Callaway FTi Driver

[Imurg]

Played yesterday and while I was waiting to check in at the club I noticed a Cally FTi demo driver in the corner of the shop. The spec suited me (9 degree, stiff shaft) so I thought I'd give it a go.
Now I've had consistency problems with the driver for some time now and although I've recently got an R9 - set to maximum draw!- I'm still very able to spray it everywhichway except where I want it.
I tried the FTi against the R9 on every hole, alternating so as not to have had a practice swing before using the FTi.
Well, the FTi outdrove the R9 every time and the accuracy was much better. I always played the first ball I hit and 4 times I played from the deepish rough after using the R9 but 8 times I played from the fairway after using the FTi. I did hit a couple of bad drives but they were obvious bad swings and no amount of technology could have helped them.
I was so impressed I'm really tempted to get one. Its the first time I've tried a square driver and the look didn't really bother me and the performance was there. These are dirt cheap now as they've been around a few years.
Anyone else got/had one of these? What are other people's thoughts on them?

 

[welshjim22]

Demo'd on a few occasions and always gone well. Got the Diablo and hitting longer than my FT5 so not looking to change at present but the FTi and iQ are always tempting.

 

[Robobum]

Of course it goes longer and straighter than your own current driver..........it's a demo club!!!!

As soon as you part with your hard earned cash and buy the thing then it will suddenly turn into another short & crooked club!!

 

[RGDave]

These are dirt cheap now as they've been around a few years.
Anyone else got/had one of these? What are other people's thoughts on them?

I tried an FTi and didn't really get on with it. However, as I use a spine driver, I guess you could say I'm a believer in square!!!

t.b.h. we have a guy at mine off 14 who's had a new driver every year for as long as anyone can remember. He bought an FTi and hits his as well as I hit my spine. Driving is the strong part of his game now and he swears by it.....I don't blame him.

I kept both my FT-3 and High Launch benny just in case I revert....but I don't think it'll happen soon, not unless I get ultra straight.....the spine saves me a good few "fairways" per round.

 

[Scobie]

I had an fti last year and i have to say it was a really good club.It was straight down the middle more often than not but the killer for me was that i got no distance out of it.I'm not a big hitter so i felt i needed something that could give me those few extra yards so i changed to a g10 and it works brilliantly for me.If you can get distance out of the fti though its going to be a great club for you,its definately the most accurate driver i ever used.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not a fan of the head but I know several guys that have them and swear they are the longest and straightest they've used. I'm not a fan of many of the Cally woods at the moment. I don't like the Diablo range especially the draw version which sits so closed it looks weird behind the ball.

 

[theeaglehunter]

I'm very surprised the FTI was longer than the R9 which by all accounts is a pretty long club. I've tried the FTI various times and it has always sat in the category of straight but short for me. It just seems to come off the face a bit dead compared to others, and as such looses distance.

Good luck to you though if you can get it working well on both length and accuracy fronts! I'm probably just rubbish!

 

[vig]

When I replaced my Speedline after the debacle i had with it.

The 2 stand out models on the flight scope, for me, were the R9 & FTi.

The FTi was around 12 yds longer than the R9 but the dispersion was wider so I went for the R9

 

[RGDave]

The FTi was around 12 yds longer than the R9 but the dispersion was wider so I went for the R9

So the R9 was more accurate....wow....

I didn't think anything could beat a square driver for straightness

Do you go for a specific shape?

 

[vig]

Probably just my crap swing Dave but the R9 shots were all, what I would see as acceptable for line.
With the FTi there were some that quite frankly would have put me in a lot of trouble.

If I just wanted length, it would have been the FTi without a doubt, but, for me, it didn't do it.

 

[Imurg]

Well I jumped and got one. First time out today and although i wasn't playing well I certainly hit my fair share of good drives - the 17th being the best. Approx 290 including the roll and bullet straight.
I'm sold on the FTi. But the noise is horrific!!

 

[Yidio]

Imurg,you're not wrong about the noise an Fti makes. I had the 3-wood version of the Fti & that was bad enough. One of the reasons i got rid.

I bet the driver sounds like hitting the ball with a frying pan....