Callaway Bertha Mini 1.5 Player Staff Review
By Johnathan Beau, AmateurGolf.com Player
Staff
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
As a long time advocate of one of the other
big
brands, I was a little skeptical to try this new
Bertha
1.5 Mini. Is it a driver? A three wood? Maybe the
key
is in the deignation 1.5. Lo and behold, after
some
tinkering, this club works like a dream for me.
Looks: Check out the
photos
on the right. It's very much in line with the
shapes
and lines that has made Callaway one of the top
equipment companies. And at address, the loft is
visible, which is especially helpful mentally, when
hitting it off the deck.
Tech: So what’s the
idea behind this Mini? So the head is a little
bigger
than a 3 wood, but not as big as a driver; exactly
235
cc compared to a standard 460 or 440 cc driver
head.
Additionally, a Forged Hyper Speed face cup has
been
added to a Forged Composite crown with a
cambered
Warbird Sole. What does this all mean?
Easy to hit: off the tee
and
off the deck
Sound: Sounds like a
cannon,
you've got to hear the noise that comes out of
this
small weapon.
Feel: Feels solid, but not
harsh
Playability: Easy and
awesome to shape shots with.
Price: The Bertha Mini
1.5 is
selling for $299.99. Compare that to the Callaway
XR
Pro that runs at $349.99 or the Big Bertha Alpha
815
Double Black Diamond at $499.99.
Additionally, for you tinkerers out there, the Mini
has
the same 8 option adjustability that all the
Callaway
drivers have. So you can adjust the loft one less
degree to one or two more degrees. The Bertha
Mini
comes in a 12 degree loft and a 14 degree loft.
The
one I am using is a 12 degree head. Also, you
can
make it neutral or draw bias for the lie
adjustment,
which basically means the club is either standard
(Neutral) or upright (Draw).
Shaft:
The Mini also comes with a shaft length
between
that of a driver and a fairway wood. But what I
did
was put in my driver shaft and the results were
awesome! I opted for a Motore Speeder 6.2 Tour
Spec
X Flex that was driver length. I hit it as far, if not
farther than my driver (Using an XR Pro
previously),
and it gave me another club in my bag. Now the
longer par fives I can reach in two. The first time
playing with it I took it out from 285 to a front
flag. I
hit it over the green. After that, the Mini was
officially
in the lineup.
THINGS THAT TOOK SOME "GETTING USED
TO"
Not having a driver: I felt
a
little strange not having a driver, but it is more of
an
ego thing. I keep the ball in play more often with
the
Mini than I did with any other driver.
Figuring out how high to tee it up:
Obviously, there isn’t a manual that
comes with the club that tells you how to tee it
up. I
toyed around with teeing it up high like a driver,
or
low like a 3 wood. I ended up sticking with a
lower
tee height, unless I had to carry a bunker or
something. I would say 9 times out of 10 I would
tee
it low, but it’s all personal preference.
Your results will of course vary from mine.
But if
you're intrigued, and like the prospect of finding
more
fairways off the tee and hitting more par 5s in
two, I
suggest you give it a go.