Phil cracks his 3W

[newtogolf]

Phil cracked his 3w during the 3rd round, but didn't have another 3w so he put the protoype 2i that he hit 275 yards with last tournament.  I'm pretty surprised that a sponsored pro wouldn't have  replacement clubs with him.  Even if he didn't travel with spare woods, you'd think Callaway would be able to supply one rather than force him to put his prototype 2i back into play.

Why is he destroying so many woods?  Not good for Callaway PR.

[jmanbooyaa]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Phil cracked his 3w during the 3rd round,

Why is he destroying so many woods?  Not good for Callaway PR.

Didn't he just crack a driver last month at a tourney?

[B of H]

everyone who swings at the ball 110mph or more and plays competitively has cracked a driver or 3 wood multiple times.  I've cracked at least 2 drivers and a 3 wood that I can think of.  I cracked an x-tour driver a few years go for instance and callaway replaced it for free.

[ZEUS]

I agree with newtogolf. This has to be a disaster to Callaway. Don't they have tour vans with equipment in there? I have felt that the Calllaway name had taken a back seat to some hotter products in the last couple years but now this has to really hurt.

[boogielicious]

Maybe Phil wasn't comfortable playing with a new 3w without having significant range time with it.

[Bigtank]

I think Callaway Irons are great.....their woods are a whole other story.  They have had issues with cracks or seperation between composite materials for years.  Glue just doesnt hold up to extreme enviroments and pressures like a weld.

[B of H]

ftr I broke a brand new titleist 910D today a day after posting in this thread.  (sweet irony)  :)

[ERdiesel]

Originally Posted by B of H

ftr I broke a brand new titleist 910D today a day after posting in this thread.  (sweet irony)  :)

Wait, let me guess, you're one of them "guys" that consistently drives the ball over 300 yards right?  :)

But in all seriousness, when you break a driver, what happens?  Does the head fly off endangering those around you or is it just a crack that develops but no separation of parts?  Just curious since it has never happened to me and i haven't seen it either ever on the course or the range.

[saevel25]

My swing is above 110, i never cracked an driver or 3-wood before.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by saevel25

My swing is above 110, i never cracked an driver or 3-wood before.

Ditto.

I did put some marks on the face of my G10 driver and Launcher 3-wood while playing a course with heavily sanded tee boxes. They look like a cracked windshield (or the "explosive materials" WHMIS label) but the guys at Golf Town say that's just cosmetic and based on distances, they're right.

[Steel]

I have broken 2 Taylor's and 3 Callaway's, Taylor didn't warranty my last driver, so I stopped buying them.  I broke 2 great big Bertha's, and recently broke my FT Tour 9.5, all were warrantied by Callaway.  I think main difference is how many range balls you hit, I hit a lot of range balls with the driver and those things are like hitting rock's, my SS is around 100-110.  I love my Callaway Drivers, I would not hit anything else at this point in time, great customer service, nice to have an open face, almost everything else looks closed to me

[1par2win]

Originally Posted by Steel

I have broken 2 Taylor's and 3 Callaway's, Taylor didn't warranty my last driver, so I stopped buying them.  I broke 2 great big Bertha's, and recently broke my FT Tour 9.5, all were warrantied by Callaway.  I think main difference is how many range balls you hit, I hit a lot of range balls with the driver and those things are like hitting rock's, my SS is around 100-110.  I love my Callaway Drivers, I would not hit anything else at this point in time, great customer service, nice to have an open face, almost everything else looks closed to me

I recall a discussion over the winter about hitting frozen range balls and the possible damage to a driver. The thread is linked below.

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/43214/for-those-in-the-great-white-north-danger-hitting-frozen-range-balls-with-high-driver

When I wrote to Titleist asking about possible damage and I recieved the reply below. I believe most damage in driver heads are caused by mfg defects (welds, glue, ect) and not the material properties found in modern heads. I doubt pounding balls at a range would do any serious damage but stranger things have happened so I don't discount it entirely.

"Must be cold in Minnesota :)  I posed your question to our R and D group and here's what they had to say.  One caveat is that if you hit way off center on the club face, it is possible to damage the welding.

At the swing speeds under 120 mph it shouldn't damage the clubs.  Our testing speeds for our air cannon are significantly higher than their swing speeds and we use a fairly hard golf ball.
After a quick discussion with our research group and materials experts we agreed they are much more likely to damage the golf ball than the club face.

So there you have it.  Practice away!"

Sincerely,
Cathi

Cathi Donahoo
Team Titleist
cathi_donahoo@acushnetgolf.com
1(888) TITLEIST

[colin007]

i have a driver SS between 117 and 122 and have never cracked a face.

[kpaulhus]

I broke a Callaway Big Bertha off at the hosel by hitting a Rock Flite ball back in Highschool......but I have never had any issues with clubs breaking under normal use. I have seen 4 or 5 guys at the range break the hosel of their irons by hitting off of the mats...

[B of H]

Originally Posted by ERdiesel

Wait, let me guess, you're one of them "guys" that consistently drives the ball over 300 yards right?  :)

But in all seriousness, when you break a driver, what happens?  Does the head fly off endangering those around you or is it just a crack that develops but no separation of parts?  Just curious since it has never happened to me and i haven't seen it either ever on the course or the range.

well when i've cracked faces it's just a sound and feel thing.  I haven't done that in a long time (since i played competitively) but I remember hitting one a few times before I realized something had changed.  This sunday the driver felt funny so I kept it in the bag all day (hit about 5 drivers off the deck the day before on the range for fun which may have damaged the shaft end etc...) but decided to hit it on 18 and the head flew off after impact.  the ball only went about 230 in the right rough and the head was 20 yards off the tee box to the left about 15 feet.

I hit it about 275 carry i'd guess.  My swing speed is about 112 on a stock swing.  If I really go after it it might be 115.

[B of H]

Originally Posted by colin007

i have a driver SS between 117 and 122 and have never cracked a face.

I'm going to take a wild guess that:

a) you don't hit it on the same part of the face almost every time

b) you don't hit 100+ range balls a day and play 4+times a week for 9 or more months a year.

when I said 'competitive' that is what I meant...someone who plays golf competitively at a high level and devotes that amount of time to the game.  sorry for the confusion.

[1par2win]

Originally Posted by B of H

I'm going to take a wild guess that:

a) you don't hit it on the same part of the face almost every time

b) you don't hit 100+ range balls a day and play 4+times a week for 9 or more months a year.

when I said 'competitive' that is what I meant...someone who plays golf competitively at a high level and devotes that amount of time to the game.  sorry for the confusion.

Actually according to Titleist your much more likely to damage a driver if you hit off center than hitting the sweet spot. So if your busting several clubs it's not because your hitting it pure.

[B of H]

Originally Posted by 1par2win

Actually according to Titleist your much more likely to damage a driver if you hit off center than hitting the sweet spot. So if your busting several clubs it's not because your hitting it pure.

I cracked them in the center of the face, right in the wear mark/impact area pattern.  The x-tour's crack was just above center of the face and was between two grooves.  You think phil is mis-hitting his woods and that is why he cracks them?  ;)  I don't mis-hit the ball very often, especially back in hs/college.

The x-tour is the only one that cracked in a relatively short period of time with limited use.  I'd had it for a few months and had probably hit less than 1000 range balls with it.

edit: the other ones I cracked that I remember were a 975D titleist and a taylor made system 2 (3wood), both of those had been used almost daily for over a year.