Demo Day - Callaway

There was a demo day for major OEMs at the military base driving range I am at.

Most of the big names were there but my next purchases were gearing towards Callaway so here are some of their offerings.

My next set of irons. Hope to get a fitting at their HQ this week.



the FT9 and FTiz i-mix heads with about 70 shafts to try out.



The Diablo Forged were forgiving but a little tinny at impact



FT-Tour drivers. Love the shape. Not so sure about the feel





The new kid on the block. This baby looks pretty decent and is actually very forgiving too. The Black finish does wear off after a few hits but they are quite a solid performer. Even my wife likes them.

So nice.......

BUt you are a Titleist man at heart rite?

BTW, the new guy posted to my place is Erwyn...if you know him. Pretty long hitter.

dude, you have it good n living it up.....

S70B wrote:

BUt you are a Titleist man at heart rite?

BTW, the new guy posted to my place is Erwyn...if you know him. Pretty long hitter.

Which guy? Erwyn Lam?

Yes I am Titleist at heart and I love golf too.
When you show such nice pictures of clubs (prototype somemore), its like golf porn.
so nice.....

darenlim wrote:

S70B wrote:

BUt you are a Titleist man at heart rite?

BTW, the new guy posted to my place is Erwyn...if you know him. Pretty long hitter.

Which guy? Erwyn Lam?

Yes I am Titleist at heart and I love golf too.
When you show such nice pictures of clubs (prototype somemore), its like golf porn.
so nice.....

walau darren....thats the word i'm looking for....golf porn

Yep, Mr Lam...now PTE Lam.

Living the life as an NSF.

I still take joy in tekan-ing him at wk so as to even things out.

GOlf Porn is awesome
ITs good to take it out on your subordinates when they take it out on you on the golf course
Even things up! I wonder who is at the losing end though.

OK, so I finally got the fitting session today.

Drove up to Callaway's HQ which is in Carlsbad:



Parking was not a problem since there are special lots for those who are booked for a fitting session:



How about that? Entering Callaway's Big Time office with my Mizuno bag and clubs



The reception area was pretty cool:







Met up with my fitter Mike Soroka, (btw, he's Grant Balcke's friend who intro-ed me to him).

Walked into the fitting studio. Not a bad layout:



I can take hitting into a pic of Pebble's 18th:


All the different FT Tours, Diablo drivers in different combos:



All the different Callaway irons:



The clubs I have been eyeing for some time now:



Warming up with my own clubs:



Mike explaining theories on length vs lie angles



Due to confidentiality issues, I will not be able to showcase their wonderful technology in obtaining swing, ball and club info.

Hope you guys enjoy the pics.

darenlim wrote:

GOlf Porn is awesome

agreed this is obscenely good... It's sinful!!!!

Would love to hear more about the fitting experience. How easy was it to arrange? I'd like to try this the next time I get a work trip to CA although somewhere closer to San Francisco. Also have my eyes on the X Prototype so keen to know how you are enjoying them.

Wah this kind of post needs to be censored it's too much. Nose bleed.

hardballs wrote:

Would love to hear more about the fitting experience. How easy was it to arrange? I'd like to try this the next time I get a work trip to CA although somewhere closer to San Francisco. Also have my eyes on the X Prototype so keen to know how you are enjoying them.

Hey man

Unfortunately, there isn't a Performance Center near SFO. Here is a list of where they are located:

Callaway Performance Centers

Fitting was good. It lasted about 2hrs+. Cost USD$150 but you get a $100 gift voucher back when you purchase from Callaway. However, the voucher takes 2 weeks to mail so unless you are a resident, it will be difficult to obtain.

I just called up their customer service number. You will get re-directed to their Performance Center. Very friendly and helpful staff. Appointments are quite ok although they do get busy from now till October (Golf Season).

The X Prototypes are solid. They were on my radar the last time I got fitted at Fuzion Golf, Jupiter Florida. However, they were still very pricey at USD$1500 for the full set last year which was why I went over to Mizunos. They have since dropped alot in price and are available in conforming grooves.

I got the 4-P in X Prototypes and the 09 X Forged for the 3iron. Unfortunately, they are backordered till end June. The good news is that the FT Tour with Diamana Blueboard 73X will be shipped to me next week so I will definitely give that a go ASAP.

Wow !!!

Slinger saw the ammo S70B bring back ... when we start training ?

Not much time left you know ....

may i ask what balls they let you use ?

Callaway Balls ?

Or you can request the fitting to use the balls that u normally use on course

Choose either Callaway i(s) or i(z)s for me.

They gave me a dozen after the fitting too.

mowen wrote:

Wow !!!

Slinger saw the ammo S70B bring back ... when we start training ?

Not much time left you know ....

u play 3x weekly.....dun ned training lah

basket....want to suan me izzet

So they are finally here after 6 weeks....

Had a blast with my FT Tour Driver for a week and these arrived today. Got them fitted with the Golf Pride Tour Wrap 2Gs.





The PW sits very nicely. Not too thick a topline too



The 8 iron has a nice rounded toe area and is easy to frame the ball



The 4 iron has very little offset. It is easier to hit than it looks



Fitted with the new Golf Prides and KBS Tour S



How the conforming grooves set will be stamped. The different colour is also because I have mine in 1* flat



Also, how to tell if your set is genuine. The 8iron will have a diagram and serial number laser-etched like this



The grooves are definitely noticeably smaller. I will be gaming these tmr to see how they perform.



Coupled with the new CC Jaws Wedge in raw slate finish. Its cool looking but will have to take it to the course for a trial:






Callaway tried to combat the new groove ruling with more grooves...well, they still fall short of what those outgoing models can apply.


A brief comparison of the Protos with the Mizuno mp68s. The Callys launch them way higher. The Mizunos feel slightly softer. Both are similar distances but its easier to hit a knock down shot with the Callaways despite the higher ballflight for a normal shot. Will update if I find any more differences when I game these.

Gorgeous irons, Rex!!

S70B, those pictures look very clear and sharp. What camera huh???

The grips are gorgeous!

The grips are as good as they look. Very tacky and easy to clean.

All you need is any decent-pixel hand held camera, good lighting and a steady hand.

Rex,

They look beautiful... Have you tried them the green yet..

Took them out today.

Feel and distance-wise, they are pretty similar to the Mizzys except that I think they have a slightly stronger ball-flight.

The only downside is that these clubs seem to spin a little less than the Mizunos. I guess it must be the groove pattern and depth (the grooves on the Protos are alot smaller and thinner). Both are still conforming grooves though.

Anyway, the hiao-ness in me has decided to match my paintfill to my grip colours.

And i remembered somebody suan me when i did this to my mizzies...