COST: $499.99.

TESTED BY: Stephen Hughes, Golf Australia reader (GA Handicap 20).

MODELS PLAYED: Big Bertha B21 3-wood & 5-wood, fitted with Callaway RCH 55 regular shafts.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Looking at the Big Bertha B21 fairway woods, it was noticeable to my eye that they are a bigger presence behind the ball than my own, and also more obviously aimed at those of us golfers who need a little help, more so than the driver.

There was visually more offset to my eye, and although the look wasn’t as natural for me as the driver I certainly wasn’t uncomfortable or disliked the B21. And the feel off the face fell right into line with the driver I enjoyed so much when catching one sweetly.

HOW THEY PERFORMED: Of the Big Bertha B21 range that I was sent to try, the fairway woods were always likely to be the most interesting, given I haven’t carried a 3-wood for the past four or five years after a club fitting that suggested a lob wedge would be of more use to me.

Hitting a 3-wood off the deck for the first time in a significant period unsurprisingly took some getting used to and despite struggling in this area, when teeing the ball up I found the distance exceeded my 5-wood that is currently my longest club outside a driver and there was a nice level of forgiveness.

As one would expect, moving into the 5-wood I was much more comfortable and the club performed admirably. I didn’t experience a significant distance gain on my own current model, but the consistency of distance was a positive.

"The feel off the face fell right into line with the driver I enjoyed so much when catching one sweetly."

Where the B21 fairway woods did impress, was in a total lack of big slices hit. With the right miss my typical really bad shot, this was a nice bit of confidence to have when standing over the ball during some competition rounds. And is a consistent strength of this entire line from Callaway that I have been testing.

As previously mentioned, the head size was noticeable at address, but never off-putting, and something that once I had the clubs in the bag I didn’t particularly pay much attention to.

Despite a few inconsistencies with the fairways, that I definitely put more down to user error and not having played a 3-wood in so long, I think these, like the driver from the same line, can really help a lot of golfers. And there are some of my regular golf partners, who don’t play much and want a club that is easy to hit and stop big misses and lost balls, that I strongly believe should look at investing in something like this.

FACTS AND FIGURES

SUITABILITY: Like the rest of the Big Bertha B21 range, the fairway woods are designed to offer forgiveness and easy launch. Players suffering from a slice or big miss in their game are particularly suited to the entire B21 family.

LEFT-HANDED: Big Bertha B21 fairway woods are offered in left and right-handed in a 3-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood, with a 9-wood offered in right-hand only.

CALLAWAY SAYS: Callaway’s easiest to launch fairway wood promotes more distance, more consistent contact and smoother turf interaction. With iconic Big Bertha shaping and increased offset, this forgiving design helps to take the slice or big miss out of your game.

It’s easy to hit like a hybrid, from a shallower face, progressive lengths, and a larger head that create more distance and better control.

Fast balls speeds come from A.I. designed Flash Face SS21 technology, and the Flash Face is combined with Jailbreak Technology to deliver even more speed at impact.

Visit www.callawaygolf.com.au to find out more.