I broke two drivers in 5 swings.

So yesterday, I head over to the PGA Tour Superstore and proceed to test out some Callaway Drivers.  The first one was a FT Tour Neutral 9.5 Loft.

After the first two hits, one went straight but apparently ballooned on the virtual monitor ended up at 156 yards, and the second slicing far right about 199 yards.

I hit a third one where the head is torn off the shaft right where it connects. I believe its the "ferrule"?

The store rep says that "it happens" and said it will need to be shipped back to Callaway.

He grabs a FT-iz tour for me and told me to hit with it.  So on the first shot with it, it breaks at the exact same spot.

Anyone here have this kind of experience with Callaway Drivers in general? or is this because of a bad swing?

Note, I have been playing with the R9 460 and R9 Supertri on a normal basis and have not had these issues.

I've read it a lot in the past couple days, but I've never seen it. I do have an old Callaway Hawkeye Pro (ebay special) that has slight rattle in the head, but it still goes a mile so I kept it. I'm waiting for my X-Tour to break (based on internet feedback) and the FT iz 2-hybrid my wife just bought me is going to be under close scrutiny!

ask phil mickelson..

If it's the shaft that is breaking, I'd believe that happens more often than they'd want to admit (any mfr, for that matter).  Graphite shafts are made up of tiny strands of wire-like carbon fiber material and if the hosel of the club has any imperfection/burr that starts a slice on the outside strands?  The rest of the shaft, at that point of stress, won't take too long to fail.

My guess is you happened to come across a fluke of two defective clubheads, with burrs that started cutting into the shafts several hits before you got your hands on the clubs.

FWIW, it's also why it is good idea to know exactly what you are doing if you are re-gripping graphite shaft clubs.  You can't just take a box-cutter or X-acto knife and start slicing right down the middle of a grip like you would on a steel shafted club.  Without a curled/inverted blade, you'll cut right through the graphite strands and ruin the shaft.

Graphite shafts are made of graphite and epoxy, not carbon fiber. Reason they cut easy is neither graphite nor epoxy is very hard. If for whatever reason the epoxy becomes too brittle or their is simply a deficiency in the shaft where the ratio of graphite to epoxy is not correct they break apart.

Said so definitively, and yet not correct.    Graphite is a crystallized form of carbon, so graphite IS carbon.    Manufacturers of shafts and other prepreg materials describe their graphite composite construction as carbon fiber - here are some quotes from manufacturers about their shaft construction:

• Fujikura Blur:    "...a complex combination of new and revolutionary carbon print...", and "...thinnest and lightest spread tow carbon interweave"
• Aldila:   "...through the use of an internal carbon-fiber rib system"
• UST Mamiya:    "...a commitment to carbon fiber material and resin development", and "...use extremely thin, low resin, carbon fiber prepreg materials"
• Penley:   "...the company roll-wraps its clubs exclusively with aerospace-grade, unidirectional 12K carbon / epoxy prepreg tape, typically made with high-modulus, PAN-based carbon fiber "

Um.... no.  Have you ever cut a graphite shaft?  I have, and they are made from carbon fiber material.  You have to cut them with an abrasive blade to keep from ripping out the threads and destroying the shaft.   It's the layering and wind angles of the fibers that partly make for different shaft properties.

Thanks guys, I knew I wasn't crazy.  Last time I saw a busted graphite shaft, the fibers were clearly visible.

Graphite rods (like maybe electrodes) may be a combo of powder and epoxy, but I don't think I'd want to hit a golf ball with a club shafted with one.....SNNNNNAAAAP!

Well on  a second look we are both kind of right...

"Graphite shafts start out as successive layers of graphite fibers held together by a resin (not unlike a form of epoxy) that is called a “binder” material. These sheets of graphite fiber-plus-binder material are called 'pre-preg.'"

"These pre-preg sheets of graphite-plus-binder are tightly wrapped around a solid steel forming mandrel."

"The shafts are then put into special ovens whose heat causes the binder material to slowly “melt,” fusing all the pre-preg layers together into one contiguous tube of graphite"

So yes they are made form carbon fiber, yes they are made from epoxy, and yes they are made from graphite.

Here's what they look like when they break:

Not a great pic, but you can kind of make out the spiraling of the fibers/laminate.

Unlucky me I guess. It kinda looks like that picture but the spiraling out was much more severe on both the shafts.

I had almost that exact experience with a Callaway driver when I first started.  I'm a pretty strong guy, so that, plus I think I actually hit the ball on the shaft sent it flying.  Plus, it was a demo club so it might have been cracked.  Compare the Callaways around the neck to Titleist drivers and you think the Titleist's are much more solid there.