Callaway FT Optiforce driver Review
Last updated:
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At a glance
- TG Rating
- Owner Rating
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Pros
The lighter weight instills a feeling of power and speed.
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Cons
Takes a while to get my head around what the different settings.
What we say...
2013 FIRST HITS TEST
Technology
It certainly feels light in your hands. It took me a while to get my head around the adjustability. There are two rings – one for loft and one for lie angle. The loft options are: N, +2, D and -1. The lie angle options are S, N, +1 and D. I can’t help but think amateurs buying this will struggle to understand it and reap the full benefits.
Performance
The 440cc head launched quite high and although the spin numbers were high, the flight wasn’t overly ‘balloony’, carrying 271 yards on average. Ball speed was up at 161 mph, higher than what I got with the SLDR, but this didn’t translate into extra yards on centre hits.
Looks
The finish is glossy black, which I like. On both versions there seems to be a lot of clubface above the grooves and towards the toe, which is a little odd. But overall, a classy-looking club.
Feel
Off the face, it’s got a hard, powerful feel. It’s very light, to help increase clubhead speed, but at first this came with a slight loss of control and awareness of the clubhead.
Flight
Generally quite high and a bit spinny at times. Ones I really nutted launched high but then levelled out, staying in the air for forever.
Sound
It’s very high-pitched but sounds powerful, a little like TaylorMade’s R1. Not my cup of tea.
Forgiveness
Pretty stable, with minimal twisting on off-centre strikes and mis-hits holding their line.
Pros
The 440cc head is compact, and simple yet classic in design. The lighter weight instills a feeling of power and speed. There are no gimmicks here and the adjustability mechanism is simple to use.
Cons
I struggled to control what felt like a longer shaft as standard. While it’s simple to adjust, it took me a while to get my head around what the different settings were and how I wanted to combine them. Flight was high and for me, a little spinny.
Callaway’s new FT Optiforce driver is made from lightweight forged composite and has been designed with an aerodynamically enhanced head shape to reduce drag by 23 per cent.
A 43 gram PX Velocity shaft reduces the weight further. It also features an advanced OptiFit hosel that allows golfers to adjust the loft and directional bias from draw to neutral.
“Our tests showed that many golfers struggle to convert their potential added head speed into distance consistently,” Dr Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s Senior Vice President of R&D, told TG. “So it was a balance to get the product absolutely perfect. With a total club weight of 290g, the FT Optiforce is engineered to give golfers the greatest level of consistency to turn a head speed advantage, gained from aerodynamics, into a ball speed advantage and therefore, into distance.”
The driver comes in two head sizes, 440cc and 460cc, and also has the option of a heavier 62g shaft.
Details: 440cc head 9.5° only, 460cc head in 10.5° only.
Website: www.callawaygolf.com
