Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver review

Here you can read the Golf Monthly Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver review

The head of the new Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver looks fantastic behind the ball. It’s as understated as a large modern driver head can be. The look at address becomes even more impressive when you consider the forgiveness that’s on offer. In a driver market full of modern designs and technology, the sole and finish look about as high-tech as it comes. The stylish overall appearance is reflected in the top-end price tag. The stock Fujikura Motore Speeder 565 worked brilliantly during testing and undoubtedly played a role in the consistency and forgiveness on offer. It’s relatively light, but this didn’t result in a loss of control. The highly impressive range of custom shaft options is also available at no extra charge.

Added forgiveness

A new face technology called R•MOTO has been introduced by Callaway engineers into the Big Bertha 815 Alpha. This means that the way the face is structured allows weight to be saved without sacrificing any of the stability on offer. It’s a combination that delivers added power and forgiveness, particularly on shots that miss the centre of the club. The Big Bertha Alpha 815 manages to combine the forgiveness of the standard Big Bertha from last year and the adjustability of the original Big Bertha Alpha. With a full professional fitting this means you can find a driver that impresses on shots that find the centre, as well as those that don’t.

Adjustability

The Callaway Gravity Core remains, allowing the centre of gravity (CG) to be changed vertically. Flipping the core around, particularly when combined with adjustable loft, can help to control the amount of spin (whether more or less is required) a player produces. Additionally, 7g and 1g weight ports allow the head to be set to neutral, draw or fade bias settings.

Even before making any of the adjustments available, the 815 produced excellent distance. Once it was dialled in, the results were even more impressive. With so many options available, it will be hard to find an optimum setting on your own, so a fitting is highly recommended. With so much adjustability on offer, you can produce almost any ball flight. It’s well worth testing the driver on a launch monitor to get an appreciation of the incredible effect that the adjustability can have on performance.

Impact sound

For a number of years Callaway’s premium drivers have offered a pleasing note at impact, and the Alpha 815 continues this tradition. Powerful, without being distracting, it’s another plus point for this excellent model, which should appeal to golfers of varying abilities.