Equipment
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 DBD Driver: What you need to know
Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond Driver ($499.99) is available in lofts of 9 and 10.5 degrees for right-handed and left-handed golfers. Stock length is 45.5 inches. Stock swing weight is D4. It’s in stores Sept. 18, 2015.
Stock Shafts: Aldila Rogue I/O 60 (60-gram range), Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana D+ 70 (70-gram range)
What you need to know
- Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond is the lowest-spinning driver in the company’s new driver line. It’s as forgiving as last year’s Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver, and more forgiving than its predecessor, the Big Bertha Alpha 815 Alpha Double Black Diamond driver, offering a 45 percent larger sweet spot and a 30 percent tighter dispersion.
Two “Distance Chambers” create four possible CG locations.
- The Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond, or DBD, has two “Distance Chambers” in the center of the sole — one closer to the heel, one closer to the toe — that allow golfers to vary the position of the driver’s Gravity Core for more draw bias (heel position) or more fade bias (toe position). Because of the Gravity Core’s design (read on), this creates four distinct CG positions: high toe, low toe, high heel, low heel.
- The Gravity Core, a stick-shaped object made of carbon fiber and tungsten, has a heavy end and a light end. In the past, Callaway advised golfers who needed a higher-spinning ball flight to position the Gravity Core heavy-side up in the club head, while golfers who required a lower-spinning ball flight were told to position the Gravity Core heavy-side down. This is still true with the new design, but…
“WE’RE SHIFTING THE FOCUS OF HOW WE’RE FITTING THE ALPHA DRIVER TO BE MORE ABOUT BALL SPEED AND LESS ABOUT SPIN RATE,” SAID EVAN GIBBS, CALLAWAY’S MANAGER OF PRODUCT PERFORMANCE.
- The spin rate difference between the Gravity-Core-up and Gravity-Core-down positions with the Big Bertha Alpha 816 Double Black Diamond driver has been reduced from about 300 rpm in previous versions to 200 rpm because of the Gravity Core’s shorter design.
- Callaway advises that golfers position the Gravity Core in the heavy-side-up orientation if they tend to contact their drives high on the club face, and in the heavy-side-down orientation if they tend to contact their drives in the middle or the bottom of the club face. Doing so moves the center of gravity (CG) more in line with impact area, which enhances ball speed. Callaway testing showed that 40 percent of golfers create more ball speed with the Gravity Core in the up position.
The DBD is all business at address with a matte black crown, no alignment aids and a slightly opened face angle.
“RATHER THAN DEMONSTRATE HOW MUCH WE CAN CHANGE SPIN AS WE DID WITH OUR PAST ALPHA DRIVERS, WE WANTED TO CREATE TWO TRAJECTORIES THAT ARE DESIRABLE TO TOUR PLAYERS,” GIBBS SAID.”BASED ON FEEDBACK AND TESTING, 200 RPM WAS THE SWEET SPOT.”
The rear weight adds forgiveness, but it’s not meant to be adjusted by consumers.
- The dual Gravity Core ports were made possible by the elimination of Callaway’s previous adjustable weight ports, which were used on the Big Bertha Alpha (2014) and Big Bertha Alpha 815 (2015) drivers to give golfers the ability to fine tune draw and fade bias. Their removal created the discretionary weight possible for the new design.
- Like the Great Big Bertha driver, the Big Bertha Alpha 816 DBD has a Forged Composite Crown, a structure that helps move weight lower in the club head. It also uses the same Advanced OptiFit Hosel, which gives golfers a 3-degree range of loft adjustability. So a 9-degree driver can be adjusted to lofts of 8 degrees, 10 degrees and 11 degrees. Each loft can also paired with an individual lie angle of either standard (S) or draw (D), which makes the lie angle more upright.
- The total weight of the Big Bertha Alpha DBD is 327 grams with Aldila’s Rogue I/O 60 shaft, which uses Aldila’s R.I.P. (Reverse Interlaminar Placement) Technology to give the shaft less torque, increased tip stability and a tighter feel.
More Photos
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- Both driver are 460 cc.
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- At Address: The DBD (left) and Great Big Bertha.
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- The DBD (bottom) has a deeper face than the Great Big Bertha.
Related
- See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Alpha 816 DBD driver in our forum.
- Callaway’s Great Big Bertha Driver: What you need to know.
- Callaway’s Great Big Bertha and Big Bertha Alpha 816 Fairway Woods.
- Phil Mickelson testing the new 816 DBD driver
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- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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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 an Artisan 0521 custom putter
From the seller: (@Nobody2): “$775 -Artisan 0521 custom putter PVD (black finish) with sweep neck hosel. There are no personal stampings other than my player # in very small print on the side of the hosel (all Artisan products have this along with the date it was made). This putter looks absolutely amazing and has only been used for 3 rounds. It has a black steel shaft and has a very Cam Smith look to it. The putter looks new and has no wear marks anywhere on the putter. It comes with extra weights (one set of of 5 gram weights and one set of 15 gram weights). The head cover is a a navy blue ‘quilted blade putter cover.’ If you are wondering why I am selling…I flat out have the yips and the only thing saving me is a broomstick. New, this putter is $1085, so if the specs work for you (grip, length and lie can certainly be tweaked) it will save you some good money and 2 month wait time.
Specs:
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Artisan 0521 custom 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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Kanu
Jan 29, 2017 at 5:56 am
Dear Sir,
I have one Callaway big bertha alpha 816 DBD and 9′
Kindly teach me, how adjust the lopt from 9′ to 10′ -11′
Possible advise with picture for reference.
Thanhs & Regards,
Kanu.
Colton
Sep 18, 2015 at 8:32 pm
Just picked up a 816 DBD in a X- FLEX to replace my X-Hot driver. The increase in distance was easy to see with lower spin and I was getting a tighter dispersion. Love it, I tested the great big bertha and it was nice, but nothing like the 816 DBD. I would play my X-Hot over the Great Big Bertha personally. Easy switch.
Erik
Aug 29, 2015 at 2:29 am
All you guys are right but only for the average golfer. Ya if your an average golfer you can’t really tell between this club and a 10 year older model. But when your a good golfer and hit consistently you can tell a huge different. Like it’s now known that about a 3% up swing on the ball give the best result and the golfers who are really good know that and can do it to get the most of of there drives. And sense that’s known now companies are making it so these new drivers can maximize that. Especially for a drivers like this and the other “pro” drivers companies put out.
You guys are dissing companies like taylormade and callaway for trying new things and saying that it doesn’t work. Well look how much father tour players are hitting the ball now compared to 5 years ago. It’s a huge increase! So the best advice I can give is to invest in a certified instructor who has the correct equipment to get you hitting the ball exactly how it needs to be hit and then you take advantage of the equipment coming out.
Also you guys really need to be fitted for the driver sense there all crazy adjustable now. You can loose a lot of yards and miss a lot of fairways if you have it tuned wrong or the wrong shaft and shaft length.
I have hit this driver and I was able to play a couple rounds with it before the release date and it is something special I absolutly loved it. I’m just a broke college student and $500 is crazy money to me. Clubs are becoming way over priced. But the day it becomes $400 this driver will be mine.
And KK it’s 200 rpms for both.
Joe
Aug 7, 2015 at 10:16 am
Zach says that Callaway is telling him Sept 18th release dat. My Callaway rep was in store yesterday and said firmly and without pause that the lineup will be in stores by the end of August. He also repeated that eh new Apex line will make an appearance just after Halloween.
Joe
Aug 7, 2015 at 10:36 pm
not doubting zach, just curious what the actual scoop is.
Steve
Aug 8, 2015 at 8:15 am
Why release the driver that time of year? When the golfing season is ending, football starting. Buy the driver and store it for 6 months?
KK
Aug 5, 2015 at 10:50 pm
Is it 200 rpms per gravity core or 200 rpms for both? I love the look of the new DBD and the wide, tall face. Not a fan of composite drivers, though.
Corey
Aug 5, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Hit this today and it is a very nice upgrade from the 815. More forgiveness with the deeper face and moving the gravity core makes a nice difference. Should be a popular choice for fitters.
Corey Fields, PGA
Custom Fitter
Marketing Mirage
Aug 4, 2015 at 11:05 pm
All this is is a race of who can market the most BS for people to buy into. I agree this continues to be out of hand. Next thing they’ll resort to is nano tech paint jobs and whatever else they hope sticks to the walls when they throw it on deep. Try a better shaft and swing, until then.
Tom
Aug 4, 2015 at 8:53 pm
Time to stop the bs……yea yea yea its whatever
Mo
Aug 4, 2015 at 8:02 pm
Yes. Another fantastic driver i can get for about $100 in a year
Leon
Aug 4, 2015 at 9:51 am
All I need to know is that if I wait three months, the price will reduce $50; if wait 6 months, $100 off; one year, it gives a $150 discount. And probably one or two new models will come out and say: 400 RPM less spin with 40% more forgiveness. Even my kid will do a good math to add the spin reductions and forgiveness improvements claimed in the past a few year to find out: now everyone is having a negative spin rate driver with double /triple amount of forgiveness.
Dpavs
Aug 4, 2015 at 9:46 am
Does anyone else feel all this stuff has just gone too far? The entire illusion of small tweaks equaling significant game improvement just doesn’t hold much water. The bottom line is that if you swing poorly you get a poor result, if you swing well you get a good result. The return of small differences from all this tech is diminishing at best. If you doubt this grab a driver from about 10 years ago and try it against your current gamer. You will probably be surprised that the results are not as different as you might think they would be. It’s time for club manufacturer’s to stop the madness!
Christosterone
Aug 4, 2015 at 10:37 am
I view golf equipment like cars….is there really a difference between a 65 and 66 mustang? Not really….but premium options like fuel injection eventually trickled down making a 2016 mustang substantially better than a 1966…
While yes, each year (or decade for that matter) may not see discernible improvements there is no arguing that the technologies which last are richly importing the overall driving experience….pun intended
That’s all this is….trickle down technology that in the long run will make golf equipment incredibly more efficient and effective although year to year the improvements are almost imperceptible..
-Christosterone
Steve
Aug 4, 2015 at 5:39 pm
So buy a new driver every twenty years or so.
BTW I think a 60’s mustang would be a much better driving experience and much more desired car.
Christosterone
Aug 5, 2015 at 9:58 am
Sounds about right….personally, I would take a 60s E type jaguar over anything save maybe a 63 split window vette…
But to your point, yes and no…
Adjustability and 430-460cc head sizes are the fuel injections of today IMHO…
Loft, lie and face angle adjustments on drivers were reserved to pros and those who had access to club fitters prior to the str8 fit era….
We will eventually see adjustability in every club in our bag once the tech allows it…putters are beginning the conversion as we speak…
Club makers will continue to throw ideas at the wall seeing what sticks…ideas like square heads and mini drivers will come and go….but ideas that work will, like disc brakes, change our golfing lives for the better…
-Christosterone
Steve
Aug 6, 2015 at 9:10 am
The problem with your theory is that a 40 year old car and a brand new car will take you from point A to point B. Both will go at above speed limit speeds. Golf drivers have speed limits. Take a 975d and any new driver to a golf course. And you will be surprised both will take you from point a to point b. I think it is more like computers or cell phones. They having these selling points that 99% of people will never use or need
Christosterone
Aug 6, 2015 at 8:27 pm
Computers are absolutely a perfect analogy…
I was simply trying to convey the fact that, like computers and cars, most year to year “advancements” are not discernible…but decade advances are more perceptible and tangible…
As said, I think your PC analogy is spot on!
-Christosterone
Steve
Aug 7, 2015 at 10:04 am
Agree, if the hype were true we should all be 100yds longer then 10 years ago.
James T
May 2, 2018 at 11:07 pm
I am.