Callaway FT-i 25th Anniversary Driver Review

The FT-i came from two designs actually, along with a totally new concept. The old Callaway C4 driver, a composite driver featured a metal skirting around the perimeter which helped drastically on off center hits. While this driver was extremely accurate, it lacked hitting power due to the softer face material. Callaway has long been known for its long hitting Titanium drivers and the consumer wanted both designers in one! Introduce the Fusion Series beginning with the original ERC Fusion to the FT-I, Callaways high performance drivers have incorporated Fusion Technology.

The FT-i features a larger head than the original Fusion and the FT-5. Oh, did I forget to mention that it is also square! This will raise the MOI and lower the center of gravity for straighter, higher launching shots! The advances in technology have allowed the designers at Callaway to "fuse" an entire face area of a Titanium driver to the body similar to the C4. This makes for not only a very forgiving driver, but one that goes long as well! The technology frees almost 50 grams of weight to be distributed to the perimeter to create a high launch low spin driver designed for todays golf balls. Callaway has also incorporated a new feature where this weight is put in the center of the club, to the toe or to the heel. This will created a fade or draw biased head that will be more prone to opening or closing at impact to help reduce or create a different ball flight for the player.

When I got a chance to hit this driver I was impressed. It was a little difficult to look at with its long, square head and closed face, but I had to keep an open mind. After I hit a few balls with this ugly duckling, I noticed one thing, the ball went high and straight as advertised and had more carry than any other driver I had tried, but that was it. A high straight ball, no roll to speak of really, it just went up and landed like a hot air balloon. I am not complaining, I was just surprised, Callaway is always good at making clubs that hit the ball a mile, but the FT-i is designed to hit fairways first. I was testing the 9* Stiff version and also got to hit their new tour model. The tour model features a higher center of gravity, square to open face with neutral to fade weighting. This allows the better player to work the ball better and really get through the ball without the fear of hitting a big hook! I was able to work the ball with both, but had a better time hitting a draw with the standard version and a better time hitting a fade with the tour version for obvious reasons, but there are a couple pros on tour including Ernie Els using this driver!

Given the new tour model, better players can give this a try as well. While it is not the longest driver, it is the straightest!