Callaway wants you to know, “This isn’t what it looks like.”

Written By: Tony Covey

Friends, let me paint a scene for you.

A young woman emerges from a dimly lit hallway. Her hair is a tangled, frazzled mess. What’s left of her makeup is streaked across her face. There was a party, and now it’s over. One hand clutches her underwear the other reaches into open space is if it’s making one final desperate grab for dignity.

She’s been naughty.

You…you’ve seen this before. You know exactly what this is. Unmistakable is the walk of shame, or so you think, but in the waning moments before you pass final judgement, the young woman’s eyes lock on yours. She smiles innocently and says,

Bertha is Her Name

The young woman, her name might as well be Bertha, and over the last 9 months or so, Callaway Golf has thrown one hell of a party in her honor.

Depending on your perspective, Callaway has been either prolific or promiscuous with its driver releases. 15 months (give or take) has brought us:

• FT Optiforce (evolved to Bertha V-Series)
• X2 Hot
• X2 Hot Pro
• Big Bertha (replaced by Big Bertha Alpha 815)
• Big Bertha Alpha (replaced by Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond)
• Big Bertha V-Series (there’s still time)

Ignore U-Design and that’s still 1, 2, 3…oh hell there’s more.

Media was given the green light to run with the launching of the latest and greatest Big Berthas last week, so lots of information is already out there, but yesterday Callaway made it official, which basically means there are now lots of videos detailing every reason why you absolutely must have the new Big Bertha Alpha 815  or the Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond…you know, assuming you don’t already have the Big Bertha V-Series.

I swear to god, if you’re just hearing about this for the first time, I promise you, I’m not making this up.

8 drivers in just over 1 year, 5 of them bearing the Big Bertha name.

Let’s dig a little bit deeper.

The Pertinent Technical Details

As you’ve already been told, the 2015 (or 815 if you prefer) series of Big Bertha’s features two models. The Big Bertha Alpha 815  replaces last seasons regular Big Bertha, while the new Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond (yes, that’s the real name), is the direct replacement for the Big Bertha Alpha.

They’re both Alphas, so we can assume that Callaway plans to use Alpha anytime a gravity core is involved. And so as it happens, both models do in fact feature Callaway’s Gravity Core technology along with adjustable heel/toe weighting.

In case you haven’t pieced it together, the name Double Black Diamond is meant to imply difficulty (skiers will recognize the nomenclature instantaneously). It’s hard to say whether golfers who live states away from ski areas will get the reference, but the point is, Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond is less forgiving (more difficult to hit), and designed primarily with better players in mind.

The name almost literally says extreme difficulty. Am I the only one who really wants one?

For its part, Big Bertha Alpha 815 (no black diamonds) is the the flagship driver for the rest of us; designed with an emphasis on side spin (technically no such thing) correction and general playability.

The most notable change in either of the two models is that Callaway has eliminated the perimeter track weighting system from the previous Big Bertha, and replaced it with the movable weight system most commonly associated with the company’s RAZR FIT Series. While Callaway didn’t respond to questions in time for publication, sources are telling us Callaway moved away from the perimeter system because the average consumer wasn’t leveraging the technology to its fullest capabilities.

Basically, weights were most commonly set at one extreme or the other, with intermediate settings largely ignored. Moving back to the one heavy, one light weight system should simplify things a bit. It’s either one or the other. There is no more in-between. The weight system is common to both new Alphas, however; the heavier weight in the DBD is 2 grams lighter than it is in the standard 815 Alpha.

Both drivers feature what Callaway is calling Rib Motion Control Technology, or R-MOTO. Basically, Callaway engineers developed a rib structure along the leading edge of the driver. This structure allowed Callaway to save some weight up front, which gave them 3 grams of weight to move low and back to improve MOI.

We haven’t seen any direct performance claims from Callaway this time around, but worth a mention…the company is already saying that Double Black Diamond produces approximately 100 RPM less spin than last…actually, let’s call it what it is…THIS season’s original Alpha.

Both models feature Callaway’s Optifit hosel which allows the golfer to reduce loft by 1°, or increase it by 2°.

Pricing and Availability

The Big Bertha Alpha 815  will be available in lofts of 9°, 10.5°, and 12°. Stock shaft is the Fujikura Speeder 565. Retail Prices is $449.

The Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond will be available in lofts of 9° and 10.5°. Stock shaft is the Aldila Rogue Silver. Retail Price is $499.

In both cases, a multitude of other shaft options (upgrade charges may apply).

Callaway Is Alone On (Vertical) Gravity Core Island

Gravity Core works. It absolutely does.

Our own tests revealed that Gravity Core performed exactly as advertised. We saw almost precisely a 300 RPM reduction in spin when we moved the core from weight up to weight down.

But…

As you may be aware, at last year’s PGA Show, TaylorMade’s Chief Technical Officer, Benoit Vincent caused a stir when he called Gravity Core Technology “a fraud“. His argument was simple. Nobody needs more spin, golfers simply need more loft.

Gravity Core works, but is it necessary?

I’ve run countless sample shots using FlightScope’s Trajectory Optimizer, and while it is possible to produce slightly more carry with higher spin, I’ve yet to run across a single case where adding spin without adding loft produces more total distance. In fact, as your launch conditions move closer to generally excepted ideals, the consequences of greater spin are amplified. Independent trajectory models suggest more spin is almost never actually desirable.

So why add spin?

You can always (with anybody’s technology) make the case for gimmickry. Companies get locked into bad technology all the time. They build an identity around a look or tech feature…gravity core, low/forward CG (TaylorMade), cavity back driver (Nike)…and then they’re stuck with it. It’s bad business to totally invalidate what’s been billed as break-through technology after only a single iteration or two, and so, for better or worse,  you roll with it.

Why Vertical?

It has been suggested to me that the primary gravity core is actually intended for a few Tour Players who don’t like the way additional loft looks at address. If a guy needs 10.5, but doesn’t like to look at more than 9.5 degrees or so of face, then adding spin is a nice little workaround.

From an engineering standpoint, all of the experts I’ve spoken with about Gravity Core tell me vertically is the wrong way to move weight. Positioning the Gravity Core in the up position moves the center of gravity farther away from the neutral axis of the driver head. This is a recipe for decreased efficiency (energy transfer) at impact.

You’re going to see more manufacturers bring adjustable CG technology to market, but it’s an almost certainty that Callaway will be the only ones leveraging straight vertical adjustment.

What’s interesting is that Callaway puts the number of golfers who play the gravity core up close to 50% (those same experts I’ve spoken with estimate the more-spin-is-beneficial crowd is actually under 10% of golfers). Is there a technical discrepancy for the differences?

Look it’s entirely possible Callaway is ahead of the curve here. History is full of examples where one guy proved the majority wrong, but the thing is, we’re dealing with reasonably well-accepted physics of design kind of stuff here.

It’s entire possible such a high percentage of golfers play with the core up because Callaway didn’t manufacturer an Alpha driver with sufficient loft to properly fit a good percentage of those customers.

Here’s something else to think about…

The benefit of Callaway’s R-MOTO technology is that it allows additional weight to be placed low and back. Everyone in the industry other than TaylorMade believes low and back is more beneficial than basically any other combination. So why…in a model where Callaway says it wants to be low and back (that’s where they moved the weight they saved through R-MOTO), would it then suggest a golfer take some of that weight it just moved low, and move it high? There is an apparent contradiction here.

We’re planning a larger story on CG movement, and hope to hear what Callaway has to say on the subject.

Callaway Stole the TaylorMade Playbook

If you’ve been keeping up with our articles on the state of the golf industry, you’re by now aware that one of the biggest issues facing retailers is the seemingly never ending cycle of quick releases followed by increasingly quicker discounts.

Release a driver. Drop the price. Release a new driver.

You have seen this before. On the surface anyway, there are eery similarities between what Callaway is doing now and the model that many suggest is directly responsible for the declining health of the golf equipment market.

Let’s put it out there.

The current Callaway approach looks like market flooding. It looks like rapid discounting. It looks almost exactly like the TaylorMade business model of the past several years.

It looks like Callaway stole the TaylorMade playbook.

The guys at Callaway, I believe, would like you to know that this isn’t what it looks like.

So What is going on here?

That’s exactly what I asked Callaway.

More than two weeks ago, I submitted a list of questions…what I think are very fair questions…to company representatives.

As of this writing, and despite numerous follow-up requests, I have not received an answer to a single one of them.

It has been suggested to me on several occasions that Callaway believes it’s possible to succeed under an accelerated release schedule provided two things are true:

1. Products are differentiated from one another.

In Callaway terms, the Double Black Diamond isn’t for the same guy who buys Big Bertha V-Series, AND (and that’s a big AND), the consumer understands that.

And so, allow me to present…

The Callaway Differentiation Strategy

Presumably with 2 new Alpha 815, and Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond joining the V Series, the Big Bertha Family of drivers is now complete. Hopefully nobody mates and has Bertha minis, because frankly, I think this is at least as many Bertha drivers as the market can bear.

Differentiation is a huge part of the Callaway strategy moving forward. Basically, if Callaway is able to help the consumer understand that none of these is right for everyone, but one is right for YOU, then it might be possible to continue to release products at an accelerated rate.

If, however, the consumer starts to believe that anything new is a replacement for everything old (V-Series is 7 YARDS LONGER than Big Bertha), well then confusion sets in. That’s bad for retailers. It’s bad for the industry as a whole (more inventory collecting dust), and it will be bad for Callaway too.

So to (maybe) avoid confusion, Callaway is targeting the Bertha line at 3 distinct types of golfers, while making a concerted effort to help you understand the differences.

Double Black Diamond is for better players. It’s less forgiving than the others, but it’s super low spin for maximum distance.

Bertha 815 Alpha offers more “side spin correction” (emphasis for the dubiousness of the term “side spin”), more forgiveness, and more playability in a general sense for the majority of golfers. It’s still low spin (because low spin is good), but not as low spin as Double Black Diamond.

V-Series…it’s for guys who need some help generating clubhead speed. It’s lightweight, it’s aerodynamic. It’s for those of you who are force limited (you don’t swing so fast). It’s designed to add MPH to your swing. This is exactly why Callaway uses terms like “Faster” to describe V-Series.

It should go without saying that there will always be some overlap between the Bertha models. Idiots like me will buy Double Black Diamond because we’re willing to sacrifice yardage on mishits for more distance on those rare occasions when we actually hit the center of the face.

V-Series, even though it’s primarily for slow swingers, gets play on tour, because sometimes it just works.

The point is, while there are no absolutes in any of this, Callaway is doing everything it can in an attempt to differentiate its individual products from one another.

To that end, Callaway has produced 3 “Where Will Your Distance Come From” videos.

Normally I wouldn’t stack 3 videos like this, but I think it’s important for everyone to understand how Callaway plans to differentiate it’s product, and these videos pretty much convey the message. Feel free to skip ahead.

Enjoy…

What About X Hot?

Xhot will remain in the lineup, and while it will be billed as basic tech, all-titanium, etc. What we’re really talking about is an option for people too cheap who won’t spend $400 on a new driver.

The Other Thing that Needs to Be True

Make no mistake about it. Despite surface signs that the industry can’t take anymore, Callaway believes it’s possible to maintain accelerated release cycles provided inventory is properly managed (retailers aren’t stuck holding the bag on a bunch of gear they can’t sell). If it can do that, Callaway (I’m told anyway) believes it is in fact possible to avoid the rapid discount model that is killing retailers.

To sum it up, Callaway believes they can manage inventory in such a way that price drops are only necessary to clear out a relative few remaining units, and that’s only if the product doesn’t sell out entirely first.

How are they going to do that?

Lots of Unanswered Questions

That’s exactly what we wanted to know. And so I asked.

Here that list of questions I submitted to Callaway to try and get to the heart of exactly how this strategy is different than what we’ve seen before (and what, for that matter, failed miserably).

Sentence structure has been cleaned up to be more formal (contrary to what you might believe, I get on well with the Callaway guys…we keep it loose), and names have been eliminated. Otherwise, these questions, their context and spirit are exactly as submitted.

Here’s what I’ve been told is the basic breakdown of your category differentiation strategy.

4 Categories:

1. Force Limited (V Series)
2. Side Spin Correction (Bertha Alpha 815)
3. Better Player (Double Black Diamond)
4. Value Consumer (All Titanium, X Series, basic tech, etc.)

Did I miss anything?

Unanswered to date.

Is it fair to say that each is ‘primarily for’ a given audience, but there’s always some overlap (none of your tour guys are force limited, for example, but V Series gets tour play)?

Unanswered to date.

Did Bertha’s perimeter weighting go away because consumer’s just didn’t get it/weren’t able to take advantage (was explained to me less tactfully, but that’s the gist)?

Unanswered to date.

Sources tell me that Callaway believes that consumers don’t hate rapid release cycles, what they hate is rapid discounting (somebody else buying for less). Is that an accurate characterization of the thinking inside Callaway?

Unanswered to date.

It has been suggested in the forum world that Callaway is simply following the TaylorMade playbook/release model. How is what Callaway is doing different?

Unanswered to date.

Assuming that the timing of this launch (less than 1 year after BB/BBA launch) is about aligning/setting up the timing for the future, how often should the consumer expect you to launch direct replacements? What is the anticipated shelf life of a Callaway driver?

Unanswered to date.

Will you offer the consumer any sort of guarantees regarding how long you will maintain the original MAP price (and not toss in any fairway woods, or any of that nonsense)? 

Unanswered to date.

Assuming an aggressive release schedule, how can you prevent the channel from overfilling and forcing another round of quick discounts?

Unanswered to date.

Whatever your answer to the above…what happens if you’re wrong? What’s the escape for retailers? Net Down, credits, or will you take the excess back and give refunds?

Unanswered to date.

Even if you’re able to manage inventory, maintain pricing, etc., have you given any consideration to the reality that people just want new gear (the latest and greatest), and when they can’t always have it (because none of this is cheap), irrational or not, it just kind of pisses them off, and they blame the manufacturer?

Unanswered to date.

The Takeaway

I suppose what you need to know is that Callaway has two new premium priced (one more premium than the other) drivers about to land on a retail shelf near you. My guess is that you bought Alpha in March or April (and paid full price), you’re peeved. I’m guessing if you bought Bertha or Alpha, you probably expected more than a 9 month lifespan, and you’re peeved too.

You’re not being irrational. There are seldom guarantees, but a 9 month shelf life for what was originally a $500 is obscene.

Having said that, the indisputable reality is that the releases of these two drivers doesn’t diminishes your previous purchase (although arguably, eBay being what it is, it does diminish the value). Both of the early 2014 Big Bertha drivers perform as well as they ever did.

In terms of that performance, it’s reasonable to expect minor gains (it’s rare to see a major leap any more), and while we thought Bertha proper was nothing special, Alpha (for the guy who fit into the narrow range of lofts) was inarguably among the best drivers this season. I expect measurable improvement from Big Bertha Alpha 815, and Double Black Diamond should prove a standout for its intended audience as well.

The sticking point isn’t performance. For many, the frequency of releases coupled with the rapid discounts is the problem. It makes buying a Callaway driver a risky proposition.

Why buy now when it will be cheaper in 6 weeks? Why buy in 6 weeks when the next model is just a few months away? For the average consumer, more than ever, it doesn’t make sense…not at these premium prices.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been told there’s a plan. I believe there is a plan, and while I’m not certain it will work, I’d love to see Callaway make a run at it and even succeed. What company representatives have hinted at is at least interesting. Maybe even ground-breaking.

The thing is, until someone can explain to the consumer exactly why this isn’t what it looks like, it’s plenty reasonable for you to assume that it is in fact exactly what it looks like.