't perform for me.....

Not very long for me, not as forgiving as many other drivers, didn't like the feel at all.

[mspeedpika]

I had a 9 draw ft-5 with a redboard 63s, never had confidence with it. For the price of the ft-5 I would pick up a ft-3 with a vs proto and one with a blueboard

[DavidR]

I have been pretty happy with my FT-5 and blueboard combination. I haven't found anything to replace this driver in my bag so far.

[withdrew]

I dropped my FT-5 too.

[bjrapper]

I work at a shop and have access to everything, and I've tried just about every type of driver from many of the major OEMs, including TM, Cobra, Nike, Titleist, Ping. The FT-5 continues to produce the best ballspeeds for me, although the Cobra L4V was close.

The one thing with the Callys is that they are not particularly easy to reshaft. I've done it a number of times but it certainly is not nearly as easy as most, so its something to keep in mind if reshafting is a consideration for you.

For those that recommend the FT 3 my experience is the FT 5 is superior in all respects i.e. distance, sound, forgivness and accuracy.

I've tried this club with probably 10 or 12 different shafts just for the fun of experimenting and there can be some SIGNIFICANT differences in results. I would definitely urge you to find an opti-fit cart and have some fun.

For most of last year I played the club with a Speeder 652 but am now using a Fuji Rombax. Tried it with several different Speeders, Mits BB, Matix Altus, F7M2, Code 6, and several other high performance shafts. The one shaft I haven't yet tried and which many have reported some very good success is the VS Proto. It really can take some time to find the right shaft for your needs. When you do find the right combo though, the FT 5 is a cannon.

[krutoi]

FT-3 tour with NVS shaft was about 10 yards longer for me. Otherwise, I didn't see any difference.

[SwingMan]

If you're buying and want to save, try www.callawaypreowned.com for a 30 day 100% money back guarantee on certified clubs. That way you can try a combo -- if it doesn't deliver, send it back. Like new means new.

 

Demoed a 10 and 10.5 Tour -- the Tour had the 360 Regular flex shaft -- since the club has a 350 tip, for some reason, I prefer the regular over the stiff.

 

Tried a Burner TP against the Tour in an LM and the Cally had slightly better ballspeed.

 

I like the sound -- a low pitch and the feel is more solid/substantial whereas the TM drivers ping/trampoline the ball out there.

 

Good luck -- I'll have to take in a demo day and the Opti-Fit.

[touch]

I dropped my FT-5 too.

 

So did I after a season of use, and it was a 9.5 Tour with the 360 E stiff shaft.

My Hi Bore Xl goes straighter and quite a bit longer.

The FT-5 driver was good, the Cleveland is great.

[SwingMan]

Personally, I think FT-5 and FT-i drivers are tough to fit. It's the shafts and the 350 tip that do it for me. Supposedly the Fuji 360 is low to med launch and spin with a high bend point. To me that means the head must launch high and have at least medium spin. So one ought to keep the stock shaft or an aftermarket shaft that mimics the stock shaft if the stock setup worked for them; or alter the choice depending on what the stock setup is doing for them.

 

Still evaluating a stock setup.

[cmusic]

I got my FT-5 9 deg draw last year with a Fuji E-360 stiff. Maybe 3 out of 10 shots went straight and long but the others were slices. The E360 simply did not fit my swing. Then I reshafted it with a V2 65 stiff and it was straight as a laser but I lost 10-20 yards. I switched the V2 65 stiff out for a V2 75 reg hoping to regain the distance. Did not work. Last month I reshafted again with a DVS 60S and hit mostly low hooks.

 

Last Friday I was playing with a friend with a 9.5 deg Superquad with the stock 65 gram stiff shaft. On most of the driving holes I was hitting two balls to compare. Out of about 7 or 8 times I hit both drivers I prefered the SuperQuad just about every time. The FT-5 with the DVS was within 10 yards shorter or longer of the Superquad every time but I hit every fairway with the Superquad. I only hit 3 fairways with the FT-5/DVS combo.

 

I'm a Callaway fan but yesterday I ordered a Superquad for myself.

[SwingMan]

I got my FT-5 9 deg draw last year with a Fuji E-360 stiff. Maybe 3 out of 10 shots went straight and long but the others were slices. The E360 simply did not fit my swing. Then I reshafted it with a V2 65 stiff and it was straight as a laser but I lost 10-20 yards. I switched the V2 65 stiff out for a V2 75 reg hoping to regain the distance. Did not work. Last month I reshafted again with a DVS 60S and hit mostly low hooks.

 

Last Friday I was playing with a friend with a 9.5 deg Superquad with the stock 65 gram stiff shaft. On most of the driving holes I was hitting two balls to compare. Out of about 7 or 8 times I hit both drivers I prefered the SuperQuad just about every time. The FT-5 with the DVS was within 10 yards shorter or longer of the Superquad every time but I hit every fairway with the Superquad. I only hit 3 fairways with the FT-5/DVS combo.

 

I'm a Callaway fan but yesterday I ordered a Superquad for myself.

 

 

That's what I was talking about -- It's a tough fit.

 

I normally take a stock stiff in an OEM setup -- but the 360 in a Cally is a real 360 with a 350 tip -- it sets up fairly stiff to me and doesn't feel great at contact. On the other hand, I took a 360 regular in a demo and it feels great at contact and goes straight.

 

This is a high spin head (acc to Callaway) - a DVS with an active tip, and a V2 launch well -- the 360 is a low to medium launch and spin shaft with a medium to high bend point. So the two shafts you installed were factors in your loss of distance - they probably had excessive spin which led to a loss of distance.

 

If I put another shaft in the Cally other than a Fuji, it would probably be a Matrix XCON -- a high launch shaft with a stiff tip and low spin -- it fits more into what Cally was thinking when they went with the Fuji 360 shaft. When manufacturers install a shaft, I think they do want to match the shaft with the head to give you performance. When you install a shaft that goes against the engineering in the head, you're going to have issues.

[NYGOLF]

You have to try the Opti Fit to get the right shaft. I tried about 10 shafts, found that the Aldila NVS worked best for me.

 

Once the shaft is set, the FT-5 is a cannon!

 

PS. If you don't hit it right (heel or toe), you get the nasty sound. Otherwise its not a bad sound at all... Just a word to offset the noise complainers...

[Tom Lerch]

I have an FT-5 and I am on my third and final shaft. I think I found it. (Diamana Blue Board S83) Like others have said, the FT-5 is a tough fit but I am hitting bombs now. I don't think you can go wrong with an FT-5 head you just gotta get the shaft right.

[cbjuhr]

Get fit properly for an FT5 and it will perform period. The club produces amazing ballspeeds relative to the competition so if you are looking for the most distance from an average swing you can't go wrong. The members who said they were not getting good distance were probably hitting setups that were not optimized for their swing.

 

That being said if you don't like the look or feel of the FT-5 move on to another driver as looks, feel and confidence should trump distance everytime.

[etour]

I went callaway uk got fit fo a ft 5 8.5 e370 stiff . the sound , the look , the feel i thought was good even r510 df like ( one of my favourite drivers ) , I could see some thing was not quite right to me i thought the ball was not carrying enough compaired to what i was used too , i like to work the ball - high, low ,draw, fade to me ft 5 is a point and shoot club etc , droped it about 3 wks ago my ft3 lcg arrived today will be built tomorrow i have been useing a friend of mines 8.5 lcg much better much better just my 2 c

stu

[herkyjerk]

Why would you need to be talked out of a driver? It's all about fitting. kind of like the guy who couldn't hit an FT-5 & then gained 30 yards on his next club? How ill-fit was that FT-5? This weekend I hit my buddy's Cobra Comp X 8.5* with an Accra 75X that felt like a telephone pole. I could hit nothing but low cutters with it. Does that mean Cobra's are inferior to my driver? No, it wasn't an ideal fit for me, he bombs that thing. If you like your LM data grab the club. If not don't. I'm sure you will find that the number of positive reviews on the FT-5 dwarf the negative ones, but it's all about finding your fit.

[NYGOLF]

It's not like you're contemplating buying a scooter (fun to ride, but don't want to be seen by your friends). Why do you need to be talked out of an FT-5, it's one of THE BEST drivers out there, and has been for the past 2 years...

[jg1166]

I have an FT-5 9.5 and I would agree with the shaft issue. I went and used the ptifit Cart a couple of times before I decided on the shaft. Ironically I was looking at getting away from the UST V2 shaft I had in my FT-3 but in the end the best fir for my was V2 75 stiff.

 

I would recommend that you get fitted for the driver.

[flyhighandlong]

FT-5 rocks, I have a FT-5 8.5* 757 X, I kill this thing, it goes farther than any driver I have hit!!!!!!!