Big Bertha Beta Beckoning!

[markb]

It just hit the conforming list.   A NON-ADJUSTABLE replacement for the Alpha coming this fall.   No gravity core, glued hosel.  The Alpha only launched in February and reportedly didn't do well.  No problem.  Swap it out nine months later.   Everything they told you that you needed in February, turns out you don't really need it.

 

[fozcycle]

Here we go again!

[markb]

Make sure to check out Tony's blog article on the new Alpha as well.   Odd, I hadn't seen or heard of the new Alpha yesterday, only the Beta, and he seems to have heard of the Alpha first and the Beta later on.

 

Either way, the story's the same.   Callaway playing catch-up.

 

This time, I'm not gonna get suckered in.   I tried the X2hot, BB, and BBA in Feb - Mar and wasn't impressed by any of them.  This time I'll let the word of mouth trickle back on the BBA2, BBV, and BBB before I even bother to give one a look.   If one is a difference maker, I'll hear about it and try it.

[revkev]

Well and now we have the threat from Callaway. Really?

 

It's golf equipment not the Adam bomb. Lighten up for crying out loud.

[OUZO Power]

Make sure to check out Tony's blog article on the new Alpha as well.

Do you have a link? I searched but cant find it. Thank you.

[Mr_Theoo]

http://www.mygolfspy.com/callaway-big-bertha-alpha-815-beta-driver/

 

Here you go

[OUZO Power]

http://www.mygolfspy.com/callaway-big-bertha-alpha-815-beta-driver/

 

Here you go

ah thanks. Was looking forward to catching a glimpse of what could be the next Alpha.

[markb]

You didn't miss much.   Just cosmetics.  I thought it looked like the grill of 38 Cord, others said that it went from Ironman to Optimus Prime.

 

It's funny that all those folks on the blog are fighting back and forth over whether more driver releases from Callaway are good or bad.  It doesn't matter what we think, the marketplace will decide.   Push back comes when the saturation point has been reached.   I think that point was reached with the Dick's Debacle and Callaway will find that out for themselves when they try to push these 3 new drivers through the pipeline.

 

But it may be that we're looking at this wrong.  The gurus at Callaway may be thinking that the season is almost over and if they don't get these out soon, the winter doldrums set in and nothing sells.  Releasing a club in December (like the Jetspeed) is suicide even if the club is pretty good.  This might be a desperation release to recoup some of their sunk costs of development.

 

These releases are REALLY good news for the consumer who may want a first Gen BBA or an X2Hot.  They'll go for peanuts on Ebay now.   Sadly, I didn't think much of either club.   But my fine Optiforce 440 will go for UNDER $50 now.  It is just about 1 year old.

[westy]

I quite like the look of the beta! Obviously saw the alpha, before callaway acted all daft and wasn't liking what I saw.

 

But hey I've sworn off new drivers on the blog for 3 years....this might be harder than laying off the booze for me.

[RookieBlue7]

I posted my story of what soured me on Callaway. I asked for nothing other than Harry to meet me when he came to Atlanta to complete the gauntlet I threw down and if it was better I'd buy it. He came several times to my knowledge (from tweets he had) and I told him I'd meet him anywhere from Atlanta north. He always said when he got in town it was on. He never lived up to the challenge. I didn't want him to do anything special, mainly wanted a witness from Callaway and since he's at the forefront of their marketing I threw it at him (being as he's from Atlanta and visits fairly regularly). I planned on trying it anyway but why not make it fun right? Cause of anyone here has followed along I try everything at my own expense just because it's fun and I'm a club ho. But with all that transpired I'm soured on buy and blind try anything of theirs any more. Demo days will be it.

[markb]

I posted my story of what soured me on Callaway. I asked for nothing other than Harry to meet me when he came to Atlanta to complete the gauntlet I threw down and if it was better I'd buy it. He came several times to my knowledge (from tweets he had) and I told him I'd meet him anywhere from Atlanta north. He always said when he got in town it was on. He never lived up to the challenge. I didn't want him to do anything special, mainly wanted a witness from Callaway and since he's at the forefront of their marketing I threw it at him (being as he's from Atlanta and visits fairly regularly). I planned on trying it anyway but why not make it fun right? Cause of anyone here has followed along I try everything at my own expense just because it's fun and I'm a club ho. But with all that transpired I'm soured on buy and blind try anything of theirs any more. Demo days will be it.

 

You got your "Gauntlet" wrong, RB.  That's the name of one of the boondoggles that Callaway sponsors at THP to insure favorable posts and threads!

[wick_dawg]

Is this the pic that's causing all the fuss. I don't see what the big deal is. Looks quite nice if you ask me

 

[westy]

Argh no callaway will be on to us, hide everyone.

[wick_dawg]

Save the image whilst you can. And post it everywhere. They won't find them all.

[furu]

I've got a larger version of the picture. My local rep doesn't really want me to post it anywhere Callaway wanted me to sign a contract 2-3 weeks ago that said they could sue me under the laws of the State of California if I posted "illegal" images of their clubs. Didn't sign it.

 

Anyway. All this secrecy and aggressive behaviour comes down to Golfwrx. Doesn't it? Callaway and other brands want their products to be officially revealed on Golfwrx.

 

I should just post the picture on Twitter, Instagram +++. I remember when I posted a picture of the RFX driver. They called five minutes after it was posted. I showed them where I got the picture - Callaway Chad's Twitter account. 

 

I gain nothing by posting it. I gain nothing by waiting. But I'd like to be a nice guy

[wick_dawg]

I just found it online and there's also a YouTube video with the pic, so it's out there. I wasn't asked to sign anything, nor did I, but everyone seems to fancy a gander, so I thought I'd post it. I like it personally. It's got a bit meaner look than the original Alpha.

[markb]

I've got a larger version of the picture. My local rep doesn't really want me to post it anywhere Callaway wanted me to sign a contract 2-3 weeks ago that said they could sue me under the laws of the State of California if I posted "illegal" images of their clubs. Didn't sign it.

 

Anyway. All this secrecy and aggressive behaviour comes down to Golfwrx. Doesn't it? Callaway and other brands want their products to be officially revealed on Golfwrx.

 

I should just post the picture on Twitter, Instagram +++. I remember when I posted a picture of the RFX driver. They called five minutes after it was posted. I showed them where I got the picture - Callaway Chad's Twitter account. 

 

I gain nothing by posting it. I gain nothing by waiting. But I'd like to be a nice guy

 

Golfwrx had it up briefly too, but they made them take it down as well.

 

Does it look more like No. 1 or No. 2?

 

 

But I kid.   Any way they want to doll it up, it couldn't possibly be uglier than the R1 or RBZ Stage 2.

[golfercraig]

I quite like the look of the beta! Obviously saw the alpha, before callaway acted all daft and wasn't liking what I saw.

 

But hey I've sworn off new drivers on the blog for 3 years....this might be harder than laying off the booze for me.

The "Alpha" pic you saw is the Big Bertha replacement, not the Alpha replacement. The Alpha replacement is the double black diamond, and this is the BB 815.

[golfercraig]

I just found it online and there's also a YouTube video with the pic, so it's out there. I wasn't asked to sign anything, nor did I, but everyone seems to fancy a gander, so I thought I'd post it. I like it personally. It's got a bit meaner look than the original Alpha.

 

Again, it's not the Alpha replacement. It's the BB replacement.

[markb]

Again, it's not the Alpha replacement. It's the BB replacement.

I think you'll have to be more specific Golfercraig, because now I'm confused.   So you're saying that the one that says Alpha on the bottom with the gravity core port is not a replacement for the existing alpha with the gravity core?   Instead, it's areplacement for the sliding weight BB, even though it looks just like a cosmetically re-skinned Alpha gen 1?

 

And of course the Beta isn't a replacement for any of them, forget about the generational naming protocols of Beta being an improvement of Alpha that we know from software, right?

[golfercraig]

I think you'll have to be more specific Golfercraig, because now I'm confused.   So you're saying that the one that says Alpha on the bottom with the gravity core port is not a replacement for the existing alpha with the gravity core?   Instead, it's areplacement for the sliding weight BB, even though it looks just like a cosmetically re-skinned Alpha gen 1?

 

And of course the Beta isn't a replacement for any of them, forget about the generational naming protocols of Beta being an improvement of Alpha that we know from software, right?

Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. The pic that is floating around is the replacement for the current Big Bertha with the sliding weight.

[markb]

So what does the Alpha replacement look like or feature?    What is this double black diamond of which you speak?   Are you referring to "alpha replacement" with the idea of top dog in the kennel replacing previous top dog in the kennel, regardless of whether they look alike or have the same features?

 

If the alpha replacement is not the one that says "alpha" on the bottom and the one that says "alpha" on the bottom is a replacement for another club with a sliding weight that doesn't say "V" or "Beta" on its bottom, and.....    screw it.   I have no idea what they're doing

 

Maybe this confusion is why Callaway doesn't want us talking about or looking at their future models prematurely.

[golfercraig]

So what does the Alpha replacement look like or feature?    What is this double black diamond of which you speak?   Are you referring to "alpha replacement" with the idea of top dog in the kennel replacing previous top dog in the kennel, regardless of whether they look alike or have the same features?

 

If the alpha replacement is not the one that says "alpha" on the bottom and the one that says "alpha" on the bottom is a replacement for another club with a sliding weight that doesn't say "V" or "Beta" on its bottom, and.....    screw it.   I have no idea what they're doing

 

Maybe this confusion is why Callaway doesn't want us talking about or looking at their future models prematurely.

They like the gravity core. They didn't like the slider. So, they have 2 weights instead of the slider. They decided that most people couldn't/wouldn't operate it properly. If they moved it, they moved it ALL the way to the heel or toe. No incremental moves. So, Alpha 815 has side spin removal properties, like Big Bertha did. "Alpha" replacement doesn't. It is expressly made for people that don't need that.

[markb]

I'm beginning to see the light.   To be honest, I did not think the BB slider worked well.  For me it did not produce draws or fades, it pushed or pulled and only when shifted to extremes.   However, I fail to see how a sliding weight is harder to operate than a kit full of removable weights.

 

I can't help but wonder if this "dropping" of technologies after eight months or so is not causing the golfing public to get extremely suspicious of any subsequent claims.   Are not we all falling into the "fool me twice" category with all manufacturers?  Are they not just throwing noodles at the wall to see which ones stick?

 

I'm not ragging purely on Callaway here.  I cannot tell you how mad I was when I found out that the Open-Closed face angle dial on the bottoms of the R11-R1 did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if you set the club on anything but a flat smooth surface.  On grass tee boxes it was useless.

[golfercraig]

I'm beginning to see the light.   To be honest, I did not think the BB slider worked well.  For me it did not produce draws or fades, it pushed or pulled and only when shifted to extremes.   However, I fail to see how a sliding weight is harder to operate than a kit full of removable weights.

 

I can't help but wonder if this "dropping" of technologies after eight months or so is not causing the golfing public to get extremely suspicious of any subsequent claims.   Are not we all falling into the "fool me twice" category with all manufacturers?  Are they not just throwing noodles at the wall to see which ones stick?

 

I'm not ragging purely on Callaway here.  I cannot tell you how mad I was when I found out that the Open-Closed face angle dial on the bottoms of the R11-R1 did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if you set the club on anything but a flat smooth surface.  On grass tee boxes it was useless.

Yeah. Agree. The R9 tip said "L" and "R", and the r11 said "higher" and "lower." I hate the obfuscation.

[markb]

Okay, I've now learned that the photos of the new BBA (which is not a replacement for the old BBA) have supposedly "cleared".   GWRX has them up again, so I'm guessing we could too.

 

But of course, nobody cares, because we've seen it and it just looks like a cosmetic touch-up.   What I REALLY want to hear about and see now is this Double Diamond that guys are already swinging.   No photos of that have leaked yet.  What can you tell us about spies?

[Tha Living Legend]

The "Alpha" pic you saw is the Big Bertha replacement, not the Alpha replacement. The Alpha replacement is the double black diamond, and this is the BB 815.

The new Big Bertha Alpha isn't the replacement for the old Big Bertha Alpha?  Can they do that?

[markb]

I grant you, it's confusing.   But from the info I have been corrected with by others (and if I understand it all correctly), this BBA 2 or "the 815" model will still be priced at $499 MSRP as they eliminate the current slider BB altogether (which started at $399) because Callaway doesn't like it.   (Thanks for the update, why did they not like it in February when it was released?) 

 

There is evidently another Big Bertha Double Black Diamond (DBD) that is to be the new top dog in the Callaway kennel. We haven't seen yet, but the Callaway blog teasers are giggling about it in the semi-private "insider" ways that Cally usually employs to fluff the buzz before they release their "money shot".  It supposedly has no movable weights, just a longer gravity core, a deeper face and more of a traditional pear shape.  It's also supposed to be offered with an option for the rare and uber-expensive Aldila Rogue shaft which currently costs about $500 so you can only guess at the price.   These new BB's are supposed to be released on 11/1.

 

It's all very confusing, I know.  

 

The BBA 1 and BB didn't really look like the old BB, but the BB V series and the BB Beta do have that retro vibe and warbird sole.  (Although both really seem borrowed from the the Japan Legacy series).   The BB Beta doesn't look to be a replacement or "upgrade" for the BB Alpha, it looks to be the glued-hosel runt of the litter.  Instead we have the BB Alpha 2 "815" for that, which looks to be a mere cosmetic re-skinning of the Alpha 1 and is no longer top dog.  (I thought it looked like the old Cord 814, so maybe the "815" name is a nod to that.)   The BB V series looks to my eye like the kind of club that is the true upgraded successor to the old BB, but it comes late to the party and seems kinda plain in comparison.   Will this BB sister fill her dance-card?   I think not.

 

I am more than willing to be set straight on all of this by anyone who actually knows.   I'm confused as hell.

 

Here's a bigger pic of the BBA 815.   If MGS wants to remove it, fine.  It's up everywhere else.  

 

[SeeRed]

I don't understand how Callaway, or TaylorMade, or any other equipment manufacturer can possibly see this kind of confusion among their customers as being good for business. And really, it seems Callaway have taken it to a new level lately. They're out-TaylorMading TaylorMade, who, for the moment at least, appear to have settled down to do some re-trenching. I guess Callaway already had things in the pipeline and they're pushing them out now before winter hits and most of the country is not playing golf. Someone mentioned this idea elsewhere and I suppose it could be true.

[markb]

I don't understand how Callaway, or TaylorMade, or any other equipment manufacturer can possibly see this kind of confusion among their customers as being good for business. And really, it seems Callaway have taken it to a new level lately. They're out-TaylorMading TaylorMade, who, for the moment at least, appear to have settled down to do some re-trenching. I guess Callaway already had things in the pipeline and they're pushing them out now before winter hits and most of the country is not playing golf. Someone mentioned this idea elsewhere and I suppose it could be true.

 

It may have been me who said it, I dunno, but I agree with you completely.

 

Callaway has been trying to out-Taylormade Taylormade over the last two years although they'll never admit it themselves.   As a result they seem to be out-of-step with the music.   They built 4 more drivers for release in the second half of 2014 after releasing 3 in February.  Meanwhile Taylormade announces 0 new driver product lines, eliminates the Jetspeed, cuts Adams to the bone, and merely throws out variants on the SLDR theme to keep it going.   Looks like the dance is now a waltz, but Callaway keeps jitterbugging.

 

The nomenclature they used and the grouping of these clubs into related product lines seems confused and ill-thought out.   My local Pro confessed that he can make no sense out of the Callaway catalog, he doesn't know what club is for what kind of golfer.

 

Of course, all these late 2014 releases could also be Callaway's only choice.  If their February releases tanked, then sales of those flops are only going to slow down with each successive month.   Their only choice may be to replace the flops with fresh.