In the 1990s, when Callaway launched the original Great Big Bertha driver, it became such a rage that close to 80 per cent of the Tour players put it in their bags.
The modern-day endorsement market wouldn’t let such a thing happen again, but the Carlsbadbased equipment giants believe the revived Great Big Bertha will create a similar excitement in the much bigger, and much more important, segment of casual golfers.
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In a month in which their rivals TaylorMade launched their own new drivers, Callaway is banking on a couple of features, which they believe will make all the difference.
Callaway believes the new Great Big Bertha is their fastest, most forgiving and distanceenhancing product the company has ever designed. The club has a thinner face because of their patented R*Moto technology, which means even off-centred hits have higher ball speeds, and thus greater distance.
The second feature that makes Great Big Bertha completely different from TaylorMade’s M1 is the Adjustable Perimeter Weighting, which, as the name suggests, is a sliding 10g weight along the perimeter of the club. Changes in the settings lead to more draw, which adds to the distance.
Further customisation of the club is possible through an Optifit hosel, which has eight configurations that can change the loft, lie and face angle of the club. stand out from the rest Callaway have also launched the Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond driver, which is suited for the more accomplished players.
The Big Bertha Alpha 816DD features new Dual Gravity Core Chambers They can use the left and right chambers to promote better draw, or a more neutral ball flight, and taking the Gravity core up or down will change the Moment of Inertia and hence alter the ball speed and distance.
Both the drivers will be complemented with the launch of fairway woods in both series.
I tried out the two drivers at Callaway’s fitting centre at Al Badia Golf Club, and despite the fact that I was completely rusty from a long layoff, the clubs seemed to be doing their job extremely well. The one thing that stood out for me is how good a couple of shots, which I hit almost from the hosel portion, turned out to be. Remarkably, I seemed to have better results with the 816DD.
The Trackman clearly showed that my ball spin rate was a lot lower, which is sure to add to my distance.
We rate it: 9 out of 10: I think forgiveness is definitely the biggest USP of this club. Whatever they have done to the face, is clearly working well.
Where to Buy: At all Golf House outlets and pro shops
Price: Great Big Bertha will retail for Dh1,995, while the Big Bertha Alpha 816DD will cost Dh2,295.