2016 Callaway Big Bertha Fusion

[Jeremie Boop]

http://cmp.callawaygolf.com/bbfusion/

So, when I watched a couple reviews of this driver I was a bit intrigued by it. I liked the look of it, even though the shape is a bit funky that didn't bother me. I liked the colors and the alignment aid on the top. I have hit a few Callaway drivers in the past and liked them ok but never enough to put on in the bag. However, I was thinking about whether to consider trying it out in both the 44.5" and 45.5" shaft lengths in a couple different lofts just in case it was a better fit for forgiveness than my current driver.... And then I looked up the MSRP on it, at $524.99 I quickly decided it was no longer even slightly appealing. Given that this club is targeted towards newer golfers and golfers who need extra help I wasn't necessarily expecting such a steep price point as I would have if it were aimed at better players. Perhaps that thinking is a bit off, but I just always expect better players clubs to be more expensive, and that tends to be true in the irons for sure. Either way, perhaps if that price point comes down to something more reasonable, as in ~$300, I'll revisit the idea of testing it.

[newtogolf]

In terms of head shape, t looks very similar to the Callaway FT-iZ driver they put out about 4 - 5 years ago.  I'd have to see some really amazing distance and accurary improvements to justify spending $525 on it.    

[Brian W]

I do like the way Callaway drivers look but the markup on them is just silly 

[Jeremie Boop]

4 hours ago, newtogolf said:

In terms of head shape, t looks very similar to the Callaway FT-iZ driver they put out about 4 - 5 years ago.  I'd have to see some really amazing distance and accurary improvements to justify spending $525 on it.    

From what I understand it's supposed to be great for improved accuracy but not so much on distance. Especially considering it come standard with a -1" shaft length. Which is why I said I didn't expect such a high price tag on a what could be considered a "super" game improvement driver.

[StefanUrkel]

Who are the people that buy the 400+ dollar drivers? 

[saevel25]

21 minutes ago, StefanUrkel said:

Who are the people that buy the 400+ dollar drivers? 

Here 

[Brian W]

9 hours ago, StefanUrkel said:

Who are the people that buy the 400+ dollar drivers? 

If it was going to make a huge difference, I would spend the money on the driver but as I stated in another thread, I just dont see any better performance on some of these very high end drivers

[Jeremie Boop]

11 hours ago, StefanUrkel said:

Who are the people that buy the 400+ dollar drivers? 

It was hard for me to spend the $300 on what I got and honestly I got the best overall numbers and dispersion with it over the other drivers that were 400+ so it worked out well for me.

[Missouri Swede]

The price is only a little higher than the new Titleist drivers. 

I'm still in love with my Razr Fit, fortunately. 

[Jeremie Boop]

7 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

The price is only a little higher than the new Titleist drivers. 

I'm still in love with my Razr Fit, fortunately. 

That's kind of the point though, that the price is higher than the new Titleist drivers. How often do you see drivers more expensive than a Titleist? Let alone something that's specifically geared towards game improvement.

[newtogolf]

They will test the market at that price and can offer some discounts if sales don't meet expectations.  

[Jeremie Boop]

Ok, so I just got the email from Dick's that these clubs released. They are definitely at a much more appropriate price point of 399. This does make them look a bit more interesting to me now. I'm quite happy with my current 3 wood but the driver may well be worth a look.

[jsgolfer]

I used the driver and 5 wood demo from the club.  ANd I will say that the golf ball jumps off the face of the club. Not sure though that it worth the additional cash.  It wasn't that much longer than my current driver.  

[newtogolf]

The triangle head looks much more pronounced in pictures than it does in your hand.  I hated the look of it in pictures but at address I didn't mind it at all.  

[Jeremie Boop]

3 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

I used the driver and 5 wood demo from the club.  ANd I will say that the golf ball jumps off the face of the club. Not sure though that it worth the additional cash.  It wasn't that much longer than my current driver.  

I'm not so much looking for added distance as maybe a bit more forgiveness. This year has been a good year for me average driving distance wise but this driver seems to be more prone to straight push shots than I've ever experienced before. Now that could be swing related but I only experience it with the driver and no other club in my bag so I am not 100% sure it isn't something off with the shaft in this driver. I could probably get fitted for a different/better shaft but it's likely to be as expensive as trading in this driver on a new one.

1 hour ago, newtogolf said:

The triangle head looks much more pronounced in pictures than it does in your hand.  I hated the look of it in pictures but at address I didn't mind it at all.  

It does look very triangular in the pictures, and even though that didn't necessarily bother me it is good to know that it's less noticeable in person/while using it.

[jsgolfer]

7 hours ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I'm not so much looking for added distance as maybe a bit more forgiveness. This year has been a good year for me average driving distance wise but this driver seems to be more prone to straight push shots than I've ever experienced before. Now that could be swing related but I only experience it with the driver and no other club in my bag so I am not 100% sure it isn't something off with the shaft in this driver. I could probably get fitted for a different/better shaft but it's likely to be as expensive as trading in this driver on a new one.

It does look very triangular in the pictures, and even though that didn't necessarily bother me it is good to know that it's less noticeable in person/while using it.

Buddy of mine demo'd the HL version and absolutely loved it, said he hit it straighter than his driver.  I'm going to get the 5 wood sometime, I also only tried the shorter shaft on the driver.  May try the longer version,. 

[WUTiger]

On 9/7/2016 at 3:21 PM, newtogolf said:

In terms of head shape, t looks very similar to the Callaway FT-iZ driver they put out about 4 - 5 years ago.  I'd have to see some really amazing distance and accurary improvements to justify spending $525 on it.    

I tested the BB Fusion about a month ago at a Callaway demo day. The rep had the lighter E440 (45 gram) and E450 (55-gram) shafts. The 45-gram felt feathery, and the 55-gram mushy. My average shot with my XR.16 Pro (w/65 gram R.flex shaft) carried 25 yards farther than my best BB Fusion shot.

I could feel when I hit the BB Fusion squarely, but I just didn't like the shafts. We didn't get the heavier Diamana Red shaft that is supposed to be in the mix.

Note: Check on the price for the stock model; two different sources show only $399.

[Jeremie Boop]

22 hours ago, WUTiger said:

I tested the BB Fusion about a month ago at a Callaway demo day. The rep had the lighter E440 (45 gram) and E450 (55-gram) shafts. The 45-gram felt feathery, and the 55-gram mushy. My average shot with my XR.16 Pro (w/65 gram R.flex shaft) carried 25 yards farther than my best BB Fusion shot.

I could feel when I hit the BB Fusion squarely, but I just didn't like the shafts. We didn't get the heavier Diamana Red shaft that is supposed to be in the mix.

Note: Check on the price for the stock model; two different sources show only $399.

I tried it today. The range owner didn't have a lot of time and apparently he put the wrong shaft in for me, it was the diamana silver shaft 60 gram stiff, mid kick, high torque I think, in 45.5". It was definitely more forgiving that my Srixon driver, but the shaft balooned up too much even with the 9* loft head. He said if I wanted to come back we could try other shafts to try to get the flight down. I alternated shots with my current driver and this one. My driver went further consistently but I was still hitting straight pushes whereas with the Fusion I was hitting more draws. I liked the sound of the driver much better than mine as well. Given the lower price point it's definitely in my mind to switch up, if I get a decent trade-in on my driver.