Ask any female athlete and they’ll tell you about the realities of women in sports. We all know female professionals earn less than their male counterparts. But the inequalities extend far beyond professional sports into all facets of the game, especially equipment. I remember growing up as a competitive soccer player and refusing to wear cleats designed for women. It was a no-brainer. If you wanted authentic leather, real and innovative design, you wouldn’t find it in the cheaper women’s versions.
I’ve had one burning question since my Day 1 on this side of the golf industry. But the launch of the Callaway Big Bertha REVA (as in REV-A-LUTION – yeah, we know…trademarks) line, coupled with being a woman and a relative outsider to the vast world of golf equipment, allows me to finally ask the question …
“What the hell is the point of women’s clubs?”
Callaway Big Bertha REVA: An Introduction
There are six million female golfers in the United States. That’s a huge opportunity for brands to capitalize on a significant, growing and, as yet, relatively untapped market opportunity. The minds at Callaway set forth to design an “authentic brand” and “a community fueled by strong, confident, diverse players at every level.” Thus, REVA.
REVA is a brand platform built, in part, on the feedback of female employees at Callaway. Though Callaway isn’t a stranger to offering women’s club options, this is the first time the company had women in mind from start to finish in the design of a club. The first products launching with REVA branding fall under the Big Bertha umbrella and are built around the premise of women “unlocking their inner distance.”
What Callaway has done right with the REVA line is dedicate a significant amount of R&D to the women’s game. REVA is not a watered-down version of the men’s Big Bertha. It shares a name and foundation technology but Callaway has dialed in this fresh version of the Big Bertha with only women in mind. That means lofts, swing weights and shaft lengths.
REVA Driver
Here are the basics. The Callaway Big Bertha REVA Driver comes in 10.5- and 12.5- degree loft options in right- and left-handed offerings. The driver uses a Callaway co-designed RCH 40-gram shaft. The weight and bend profile are engineered to increase swing speed. It’s topped off with a Lamkin women’s ST Soft Grip.
Like “men’s” clubs, the REVA has an adjustable hosel that allows you to increase loft up to two degrees or decrease it by one. The hosel adapter can be set in a draw bias. You can make all of these adjustments without changing the lie angle which is important for a consistent strike.
Callaway says the Big Bertha REVA Driver offers high MOI (moment of inertia). High MOI helps reduce head twisting on off-center shots to promote longer, more consistent drives. The REVA driver claims a high-launch, low-spin combination in addition to the existing draw-bias weighting in the head for straighter ball flight. The Big Bertha Reva driver includes Callaway’s successful A.I. Designed Flash Face SS21, Super Strength Titanium. Jailbreak Technology.
The Callaway Big Bertha REVA driver retails for $499.99.
Reva Fairway Wood
The Callaway Big Bertha REVA fairway wood comes in a 3-wood (16 degrees), 5-wood (19 degrees), 7-wood (22 degrees) and 9-wood (25 degrees). The 9-wood comes in right-hand only. The fairway wood features a lightweight RCH shaft designed by Callaway to specifically enhance swing speed and a premium Lamkin women’s ST Soft Grip.
Fairways woods are notoriously tough to hit so Callaway has tried to avoid that drawback.
But how?
The Callaway Big Bertha REVA fairway wood is significantly lighter than previous fairway models. The T2C Triaxial carbon crown help increase MOI. Its shallower face and larger head combination promotes more distance and better control. Again, Callaway has incorporated its advanced A.I. design which promotes faster ball speeds across an expansive area of the face. Jailbreak bars connect the crown and sole to increase stiffness and promote more speed.
The Callaway Big Bertha REVA fairway wood is priced at $299.99.
REVA Hybrid
The Reva hybrid comes in five lofts: 4 (24 degrees), 5 (27 degrees), 6 (30 degrees), 7 (33 degrees) and 8 (36 degrees). Lofts in the 5 and 6 hybrids are two degrees weaker than the Reva iron. Progressing down the set, starting from the 6-hybrid, the lofts go from 1.5 degrees higher to one degree higher compared to the traditional iron.
The interesting thing about the Callaway Big Bertha Reva hybrid is that it focuses on launch and stability. To do this, engineers increased the offset to help square the club at impact, promoting straighter flight. To enhance launch and trajectory, Callaway incorporated dual MIM’ed (Metal-Injected Molding) tungsten weights into the sole of the clubhead. Of course, the REVA wouldn’t be REVA without the T2C Carbon Crown, A.I. face and Jailbreak technology.
The Big Bertha REVA hybrid retails for $249.99.
REVA Irons
Big Bertha REVA irons are for golfers who are looking for a (somewhat) traditional look and feel. For the first time, a women’s Big Bertha iron offers an A.I. designed Flash Facecup. As with the men’s lineup, each loft has a different face design. Each iron in your bag serves a unique purpose. Callaway’s goal is to provide optimal performance on every shot. Behind the face is a deeper center of gravity placement to help launch the ball higher. A Tungsten Energy Core is present throughout the set to ensure consistent launch from iron to iron.
It wouldn’t be Big Bertha REVA without Callaway’s speed-enhancing RCH Shaft and premium Lamkin women’s ST Soft Grip. The irons come in a graphite-shafted seven-piece set from 5-PW, A (gap wedge), S (sand wedge).
The seven- piece set is $999.99.
Does Big Bertha REVA Hit the Mark?
Callaway is at the starting blocks and I’m anxious to see how the REVA brand evolves.
However, the fact remains that I do take issue with the concept and premise of women’s clubs in general. I suspect there are probably two types of female golf shoppers. One type, like me, that doesn’t want to be labeled as anything other than “golfer.” The other wants a product line they feel was created exactly for them. The Big Bertha REVA line caters to the latter – women who want a space of ownership in golf equipment and believe there is benefit in that. For the former, though the Big Bertha REVA is developed out of detailed research with women, it seems to suggest that it’s a catch-all solution, almost as if all women share the same needs on the course.
When I began work with MyGolfSpy, I quickly started building my bag. My first contact immediately suggested a driver from the ladies’ collection. My golf mentor (husband) stopped him and said, “No, man, that won’t work. She swings too fast.” I wore that comment like a badge of honor. Other women might not have even questioned the suggestion, believing that because of the gendered label, ladies’ clubs would most benefit them. And they might. But they also might not.
Cue my Day 1 question. If I’m very decidedly a woman and I don’t fit into women’s clubs, regardless of my wariness about women’s equipment, who does? And if I could have so easily been misfitted on a mere assumption, how many women are being boxed into a category in which they don’t belong?
Tweaking the Understanding of Women’s Clubs
What I’ve learned is that “ladies’ clubs” is code for clubs built for smaller bodies and slower swing speeds. So not only might they be a fit for a large number of women on the Bell curve (I’m not arguing general biological realities here) but they’re likely also a fit for a large portion of men (particularly senior men) or those making the transition from junior clubs to adult clubs. Ladies’ clubs typically have lighter shafts with more flex to help golfers with slower swing speeds gain distance. In my opinion, “ladies’ clubs” is a misleading misnomer.
So what’s the point of women’s clubs? It seems to me the category represents a generalized effort to engage the majority in a rapidly growing market segment. There is a lesson here for women (and every golfer, for that matter).
GET FITTED!
The Big Bertha REVA is a seemingly quality line of products but just because it’s marketed to women, doesn’t mean that it will work for your game.
A Better REVA-lution?
It is perhaps wiser to think of ladies’ clubs as a fitting option that shouldn’t be driven by gender. That small change in philosophy would also benefit a considerable portion of the men’s market who avoid clubs labeled as women’s even when the specs are ideal for their game. The misleading nature of a ladies’ club label isn’t a Callaway-specific problem, it’s an industry problem.
I give Callaway props for dedicating resources and finances to growing the women’s game. If they’re earnest in that pursuit, we’ll likely see more from them. Golf has a long way to go to advance the women who play the game. The Big Bertha REVA line only scratches the surface.
But it is a start.
Callaway Big Bertha REVA Availability
Retail availability of the Callaway Big Bertha REVA family begins Oct. 15.
For more information on the Reva brand, visit CallawayGolf.com
The post Callaway Big Bertha REVA – A New Line for Women appeared first on MyGolfSpy.