Review: Callaway Diablo Octane Driver
Lamborghini + Callaway = You must give this club a test drive.
Lamborghini has always pushed the design envelope with its iconic cars and space age materials. Callaway has always been a leader in driver research and development. So when you put the two together in the lab, you get a new material used in the 2011 Callaway Diablo Octane Driver and the Callaway Razr Hawk Drivers. Their claim is that the new material is hotter and lighter meaning 8 yards of added length to the driver. So is it true? Did the new material add 8 yards to my drives? You’ll have to read down to the end to find out.
The Diablo Octane is offered in a couple of different styles, the regular Diablo Octane comes in even degree lofts and the Tour Octane comes in .5 degree lofts. The regulars tend to be a degree or two closed while the tours are about a degree open. The head shapes are also different; the regular being wider in all directions while the tour is more compact and deeper faced. The tour also offers a full-length hosel, while the regular driver is the traditional Callaway short hosel.
I received the Tour Diablo Octane 8.5* loft with the made for Project X 6.0 shaft. I had a little time on a launch monitor before I took it to the course, this might not have been a good thing. I learned that the combination of head and shaft kept me from getting a high launch angle. While I was getting great swing speeds, excellent ball speeds, and low spin my launch angle was on the low side.
So when I arrived at the first tee, I had some of those thoughts in mind and tried to elevate the ball with my swing rather than letting the club do the work. But after almost giving up on the club, I decided to swing easy and see what happens, (this is always a good swing thought). And just like that I went from less than stellar drives to pounding it down the middle. While I still wasn’t getting great elevation, I was getting tons of roll and was finding the middle of the fairway.
The sound of this new material is excellent. It is that perfect blend between metal and composite. For years Callaway has made a composite driver, which almost sounded too muted, and the metal ones had a tinny sound from time to time. This one blends solid metal sounds with the muting of composite. It is overall one of the most pleasant sounding drivers around right now.
While I am not much for hitting draws, the low lofted tour version was nearly impossible for me to turn over, I tried and wasn’t too successful. It did go right quite easily, the open face and low loft can be a dangerous combo for a slicer.
The “made for” Project X shaft looks really good and plays similar to the original but not quite the same. It felt like it was a little higher launching and didn’t have quite the same strong kick at impact. It felt a little softer, most likely to fit the masses. It is a very good stock shaft, but not a true Project X. The headcover is really nice in black and has a handle like slot on the top making it easy to remove. It is the long sock type too so the shaft is well protected while in the bag.
So how long was it? I felt good about the distance for the way I was swinging. I did get it out there a couple times close to 3 bills. On average it seemed pretty similar to my other drivers, but I have a feeling that with a 9.5* loft I could add a little carry and maybe pick up a couple of yards. If you have a well fit driver, I don’t know if any driver is going to work miracles, but a couple yards is not out of the question with this driver.
Lamborghini and Callaway worked together to design a great looking, great feeling and long driver with new materials. You might just want to go test drive one today.
Quick Hits
+ Traditional look
+ Long Hosel
+ Excellent Sound
+ Hot Face
--“Made For” Project X Shaft
-- Too low loft for me
For more information: www.callawaygolf.com
Lamborghini has always pushed the design envelope with its iconic cars and space age materials. Callaway has always been a leader in driver research and development. So when you put the two together in the lab, you get a new material used in the 2011 Callaway Diablo Octane Driver and the Callaway Razr Hawk Drivers. Their claim is that the new material is hotter and lighter meaning 8 yards of added length to the driver. So is it true? Did the new material add 8 yards to my drives? You’ll have to read down to the end to find out.
The Diablo Octane is offered in a couple of different styles, the regular Diablo Octane comes in even degree lofts and the Tour Octane comes in .5 degree lofts. The regulars tend to be a degree or two closed while the tours are about a degree open. The head shapes are also different; the regular being wider in all directions while the tour is more compact and deeper faced. The tour also offers a full-length hosel, while the regular driver is the traditional Callaway short hosel.
I received the Tour Diablo Octane 8.5* loft with the made for Project X 6.0 shaft. I had a little time on a launch monitor before I took it to the course, this might not have been a good thing. I learned that the combination of head and shaft kept me from getting a high launch angle. While I was getting great swing speeds, excellent ball speeds, and low spin my launch angle was on the low side.
So when I arrived at the first tee, I had some of those thoughts in mind and tried to elevate the ball with my swing rather than letting the club do the work. But after almost giving up on the club, I decided to swing easy and see what happens, (this is always a good swing thought). And just like that I went from less than stellar drives to pounding it down the middle. While I still wasn’t getting great elevation, I was getting tons of roll and was finding the middle of the fairway.
The sound of this new material is excellent. It is that perfect blend between metal and composite. For years Callaway has made a composite driver, which almost sounded too muted, and the metal ones had a tinny sound from time to time. This one blends solid metal sounds with the muting of composite. It is overall one of the most pleasant sounding drivers around right now.
While I am not much for hitting draws, the low lofted tour version was nearly impossible for me to turn over, I tried and wasn’t too successful. It did go right quite easily, the open face and low loft can be a dangerous combo for a slicer.
The “made for” Project X shaft looks really good and plays similar to the original but not quite the same. It felt like it was a little higher launching and didn’t have quite the same strong kick at impact. It felt a little softer, most likely to fit the masses. It is a very good stock shaft, but not a true Project X. The headcover is really nice in black and has a handle like slot on the top making it easy to remove. It is the long sock type too so the shaft is well protected while in the bag.
So how long was it? I felt good about the distance for the way I was swinging. I did get it out there a couple times close to 3 bills. On average it seemed pretty similar to my other drivers, but I have a feeling that with a 9.5* loft I could add a little carry and maybe pick up a couple of yards. If you have a well fit driver, I don’t know if any driver is going to work miracles, but a couple yards is not out of the question with this driver.
Lamborghini and Callaway worked together to design a great looking, great feeling and long driver with new materials. You might just want to go test drive one today.
Quick Hits
+ Traditional look
+ Long Hosel
+ Excellent Sound
+ Hot Face
--“Made For” Project X Shaft
-- Too low loft for me
For more information: www.callawaygolf.com
