Callaway Ft-5 Driver

- Callaway has taken their popular Fusion FT-3 and made it even better. Most people would agree that Callaway had a pretty good driver in the FT-3. It was the company's most technologically advanced driver to date, yet you just kind of had a feeling that Callaway was capable of squeezing more out of their Fusion technology.

Let's quickly review some of the technology behind the FT-5. The biggest feature here has to be the "fusion" of the carbon composite body with the titanium face. This carbon body is lighter than an all titanium one and it allows the company to free up more weight and move it around. This does a few things...

- It allows for more weight on the heel and toe... which increases MOI... which makes the club better on mis-hits.

- It allows for more weight to be used in the bias customization... making the "Draw" version more of a draw bias... and vice versa.

- It allows for more weight towards the back... which lowers the center of gravity and helps optimize launch angle.

The stock Fujikura shaft is an excellent shaft for most players and Callaway has added a "Tour" version for the better player. The Callaway custom department is one of the best in the business and their customer service is first rate. The company has also included the FT-5 in their OptiFit System, a customization option that allows golfers to try numerous shaft/head/loft combinations on demand.

It's pretty safe to say that people seem to favor the FT-5 over the FT-i. The square FT-i takes MOI to the max but the more traditional FT-5 is still a very stable driver. The best way to describe the FT-5 is to call it a "tweaked" version of the previous FT-3...

- It's longer and more forgiving than the FT-3... Callaway is able to get the most out of the VFT face. The FT-5 really excels in the "maximizing mis-hits" department... the larger face offers better performance on more of the face.

- It's stock shaft is better than that in the FT-3... Callaway went from having one of the worst stock shafts (RCH line) to a good stock shaft (Aldila NVS in the FT-3) to a great one. Callaway's Fujikura option is one of the best stock shafts on the market.

- It has more discretionary weight than the Ft-3... The "Draw" draws more and the "Fade" fades more. The lower center of gravity gets the ball up a bit easier.

The "loss of distance" comment comes up from time to time but I think some of it can be attributed to the FT-5's high launch angle. The driver balloons on some people but a proper fitting should help cure this. Callaway gives golfers a lot of options and a properly dialed in FT-5 should give you some decent distance.

The club also has a bit of a "dead" feel. This is something that generally comes up when dealing with composite drivers. Composite materials can dampen vibration (feel) and sometimes these drivers won't seem as "lively" as a full titanium head. Composite materials can also change the sound of a driver... not a huge deal to most but a deal breaker for others.

The FT-5 is one of the most expensive drivers on the market. The driver offers a ton of technology but there are definitely some other lower priced options available that might lure away a price conscience shopper.

Overall... a solid driver that offers a lot of technology and more options than Baskin-Robbins. The FT-5 might feel different, sound different and hurt the wallet but there aren't many better drivers on the market.