Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0135

50 Words or Less

The Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 commuter offers some other new wrinkle to Callaway'southward very impactful Gravity Core adjustability.  Great looks and feel.  A must try for better players.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0154 Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0158

Introduction

Callaway's "meliorate thespian" drivers, the Big Bertha Alphas, have been a huge striking here at PluggedInGolf since the line was introduced ii years ago.  Not simply do they look, audio, and experience great, they brought with them the biggest accelerate in adaptability that nosotros've seen in a long time.  This time around, the Callaway Large Bertha Alpha 816 driver is doubling down on its signature Gravity Core engineering with Dual Distance Chambers that can alter spin ratesand shot shape.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0175

Looks

From the original Big Bertha Alpha to the new Alpha 816, Callaway has prepare the standard for great-looking players drivers.  The Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 commuter continues that trend with a compact, rounded head, deep face, and no alignment assistance.

What'southward new for the 816 is the matte blackness crown; previous versions accept been loftier gloss.  While some people may be sick of the matte black, I love the mean look and glare killing.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0145 Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0150

Sound & Feel

In a year of great drivers, the Callaway Big Bertha Blastoff 816 driver may be tops for sound and feel.  Every bit its "better player" target audience will appreciate, the sound is muted without much metallic quality.  I would depict it as a "pop," just that doesn't really practice it justice.

The feel is fifty-fifty meliorate.  This is the rare driver that actually feels hot.  Near drivers fake a hot feel by being loud or metallic, but the Blastoff 816 would feel hot even if you were wearing ear plugs.  This latest generation of Callaway's R*MOTO face engineering science gives you the awareness of the ball beingness fired out of a cannon, which does not bad things for your conviction on the tee box.  All that said, the feedback is however every bit of what y'all'd look from a players commuter.

BB Alpha 816 LM Data

Performance

When I tested the original Big Bertha Alpha, I said that the Gravity Core was a "game changer for order fitting" and the "most pregnant footstep forward in adaptability in years".  With theBig Bertha Alpha 816'south Dual Distance Chambers, you can take all that praise and double it.  Where all previous Blastoff drivers had two positions – Gravity Cadre Up and Gravity Core Downwards – the 816 has four: Up and Down in both Depict and Neutral positions.Each position changes the experience of the driver completely.  If you option upwards this driver and don't like it, don't put information technology downwardly, just alter the Gravity Core.

The weight change does more alter the feel; it also has a huge impact on brawl flight.  Moving the Gravity Core upwards and down changes the trajectory of the ball noticeably.  When y'all move the weight from the Draw chamber to the Neutral sleeping accommodation, you motility the sugariness spot toward the toe and modify the mode the club performs on heel and toe strikes.  As a hooker who likes to see the ball fly high, I found the best success with the Neutral/Downwardly setting which likewise felt the best to me.

In addition to having some of the all-time adjustability available, the Big Bertha Alpha 816 is too surprisingly forgiving.  The R*MOTO face keeps brawl speeds loftier even on mishits, and the launch and spin numbers don't change much on small misses.  Coming into this review, I was in a funk with my driver and the prospect of testing a "players" commuter was worrisome.  Just a few balls later on, I was swinging with abandon considering the results I was getting were and so good.

Finally, I have to mention how impressed I am with Callaway'due south commitment to fitting and that you need to accept advantage of it.  Not only is it benign to have a fitter guide you through the process of dialing in the Opti-Fit hosel and the Dual Distance Chambers, you'll also need one to help you find the best shaft.  Callaway is offering xvi different shafts at no up-charge from names like Fujikura and Mitsubishi Rayon.If you don't take advantage of this, you're leaving yards on the tabular array.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 Driver_0182

Decision

Though you'd think information technology would be impossible based on the performance of its predecessors, the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 driver exceeded all the expectations that I had for it.  The Dual Distance Chambers make a huge divergence to the feel and performance of this social club, and the R*MOTO face makes it long and forgiving.Don't be scared by the "improve players" label, if yous're looking for a new driver, you need to effort being Alpha.

The post-obit ii tabs modify content beneath.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Matt is the Founder and Editor in Principal of Plugged In Golf. He's worked in near every chore in the golf industry from society fitting to instruction to writing and speaking. Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.