Equipment
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Fairway Woods and Hybrids
We’ve reached the point where one fairway wood isn’t just one fairway wood anymore. Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 815 fairway woods have two adjustable weights in their soles that allow them to perform like two completely different clubs.
Position the club’s 30-gram weight in its front weight port and its 3-gram weight in its rear weight port, and it will create a lower-spinning ball flight. Flip the orientation of the weights, and the ball flight will have more spin — and the club will have more forgiveness.
Think of the heavy-weight-forward configuration as the fairway wood equivalent of Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond driver — its more forward center of gravity sacrifices some forgiveness for less spin, which can create more distance for some players.
The 815 fairway woods have a compact shape that was inspired by Callaway’s 2014 Big Bertha Pro fairway wood, a tour-only product that was used by several Callaway Staff players including Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland. You don’t have to be a tour player to use the 815 fairway woods, but better players will see the most benefit from their smaller, tour-inspired head design — particularly in the lower lofts.
The 815 fairway woods use Callaway’s Forged Hyper Speed Face Cup that improves ball speed on shots struck across the clubface. They also have Callaway’s OptiFit Hosel, which allows golfers to choose one of eight loft and lie settings.
Does the technology work? In my testing, the heavy-weight-forward configuration created a very impressive 800 rpm less spin than the more forgiving configuration. Not all golfers will see that big of a difference, but the combination of the 815’s adjustable weights, adjustable hosel and three different loft options makes custom fitting (and tinkering) a breeze.
The Big Bertha Alpha 815 Fairway Woods ($299 — in stores Jan. 16, 2015) are available in lofts of 14, 16 and 18 degrees. They come stock with either Fujikura’s Motore Speeder 665 shaft (L, R, S and X flexes) and Aldila’s Rogue Silver 70 (R, S and X flexes).
Testing Tips: Golfers with very fast swing speeds (105+ mph) will want to try the 16-degree model with the heavy weight forward. For me, it launched extremely high because of its 4-wood loft, but had a spin rate that was similar to a 12-or-13-degree fairway wood.
Lower-swing-speed golfers, or those who use two fairway woods, will want to try the 14- and 18-degree models with the heavy weights back.
Big Bertha Alpha 815 Hybrids
Callaway’s X2 Hot hybrids woods swept our 2014 Gear Trials: Best Hybrids list, earning awards in our Distance-First, Forgiveness-First and Balanced Performance categories. One of our few complaints? They weren’t adjustable.
Callaway’s new Big Bertha Alpha 815 Hybrids are adjustable, and like the X2 Hot hybrids include a Forged Hyper Speed Face Cup for top-notch ball speeds. They’re most similar in design to Callaway’s X2 Hot Pro, with a compact shape, minimal offset and a low, forward center of gravity for a penetrating trajectory.
The Big Bertha Alpha 815 hybrids ($249 — in stores Jan. 16, 2015) are available in three lofts: 18 (2H), 20 (3H) and 23 (4H). They come stock with Fujikura’s Speeder 865 shaft (R, S and X flexes).
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Equipment
Golf fans left surprised by LIV’s choice of course for its 2024 individual championship event
On Tuesday, LIV announced their individual championship will be held at Bolingbrook Golf Club just outside of Chicago. The event will take place September 13-15.
The late announcement is seemingly due to LIV looking for the right course in the Chicago area that has the infrastructure that can accommodate a professional event.
The choice of Bolingbrook Golf Club has received some feedback on social media.
Maybe Rich Harvest Farms wasn't available? RHF is 50miles from Chicago but at least it's surrounded by farm land so plenty of space to set up
— Crawf_Indiana (@captaincrawf) April 30, 2024
Awful course choice, it's a dog track!
— Rob (@piratedwight) April 30, 2024
????#LOOK: Bolingbrook GC in Illinois, site of LIV Golf’s just announced Individual Championship has tee times available around the $50 mark.
Are you teeing it up here? pic.twitter.com/b8Lgv9ZzhK
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 30, 2024
LIV fans were quick to point out that Bethpage Black, which is hosting the 2025 Ryder Cup, can also be played for a reasonable price, making the point the greens fees don’t always equate to the quality of the golf course.
During LIV’s first two seasons, LIV utilized Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago. It’s unclear why that course is off the rotation in favor of Bolingbrook.
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Sun Day Red, the brand from 15-time major champion Tiger Woods and TaylorMade Golf, today launched its initial release of golf, training and lifestyle apparel and accessories. The company’s first-ever release is now available exclusively on SunDayRed.com
This first release, entitled “The Hunt,” is a preview of the colors Tiger will be wearing at the PGA Championship in a few weeks at Valhalla Country Club, in Louisville, KY.
Visual references of friendly rivalry allude to Tiger’s back and forth battle at the 2000 PGA Championship, as well as to the action-oriented nature of the collection’s name. The brand will follow up with additional special releases in May as it unveils the full breadth of the first product line to fans.
“We have been eagerly awaiting this moment since our brand was first announced in February 2024. The outpouring of support from our fans has exceeded our wildest dreams. We are excited for everyone to experience firsthand the exceptional quality of Sun DayRed apparel.” – Brad Blankinship, President, Sun Day Red
For the debut of the initial collection, Sun Day Red is featuring a range of men’s apparel and accessories. Key pieces including:
- A favorite of Tiger Woods, the Training Dry Hoodie was built upon his insights of needing a lightweight versatile piece—especially in the Florida heat.This is something he can throw it on and head out to the range to hit balls. Plus, it’s a cold-weather essential that won’t weigh him down, no matter what the unpredictable Florida weather has in store.
- The inception of the 3D Lightweight Hoodie stemmed from one of the first things Tiger told us when we started working together. He said,”I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing anything.” That became the driving force behind creating this innovative 3D knit piece. Tiger loves how the seamless construction allows him to transition from the course to high-profile events like late night TV appearances and charity functions.
Over time, Sun Day Red will broaden its global presence through wholesale expansion in key markets outside of North America, at retail, and broaden its product offering to include footwear, women and kids’ lines
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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Odyssey Rossie S putter.
From the seller: (@toddba11): “Odyssey Rossie S, 35.5” Premium Black Stepless Shaft (see certification card for spec details). This putter has been carpet rolled only, although I did replace the grip with a Piretti PRT grip and will include a new stock Odyssey grip with the purchase. Asking $400 shipped, thank you.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Odyssey Rossie S putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Rich
Jan 5, 2015 at 5:10 am
These have been in stores in Oz for a few weeks now and they are EXPENSIVE! They are dearer than Titleist and Ping at the moment. Can’t imagine paying more for a Callaway than a Titleist or Ping. If they are THAT good then I guess it’s worth it but it seems like top dollar for these guys.
Large chris
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:14 am
Blimey those necks are big….
Fred
Jan 2, 2015 at 12:12 am
Why aren’t the weights on the Alpha FW straight instead of slanted? Functionality? Or did Callaway not want to reposition the name of their product?
spazo
Jan 2, 2015 at 2:05 am
Because doing so would infringe patents
Fred
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:04 am
Whose patents?
Teaj
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:31 am
could be that better players draw the ball more so when they place the heavy weight forward and more towards the toe that it slows the release of the club?
The dude
Jan 3, 2015 at 11:10 am
Makes sense