Callaway Great Big Bertha woods and irons (2023)

Price: $699.99 with UST Mamiya Helium Nanocore shaft and Winn Dri-Tac Lite grip
Specs: 460 cubic centimeters with carbon fiber crown and sole and adjustable hosel mechanism. Available in 9, 10.5 and 12-degree versions at 45.75” in length.

Off the tee, elite players like Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm generate clubhead speeds in the neighborhood of 115 to 120 miles per hour, so to maximize distance, they need a lower launch angle and spin rate than most club players. However, slow- and moderate-swinging players with a swing speed of around 65 to 75 miles per hour require significantly higher-flying and higher-spinning shots because carry distance is critical at slower speeds.

The Great Big Berta’s crown is made using triaxial carbon fiber. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The new Great Big Bertha driver has a triaxial carbon fiber crown and a new forged carbon sole. Forged carbon is a new material for Callaway, and it allows engineers to create shapes and details that are not typically achievable using carbon fiber. As a result, the Great Big Bertha driver is 43 percent lighter than the head would be using titanium.

Combined with a 40-gram stock shaft, the Great Big Bertha driver is also 30 grams lighter than the 2022’s Callaway Rogue ST Max driver, so with the same effort, a golfer should be able to swing it faster and generate more clubhead speed.

Super computers are used to design the face of the Great Big Bertha driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Callaway gave the Great Big Bertha an A.I.-designed Flash Face to turn that into ball speed. Designed with the assistance of supercomputers, it has a large sweet spot and is reinforced by a new Jailbreak system that stiffens the body at the moment of impact, so energy is transferred to the ball instead of being lost during the deformation of the head.

The Great Big Bertha driver has a draw bias. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

While the Great Big Bertha is not a slice-killing driver, it has a draw bias thanks to a weight designed into the heel area. The adjustable hosel allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by up to 2 degrees.