Different?: 1991 Golf Driver VS 2023 Driver (30 Year Test)
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- čas přidán 5. 11. 2023
- Rick tries a 1991 Callaway Big Bertha driver & compares it to the 2023 Callaway Paradym!
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Hi I’m Rick Shiels, welcome to my channel RickShielsPGAGolf. This CZcams channel is designed to help you play better golf, also to help you enjoy your golf more!
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Surely it can’t be like hitting a 3 wood Rick, you never topped one 😉
Can you do this test with the same shaft?
Can we get the same length shaft on that Bertha and revisit this? Id be interested to see the club head technology isolated.
I’d love to see you review a 19 degree Ram Bore Thru 5 wood, the club head is almost the same size as the ball but it hits incredibly great!
Rick, others have said it, but I would love to see results with similar shafts.
Would LOVE to see a retro break 75. Research old tee and distances from 30-40 years ago, then match with equipment (clubs and balls). Just to see what they would have been dealing with and how hard it would have been.
You can get sort of an idea by watching the 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, and 2019 US Opens held at Pebble Beach. Same course, different equipment, different distances to holes.
I have two persimmon Wilson woods a 3 and 5, they are lovely but replaced with newer kit. I also have from my dad a big Bertha driver same as Rick shows here.
I now play g400 3W and g425 max driver
Absolutely agree on this. I myself only play old clubs due to financial reason, but I love them all. Like £10 Ping Eye2 3 - sw and now even a £10 Dunlop Maxfli Australian Blades DI +2-sw
@@veterinaren The fun of golf ⛳️ is the same for old clubs or news . We play golf against ourselves and not the fellow players
I picked up a 1981 set of Lynx clubs last year. My dream set from when I started playing. Same set that Fred Couples used to use. Wooden driver, 3 and 5. Giving up about 50 to 60 yards off the tee with driver. Irons are actually pretty close to my 2 year old Taylor Made's. But, boy! are those irons hard to hit!
In 1994, a young South African golfer broke his driver at Oakmont. He went into the Pro Shop and picked up that old Callaway driver off the shelf. No tweaks, nothing. He went out and won the US Open for his first win in America. His name was Ernie Els.
The Big Easy could play women's clubs and break par with that buttery swing.
It’s not the wand…it’s the magician
His name IS Ernie Els. 👊
And it was the latest driver at the time... 😁 After 30 years your gaining 20 yards. Not bad
There was no difference between prose clubs and the clubs you could buy in a pro shop.
There wasn't very many choices for shafts so they probably had his shaft right on the Shelf🤷♂️
And by the way I was an assistant Pro in 1991 and that Callaway driver was the first $500 driver, you needed to be rich to have that driver
Club manufacturers purposely only give us little increases every year to keep us buying every year. It’s business 101.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the 2 drivers with the same length shaft
For sure that's the one variable giving the Paradym an unfair advantage.
Was going to suggest the same thing. See how much of it is the head or the shaft
Whole video is meaningless without removing that variable.
I can't believe you wouldn't compare it with the same shaft.
I was just about to say the same thing before I read your post
This was the biggest leap in any golf tech I've ever noticed. I was a low single digit junior when this came out and I was hitting a persimmon driver inherited from my dad. I tried this out and begged my dad for a year to get me one. It was so much better!
This video has given me some serious nostalgia.
TaylorMade making a metal driver was the first step, big Bertha making oversized was the second step, graphite shaft for the third step. How far is irons, ping eye 2 with the square groove, off set and the cavity back what's the big Leap forward for irons.
@@nvjohansson9741 I never hit any metal woods before the Callaway came out. Maybe the leap wasn't as large!
I used to hit a ping eye 1 and 2 iron in those days and they were amazing to me. I've always hit blades, still to this day, but iron tech seems to have remained similar for 'players' clubs.
The game improver irons have changed a lot though! Filled cavities, larger sweet spots and deloftong every number so two gap wedges are needed! 😂
The "tech" of adding two inches to the shaft? That's what's making the modern driver hit further. Everything else is marketing talk.
@@poika22 No, going from a persimmon driver (wooden head) to a titanium headed driver, which the Callaway Big Bertha was.
That is the change in tech im talking about, not adding length to the shaft, but whatever.
The Big Bertha changed everything about drivers. It set the standard for all drivers from that point and spawned a whole new range of drivers from the rest of the manufacturers. It paved the way to the drivers we have today. A truly seminal golf product, up there along with the Ping putter and Ping Eye 2 irons.
Great point. I would add the Vokey 60 degree wedge and the Pro V1 to that list. Pro V1 maybe too good in the near future, lol.
I like the price with inflation comparison. People always leave that out when comparing prices!
People never leave that out.
Rick I would love to see how the old Calloway performs with a modern shaft at the same length as the Paradym. Then we’d know if the modern heads are adding anything.
I agree. That 20 yards…. Probably about 10 of those extra yards are purely club length to be honest. Lol
Yeah let's see a fancy shaft and the length and I bet you it's gonna be way more similar
Please try this Rick. Put the shaft that's on the paradigm on the BB. Same flex and length. Then give it a few whacks. I bet they are almost the same.
Would be Interesting to see what this head will do with the Modern Shaft fitted in the Paradym
Agreed, get a modern shaft in the old driver and the gaps will surely close
Yes....and at least a shaft of equal length. This comparison is interesting...but two variables muddy the water a bit. Also it would be interesting to explore the 'gear effect' that the older driver faces employed which tends to straight out off center strikes more than the 'trampoline' faces we have in the modern drivers.
Through a modern shaft, he could potentially get his club speed up to the same as the Paradym. He was lacking about 5mph in the BB, so he could potentially add 10 more yards to it. The smash factor won't change from the shaft change, so it would still be 1.41, bringing his ball speed to about 152mph, compared to 158mph with the Paradym. So theoretically he would potentially carry the BB in the low 260s.
Lol. Everything thing would change, sound, dynamic loft, nothing would be the same impossible to predict, one thing I do know is a 45.5” playing length with a ventus shaft would give him 10+ yds easily
It's why I think the rules should limit driver heads to ≈225cc. The marketers try to make people think they can buy strokes. You can't and your driver isn't even 1/4 of the game -- wedges and putters are where it's at, and so-called technology doesn't matter very much even there. Just make sure your clubs fit pretty well and play more. You can do fine with secondhand clubs. Keep track of greens in regulation, up and down, three-putts. If getting one more or one fewer would make a difference in your season, maybe look at equipment with a realistic pro.
This just shows you don't have to spend a fortune on clubs to get by for weekend rounds. It's also comforting to see the even a pro like Rick doesn't get the distance of the new drivers with the old stuff.
I hear people say this all the time, but this is Rick Shiels who is basically a club pro. New technology is super helpful for someone who is inconsistent and not as good at golf. They’ve made clubs much more forgiving.
Hey Rick, recently got back into golfing after a few years of not doing anything. I found your channel and the encouragement and joy you have for golf is infectious and definately spurred me on to trying some changes out. When I got back into the sport I had to buy some clubs and I went with full set of Lynx Predators but I've ALWAYS had issues with hitting drivers straight (I mostly hit massive left to right bananas). I watched some of your pointer vids and they helped make a noticable improvement to the strike but it wasn't a full fix (I have a few old injuries that restrict my swing quite alot). So thankyou for making those, they really did help a lot!
I saw your reviews for the Callaway Paradym range, I kinda like the look of them and the local range kindly allowed me to try one out today. The difference was MASSIVE, it's so much lighter than my Lynx Predator driver that I found myself having to adjust my setup to stop topping the ball (the slightly heavier Lynx club tends to drag my arms away from the body during the swing and onto the ball and the Paradym doesn't do that because of that reduced mass) but once I did connect I hit my first ever 200+ yard carry! I have NEVER at any point in my life hit a ball that far, it was over 20 yards further than I could reach with the Lynx and it was pretty straight. I have my first ever club fitting for one of those on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to it! So again, thankyou for the honesty and infectious passion you have for the sport, it's helped this busted up Warringtonian rediscover the joys of golf.
Gives you an appreciation of the champions in each era, the clubs they used and how well they performed.
I’m still playing with a set of the Big Bertha woods as well as the 2002 Big Bertha irons. I got them used, they are a big step up from the King Cobra knock offs I was playing with before. In 31 years, I hope to be able to acquire a Paradym driver. I’ll remember this review for when I finally get to swing one of those. :)
Me too - tried a new drive goes miles but all over the place - 😮
my wife let my buy a Mavrik driver and hybrid this spring, to replace my 20 year old clubs. (nike knockoffs) they may be last year's model, but the driver can make the ball disappear in the distance.
Your set of clubs and philosophy mirrors my own. Gradually I've introduced new clubs (hybrids) and a chipper but I'm in no rush.
@@garethbater6900 best tip for that is back off your swing speed a percentage point or two. I think of my driver speed as cruising speed, and that's made my drive a lot more consistent.
@@kenbrown2808Your wife let you? Lmao wow
Damn impressive numbers from a 32 year old club. A retro Break 75/80 with 80s and 90s clubs in the bag would be mint!
I’ve used the same driver for nearly 30 years. Big Bertha Warbird 12 degree loft. Love it.
I played this exact driver and it was revolutionary for the time. Shortly after the great big berta came out with custom graphite shafts - they were great clubs. I could hit the gbb a long way and it was solid. I do play the paradym now and love it,
I'd be interested to see you put a longer shaft on the Big Bertha driver and then see what happens. Like, how much does the head do? If you could get an extra 4 mph on the club head speed, how much more yardage would that translate to? Cool comparison, but I really want to see that! 🙂
Be easier to chop the paradym driver down. With the big Bertha not being adjustable. Need a whole new shaft and shaft sleeve
@@Stephen05777 Are you saying change the paradym shaft to match the Big Bertha shaft? I'd be fine with that too. Whatever it takes to remove all other variables out of the equation except the club head.
@@inthebag84 yes or at least to Something the same Length
Great vid. I enjoy these new vs old comparisons. Would love to see how a Great Big Bertha II driver shakes out against the latest tech - it felt like a big leap forward at the time!
I learnt golf with my dad’s set from the 90s and that very driver was flying right below the tee of the range. Loved it!
That’s literally the driver I have in my bag! Got it off my grandfather about 15 years ago!
What this really demonstrates is that the club operator matters more than the club.
Once rick learned about thrift shops from golf sidekick, his life has never been the same
Stacked Golf ⛳️?!
Deffo stacked golf
It was stacked golf put some respect on the thrift goats
Love Rick. Love Stacked Golf. Was awesome when they met up earlier this year. More of that!
Lol I love the high handicap whisperer
I still have mine! It was the first metal driver that I ever had. It was all the rage back then. My father-in-law introduced me to it and a short time after that, I had one in my bag. Good times!
I played golf as a junior in the ’80s, and all we had then were persimmons, and I used to refurb old hand-me-downs and play them. When I quit golf in 1990, I remember my old man and his mates starting to get into metal drivers, and thinking, that's kind of cool and modern, I fancy trying them, but they looked HUGE! Imagine my shock, when getting back into golf in January 2023, to be faced with the modern driver head and length! 😮 But more shocking still, was the tee height! Wow! I was literally like, ”WTF" is that! 😂 It's been so weird to see how far golf has come since the '80s, especially with Trackman and the likes at driving ranges. I have to say, thought: there was something special about stripping down a persimmon, staining it, binding the hostel and re-varnishing it, and then taking it out on course and playing a round with it. It's a romantic side to golf that's lost - I think I'll go and find myself an old, beat-up "wood" and have a trip down memory lane!
I had a very similar experience last Autumn, when one of my friends found out I used to play, and invited me down the local driving range. My old irons must be around 43 years old and the driver, the newest about 40 years old. It's a Mizuno TP15 metal headed graphite shafted driver, which I think I'd traded in a lovely persimmon headed driver at the time. I was honestly worried about using all the clubs, after hearing a few stories about old shafts breaking, heads coming off etc. And yes, the tee height at the range was hilarious. The Mizuno head was noticeably smaller than that Big Bertha, and could pass under the ball without touching it, which made things pretty tricky. My friend, who took up golf fairly recently couldn't believe the difference in head size between our drivers. Hit a couple of buckets of balls though and really enjoyed it, so probably going to have a few rounds with him this year when the weather improves.
Graphite shafts were actually the default on the Bertha and the extra weight of the steel shaft would account for a few yards as well. Would be interesting to see what the difference would have with identical shafts. Also goes to show you can pick up a set of second hand clubs for half nothing that you can have a perfectly decent game with.
The biggest difference in those 32 years is the way these are marketed. All the brands put out the same spiel with every release. I'm glad you do these reviews because newer isn't always better, I think the biggest thing to get from this video is to go see your local Pro and get fitted and have lessons!!! Love your work Rick
PS when are you coming down to Australia???
That was my first "new to me" driver when I was in high school in the late 90's. Got it used in a 2nd hand sports store.. LOVED that thing! It was such a huge upgrade over the old persimmon driver (Wilson maybe?) I had previously in my 'hand me down' set when I was first starting out.
I so enjoyed that Rick , back in 1991 I was running a golf complex and shop and we had on of the early Callaway demo days on the driving range and sold over 100 woods and almost 25 sets of irons on the night , it was bonkers and so much fun , those were the days in golf retail.
Would be interesting to see what is the difference with the Callaway Biggest Big Bertha couple of year later model, with the bigger head (titanium) and possibly a longer normal graphite shaft
I remember when people thought the Big Birtha was huge
I recently got back into golf after taking an almost 20 year break. The driver I've used, up until now, has been a Callaway Big Bertha Hawkeye driver. Just a little newer than the one Rick features in this video. Last week I finally pulled the trigger and bought a used Callaway Epic Flash and an Epic Flash 3 wood to match. I should be getting them tomorrow, in the mail and I'll be putting them to use at my local course's simulator. Looking forward to it, and hope to see similar results.
The day I got my first Big Bertha...i was so proud. Loved that driver and the Warbird even more. 10 deg too!
Shaft length and material kick points are the factors in the 22 yd differences. I'm super skeptical about head technology for "distance" because golf manufacturers are limited to certain spring coefficients off the face. The only "technology" they put into the new driver heads is for forgiveness and centroids of the face. I'd be willing to bet if you were able to put in the same shaft as the paradym driver into the big bertha, that the distance numbers would be within 5 yds of the new paradym driver
They didn't have the same ability to max out to COR in the older drivers. You can see on the numbers that the smash factor for the BB is only 1.41, compared to 1.46 on the Paradym. So yes, he would get more club speed (and therefore ball speed) with a modern, full length shaft, but the smash factor wouldn't be affected, so at most the gains would be just what is gained from the extra 5mph in ball speed.
Agree with all that. It is like comparing a 3 wood with a Driver when there is 2-1/2 inch or more in shaft difference.
It's easy to see the shaft is making up 17 yards. The club speed was only 4mph difference. It would need to be around 8-10 in order to get to 17 yards.
@@TJ-ss1up Its funny with all this tech, the handicaps have got worse worldwide check it out. The old gear produced better players
Had one in high school and they were game changers in the 90’s playing with Balata balls and the new Titleist wound Professional. The good ole days.
Ah, balata balls...I used to get a box of 100 balata lake balls delivered, it was like xmas when they arrived :)
I remember sending in a Golf Magazine insert back in the early-mid 90's. It was basically fantasy golf, where you pick something like 3 PGA pros and 3 Senior PGA pros. I got 3rd place, and won a dozen of the new, fancy Top Flite Magna balls which were slightly larger than the average ball. After losing that dozen, I never played them again.
I had that driver back in the early 90s. I dented the face, hitting it. My carry was around 260 yards. I wish I would've kept it to show people. I now have a Taylormade original SIM driver that I got fitted for when they came out. I just got fitted for the Paradygm triple diamond. My dispersion is better, and my distance is better with it. So I'll be switching soon. Great content Rick!
Absolutely fascinated with this, thanks Rick! I've got a driver, 3 and 5 in Callaway Big Bertha, in the garage, I think I'll take them out one day to try them, out of curiosity!
Love the comparison. I'm curious about the last wooden driver to market. How does the best of persimmon tech compare to the best in steel and carbon?
Persimmon was a myth created by manufacturers the first original persimmon was a very hard dense grained wood that was used to craft heads prior to inserts. Then came bone, fibre, and then metal inserts. which bought about the metal research. I remember owning a Macgregor driver ( MT) with a metal insert in the70's I could play then ! used to bomb this thing. Laminates and persimmon heads no difference apart from cosmetics it was the Insert and the screws !🤫
Put a 45.5” graphite shaft in the paradym and the gap would be only ten yards. People are wasting their money left right and centre.
I’m 72 and had been playing the wooden drivers my whole life until this came out in ‘91. This driver blew us away; it was a significant difference to anything we had ever used. Watching this video made me smile and reminisce about how that was the best thing one could own. It seemed to make driving easy and gave us all more length. The simplicity that you mentioned is something I miss. There was no wondering if I need to adjust the loft; just put it in your hands and hit it.
Hit my first 300 yard drive with that Big Bertha. I remember stepping up to a Cleveland Launcher, adding 60 yards to my drive. Wasn't many 400 yard drives in competition back then.
The steel makes sense, but I would love to see the old RCH-90 on there….that graphite shaft was as much a part of the Big Bertha mystique as the club head size at the time!
I'd be curious to see you compare that controversial Callaway ERC from the late 90s that was classified as non-conforming due to the spring measurement in its face and banned on the PGA tour vs. today's drivers. Be interesting to see if what used to be classified as "cheating" even comes close to what's put in play these days.
They weren't all illegal only the ones marked with a + on the bottom
I just picked up a complete Big Bertha set at a yard sale. Old school sock head covers, and official black leather bag, with its rain cover too! Same clubs as the vid but graphite shafts (RCH99). I’ve never owned a high quality set of clubs so they feel incredible to me and I’ve never hit further or have felt such a satisfying strike. This video has made me feel even better about my purchase. Clearly these 30 year old clubs were a huge step forward into the modern era and they still hold their own. Thanks for the video!
I still have my 90's Big Bertha. Don't use it anymore but I like to chuckle at it when I see it up in the attic.
What did you learn from this? you dont need a new driver every year. Spend the money on lessons and practice rounds.
Would be interesting to see this for irons of 10/20/30 years ago as well. Loft for loft.
Got the 25 year old Tommy Armour 855s Silver Scot, still hitting them.
I recently had a fitting. My clubs are 12 years old. The new heads at the same loft and same type of shafts were getting about 5 yards of distance but about 15 feet of height, and similar dispersion. Switching to modern shafts gave me the largest increase, almost 10-15 yards of distance due to lighter weight and dynamics that reduced sidespin compared to S300s.
So 8 iron in today's clubs vs a 5 iron from back in the day.
@@thedrunkenwobblies1331 Interesting. Wouldn't have thought there would be that much difference in height, given the same shaft and loft.
Such a cool video Rick! I'd love to see you compare a 30 year old driver head on a brand new shaft, and a brand new driver head on a 30 year old driver shaft, super interested in seeing how that fairs
Still use that 10 degree big Bertha (albeit it is the version with a graphite shaft) as a fairway wood. It is so easy to hit off the deck. Play mainly links golf. What a club.
Imaging If u put the same shaft in both im betting there’s no difference in distance all this new tec is bogus
I still have my Bertha, but I haven't used it in years. I have a Callaway Diablo driver now. I don't hit as long as I did years ago. Now that I am 68 years old. Still hit it about 225, looking to update drivers for next year. Thank you for these videos.
Once upon a time, my first driver was the "Biggest Big Bertha". Loved that driver. I ended up replacing it with the Nike Sumo SQ driver lol. I love my Cobra SZ driver, but the Bertha will always have a place in my heart 😊
One of my all time favorite drivers was a big Bertha 9* driver that was a few years old when I started playing golf on 2008. It had a graffalloy blue shaft. To this day it was the best feeling driver I've ever hit. I love the real metallic sound vs the modern carbon sound and feel. Id love to see you reshaft that old driver with graphite and see how it performs. Id also add that a smaller headed driver like that brings driver off the deck back in play
Thanks for this Rick. I am just now getting back into the game after 25 years (plus back surgery) and am not ready to invest in modern clubs until I know I will be able to play enough to make it worthwhile. It's nice to know my old clubs might do fine for now.
Yes! I love this series! Please keep up the good work!
Moons ago I played a PROBE Driver that Chi Chi Rodreguez promoted. Titanium 43.5 Shaft and routinely drove it 300 yards.
Before the Probe I played a TaylorMade 7 Degree Driver and for my 3 wood used a 12 Degree TaylorMade Driver. Sported a 4 HDCP!
Ive got one of those Original One 12 degree drivers in my bag sometimes for the same purpose!
Love the original Big Bertha. I used it right up until the beginning of this season when I switched the the Mavrik. I still have it in my old bag as with my original zebra putter
I love my Paradym! Tried every driver of the year pretty much in my fitting. I'm a high handicapper but the standard Paradym suited me best. Looks beautiful too!
If you added 2 inches to the shaft it would definitely be pretty close distance wise. I've done these tests, but my test was Stealth vs the Great Big Bertha, and I re-shafted the GBB with a 45 inch dynamic gold steel. The distance was 4 yards off. The REAL difference is in the ball. I also tested an old tour balata vs a Pro V1x and it was over 20 yards difference, and the dispersion was WAY worse with the old tour balata. Clubs haven't add nearly as much as people think to their distance. When you normalize the shaft length, it's close. The ball difference is HUGE
I was playing actively when that driver came out and just about everyone I knew was able to get one in a year or so of its release. We all loved it because it was so forgiving compared to wood drivers we had at the time, and everyone used it off the fairway as well. Later, when the 'great big berha' came out, we joked that it was the size of a volkswagon beattle. So interesting to see the comparison.
I remember the controversy when this club came out. It was polarizing, especially in the PGA. I compare it to the ball controversy we are currently going through. I was still hitting persimmon at that time but was wasn't too far away from buying my first metal wood to replace it.
Well, there was Goldwin that in Carlsbad had both different CNC cut on both head and face. And in China there were around 10 factories that did the same, and also with carbon heads and face. This was 1992-
Just came across this video. I've retired to Thailand and just today believe it or not had a new Golf Pride grip put on my 11 deg. Biggest Big Bertha Driver which has an "Ultra Light Grey Coloured Graphite Shaft in Regular Flex" My current Driver is a Callaway Epic Max 10.5 degree. I also have a Callaway Diablo Octane 10.5 Deg. I used to love the sound coming of the Biggest Big Bertha, the modern Callaway drivers have a duller thud in comparison. The Bertha used to be a good fairway finder. I'll give it a go next week. I also have a Ping G20 which was a nice Driver in its day. I carry a Ping G20 7 wood, great club if you can get hold of one.
When I first started golf all woods were real wood. Some older ones had screws holding in the plastic insert but that evolved to epoxy holding them in. All shafts were steel. When the first graphite shafts started showing up they had wood heads because the Pittsburg Persimmon hadn't arrived yet. All irons were forged and there was no such thing as a "forgiving iron". My first real good irons were Haig Ultras, wish I still had them!! After that all hell broke loose in the golf club production!! I enjoy your videos!
I carry the Big Bertha Sky Hawk 3, 5, and 7 woods in my bag! Love the flight and distance I get off of them! Great clubs
Same. I love the look on my buddies faces when I out drive them every time with their fancy new driver set
A great video. I love compassion. In 1991 when the Callaway big Bertha was released I was 6 years old. Rick you were 5 years old ❤
When i started middle school in 1999-2000 I got a golf bag for my pe class and clubs we got to chose at the rec center and my set got a big Bertha 😂 and many old but awesome to use back in the day .. love the video bro thanks
I played a Ping wooden steel shafted driver early’90s . Had a friend, 6’8” steel shafted driver at 45” length, very heavy. Had a Bertha 12* driver steel shafted, it was a great fairway club also.
Interestingly, a few days ago I found my old Cleveland Classic persimmon head driver in an old bag of clubs in the garage. It has a Brunswick Precision frequency matched stiff shaft & I’m pretty sure I bought it late 1980’s. I use a Ping 425 lst 9° with tour stiff shaft these days. Using range balls (I find a good 10% difference, even more using premium balls in play), I hit the Cleveland 20m short in carry (200 vs 220) & distance (218 vs 238) vs the Ping. Similar ball speed (140mph, though I can make 150mph with the Ping when really clocked) as the shaft lengths are similar. Ball travelled a little lower. Was like hitting a 2 wood I guess..but gee the head was tiny! I’ve removed it from the garage bag & placed it with an old hickory of my grandfather’s in my study - such a nice looking club!
I used to play the big bertha back then, and re-shafted it 2.5” longer to carry 280-285. I discovered the distance change when I re-shafted it 1.5”(it was difficult to swing being 6’2”) and had it done again to add an extra inch because I preferred a more upright stance.
I really love the videos where you bring out some old equipment and test it or just play with it
Love your video, yesterday I took out my old 3 wood (late 1950s) I actually hit a ball off at tee, it went straight and about 170 yards, I was shocked that I could actually hit the ball, the sweet spot is about the size of a thumb tack.
Wow, when he turned the Big Bertha to a top down view, it brought back a ton of memories. Loved that club. When I bought it my Dad acted like I had bought a Ferrari, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. Thanks for this.
I still have that exact same driver in my garage, together with a set of Maxfli Tour Ltd forged irons from my junior days in the 90s😀
This is awesome, that exact club is the one my stepdad gave me years ago. I just recently got a different driver and was blown away😂
i love this. i'm a less than casual golfer, but want to get out more. my driver is ancient, and it's great to see the value in what upgrading can bring.
My driver and most of my clubs are from the very early noughties, I bought a PXG hybrid a couple of years ago and honestly it's easier to hit than my old driver and woods. I'm really looking forward to seeing what difference a modern driver makes to my game.
Great comparison video! I remember when the Big Bertha came out. I was 25 or so...and I remember hitting it for the first time on the course (borrowed) from my playing partner. I crushed it. I haven't played much over the last 10-12 years, but am getting back into golf in my 50's. I am looking at adding the Paradym ai Smoke Max driver to my arsenal...as I still am playing an old driver..the Taylormade R7 quad from 2004 or so. It will be interesting how different I hit a new modern driver. ...now to convince my wife I need to spend $600 to get more yardage and better control...Keep up the great content!
I remember when this club came out. Every player that used it was thrilled to get 250. The 7 iron in my set at the time was 36*. I also used Titleist Professional 90 balls. But back in the day, a lot less people played golf. It was a really difficult game to play. None of the equipment was forgiving. Before I used the Big Bertha, I had persimmon woods and Wilson blades. I was happy to break 90. Golf was also a lot cheaper. A teenager could walk 18 for $12 at the public course on a weekend. A good course around here will cost you $75 on a weekend.
One thing of note; they taught etiquette. Speed of play and various rule details were expected to be followed. Today at a public course I see all sorts of bad things going on, anywhere from hitting multiple balls on every hole, to driving carts way up by the greens and hideously slow play. It’s like a free for all. I think I liked it better back then when golf wasn’t as popular. People would try out golf and quickly stop playing when they realized how hard it was….haha.
Appreciate your comment! I was scrolling looking for someone to explain golf in the 90s and whether it was tougher due to lacking equipment technology. Seems like today’s game should be easier haha.
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Here’s the one critical area that should be mentioned; misses went short. If I miss with today’s clubs, it goes far, but that doesn’t mean I’m playing well. If I hit a shot from 150 and I’m a few degrees off, I miss the green to the left or right. Back in the day, if I missed, it just went short. It’s much easier to chip to the green from a short shot. When you are on the sides, all sorts of bad lies, bunkers, slopes can occur. Example: I have a couple of sets of irons. One set is the Titleist T300, and another set is the Cobra RF MB Copper blades. When I miss with the T300, it’s in horrible spots. That’s where all the hole’s dangers are placed. If I use blades, a miss puts me short up to 15-20 yds, however, I find it much easier to get up and down from the front, than from the sides. I had my best rounds of the year with the blades; not the forgiving clubs because I can chip. There’s only a small number of times when short is dead and that’s a hole that has water short of the green. Hopefully that is when I hit the shot well…haha.
My Uncle had and still has the Big Bertha in his bag....granted he hasnt played golf properly in nearly 20 years but he still loves that club to this day!
My friend’s father got one as a going away present in ‘91. We couldn’t believe how big it was. Makes me wonder how small my original woods were, and better appreciate what pros used to golf with.
I still have a driver I used around 1993. It's wild how it was considered huge and light but its smaller and heavier than my current 3 wood (Titleist TSR3).
Hi Rick, I love these videos... but what would be really good would be if you could test every callaway driver that was released every year, from 90's until now, then compare performance from one year to the next, to see which years really made the difference to club performance! i'd be intrigued, especially when you compare the difference to club cost!
I have two BB 454 Ti drivers. Paid $50 for each. Love them both!
Never forget, its not "How far" its "How many". I gamed the callaway Big Bertha Warbird (maybe the 1994/5 version of this big bertha) club until 2017 when I bought a XR16. Still love that driver and hit it from time to time at the range for nostalgia.
Love the old school big bertha. Hadd the BB warbird, was lightyears infront of the other drivers at that time. Also the look and sound was sick, proper classic.
Great video. I still have some of the older clubs you tested in my storage.and the new paradym
I’m 63 and definitely remember the revolutionary Big Bertha and then the Taylormade Burner! Pounding a steel 3 wood 250 yards and a driver 280 yards! We were slaying the par 5s! Unfortunately technology can’t keep up with age! I’m crushing the new drivers 250 yds these days!
The good ol' Bubble Shaft.
Hey Rick, fun video! I like comparing and practicing with old drivers that I have. It would be fun to have a long drive contest with you were I use an old driver, even a wooden driver, while you use new tech to see how much difference it makes. To perform like we can now guys back in the day would have to be monsters!
Another difference which I think is important here is launch angle. Quick bit of information. I am an ex club repair and clubbuilding tech, with some training and experience in fitting. So that's part of my perspective.
The Big Bertha had a launch angle of 14 degrees. The Paradym launched at 15.2 degrees. That extra 1.2 degrees of launch is generating some of the extra carry that we see here. The ball speed off that hotter face is an extra 9.7 MPH despite only 3 MPH of more clubhead speed. (Good face design!)The usual carry distance to ball speed ratio is 1.7 to 1. So that's accounting for about 16.5 yards here. The extra 5.5 yards is coming from launch angle. Not huge. But significant. It's an extra wrinkle that I've always felt is worth noting.
Most of that extra launch comes from the way we hit these clubs. The big head kinda forces us to tee the ball up more and have a bit more positive angle of attack coming into the ball. That launches higher without adding spin like loft does. The somewhat lower and more rearward centre of gravity also helps, so long as we are hitting a bit more upward with these clubs to avoid extra spin, which most people do.
My very first steel driver loved that club at the time game changing.
I loved my Great Big Bertha! I also carried their 2 wood. It was a fairway finder when I really needed it. I wish I still had them both.
I’ve got them both. Still use them.
This channel is exactly what I need from our boy Rick
That old BB when it came out used to drive me nuts getting it back into it's headcover when I used to caddy back then. Rick making me feel old.
I have this driver and also the Great Big Bertha from 1999 and those are still my favorite clubs.
My foursome made fun of me when I bought that driver back in 1991. They laughed at how large the head was. I was just way ahead of them when it came to technology. They also laughed when I was the first to carry a 60 degree wedge, a hybrid and a two ball putter.
Last year, I bought 25 years old Titlest Driver in mint condition for a 100 bucks. It's harder to hit, but I got used to it and damn it's worth the money. + Nostalgic sound.
Interesting and highly entertaining comparison! I didn't take up the sport until several years after '91 but had friends that owned newer versions of this driver. I seem to recall that the graphite shafts were much softer and shot dispersion would be compromised without a sound swing. As others have mentioned, would be great to see the comparison if the current paradym shaft was put into the older club head.... and layer on top of that, results from Rick's comparison vs a 10 index...?
I have an original Big Bertha. It’s no bigger than my current 3 wood. I was talking about this with my son just a few days ago, trying to explain the ground breaking technology Callaway unleashed with this club. Old timers immediately began demanding rules be changed to ban them, or limit head size. I can still remember how amazed I was when I first hit it.
retro 90s tour kit on a break 75 would be really fun.
I have the exact same old big Bertha from 91’ with a graphite shaft. Consistently at 260 yards. Works for me and my budget.