X2 Hot 3Deep - face has caved in...

Hi all,

Don't know if anyone's ever had this, but over Christmas I was hitting some range balls with my 3deep and the face cracked right the way down the middle. Frustrated, I sent Callaway an email, and to give them their due, they were brilliant, immediately sending out a brand new one. Took that one out to the range this morning and this happened:

I'm in the process of contacting Callaway again - I imagine this must be a club defect. I mean, I swing it hard, but not THAT hard!

Out of curiosity, what was the temperature when you were on the range? This has been an (until now) irrational fear of mine when hitting range balls that've been in freezing temps overnight and with a club in air temps around or below freezing.

Is that a crack on the crown as well?

Not particularly warm certainly, but the balls weren't that cold. I've certainly hit in that weather before, and the driver was fine. Put it this way, I know it's an issue when it's really cold, but I wouldn't have expected a problem this morning.

Yep, properly exploded out through the back of the club as well!

Yeah, I did the same - I reckon I'll ask to see if I can pay a little more and have them ship me a Bertha fairway or something similar. Will do a bit of research first...!

I've seen irons and wedges (and had one wedge myself) where the face has mushroomed out to the heel and toe a bit and that's what I expected when I saw the thread title. Your club appears to have just exploded in your hands! I'm glad you didn't get hit with any shrapnel from it!

I've never had anything like that happen previously. Did it happen on a center-face strike, or was it a mis-hit that did the club in? I'm curious to know about the circumstances around this, since it seems to be a fairly big product flaw that Callaway has missed.

I can attest that, playing in -2 weather, I haven't broken a club before with a fast swing speed hitting range balls or my own. The one thing you have to be careful about though is hitting the frozen ground really hard/solidly. My uncle snapped two shafts in only a few swings (he had a backup driver in his trunk) when he did that on a very cold day with frozen ground. You do have to hit the ground pretty darn hard for it to happen though.

About as close to centre as I could assume (from a 12 handicap) and yeah, it was pretty spectacular... The previous few shots had been fine and it was carrying the usual distance, although I didn't like the shaft (Aldila Tour Green) as much as the previous one (Fubuki) so was trying to move through it a bit quicker. It was pretty chilly but not freezing - I certainly wouldn't have expected it to be club-damaging weather. The problem is, I really like the club and had had no problem with the previous one for about 6 months - might just be one that doesn't come out in Winter!

Well, my neighbor caved his 3 hybrid at the driving range. He's a very good player, too. I cracked the face on a driver due to metal fatigue due to hitting it too much at the range last summer. You could see the hairline crack and it made a strange sound when I hit a ball. It's why I bought a "beater" to hit at the range and keep my good Bertha at home for play. I will not hit those range rocks with my Bertha, because unlike professional golfers, I have to buy my clubs when they go out of warranty.

Never seen a driver face broken in that way either.  Sorry!  That said, I used to play Callaway clubs during the time their shafts were breaking 1/2" above the insert point to the club head.  They reshafted my driver, 4-wood and 7-wood (all broke) through a dealer at no cost and no questions asked.

I like the way club manufacturers stand behind their products and do right by customers when something fails.

What's crazy is that, if I'm reading your post correctly, this happened TWICE?  Wow!!!

dave

That is scarey looking

I know - very frustrating as I'd just received the club that morning! The previous break was less dramatic - see below. Based on the line of break, I'd say impact was a bit heel-y, but nothing too horrific - I've certainly hit much worse!

Got a response from Callaway today that they're sending me another new club - very typical of them; classy company. In the end, I've decided not to go for a Bertha, having tried the Titleist 915F at the range, I've got a fitting for that on Wednesday - much as I loved the 3deep, I won't be able to shake the feeling that it'll be touch and go in colder weather.

That's great that they're willing to replace it twice. I figured most companies would chalk it up to user error at that point.

Yeah, it is - I can only guess that they know it's a possibility. Having chatted with the pro at my club, he reckons it's more and more likely the thinner/springier they make the faces and they just take the hit on the occasional product that breaks. I genuinely have nothing bad to say about the club or Callaway, I loved the 3deep, but I wouldn't be able to get the possibility of it breaking again out of my head if I gamed the new one!