I was forced to buy a new driver as the one I had been using would be non-conforming on 1st Jan 2008 (Callaway ERCII 10deg with 'Firm' Shaft).
I went to a custom fit centre in Somerset and after about 45 mins of swing analysis I was fitted for an FT-5 Tour 9.5deg with UST Pro V2 75g Stiff shaft. 2 weeks later it arrived and I am besotted. One thing I've noticed is that slightly off-centre hits still fly pretty well and I don't know if it's the shaft or club, or both, but I can't feel the club hitting the ball at all, even on off-centre strikes. It's so easy to use.

However, my playing partners have all commented on the loud noise the club makes and I'd have to agree that it isn't as agreeable as the ERCII, but that's a minor point really.

The ball flies further than the old club and has a more penetrating flight. Some of this is down to the stiffer shaft, but not all.

I would recommend this club wholeheartedly, but would also strongly recommend that it is custom fitted. It didn't cost me anything as I bought a club, but otherwise it would have only been £18. I wouldn't ever buy a club again without going through this procedure. Okay, so the UST shaft was an extra £30, but it makes all the difference to the overall club feel and performance.

The negative reviews crack me up. Makes me wonder if the people even gave any effort to be fitted for a club before buying it.
I spent a whole day working on drivers. My swing speed is moderate 95-97 mph consistently. Because of this, a hot face is important for me to get the max ball speed possible. At 95-97 mph, the FT-5 noticeably had the best results. The Superquad and Titleist are heavier heads and require a higher swing speed to get happening. I am not comfortable swinging harder.
Next was the shaft. I had the best results with a mid to high kick point shaft and 10.5 Tour Draw. The launch angles were best and I got the most distance consistently.. 275-300. I bought the club with the installed Prolaunch Red and swapped it out with a professional install of the 652 speeder. You really need to avoid the very low torque shafts or you will get a lot of push drives. The 652 is the perfect combination given the factors I have.
I find this club setup REALLY easy to get a late draw or hit straight with a good swing. A simple move of my left foot open and a late fade is easy to hit and manage.
So... My recommendation is that if you are a 95-97 swing speed, set it up as I described. If you are higher, get a lower loft and a lower kick point. I think the biggest variable is going to be the torgue when dealing with the Tour/Draw/ etc options in higher swing speeds.

Similar Products Used:

Ping Rapture

Solid club with fun sound when you hit it on button. The club is in a ready to go look at address. Long, accurate,and don't miss to many fairways. The club gives a feeling of confidence and easy to keep on plane. It's the best I've ever used and I'm totally satisfied.

Customer Service

These folks invented Customer Service they are great

Similar Products Used:

I'm a club repair person. Took school at Golfsmith in 87. Used Golf Smith products and made many clubs. I bought the Callaway FT5 and 3,5,7 (07) Fairway woods. I like the fairway woods because they are larger and I think the trend will get back to this model. Callaway designs are way ahead of Golfsmith and most others.

This is my first Callaway Driver. I traded in a TaylorMade Burner for it and could not be happier. It is noticeably longer than my TM r7/425, and has an infinitely better ball flight than the Burner (Burner went way too high). The FT-5 has a more penetrating trajectory that seems to result in a little more roll and distance than I have had in the past.
The sound is very different than titanium, but I don't mind it at all. It sounds far better than the square Nike Drivers.
I find the club easy to control and easy to work in both directions with the right ball. I can feel where the ball hits the face pretty accurately. I find that it has a very nice pop off the face and is quite forgiving on mis-hits.
It sets up well and looks great at address.

It works well for me, and I'm pleasantly surprised. I really don't see how I could ask for much more from a driver. And with the price, I don't think Callaway could ask for much more either...

Customer Service

Haven't used it, but friends have said it's amazing.

Similar Products Used:

TaylorMade Burner
TaylorMade r7/425
Nike Sumo

The way this club was hyped I thought there was something wrong with me. After reading some of the reviews I can see there are others that have an opinion similar to mine. The sound of this club is terrible, it' hard to get feed back as to how you struck the club. Off center hits yield considerable loss of distance compared with other clubs. I could go on but there is not enough space for me to list all that is wrong with this Driver. If you ar a Callaway fan and must have one of their clubs, I would suggest spending your money on the X-460. Great distance and a very workable club if you go with the tour version, the none tour has a severly closed face.

Customer Service

Haven't used them.

Similar Products Used:

Taylor Made R5, Callaway X460, Cleveland Launcher 460.

Agree with others about this Driver. I have the 9.5 Tour version (open face) and mirror the statements below that this thing is hard to draw, in fact impossible for me. It's VERY easy to fade and hit straight. Aim slightly left on dog-leg rights and power fade this baby right down the middle. The distance is better compared to my old 983k (275-285). It's forgiving, but that depends on where on the club face you miss-hit it. I found that miss-hits off the toe of the club still go pretty far, but miss-hits low on the heel don't go anywhere.

Shaft. I have the speeder 652 stiff and it's a terrific shaft. Highly recommend this shaft.

Would I buy it? No... I won this in a charity auction. For me, if I paid for this club I'd be dissapointed. For me it's not versatile driver. It's a great driver on my home course, but when I played on a course where it required draws off the tee I suffered. If you're a Callaway fan I'd opt for the non-tour version, or as others have stated, go with the TaylorMade SuperQuad or Titleist, both excellent products.

Purchased this driver a couple months back and I have to say at first I was very pleased seemed to give me the added distance I was looking for. Yea, right, until it starts to get comfortable. The sound and feel are what get me, it's hard to hear and feel how and where you are hitting the ball on the club face. Shaping is almost non-existent because of this. Save your money and go buy a driver that does it all like the Taylor Made R7 SuperQuad.

Well after reading the reviews I thought this club might be the one but the jury is still out for me. The club is open faced 1.5 degrees. I don't know if I'm a big fan of this but it takes a little adjustment. I can still draw the ball but it seems like it's a lot easier to make the ball go right. Straight shots appeared to ever so slightly fade to the right. Not a big fan of the sound compared to my G2. I like the shaft . .. it seems a lot stiffer than the my Stiff G2 Prolaunch. I would like to put these in my g5 3/5 wood. One thing I like about the tour is that it's very workable. When you tee it low the ball goes lower.. when you tee it high the ball goes higher.. there's enough roll on the club to make it go right or left. I kind of wish they made the club square. I'm a little disappointed in the distance of the club.. for this much money it should go at least as far as 2004 technology. Part of me thinks that the club is definitely a more advanced model than the g2 and I need to be a better golfer to take advantage of it.

Wow, I have tried all the new clubs out there, Cobra, This is the best club I have ever played. 90% fairways hit and very consistant distance.

I have been playing with the FT-3 for over a year and been very happy with it- short and forgiving. My only complaint was the ball flight was a little high upon occasion (kind of ballooned), but I think that had more to do with the shaft I had (NVS 65 Stiff).

Regardless I am even more pleased with the FT-5. On pure hits I see maybe 10 yards more. But it is on slight to moderate mishots where the new club really seems to help. I lose less distance than I did with the FT-3 (although it was very good on mis-hits), and am more often than not still in the fairway. Also my ball flight is much more preferable (more penatrating, but with good carry - my drives avg 250, with a good poke out to 280).

Pricey driver no doubt, but it is hard to argue with the results that are shitty

Customer Service

Never Used, but has a great reputation

Similar Products Used:

FT-3, Hi-Bore XL, GBB II,