Callaway RAZR Fit Driver works for Phil

Phil Mickelson generated major buzz during the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing for not only himself and the Tour but for his equipment manufacturer, Callaway.

Mickelson is well known to golf fans as the Salvadore Dali of the short game with an imagination and execution second to none. He is also known for his difficulty in keeping his tee ball on the planet.

So it was of great interest to many when Mickelson lit up Pebble Beach Golf Links for a final round 64 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to take the title and then played himself into a playoff at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles. Both of these performances were highlighted by Mickelson’s ability to keep his tee ball in play.

Curious minds wanted to know just what magic wand Philly Mick was wielding to turn his erratic driver into a reliable fairway finding instrument under pressure.

The answer is: the new Callaway RAZR Fit, Callaway’s first foray into adjustable drivers. In fact his exact stick is a 9.5 degree RAZR Fit with a Fujikura Motore Speeder VC7.2 shaft.  

Fascinating. We just had to know more so we contacted Callaway for a little Q & A with Luke Williams, Global Director of Woods and Irons, Callaway Golf.

Wayne Mills-Other manufacturers had offered adjustable drivers for a few years now. Why did Callaway wait until now with the RAZR Fit?

Luke Williams- We’ve explored adjustable drivers for several years now but felt that those introduced heretofore placed far too much weight in the wrong places which compromised performance. As club designers, one of our most valuable commodities is weight, and the ability to strategically place that weight where it will increase the performance of the club. In the case of RAZR Fit, we employed our proprietary Forged Composite material in the crown, which is lighter, stronger, more precise than titanium. This, along with our lighter and more robust Speed Frame Face saved the weight necessary to create what we feel is the first adjustable driver without any performance compromises.

 

WM- How does the RAZR Fit compare to the OEM’s drivers? What are the differences?

 

LW- The RAZR Fit driver is the first adjustable driver to deliver real results without any performance compromises.

 While other adjustable drivers may require multiple points of adjustment and many steps for customization, the RAZR Fit comes with an easy-to-understand adjustable hosel and moveable weights on the sole that allows players to precisely tune the driver to match their swing and style of play, creating longer, more consistent shots and lower scores on the golf course.

 In addition, the crown of Callaway’s driver is made from Forged Composite, a revolutionary new material developed in collaboration with Lamborghini. The Forged Composite crown gives the driver a lower center of gravity and more forgiveness creating longer, straighter shots off the tee.

 

WM- How do the two weighting options work and what characteristics do they change?

LW- The RAZR Fit is preset with weight balance in the Neutral position. After observing ball flight, golfers battling a slice can easily interchange the weights using the torque wrench provided to change the club’s center of gravity to a Draw position (12-gram weight in the heel and 2-gram weight in the toe). This will promote a right-to-left ball flight.

 Conversely, to promote a more left-to-right ball flight, a golfer can place the heavier weight in the toe of the clubhead.

 

WM-What materials are used in the heads of the RAZR Fit drivers?

LW- The crown of the RAZR Fit driver is made of Forged Composite, a revolutionary new material created in collaboration with Lamborghini that is lighter, stronger, more precise than titanium, the metal used in most drivers.

 RAZR Fit also features Streamlined Surface Technology – a new driver design that allows for less wind resistant throughout the swing creating increased club head speed at impact – and Speed Frame Face Technology, a new clubface feature that creates a larger sweet spot to help golfers when they don’t hit the center of the face.

 

WM-Which shaft options are available with the RAZR Fit, meaning Fujikura, etc?

LW- The RAZR Fit driver comes standard with a 45.5″ Aldila® RIP’d™ NV shaft and a premium Golf Pride® New Decade Multi Compound grip. Callaway’s custom order program offers the ability to choose from more than 20 additional shaft options.

 

WM-What is the overall weight of the driver?

 

 LW-RAZR Fit Driver features a D5 Swing Weight

 

WM- Is this a lighter or heavier model from the most recent comparable Callaway driver?

LW- This is slightly heavier than the D4 Swing Weight featured in the RAZR Hawk driver.

 

WM- Does the RAZR Fit follow the current club manufacturers’ trend toward lighter overall weight in drivers?

LW- RAZR Fit occupies a middle ground position in terms of overall driver weight. There are custom shafts and grips available to lesson the club’s overall weight, though many golfers feel that lighter clubs are more difficult to control. Through extensive testing, we concluded that RAZR Fit’s overall weight is optimized for the vast majority, and the feedback we’ve received has been excellent.

 

WM- How much, if any, input did Phil Mickelson into the formulation of the RAZR Fit driver?

LW- Phil lives in the San Diego area where Callaway’s test center is located and comes by fairly often to work on his game and test out new equipment. He is a bona fide equipment aficionado and we always listen to his ideas and viewpoints on our designs.

 

WM- Do Callaway PGA Tour pros change out the weighting on their drivers depending on the course they are playing and/or the particular playing conditions that day?

LW- Our staff pros are continuously working with Callaway fitting staff to fine tune their clubs for maximum performance.

 Based on particular players’ shot tendencies or comfort with a given course on tour, they may very well be adjusting their driver prior to tournament play.