Boccieri Heavy Fairway Review

[GolfSpy Dave]

So Tim, Matt, and myself were asked to participate in the subjective scoring side of Golfspy T's Ultimate Review of the Boccieri Heavy Fairway (full review HERE)

 

Here are my thoughts and scores about the Heavy Fairway. Matt and Tim's thoughts will follow soon...

 

Looks (20 Points)

 

 

The Heavy Fairway (center) reminds me a great deal of my Tour Edge Exotics XCG (right). This is a good thing. The head is small, and almost identical in shape. I like the look of the green triangle-shaped aiming aide, but it almost seems unnecessary. I think that I prefer the naked top on the Razr Hawk 3W (left).

 

 

One visual feature that I really didn't like was the fact that the shaft graphics were facing up at address. I think that the Aldila graphics are cool looking, just not when I am staring down at the ball. Simple for them to fix during assembly though.

Look Score: 16/20

 

Feel (15 Points)

Weird. The balance on the club is definitely not what I am used to. The funny thing for me was that it looked so much like the Exotics XCG to me, but it felt so different. Didn't feel bad weird, just different. My instructor probably summed it up best. He hit the Heavy and then hit my Callaway Razr Hawk and after hitting the Razr he said “Now that feels like a golf club”.

Feel Score: 10/15

 

Sound (5 Points)

Louder than the other two that I tested it against. Not Nike 5000 loud, but loud and metallic at impact. I prefer the duller thud sound of the Razr Hawk.

Sound Score: 2/5

 

Perceived Distance (20 Points)

No launch monitor for me with this review, but I would definitely say that it seemed shorter than the other two. Perhaps comparing it to an Exotics fairway is unfair, but that is what I have in the garage. Both the XCG and the Razr Hawk launched higher and flew longer. I wish I had some numbers for this, but it seemed much shorter. This improved if I really went after the ball, but then my tempo went to pieces and accuracy suffered.

Perceived Distance Score: 10/20

 

Perceived Accuracy (20 Points)

With a smooth swing, the Heavy Fairway was very accurate. There was a stretch of shots where it felt like I could hit balls through one of those Big Break panes of glass. Great grouping. The problem was again distance though. These 3W shots were landing in the same zone as my typical 3H shot. As mentioned before, when I tried to hit it longer, accuracy fell off.

Perceived Accuracy Score: 20/20 (but only for lateral accuracy, distance accuracy was not as strong)

 

Perceived Forgiveness (15 Points)

The Heavy Fairway's forgiveness fell between the XCG and the Razr Hawk. Toe and heel shots seemed to hold to the target line, but just didn't travel as far as miss hits with the other two. It does move quite well through the grass though, helping to get that face closed in the rough.

Perceived Forgiveness Score: 12/15

 

LOP (Likelihood of Purchase) (5 Points)

Although it shares some characteristics with the XCG, a fairway that I like, I do not see myself buying this club. There are too many other choices out there that are better options. Even casting the other new clubs from the discussion, I believe that my current fairway (Razr Hawk) is better than the Heavy Fairway and should stay in the bag.

LOP Score: 0/5

 

Total Score: 70/100

 

Summary

I like that the Heavy Fairway represents a different approach to the fairway metal. In my opinion, it just comes up short. Perhaps some refining in design will produce future models that are more competitive. Not like anyone would go and buy an iPhone 1 these days. Perhaps this fairway is just a stepping stone to better models down the road.

[Matt Saternus]

Here are my thoughts on the Heavy Fairway:

 

Looks (20 Points)

 

The headshape and size of the Heavy Fairway are good, nice proportions. The problems come in with fit and finish. To be blunt, it looks cheap. I can't quantify the why behind that, but the first thing I thought when I saw the alignment aid, shaft graphics, and headcover were: Wal-Mart club. Again, I don't know if it's the color or what, but it just doesn't have the appearance of a top tier club.

 

Look Score: 10/20

 

Feel (15 Points)

 

There are two things to talk about with Feel: first the feel at impact, second the feel of the counterbalancing.

 

Impact:

Very metallic and tinny. Not solid. Not good.

 

Feel of the club in hand/during the swing:

Obviously it's not something I'm used to, but I can understand and appreciate the theory behind it. The swingweight is extremely low (mid C's) despite having a heavier static weight than a standard 3W. The feel was unusual, but I can see how, with time, someone could really grow to like it and develop great consistency with it.

Feel Score: 12/15

 

Sound (5 Points)

 

This goes along with the feel, but it is loud and tinny. Again, not what I want in a fairway wood.

Sound Score: 2/5

 

 

Perceived Distance (20 Points)

I tested the Heavy Fairway primarily against my R9 3W and found it to be considerably shorter. I hit it both on the range and on the course, so I was able to verify where the balls ended up. The biggest reason that the Heavy Fairway was short for me was that it always seemed to come out very low without much spin. I think that this might be the result of the counterweighting making my swing even flatter than it already is.

Perceived Distance Score: 10/20

 

 

Perceived Accuracy (20 Points)

 

I'll agree with Dave and say that the lateral accuracy was pretty good, on a smooth swing. Because of the unusual feel, it was hard for me to have any consistency at all when I went after a shot hard.

Perceived Accuracy Score: 17/20

 

 

Perceived Forgiveness (15 Points)

 

I have a bit of a hard time with this one because I feel like my results with this club were either quite good or quite bad. The bad results seemed to be caused by bad swings which were caused by my lack of familiarity with the feel of this club. The good results came from good, smooth swings. I feel like I didn't make many of those "in between" swings where the club can either forgive or not.

Perceived Forgiveness Score: 14/15

 

 

LOP (Likelihood of Purchase) (5 Points)

 

Frankly, none. While I appreciate the concept behind the Heavy Fairway, it's not a feature that would really benefit me. Additionally, I don't want to abandon the feel that I am used to (higher swingweight) for something that is fairly alien to me unless there are going to be large and definite benefits.

 

LOP Score: 0/5

 

Total Score: 65/100

 

Summary

Similar to Dave and T: I like the concept and I love that someone is doing something different. In this case, it's just not a good fit for what I need or what I like. Please don't take my relatively low score for this club as a reason not to try it: the Heavy Fairway might be something that works for you.

[GolfSpy Tim]

And here are my thoughts:

 

I chose to review the 3 wood because I struggle the most with this club. The Boccieri is meant to be a club that fixes problems, and I've got problems here that could use fixing.

 

Looks (20 Points)

 

The first thing I noticed when unboxing the Heavy Fairway was the green. I like crazy and out there stuff, but the green to mee just feels a bit off - not in line with a "quality" product. Looking down on the head at address, the back cavity looks great, but the face looks a little dull to me (I don't know why the dull look is a negative for me, but it really is)

 

Not a terrible looking club to me, but next to my Titleist 910F, I would quickly pick the 910.

 

Look Score: 13/20

 

 

Feel (15 Points)

 

The whole club just feels heavy and clunky to me when first picking it up - but I also get that this is the whole idea of the club, so that's not really a "negative" factor here, just something I wasn't used to.

 

Mentally when swinging the club I never felt like I could generate the same head speed as I would with my normal three wood.

 

At impact my best description of the feel was if you could use a brick as a golf club, and what it might feel like to make contact when swinging said brick. It had a lack of "feel" and I never felt like I was just ripping a sweet shot.

 

Feel Score: 12/15

 

 

Sound (5 Points)

 

I think Dave's quote of his instructor on feel applies for me on sound - it just never sounded like a real high-end club making crazy contact. I want to hit shots that make the sound that turns other's golfer's heads to figure out what club I'm hitting. I don't feel like this club has a bad sound, it just doesn't inspire. Let's say it was a little "dull" in the sound department as well.

 

Sound Score: 3/5

 

 

Perceived Distance (20 Points)

 

Side-by-side with my 910F visually comparing solid strike for solid strike at the range, I would say ball flight was about 20 yards shorter on average with the Boccieri. This is pretty considerable in my book as that's falling back toward my 5 wood for distance.

 

Perceived Distance Score: 7/20

 

 

Perceived Accuracy (20 Points)

 

I can't say that I was able to hit my target any better than with my regular wood. Unlike Dave, I definitely wasn't about to start breaking small pains of glass - but if we called "somewhere on the fairway" my target, then yes, the perceived accuracy was better.

 

Perceived Accuracy Score: 16/20

 

 

Perceived Forgiveness (15 Points)

 

I actually felt that this club was amazingly forgiving. I was taking my swing and going for the fences back and forth between the Boccieri and my 910F and I was destroying houses out of bounds with my 910F due to lack of control at that point, while the Boccieri was pulling me back from those extreme misses. It wasn't putting me on the center of the fairway, but if someone said, I need you to hit as hard as you possible can, and as straight as possible, this was by far the more forgiving club by leaps and bounds.

 

Perceived Forgiveness Score: 15/15

 

 

LOP (Likelihood of Purchase) (5 Points)

 

Love the concept here, I really do, but if I just slow my swing down to 80%, my 910F performs for me and performs well. It's the 100% shots where I noticed the difference, but not enough.

 

LOP Score: 0/5

 

Total Score: 66/100

 

Summary

When I make solid contact with my current 3 wood I feel like a king, when I make solid contact with the Boccieri, I feel like a queen.

 

As much as I'm trying to drop myself back to an 80% swing when I'm on the course, and trying to control the ball vs. destroy the ball, I didn't feel like the club belongs in my bag.

 

When I make contact, really solid contact, I want heads to turn and my playing partners to know it, and I want the ball flight to show for it.

 

The lack of feel, the lack of an impressive sound during contact, and the loss of distance add up too much for me. I think any one of those things by itself could be overcome, but combined, it's just not there.

 

I love the idea of this club to pieces. If/when they come out with a new version and fix these problems, I'd be very interested.

[Tony Covey MGS]

I had one of our new testers in the shop today hitting the Heavy Fairway. Although that review is done, I needed to gather some additional data which will serve as the foundation of the new scoring system (details coming soon). The tester is a sixty-something year old man whose swing speed tops out in the low 80s. His comparative distance numbers with the Heavy were much better than anyone else who took part in our tests. So while I don't have any real data to back it up, I do wonder if perhaps there's an equal benefit and less compromise for golfers with slower swing speeds.

 

It's just a hypothesis at this point.

[Matt Saternus]

I had one of our new testers in the shop today hitting the Heavy Fairway. Although that review is done, I needed to gather some additional data which will serve as the foundation of the new scoring system (details coming soon). The tester is a sixty-something year old man whose swing speed tops out in the low 80s. His comparative distance numbers with the Heavy were much better than anyone else who took part in our tests. So while I don't have any real data to back it up, I do wonder if perhaps there's an equal benefit and less compromise for golfers with slower swing speeds.

 

It's just a hypothesis at this point.

 

That's very interesting, I wonder if it's related to the low swing weight. It really comes back to what I always say: these are MY experiences, go try it for yourself and see if it works for you.

[GolfSpy Tim]

for myself, I know that went I swung at 80% I still had more distance from my Titleiest, but, I don't doubt that the gab in distances would diminish as swing speed drops, kinda seems to make sense for my non-engineering brain.