I am a 64 year old golfer with 30 years of playing this wonderful and frustrating game.   My handicap is currently an 8 and my swing speed is 101.  I have the usual back and arthritic problems as most golfers my age.

Having owned and wasted much time and mortgaged my house twice for all the Newest Drivers last year and this year, I settled on the Callaway FTI, 9.0, Neutral Driver with the Stiff Fujikura Tour Shaft.  The FTI is 45 1/2 inches long and has a swing weight of D3.   I had a Taylor Made SuperQuad 9.5 stiff previously.

Dislikes:    The sound is kind of clunky although not as bad as the Nike SUMO2---yes I owned this one too-.  I am a firm believer that sounds resulting with a well hit ball provides positive feed back.

Traditionally, I like to look down at a driver and feel that I can crush it with a smooth swing.  The FTI was like looking down at a waffle iron and I found it unconfortable to take the club away smoothly.

Having a compositive side, becareful not to drop kick the club, because the scratches are permanent.  A little paint thinner-yes paint thinner-keeps the club smooth looking and removes some scratches.

I normally hit a 10.5 club and had to go to a 9 degree club in order to have the same projection.  The 9 degree version provided more roll as opposed to the drop and stop on softer fairways.

Distance was good and about the same as my Callaway x460 driver in 10 degree stiff, but slightly shorter than my Taylor Made 9.5 Superquad Stiff.

What I liked about the FTI:

The FTI does have some forgiveness and if you can get thru the sound, you can feel a rebound effect on the High MOI Face.  Off center hits do not show me much in terms of distance-I noticed that Phil is back to using a regular Callaway FT5 golf club.

I like looking at the club from below better than looking down on the club and the FTI obviously shows alot of engineering...henceforth the higher costs along with paying endorsements and advertisements.

All the heads and shafts are now made in China, but with a higher quality control.

Is the Callaway FTI worth the $500 spent.   Absolutely not, unless you want to impress your friends on the first tee, but this wears off in a hurry.   More money does not mean you will get a better club.   My Ping G5 for hundreds less, is a better club for me in every way.   Take a look at the FTI clubs on EBAY and you will find that the Pricing is way below the  $500 retail price.

A good shaft goes a long way in how you will hit the ball!

Hope this helps, and make lots of birdies!

billr9994