e-man

I think Callaway is an incredible company when it comes to customer service, and their pre-owned site (which I believe is now somehow related or owned by the company) is top notch. I do have one complaint, though. I bought a set of "like new" x-14 irons from them last summer. When the clubs arrived, I immediately noticed that they had been refinished. I realize this might be a bonus for some people, but for me it was not. There was overspray on the face where white lines were painted, and the club heads had quite a bit of bag chatter (which cannot be removed during the refinishing process). The grips had been replaced with Callaway Hawkeye full cord grips (as opposed to the stock Big Bertha velvet grips that came with the clubs originally). All in all, I wasn't particularly pleased. I called them up to return the clubs, and while they were willing to take them back, they made it a point to tell me that I should have expected that the clubs were refinished because the x-14s are several seasons old. While I agree with that general proposition, I feel they should have advertised the clubs as refinished as opposed to like new. I mean, why not? Why not give the consumer the information? Anyway, after a bit of back and forth, they told me that I could return the clubs, but that I was responsible for paying shipping both ways because the clubs were as described. We ended up agreeing for me to pay shipping one way and them the other. I guess that was an okay resolution, but I was out $15 sending the clubs back to them and I really didn't think I did anything wrong. Anyway, aside from that experience, and now knowing that "like new" means refinished when it comes to older clubs, I think they are a top notch company with excellent customer service. e

I personally spoke to Ping about this, and here is what they said. I was buying a G10 driver, 9 degrees. A Ping customer service representative told me that the loft on the 9 degree heads range anywhere from 9.3 to 10.8 degrees, with most falling right around 10.2 degrees. They told me that the same holds true for the 10.5 degree heads -- they can range anywhere from 10.8 to about 12, with most being around 11.5 degrees. Hope this helps. e

Is it regular or stiff? The reason I ask is because I'm selling my R580XD 10.5 with the stock M.A.S. stiff shaft. e

First, let me say that this is not a complaint, but more of an FYI. I recently bought a set of irons from Callaway Golf Preowned that were advertised in "like new" condition (which, to me, means that maybe they've hit a ball or two, but aside from a small mark here or there, are basically indistinguishable from new). When they arrived, I immediately noticed that they had been refurbished. The white scoring lines had been repainted, and there was small amounts of white paint overspray on the faces. There were little nicks over most of the iron heads (that cannot be removed from the refurbishing process). The shaft bands and grips were brand new, although the grips were corded grips from a club that was manufactured several years before the set I bought. When I called to voice my concerns, I was pointed to their definition of "like new", which includes refinished or refurbished clubs. I admit that I missed that when I ordered the clubs. They told me that the clubheads had been removed from the shafts, sanded down, repainted, reshafted, regripped, etc. They told me that I should have known that an older set of clubs advertised in like new condition would have been refinished. Now, most people would be perfectly happy getting a set of refinished/refurbished clubs. However, that's not what I was looking for. It was important to me that the clubs be in their original, untampered state, just like when they left the factory. In my opinion, "like new" shouldn't include refinished or refurbished clubs. If the clubs are refinished, they should just say so in the description. Now, all of this being said, they refunded my purchase price and shipping, but I was required to pay to ship the clubs back to them. I feel they should have covered the shipping both ways, but in the end, it was my fault for not reading the definition of "like new" carefully. e

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I just got back from the range. I brought a friend with to observe my ball flight. Maybe I was just having a good night, but I was really puring the ball on a nice medium flat trajectory. When I moved the ball up in my stance, I was hitting high bombs, easily reaching the end of the range on the second bounce (which is 250). As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and I don't think I should do anything right now. 10.15 degrees of loft is just fine for me. e

I've tried fiddling with the tee height, but it just results in inaccuracy and off center hits. When I position the ball further up in my stance, I feel as if I have to hold on shot a little bit longer through impact, and I end up hitting a weak fade (i.e., I don't release the club).

That's probably good advice. Here's the thing. One of my playing partners has a BB460 10 deg and he hits these high towering bombs. I mean, he must be launching at 16-17 degrees (at least). In terms of overall distance, we end up pretty much in the same spot, but his just sail through the sky and seem to hang up there forever. One more point. I spent A LOT of time in the launch monitor before buying this club, and every time I demoed a 10.5 degree head (actual probably around 12), the launch angle jumped way up into the 17-18 degree range, as did the spin (to around 3800-4000). I'm thinking that a 10.5 actual loft on a 9 degree stamped head would have been perfect for me. e

Hey guys. A little help. I currently own a G10 driver, 9 degrees (digitally measured at 10.15 degrees), TFC 129 stiff shaft trimmed to 45.25 inches, D3 swingweight. I love the club, absolutely love it. However, I've noticed that the trajectory of my drives is fairly low. I mean, they aren't worm burners by any means, but about the most I can expect out of it is a strong boring medium (or low-medium) trajectory. My swing speed is 95 mph on the nose, with a medium tempo. I got on a launch monitor the other day to test the club. I am launching at 13-14 degrees, around 140-145 mph ball speed, 2800-3200 rpm of backspin, 230-235 yards carry and 250 overall yards distance. I believe my long was a carry of 243 and overall distance of 260. Don't get me wrong. I'm pleased with those numbers, but on the course, the trajectory just seems kind of low. Maybe I just don't know what a 13-14 degree launch angle looks like. I am thinking about getting a new G10 with a little more loft, but I'm not sure how much more loft I should go with. I would kick myself if I ended up going with too much loft, but I'd like to add a little more to the point where I'll notice a difference. Would .5 degrees be enough to make a difference? Should I go up an additional .85 and make it an even 11? I don't think I'd want to go higher than 11, but I really don't know. I know it's hard to say without seeing my ball flight, but I really don't get a lot of hang time with this club. Please let me know what you think. Thanks. e

That's good to hear. I ended up going with regular flex in the Banzai shaft and my swing speed with the driver tops out at 95 mph with a medium tempo. The shaft seems to play on the stiff side (the regular flex CPMs at 279 and the stiff at 287). Great, great club.

Love, love, love my X-Hot. And I couldn't agree more with you about using it as a back-up driver. Last weekend, my driver just didn't feel right to me, so I used the X-Hot instead. Sure, I may give up a few yards (although not that much), but being in the fairway makes a huge difference. Love the sound too. Just curious, what flex shaft do you have in yours? What's your swingspeed with the driver and tempo? e

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm plenty happy with the results, but I keep looking at the swing speed of 97+ mph and I wonder if I might do better with the stiff.

Yeah, that'd be nice, but unfortunately, that's not a possibility. I've already hit the 10 regular in the indoor dome, and it feels pretty good, but the stiff felt good too. I called Callaway, and they will switch it out for me if I want that, but I don't want to go switching things around just for the sake of switching unless it will make a real difference. I'm looking at the launch monitor printout right now, and here are the numbers I achieved with the regular over 5 shots: 256.9 yards 143.2 mph ball speed 13 degree launch angle 2844 rpm back spin 236 rpm side spin (draw) 1.6 yard push -.7 yards offline 97.8 mph average clubhead speed

So regular should be perfect for you. My swing speed is around 95 mph but it does get a bit higher than that when I get warmed up, and I would describe my tempo as medium. I may have to go back to Golfsmith one more time today to hit the 10 stiff. I'm not sure what the stiff would give me that the regular doesn't, but I really need to make completely sure.

Hey Shortgame85. If you don't mind me asking, what's your swing speed and tempo? e

I went back to Golfsmith today to try to figure this thing out. I was there for about 90 minutes banging balls in the simulator and launch monitor. For what it's worth, here are the cpm and torque specs on the regular and stiff stock Fujikura Fit On shafts: regular -- 251 cpm, 5.0 torque stiff -- 261 cpm, 5.1 torque (yes, it has a tick more torque than the regular) I hit the 9 stiff, 10 stiff, 10 reg and 11 reg. The reg flex shafts definitely felt livelier for me. With the stiff shafts, I felt as if I needed to swing a little harder to get the shaft to react, and when I did, I was rewarded with good, solid results. The problem with me and stiff, though, is that I play at the crack of dawn, and I'm not swinging at 95+ mph for most of the round. These simulators/launch monitors are a bit deceiving in that respect. I hit my driver maybe 12 times in a round, yet I must have hit at least 75 balls in the launch monitor today. In sum, the regular and stiff produced very similar results, and I think in the long run, I'll benefit more from the regular with a nice smooth swing. As between the 10 and the 11, the 11 launched a little too high and made too much backspin. I'm going to stick with the 10 reg for a while and see what happens. Let me know what you think. When you're right on the cusp between regular and stiff, is it possible that either will work for you? I appreciate the points about the type of course and conditions I normally play in. That makes a lot of sense. Should you also consider the type of swing you like to put on the ball? In other words, I'm not the type that normally goes after the ball. I like to put a nice smooth swing on the club. Should that be considered as well? e