Retro Review video series is where we’ll go back through time and look at some iconic pieces of equipment to see if they still stack up against their modern day equivalents.
First up is the Callaway Fusion FT-i driver, which caused quite a stir back in 2006 when it launched. When you take the headcover off, it soon becomes apparent why… It's square! We test it up against last year's Callaway Paradym driver to see how it compares and if there's still some merit to the concept today.
First up is the Callaway Fusion FT-i driver, which caused quite a stir back in 2006 when it launched. When you take the headcover off, it soon becomes apparent why… It's square! We test it up against last year's Callaway Paradym driver to see how it compares and if there's still some merit to the concept today.
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00:00Okay, welcome back to Golf Monthly and a new series that we're doing called Retro Review.
00:04Well, we're going to be taking some game-changing equipment from its time, some iconic stuff,
00:09and comparing it to its modern counterparts.
00:11We've partnered up with Golf Club for Cash, one of the leading retailers of pre-loved
00:15equipment, and they've supplied us with some absolute gems to test.
00:18So if you want to check those guys out, look in the description below.
00:21Without further ado, let's get straight into it.
00:24Okay, so first up, we've got an absolute classic, and it is the Callaway F-Fusion FTI driver.
00:31Now, this was released in 2006, and it had a retail price back then of £400.
00:36We've picked it up for the bargain price of £63.99.
00:40Now, first off, the elephant in the room, you might have noticed, it's square.
00:44Now, that might put a few people off.
00:46I actually quite like the visual.
00:47I like the straight lines.
00:48They do a lot for me in terms of alignment, and I actually really enjoy that.
00:51Now, this was in the bag of players like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els at the time,
00:56so he was actually a really popular driver on tour.
00:59Now, the tech story behind this is a super high MOI, so they put a lot of weight back
01:04to create a really stable driver on mishits, so really, really forgiving.
01:09But as a high-speed player, generally higher MOI drivers, I can spin a bit more,
01:13so I can get a little bit excessive spin.
01:15So it'll be interesting to see how that pans out in the testing.
01:18To explain the MOI a little bit, I always like the analogy of if I tried to push you over
01:22and you were just stood like this, it's going to be fairly easy for me.
01:25If all of a sudden you put a foot back and you've got more weight and stability back,
01:29you're going to be more stable and more difficult to push over.
01:32So that's the principle behind the FTI.
01:34I'm going to head to the range, get a few away, and get some initial impressions.
01:49Okay, so we've come down to the range now at the Oxfordshire Golf Club,
01:52and it's probably a good time to introduce what we're comparing the FTI to.
01:55So we've got the standard Callaway Paradigm.
01:58When you put them down beside one another, the contrast in looks is pretty stark.
02:02Obviously, the FTI is square, so there's a huge difference straightaway,
02:06but also the face is quite on set from the hosel.
02:09The hosel goes in quite a long way behind the face, which is quite an interesting look.
02:13So, yeah, two very, very different-looking drives.
02:15I'm going to hit a couple away now to start to get an idea of the feel and the sound from the FTI.
02:31So, first of all, acoustically, pretty audible there.
02:35It's a very loud noise that comes off the face.
02:38I hope that was picked up on screen because that is a very, very loud sound,
02:42and it did feel quite, almost like a hollow quality to it.
02:45Yeah, it's quite unique.
02:47So let's have another go.
02:54Yeah, I really hope you can pick that up on the audio because it is pretty offensive.
02:57We've got a few people on the range here.
02:58I hope I'm not disturbing their practice with that noise.
03:01So, yeah, let's compare and contrast the Paradigm.
03:04So it should be a very different feel.
03:13So, yeah, that's just a completely different gravy in terms of feel.
03:17Much more muted, a much deeper sensation off the face.
03:20It's really, really very different.
03:22So I think it feels a lot more sophisticated than its older counterpart,
03:25but it'll be interesting to see how the performance goes.
03:28So, probably at this point, it's a good time to pop up some data on the screen
03:32and have a little chat about what we saw when testing the two.
03:35So, as you'll probably see here, FTI had a significant amount of noise,
03:40and as you'll probably see here, FTI had a significant amount more spin,
03:43which is probably to do with the MOI, the increased MOI on the club head weight back,
03:47increasing that spin, increasing the stability and reducing curvature,
03:51which also alludes to why it's probably a little bit tighter in dispersion.
03:55As you can see from the Paradigm, ball speed up, spin down.
03:58So it was getting a lot more carry distance and total distance out of it.
04:02But, yeah, some interesting numbers to compare there.
04:04Let's see how it goes on the course.
04:06Okay, so I'm going to start with the FTI, and then the 10th hole is a little dog leg
04:09longish par four.
04:11So I'm just going to hit a couple away, take some data and see where we are.
04:21Little fade, started left side, cutting back.
04:24Just going to make the fairway quite floaty.
04:28Now, these balls are marked with an F, so I can check where they end up down the fairway,
04:32or hopefully the fairway.
04:39Very similar to the first one, could be on top of it, in fact.
04:46Again, seeing a fair bit of spin.
04:49Let's go again.
05:01Just a touch further left than the other two, so we're going to stay in the left semi,
05:05but really similar flight window.
05:07Okay, so let's hit a couple away now with the Paradigm and see how that compares.
05:10It's worth noting that there is a slightly stiffer shaft in this.
05:14This is extra stiff as opposed to the stiff in the FTI.
05:17And we're very similar in loft.
05:18This is 9, and that's 9.5, but worth noting those differences.
05:21So let's see how it goes.
05:30Little out the heel, just started straight, cutting onto the right edge of the fairway,
05:34that one.
05:36A little bit more fade than the FTI.
05:40Let's go again.
05:50Okay, that's pretty comparable line-wise to the ones I hit with FTI.
05:54Again, just down the left half of the fairway there.
05:58Certainly lower in spin.
05:59It was a bit more of a penetrating ball flight.
06:03Let's try a last one.
06:07And similar to the first one there, a little bit of an overfade, started straight, just
06:15going to the right edge of the fairway, so it'll be interesting to see where those are
06:19distance-wise.
06:20Okay, so we've come down the hole to actually see where those shots have ended up now.
06:23And I've already taken a look at the data, and there were some interesting points.
06:27Probably most notably, we had ball speed, spin, and carry distance.
06:31And I'll get on to that in just a moment, but firstly, if you can see here, I've got
06:34quite a nice tight grouping with the FTI.
06:36I've got two on the bank, and one just probably five or six yards further right up the fairway.
06:40A really nice tight grouping, but what I did notice is with the additional spin that the
06:45FTI was creating, curvature was minimal, so that's great if you are trying to hit a straight
06:50shot.
06:51I was setting up for a cut here, so if you are thinking of going to a higher MOI driver
06:55or a square driver like FTI, you might want to start sort of reconsidering some start
06:59lines and where to set the ball out, because they started great exactly where I was aiming,
07:03but didn't deviate as much as I would hope.
07:06When you go over to the paradigm, moving up the hole here, I've got two in the fairway
07:09over there on the far corner, so they actually cut with the shape of the hole like I wanted
07:13to.
07:14It had a little bit less backspin, which helps you facilitate a little bit more curvature.
07:19It sort of allows the spin axis to be altered more, and when you've got a lot of spin with
07:23FTI, that spin axis is more difficult to manipulate and more difficult to shape the ball, so that's
07:28worth thinking about.
07:29I've got a further paradigm that's just a bit over that hill.
07:32There was more ball speed on paradigm.
07:34We're talking up to, like I said, five miles an hour was some of the shots, which has translated
07:39to about a 10-yard difference in overall distance, so something worth noting there, but yeah,
07:45if you are looking for a straight-hitting machine, FTI seems to be doing a really good
07:48job for me.
07:49Okay, so the Callaway Fusion FTI, what did we find?
07:52Well, if you're looking for distance, there is more available from a more modern equivalent
07:56in the paradigm that we tested, for example, but if you're playing a shorter, tighter golf
08:01course and you're on a budget, we've got a real fairway-finding machine here.
08:04Loads of spin, loads of MOI, and plenty of safety to keep it in play, so in that sense,
08:09it really does stack up against its modern-day counterpart.
08:11For $63.99, it's a real bargain in the right circumstances, so check out the description
08:17below.
08:18Go and have a look at Golf Clubs for Cash for some other best pre-loved equipment, and
08:21that's it from me from the Oxfordshire Golf Club.
08:23See you next time.