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300Yards · 03-27-2007, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by one_focused_svt

So what your are saying is that you can shoot a consistant 330 yard drive (according to your driver review) but you can't manage to overcome something as simple as a head design.......

No, actually I do a consistant 310 yard drive. 330 is muscleing it, if you would actually read my whole review you would see those are averages, from my absolute hardest swings. What I dislike about the Sumo2: Not even the shape, as I liked the FT-i. It is horrible sounding, and I could hit a ball further with a baseball bat. It doesn't feel right, and the square face is intimidating..t casts an illusion that makes you want to close it. It didn't work for me at all, and IMO, it is the worst club design since the Cally ERC Fusion.
MY 2 cents.

Fourputt · 03-27-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by one_focused_svt

I dunno but I'm in Florida as well and we have 2 Pro-Golf's, a Golf USA and 2 Golf Worlds they are all out of both Sumo's and Sumo Squared but have at least 2-3 FT-i's in stock, around here it's not just me but the Sumo is easily the most popular new club on the courses.

The only place I've seen one on a course was in Ft. Myers in February... so maybe it's just a Florida thing..

**DennisM** · 03-29-2007, 04:55 PM

My Callaway FT-i arrived today. I hope tomorrow to change the grip to the oversize style I use so Saturday morning will not be a lottery where the new driver hits it. The course we are playing is pretty tight.

BTW - The magnetic closure on the head cover is one of the neatest things I've seen, but my Garfield cover still has to go on it... cause I'm no Tiger...

**DennisM** · 03-31-2007, 02:35 PM

OK - I played with the FT-i this morning. I'm impressed with a lot of things about it, but I was still able to hit some terrible drives. I seem to be in a minority in that I didn't think it felt our sounded odd, not compared to so many other drivers these days. I'm happy to say I hit the ball noticeably higher, so I could actually be a bit longer with it when I hit it in the fairway.

Mine is the neutral 9.5 degree model and I hit two snap hooks with it. That's my usual problem shot. I tried to hit a couple gentle fades that came out very nice, but a third effort was a terrible push slice that bounced OB off a roof and came back in bounds. (Remind me to thank that homeowner.) The point is, I need to practice with it, but it seems to have potential in my hands.

Since I have an oversized grip on it, it was hard for my playing partners to make up their minds. They tended to push it because my big grips retarded their action. None the less, as peculiar as it seems to look, it begins to play itself prettier as it goes along. I expect it will be OK.

What I didn't think to try from the tee or get a chance to do from the fairway was to see if I could hit it off the ground. Something about that sole looks very tempting.

300Yards · 03-31-2007, 06:11 PM

I could hit it off the deck..btu it launched a little low for my liking..and see thats what I've bee nsaying about these MOI clubs..they're nice, but do they really help that much? I could hook/slice both the Sumo2, and the FT-i on command..maybe it's just me?

Fourputt · 03-31-2007, 07:48 PM

I played in my club's 5 man scramble today. I think I made an impression with my tee shots with the FTi. I was far and away the most consistent driver on the team, and I was the C player, with the A and B players above me. We played in fairly brutal conditions, with 30+ mph winds out of the northwest, and the temperature in the mid 50's. Into the wind I was hitting it straight or with a nice little draw, and getting 220 yards carry... with the wind, look out... a couple of bombed 300+ yard drives. Even with a left to right crosswind, usually my nemesis, I was hitting a controlled draw, or a straight shot that just moved a little bit right. Every time I go out I find something else to like about this club. It's fast becoming my favorite club... and that's saying something, as I absolutely love my TM hybrids too.

**DennisM** · 04-04-2007, 11:25 PM

I've hit 3 buckets of balls and played 3 rounds with the FT-i so far and to tell the truth, I don't feel I hit it any better, (better controlled), than my Callaway X-460 driver. Since the FT-i seems to hit the ball higher, I'm finding myself a tad longer, but length has never been my problem.

If I make a smooth swing, I can see where there's a certain gear effect making me go straighter, but at a loss of 20 or so yards. If I try to hit a ball harder or if I try to hook or fade a shot, it can still away from me as badly as anything I hit with any other driver I've had.

I wonder what it would be like to have the same shaft in both clubs and see how it worked out... I've been looking through various parts catalogues to see whether the shaft characteristics were the same, but I can't find out yet.

**DennisM** · 04-07-2007, 01:15 AM

You might notice my avatar is back to being the X460 driver, not the square headed FT-i.

I took both of them and the pro to the range. So, $70 and two buckets of balls later, I decided,(and the pro agreed), I'm no better with either club. Under the circumstances, his conclusion is that the dynamics of the shaft in the X460 seemed to allow me to rip the ball when I wanted to where the shaft in the FT-i is apparently not quite so stiff and my harder efforts broke down a bit and actually weren't as straight.

Because of the higher trajectory with the FT-i, I'm a bit longer with it, but distance isn't a problem for me in the first place. If I would lose about 30 lbs around my middle, I'm sure my turn would improve and I'd regain some distance I'm losing otherwise.

So, preferring the look and feel of the round driver, I've gone back to the X460.

I still own a 430mm Bertha driver from a couple years ago. I wish I had taken it to the range because I used to hit it pretty good when I first came back to the game. I wonder if the improvement I've seen in recent months would make me better with it now, because the Harrison shaft in it used to allow me to hook or fade the ball at will, certainly easier than with any club I ever had.

Maybe I'll try it again tomorrow since where we are playing is pretty wide open. Film at 11...

Puffysheep · 04-11-2007, 04:53 AM

Wow!!! Lot of debate about the square drivers huh...

Well as I have posted the review for the Nike Sumo 2 driver previously and stated that it was AWESOME, my opinion hasn't changed since then.

Actually I now have been using this driver for more than 2 months so I can back up my statement about the Sumo 2 driver even more.

As for the statement where Florida must be the only place where the Sumo 2 outsells the Callaway FT-i must not be true.

In Houston area I always see a whole bunch of unsold FT-i drivers lying around in the golfsmith, Edwin Watts and other golf stores while there are only 2-3 Nike Sumo 2 drivers in those stores.

Also other than a recall with the Sumo 2 because of the over-size head, people don't seem to have any problems such as head falling apart and ect. according to several store sales associates.

Previous accusation about Nike Sumo 2 breaking apart must be due to the players' faulty swing because the funny thing is that my wife who recently got her Callaway FT-i driver actually broke the head off when she was teeing off and slightly bumped the head on the ground during the downswing.

Do I believe that whole Callaway FT-i line is defective because of this one incident??? probably not... But if the FT-i line is defective like the Sumo 2 line was claimed to be defective by some people, Callaway must have really screwed up on this driver series because my wife has a very slow swing and for her to break the head off really shows their poor quality.

As I have stated in the review for the Nike Sumo 2 driver, both Ft-i and Sumo 2 are awesome drivers and I firmly believe these square drivers are the inevitable future driver designs.

As for which one is better, I believe comes down to the brand preference because other than the sound of Sumo 2, both drivers are very similar. I picked Sumo 2 over FT-i because first, I am a Nike fan and Second, the Nike Sumo 2 driver gave me 3 different choices for the shafts as opposed to Callway didn't give me any choices.

I got a Nike Sumo 2 driver with Aldila vs Proto shaft which alone costs around $200 compared to $90 Fujikura shaft that comes with Callway FT-i driver. (Also FT-i costs $100 more even though it has a cheaper shaft than the Sumo 2)

I believe the decision on brand between Callway and Nike would be predominantly determined by the player's age because I don't know anyone around me who is older than age 40 that prefers Nike over Callaway while many of my generation players actually prefer Nike over Callway.

I am 27 years old and my generation grew up watching Michael Jordan promoting Nike. Back then he was everyone's idol and his promotion of nike must have left a strong positive brand image which still remains with our generation of people today.

white_tiger_137 · 04-11-2007, 07:09 PM

I've hit the Sumo. There was nothing truly terrible or repulsive about it, but I couldn't justify dropping a few hundred on a driver that wouldn't improve my game at all. I think it reduces side-spin a little TOO much for me. With my driver I hit a 5~ yard draw, but with the Sumo everything just stayed right.

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