Fat Bastard

No this isn’t a commentary on my physical condition. This is a review of the Fat Bastard Driver…

Illegal? 500cc’s baby! So what?

Yes this driver is illegal. It’s a mammoth 500cc’s. Hitting this thing for a while makes my regular 460cc drivers look like 3-woods.

Why would someone want to play an illegal club?

To hit the ball farther. To have a larger sweet spot. To enjoy the game more. Because it has a funny name, good for the 19th hole. And NOT to play in any tournaments. The majority of amateur golfers don’t play in tournaments. So Fat Bastard is saying “Forget the rules. Tee up a Fat Bastard and have fun.”

Technology

Drivers these days are usually made from titanium, graphite and steel. The Fat Bastard Driver head is not. It’s made of aluminum alloy. The feel of this driver is a bit different than other drivers. It’s hard to describe but it feels a bit harder to me. You get used to it though.

The “geometry” of the head is designed to help you keep the ball in play and have more fun.

On the course

As far as I can tell from the FB web site, this club is only available with a regular shaft. I don’t think I’m more manly than the next golfer, but I do play stiff shafts. So my ability to review the club was a bit hampered by having to slow my swing down a bit with the regular shaft.

When I did get my timing and ball position correct I found the results of hitting the FB to be satisfactory. I’ve always been a low ball player. Though the club was a 10.5 degree, it still launched at my regular low angle.

I found the distance to be excellent. Going from 460cc’s to 500cc’s didn’t bump me up from 290 to 340 though.

I did manage to keep the ball in play pretty well with the Fat Bastard Driver. My accuracy with the club was excellent, as usual I hit more fairways than Tiger does.

It’s funny how even with such a huge head you can still hit a shot on the toe or the heel. If you hit a toe shot on the Fat Bastard, you could be two inches off center! If that shot was on an old small headed wood driver, I probably would have missed the ball!

Shaft & Cover

Each Fat Bastard Driver comes with a 45.5″ High Modulus Graphite Shaft in regular flex. Each FB also comes with a nice head cover. The head cover is ridiculously huge to accommodate the huge head.

Critiques

The first obvious critique I have with the club is that it’s illegal. I DO play in tournaments, practically every week including men’s clubs. So I can’t use the FB there. Since I can’t use the FB in those settings, it’s tough for me to dedicate myself to using it and getting used to it, and then having to switch to a different driver for tournaments.

My 2nd critique is that it does feel a bit hard off the face. This is a minor critique, buy my “Princess & The Pea” golfer’s elbow can’t take too much abuse…

Conclusion

At $106.00 with a good head cover (and often times additional specials include shirts and hats), the FB driver isn’t going to break the bank. But the FB driver is not for everyone. It’s not for serious players. It’s for players who are on the course to have fun. The FB driver is a good conversation piece. In my opinion the FB driver would be best for door prizes, giveaways and corporate “hit & giggle” events like scrambles.

Click here for the Hooked On Golf Blog Fat Bastard Photo Gallery.