Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) is planning for some fireworks when its much-anticipated Big Bertha Fusion FT-3 Driver hits store shelves July 4. The company said the new 460cc multi-material driver combines its patented internal weight-shifting technology with a precision-tuned face to deliver the "new science of distance with accuracy."
The FT-3 Driver (suggested retail price $499) was used by Michael Campbell at the U.S. Open. Phil Mickelson has used it in three victories this season and Annika Sorenstam has won with it six times this year. Sorenstam goes for win No. 7 -- and the third leg of the LPGA Grand Slam -- this week at Cherry Hills in Englewood, Colo., where the FT-3 was officially unveiled.
"This is our most exciting driver launch in years," said Callaway Chairman Bill Baker. "The new FT-3 Driver delivers on our mission to make every golfer a better golfer because of design intricacies that make it functionally superior. We have always believed in the superiority of Fusion Technology, and now we have packaged much of what we know about it into a driver that works for everybody."
Fusion Technology, according to Callaway Golf, is the marriage of two distinctly different materials in the club head: a titanium cup face and a super light carbon composite body. The body of the club head is so light, according to the company, it frees up 44 grams of discretionary weight -- nearly a quarter of the weight of the entire club head -- that is distributed inside various parts of the head to benefit golfers' unique swing types and ball flights.
Callaway said the titanium cup face, with patented Variable Face Thickness (VFT) Technology, has a much larger effective hitting area for greater distance on off-center shots. And because it is tuned to comply with maximum USGA limits on Characteristic Time, the company said the face of the FT-3 Driver generates greater ball speed for increased distance.
The FT-3 will be available in two versions, the FT-3 and FT-3 Tour. The drivers are similar in design, but the Tour version comes in half-degree lofts to distinguish it from the standard version. The face angle is slightly more open than the standard lofts, Callaway said, and the shaft, an Aldila NVS 65, is available in regular and stiff flexes that complement the swing speeds and styles of more accomplished players.
The FT-3 will be available in lofts of 9, 10 and 11 degrees, and HT (High Trajectory), and comes standard with the proprietary Callaway Golf Fusion NVS graphite shaft from Aldila. The FT-3 Tour will come in lofts of 8.5 and 9.5 degrees lofts with regular and stiff flexes.
Copyright 2005 PGA.com. All rights reserved.
