Callaway FT-9 and FT-9 Tour

GregP · August 14, 2009

Just put the FT-9 tour, 10.5 in play this morning and I hit every single fairway I used driver on! Played a very tough course off the tee. Some holes were real narrow, some had hazards and bunkers in driver landing areas, and some were blind. I had a great day striking the ball overall so I have to take that into account, hit 7 drivers, 5 three woods and 2 rescues on the 14 par 4's and 5s. I'm a legitimate 7 handicap and shot a 1 over 73 on a 72.2 / 136 setup.

I have been playing a Titleist 905R with an X Stiff UST Axiv Core and have been 50/50 with it this year. Really fighting hooks with it, and other times, just smoke it. I am pretty sure the torque is too high with this setup compared to the V2. I put the FT-9 in play in search of consistency. I am also a shaft junkie and very rarely play any stock shaft in any club I have, so that was also another oddity - playing the Zcom 65 Stiff, not even X stiff.

I really focused on a smooth tempo and just basically hit every ball exactly as I wanted. I shaped two right to left, one left to right, one higher flight to clear a dogleg corner, and 3 just straight out trajectories. I went after one in particular on a par 5 and just absolutely smoked it!

Here's what I found with this club - in 10.5 degrees, it flies lower than any other 10.5 degree driver I have ever hit. It is a much more boring trajectory, even with the stock shaft. The conditions were fairly wet this morning as I teed off at 6:50 a.m., so I can't comment on the roll, but in normal to dry conditions, I am sure this thing goes pretty well once it hits the turf wit hthe lower ball flight. I was definitely as long as my beloved 905R with it's current setup, just the same long on every tee shot.

Compared to the 909 D2, as mac2lad asked above, I think it is very similar in stock - probably with the Matrix Shaft. I recently hit the 909 D2 with the real Diamana Whiteboard 73 X stiff and I pummeled that thing consistently long. When I want to spend $600, that will be the setup. In the meantime, I am putting a new V2 back in my 905R in X stiff with 2.2 degrees of torque to stop the hooks and see what happens compared to the FT-9 Tour.

The Tour works for me, and though I am most likely going to keep it stock, I can't help but think that this club may be at another level still if I paired it with a Fubuki 73 X stiff. Everyone I know that has hit the FT-9 Tour with the real Fubuki rave about it.

ph00ny · August 27, 2009

holy smokes

i finally got my driver yesterday (ft-9 tour imix head in 8.5 degree with fubuki 63 x) and got a chance to take it out to the range tonight. I can't confirm the distance but the ball seems to fly much further than my sq 460. Also the ball flight is much lower just the way i want it and shaft is ridiculously smooth. I could say was wow and i had a huge grin on my face the entire night. I did pull a few shots and mishit slightly but the balls went ridiculously far

I can wait to try this out on the course.

traderbc · September 16, 2009

Just purchased from an old buddy(soon to be my best man) and he is shipping today. My ss is approx 95. Is this a good combo? My driver is my hardest club to hit. If I make the fairway my GIR is usually 90% but I cant seem to find a driver to call my honey. I paid $100 for this club and seems like a great deal.<h1 class="vi-is1-titleH1">[size=2]Callaway FT-9 Tour 9.5 w/ GD Speed Axis Shaft Stiff. 46" that I will cut down to 44.5"
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Any thoughts reviews on this combo. I usually hit a tour burner 10.5/ 60g Fujikura shaft but shouldn't notice much difference??? Please give thoughts on what you think of this setup.What big difference will I notice in by cutting down to 45.5"?

traderbc · September 21, 2009

anyone? How much lead tape will I need if I cut a 46" GD Speed Axis shaft down 45" and want to keep swing weight at spec D3 on the FT9-Tour? ????

Thanks

ph00ny · September 21, 2009

[quote name='traderbc' post='1964320' date='Sep 21 2009, 06:34 PM']anyone? How much lead tape will I need if I cut a 46" GD Speed Axis shaft down 45" and want to keep swing weight at spec D3 on the FT9-Tour? ????

Thanks[/quote]

[url="http://www.callawaygolf.com/Global/en-US/Products/Clubs/Drivers/FT-9Driver/Specifications.html"]http://www.callawaygolf.com/Global/en-US/P...ifications.html[/url]

according to callaway, FT-9 tour head with 45" z-com shaft setup is at d3 swing weight

traderbc · September 21, 2009

Yep thats what I said.... But my question is does anyone know how light it will get cutting off an inch at butt end? Is it bet to create the lost swingweight with tungsten powder or????

Thanks

rkangrah · September 4, 2011

A couple days ago, I built myself a Callaway FT-9 11 degree loft with Aldila VS proto shaft. The first time I used this driver on the course, 7 out of 7 tee shots were in the fairway. Definitely a very good day on my driving accuracy. 100% driving accuracy you would say. This driver is a fairway seeker demon.

I also like the ball flight. Although I got the 11 degree driver, the ball flight is penetrating and not ballooning. The shaft maybe the reason but the head is a strong factor too.

This driver is very forgiving too. I look at the size of the clubface and I think I couldn't miss a shot with a clubface like this. It's not too wide or too big like Nike Sumo has but it's big enough for you to hit.

I would definitely keep this driver until Callaway release the next FT version. Thanks Callaway!!

spires1020 · September 25, 2011

Went from an FT-5 Tour 9.5 with a Fujikura E360 Fit-On S-Flex shaft to an FT-9 Tour 9.5 I-MIX with a Fujikura E360 Fit-On E360 X-Flex, was not real impressed with the results. The higher head weight of the FT-9 I-MIX head just plays too different from a regular S2H2 hosel set-up. I tipped the X-Flex a 1/2" due to my concerns about the extra head weight, but this did not help as much as I would've hoped and that extra head weight really drops down the flex of the shaft a notch. Unfortunately, shaft was not long enough to tip it anymore or I would try another 1/2" and see what would happen.

I put the stock Fujikura ZCOM Pro65 back in the FT-9 and it helped some, avergage drives were in the 270-300 range, but felt like I really had to nail it to get over 300. With the FT-5, it seemed like every drive would go at least 300.

Could be just the extra weight from the I-MIX head throwing everything off, but I'll never know because I wish I had never gotten rid of the FT-5 and it looks like I'll be going back ASAP.