Callaway ERC Fusion Driver Review

The concept of a carbon composite club head has been a work in progress for many years. It was started by Yonex over a decade ago when they introduced a one piece golf club made entirely out of graphite.   It stuck around for a couple of years but like anything made by Yonex it …

Photo of author
SirShanksAlot
The concept of a carbon composite club head has been a work in progress for many years. It was started by Yonex over a decade ago when they introduced a one piece golf club made entirely out of graphite.
 

It stuck around for a couple of years but like anything made by Yonex it didn't sell very well and was soon replaced. Callaway re-introduced the concept several years ago with the C4 driver. The C4 performed spectacularly but lacked so much feel that most golfers refused to play it. Callaway didn't give up though; they continued to work with the concept to bring out a club that has already radically changed the way drivers are made, the ERC Fusion.
 

The Fusion is an innovative driver that combines a carbon composite body with a titanium cup face. Because of the lightweight properties of the carbon composite, Callaway is able to reposition 45 grams of weight around the perimeter of the club head for the ultimate in forgiveness. Callaway actually has the ability to move these weights around to increase draw or fade biases similar to Taylor Made's R7, but this technology is not yet available to the public. The real highlight though is the fusion of carbon composite and titanium. This combination has proven so effective in manipulating the head weight that it has been copied in some form or another by nearly every Callaway competitor on the market.

 

Can golfers really benefit from this technology? The answer is maybe. Because of the ability to move more weight around the perimeter, the ERC Fusion has one of the largest sweet spots of any driver on the market. It produces a low-spinning drive that flies high and straight. The even-lofted heads are designed to sit slightly closed and have a draw bias to help the golfer that slices while the half-lofted heads sit square or slightly open and feature a more neutral weighting system. The Fusion can also be custom ordered in just about any shaft imaginable. By doing this Callaway has built a driver that can be matched to any player's swing.

 

Callaway still needs to work on the feel of this driver. Although it is better than the C4 the biggest complaint I get about the Fusion is that the ball does feel dead coming off the face. One thing Callaway Golf has been notorious for is using weak graphite shafts and this one is no exception. Although the RCH System 55 is better than some of the older Callaway shafts, it is only suited to higher handicap players. Another complaint is that the head is too small. Even though the effective hitting area on this driver is quite large many amateur players are scared off by the small head size, preferring to move into the 420-440cc range. Look for the newer, larger Fusion to sell extremely well in 2005.

 

Overall Rating – 60%

 

Target Handicap: Any

 

Ball Flight: Mid to High

 

Offset: None

 

Head Size(s): 360CC

 

Shafts: Callaway RCH System 55

Leave a Comment