Callaway Announces Big Bertha Alpha 815 Series

At the beginning of 2014, Callaway Golf brought back an old favorite with the reintroduction of an old favorite; the Big Bertha. The driver came in two different versions (a standard Big Bertha and the Alpha) and both were received well. Callaway worked hard on these clubs to create a club that was both forgiving and long, and in the eyes of many, they did just that. Recently, they followed up with the release of the Big Bertha V Series; which wasn’t an update to the Big Bertha line so much as it was a replacement of last years FT Optiforce line. Those clubs were meant to be lighter and faster than a typical driver and help those that needed it achieve higher club head speed. Now, the company has the true update to Big Bertha and Big Bertha Alpha, and it is the Big Bertha Alpha 815.

Like the previous Big Bertha, the Alpha 815 clubs come in two different versions; whereas before there was a standard and the Alpha, this time there is the Alpha 8115 and the Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond Driver (Alpha 815 DD). According to Callaway, the Alpha 815 marks a change in drivers as it gives players the option of forgiveness and low spin in the same club; something that isn’t often seen.

Callaway sums up the new Alpha 815 Driver like this, “Long distance for everyone through low spin and forgiveness.” The question is, how was the company able to achieve to seemingly opposing features int he same club. Possibly the single biggest factor in the club is the Gravity core. While many clubs on the market today allow for the user to make adjustments to the clubs center of gravity through the use of moveable weights, that only allows the CG to be shifted from side to side, the gravity core, which is found on the sole in the center allows the golfer to change the clubs vertical center of gravity by flipping the core one way or the other. Doing this allows the golfer to optimize the ball speed location to wherever they normally hit the ball off the face; in other words if they tend to hit the ball low on the face, the Gravity Core allows for the sweet spot to be moved down, or vice versa for if you tend to hit higher on the face.

The club also features a multi material construction; by using lighter materials to compose the crown and an ultra thin face, engineers were then able to reallocate that weight to create a low CG. Callaway’s adjustability has also come a long way from its initial introduction and the current version of the OptiFit shaft (which we first saw with the FT Optiforce) allows the golfer to choose from a combination of eight different loft (-1, S, +1, +2) and lie angel (draw or neutral) settings. In addition to the available hosel settings, the club as adjustable heel and toe weights (1g and 7g) that allow further adjustability.

While the Big Bertha Alpha 815 would be a great driver for pretty much anybody according to the company, the realize that truly skilled player could use something that spins even less, and that is where the Alpha 815 DD comes into play. Just as ski slopes rated as a “double black diamond” are for experts only, the Alpha 815 DD is only for those who are at the top of the game. If you are a golfer who tends to hit the ball all over the face, this is not the club for you. Like the standard Alpha 815, the club is constructed using a multi material design that allows for a thinner face; and just as before all that saved weight is then redistributed to create a low CG location. Also, like its more forgiving counterpart, the Alpha 815 DD continues the use of the Gravity Core allowing for 3D CG adjustment; however, on the DD, the up is even more up and the down even more down according to the company. The club also utilizes the OptiFit Technologies allowing for the same combinations as the standard as well as 1g and 5g heel and toe weights. As should be expected, the 815 DD also sports a deeper face and a smaller footprint which is preferred among better players.

The standard version of the club comes in 9°, 10.5°, and 12° models while the DD comes drops the high lofted offering. Shaft gurus will love the club for it’s available stock shafts. The Alpha 815 has the options of the Fujikura 53g Speeder Motore 564 as the stock offering, with the Alpha 815 DD offers the Aldila Rogue 60 or the new Matrix Ozik Black Tie 70. However, Callaway offers a number of different shafts instead, all for no available charge. Those shafts are:

Mitsubishi Bassara 52
Matrix Ozik White Tie 50
Aldila Rogue 60
Matrix Ozik Black Tie 70
Fujikura Motore Speeder 565
Fujikura Motore Speeder 665
Fujikura Motore Speeder 765
New Mitsubishi Diamana 62
Matrix Ozik Red Tie 60
Fubuki ZT 60
Fubuki Z 50
Aldila Tour Green
Mitsubishi Bassara 42

These clubs will be available starting on November 14 with retail prices of $449.99 for the Alpha 815 and $499.99 for the Alpha 815 DD.