Hit the Cally 454 Today

[iacas]

Took a 9° Firm Cally 454 out today. First thing I noticed (after two low hosel fades) was that the ball comes out pretty close to its stated loft, unlike previous Cally clubs (where players who used 9.5° drivers from Titleist or TaylorMade had to get 10 or even 11s from Callaway). The second was that I couldn't draw the ball at all. The closest I could come was a dead straight ball that fell a yard or two to the right at the end.

The ball didn't seem to come off nearly as "hot" as from my 983K, but I was keeping it straight. A side by side comparison and a lot more playtesting (and some launch monitor work) are required before the full review is ready.

I thought it'd be tough to get used to, the whole "metal balloon on a stick" look, but after I started teeing the ball up a bit higher, I started making good contact.

[mediaguru]

I tried that too a few days ago. I reeaaally had to tee it high. Did you not feel a huge difference at impact with that? It was very "hard" feeling to me. It went far. I did draw it but also hit some high fades which arent my normal shot.

[Donald MacKenzie]

My experience with the 454 is similar to the above. The ball just wanted to go straight, maybe with a slight fade at the end. With the stock firm shaft and 10 degrees of loft, I could go at it pretty hard and never lost one left.

I think the no-hosel design makes Callaway drivers look even bigger and more bulbous than a more traditionally designed super-oversize driver. Hard to believe that a couple years ago the conventional wisdom was that only hackers would want a 400cc-plus driver. It's easy to get used to them when you're launching them long and straight!