Big Bertha is getting bigger

No-one can say that Callaway don't do things their way. The company that revolutionised the game with their drivers have taken things a step further, developing the new Big Bertha Steelhead metal woods and they touched down in Ireland within the last week or two. The clubs are distributed by John Swan Ltd in Santry and are even bigger than their imposing predecessors.

The sole of the club, in profile, resembles a hawk's head and you could perhaps say that the company have adopted some predatory instincts of their own in the on-going development of metal woods. Indeed, the face on the new driver is even bigger than the one which featured on the Big Bertha War Bird.

Why did Callaway replace the best-selling metal woods, the War Bird family? They reply: "At Callaway, we think the Big Bertha trademark stands for a continuing tradition of making golf more enjoyable for the average golfer. The Big Bertha Steelhead Metal Woods are the most forgiving steel woods we have ever developed."

Given the controversy earlier this year over the so-called "trampoline" effect on drivers, the R & A and the USGA have confirmed that the new club's specifications conform with their rules.

The new Steelhead woods will replace the existing line of War Bird woods and designer Richard Helmstetter has developed a unique design made of three different parts: (1) an extremely lightweight, very thin crown plate; (2) a super-strong solid face and lower body with varied internal thicknesses; (3) a precision-cast, stainless steel variable weight chip that is individually inserted into the interior of the clubhead to achieve the exact weighting and ensure "the right inertial properties".

Callaway claim that the new product has been "rigorously tested and found to be demonstrably superior to . . . any comparable club on the market".

Donald Dye, the company's president, explained at the recent launch: "Our goal was to produce a metal wood with a very low centre of gravity while not sacrificing the larger effective hitting area of the clubface. We wanted to increase the average golfer's chances for a better shot from a variety of lies . . . for golfers of all skill levels, we believe they perform better than shallow-faced fairway woods."

The Steelhead driver is available in lofts starting at six degrees and a complete line of fairway woods is also available in both left and right-handed in men's and women's, including: 2, 3, strong 3, 4, strong 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

Callaway say that the newly incorporated design features have enabled them to move much of the weight lower in the body of the clubhead and to lower the centre of gravity while also maintaining a large hitting area above the centre of gravity. Indeed, the face has been enlarged from 199cc (on the War Bird) to 214cc.

One of the most novel features is the sole. "Our new Hawk Eye sole is the result of what we have learned in the five years since we introduced the War Bird sole," they explain. "It is convex instead of concave, to push the turf down more effectively through impact." Bigger and better? We'll have to wait and see, but Callaway are particularly bullish about their new product and, they say, the bottom line is that players should get the ball airborne with less effort.

The likes of Jack Nicklaus and Nick Price have argued that golf club technology has gone far enough. It seems, however, that there is still some room for manoeuvre, and all within the rules set down by the governing bodies.