TST Visits Callaway (Ely Callaway Performance Center) Big Bertha, X2 Hot, Apex Irons Pics and Videos

[mvmac]

Had a great time at Callaway with @tristanhilton85 .  Enjoy the pics of the 2014 line and the videos of Tristan and I testing the equipment.

Want to thank Nick Arther for spending the day with us and educating us on the latest and greatest from Callaway. They've some awesome stuff this year!  If you're regular on the site you may have heard terms like gear effect, spin loft, spin axis.  If these are new to you or you need a refresher I would recommend checking out these videos with Nick, lots of good info.

[boil3rmak3r]

I'm jealous. In one of the videos, he said they tried to make the clubs (not sure which ones) less draw bias. I am glad to hear that. So, what do you two think? My clubs are older and I've been toying with the idea of getting new irons. The Apex really interest me... How did they feel?

[cipher]

Great stuff guys, thanks for sharing that!

[Stretch]

Mike, did you get to hit the BB Alpha? Thoughts?

[Hammer 4]

Mike the Machine...

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

[tristanhilton85]

It was a blast being able to be out there and hit all of the new gear. The X2 Hot Pro Irons look really good, even better than last year's version IMO. I also really liked both the Apex and Apex Pro irons. The Big Berth driver was the best driver they had IMO, but the others were also nice, just didn't fit my swing as well. There are a lot of really cool ideas in the Alpha and how so many things can be adjusted... unfortunately, it just didn't fit me well... even with the Gravity Core in it's highest spin setting, I wasn't getting enough spin. Overall, I was very impressed with everything they had there and especially by Nick; the dude really knows his stuff.

[Golfingdad]

It was a blast being able to be out there and hit all of the new gear. The X2 Hot Pro Irons look really good, even better than last year's version IMO. I also really liked both the Apex and Apex Pro irons. The Big Berth driver was the best driver they had IMO, but the others were also nice, just didn't fit my swing as well. There are a lot of really cool ideas in the Alpha and how so many things can be adjusted... unfortunately, it just didn't fit me well... even with the Gravity Core in it's highest spin setting, I wasn't getting enough spin. Overall, I was very impressed with everything they had there and especially by Nick; the dude really knows his stuff.

Lucky!!!!!!!  Those Apex (Pro??) irons look really nice!  What is the Alpha?  Have they scrapped the RazrFit from the lineup?

Hey, silly question here:  Is it called the "X two hot?"  Or is it the "X hot two ?"  As a math person, the logo kinda makes me want to say "X hot squared ."

[mvmac]

I'm jealous. In one of the videos, he said they tried to make the clubs (not sure which ones) less draw bias. I am glad to hear that.

So, what do you two think? My clubs are older and I've been toying with the idea of getting new irons. The Apex really interest me... How did they feel?

I really liked the Apex irons.  If you can go hit them, sound is a little loud but they perform very well.  High launch and pretty long, fast face and stronger lofts (compared to most forged irons).  Basically what Henrik Stenson used last year, Japanese version called Legacy.

Mike, did you get to hit the BB Alpha? Thoughts?

Kind of like Tristan, it was producing spin numbers that were too low.  I really liked the head and the sound/feel.  Great looking club.

Lucky!!!!!!!  Those Apex (Pro??) irons look really nice!  What is the Alpha?  Have they scrapped the RazrFit from the lineup?

Yeah no more Razr FIt, Big Bertha now.  Alpha is the one with the gravity core, change change spin characteristics.  BB is a high launch moderate spin driver, BB Alpha is their high launch low spin version.  Alpha  has a more compact look, smaller "footprint", think XHot Pro vs standard XHot.

Hey, silly question here:  Is it called the "X two hot?"  Or is it the "X hot two?"  As a math person, the logo kinda makes me want to say "X hot squared."

lol I actually posted the thread with it saying "XHot 2" then checked it and saw it's actually "X2 Hot".

[Jakester23]

I was wondering what you thought of the bertha compared to the SLDR? Im under the impression that the bertha iskinda the competition to the SLDR.

[mvmac]

I was wondering what you thought of the bertha compared to the SLDR? Im under the impression that the bertha iskinda the competition to the SLDR.

BB was pretty solid.  I would say the sliding weight feature gives you a greater range of "movability" than the SLDR and also doesn't have the weight close to the face like the SLDR.  Which is why TM is talking about going up a degree in loft.  BB is low CG, high MOI and the sliding weight does make a little bit of difference with changing the COG location, at least with my experience.  Haven't hit the SLDR much, not saying one is better than the other, just describing the different designs.

Forgot to say this before, I really liked the ball speeds off mis hits.  I hit some off the heel and didn't really lose much speed and didn't come off "spinny", that's what stood out to me the most with BB and BB Alpha.

[tristanhilton85]

BB was pretty solid.  I would say the sliding weight feature gives you a greater range of "movability" than the SLDR and also doesn't have the weight close to the face like the SLDR.  Which is why TM is talking about going up a degree in loft.  BB is low CG, high MOI and the sliding weight does make a little bit of difference with changing the COG location, at least with my experience.  Haven't hit the SLDR much, not saying one is better than the other, just describing the different designs.

Forgot to say this before, I really liked the ball speeds off mis hits.  I hit some off the heel and didn't really lose much speed and didn't come off "spinny", that's what stood out to me the most with BB and BB Alpha.

Same experience for me with ball speed; it was pretty consistent across the face of the club. It really lets you get away with some less than stellar shots.

[Golfingdad]

Same experience for me with ball speed; it was pretty consistent across the face of the club. It really lets you get away with some less than stellar shots.

Now the important question:  Did you get a new driver??  And, if so, what are the specs of the one you ended up with??

[ReviewMyGolfPro]

Same experience for me with ball speed; it was pretty consistent across the face of the club. It really lets you get away with some less than stellar shots.

Nowhere near as technically savvy as you guys, but I recently had the chance to hit both BB and BB Alpha at a demo day held at my local golf academy here in NJ.  I could not believe how much better my not so stellar strikes felt and then travelled.  Was very impressed with both, but I really liked the Alpha...

[Jakester23]

So would you say the X 2 Hot is more for high handicap players and the bertha is more for low handicap players?

[SamGray]

Is it just me or do the Apex Pro irons look a bit chunky for a true players iron?

[mvmac]

So would you say the X 2 Hot is more for high handicap players and the bertha is more for low handicap players?

Not as all, X2 Hot just has less bells and whistles compared to BB.  Kind of like the SLDR is $399 and the JetSpeed is $299, X2 Hot just hits a different price point but the lines aren't geared towards a particular handicap.

Is it just me or do the Apex Pro irons look a bit chunky for a true players iron?

Not any chunkier than other player cavity back irons.  Similar topline to AP2, MP64, TaylorMade MC.  If you want a thinner topline, Callaway also makes a muscleback iron.

[Jakester23]

Sorry for all the questions this is the last one (for now ;-) ). So out of the 4 drivers (BBC, bb alpha, x2 hot, & x2 hot pro) which seemed to feel the best and which seemed the easiest to hit?

[mvmac]

Sorry for all the questions this is the last one (for now ). So out of the 4 drivers (BBC, bb alpha, x2 hot, & x2 hot pro) which seemed to feel the best and which seemed the easiest to hit?

The driver that felt the best to me and has the highest moi is the BB.  But was feels/sounds great to me might not translate to the best feel for you.