Dear Callaway, You lost a customer today...

[NJGolfer21]

For being loyal, this is what I get.

I own a good amount of Callaway clubs. I swing 09 X Forged models, one of the X Forged wedges, and my old rusty, my Callaway FT-9 Tour Driver with Aldila Voodoo XPP7 shaft in it. My bread and butter.

My swing speed with a drive is roughly 112-120. I swung stiff for a good amount of time til I wouldnt get anymore roll when my spin numbers were up to 5000 rpms and launch angle was severly increasing. Was suggested from my local club fitter and my Director of Instruction that I needed xstiff wood shafts.

I went out and bought the Aldila Voodoo XPP7 driver shaft and a Voodoo XVS9 Shaft for my hybrid from Andrew here on golfwrx.com. My local fitter installed both of them, professionally installed, and I loved both of them.

This was done roughly 4 months ago give or take a month. I went out and played this past friday at a local semi private club called High Bridge. It was cold and windy but I am moving to West Palm Beach tomorrow and my brother wanted to play golf with me for the last time for six months I won't be here in NJ.

Hit a few on the range, bombs dead straight. Begin to have a case of hooks. Strange, but it was cold and I figured it would work out on the course once I got on the box. Ha....didn't even get to the box.

I get up to the first tee practice swing twice with my driver, I go to wipe a few blades of grass off the bottom of my driver to realize something is missing...



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Yeah, that would be the weight missing completely from my driver. Change the swingweight from a d2 to a b4, so Almost 20 swingpoints off.

I was pissed off. My club is messed up due to nothing of my fault. So, I had my Assistant at my club call Callaway. They said they would replace it if I did not reshaft my club. Even though it was professionally installed.

I had my clubmaker call them, They said the same exact thing. Said If I could find a stock shaft that I could get a new one but thats the only way they would take it back.

What I Am more annoyed about, is the fact that I NEED a stronger shaft for my SS, that I am now the one who is **** Out of Luck.

This is terrible customer Service. It's my fault since I swing faster swing speeds than the average joe that the most essential weight to club that was epoxied on FLEW OFF the head of the club, thats my fault now.

I promise you though if this happened to Phil and it wasn't reshafted from Callaway they would still give him a new one.



Basically, I am never buying anything Callaway ever again. Im selling my irons and Giving my wedge to my brother. I am disgusted by Callaway for them to answer me in this fashion and to not take responsability for their craftsmanship.

Hope everyone else has had better luck with Callaway. They won't have a chance to have my luck ever again.

p.s. If anyone also has an idea of how I can possibly fix this on my own, would appreciate it. Since Callaway won't take care of their own problems.

[Stinger82]

so buy a stock shaft and have it installed in the head...I'm sure you can get one dirt cheap. All OEM's do this that I know of, if you re-shaft the club then the warranty is void. Had almost the same thing happen with a taylormade driver and they wont do anything about it.

[littlepingman]

To insure you keep your warranty you have to send the driver back to Callaway to have it reshafted.

This has always been Callaway's policy.

[garcia51694]

One more reason I hate Callaway

[pickerjohn]

This has always been Callaway's policy,
and every other OEM I know of. If modifications
are not done by them, then no warrenty.
You can fix it yourself with lead tape or leaded
epoxy.

[NJGolfer21]

75 bucks for a shaft. cheaper to buy the cheapest driver for 30 bucks and rip the shaft out of it.

I just do not think it is correct. The guy who does my reshafting is awesome at what he does. It wasnt like the head flew off the shaft or something. It was poor production of the weight on the head. Its just shocking to me thats all.

[csiachos]

This is the policy of every oem out there. Go to ebay and buy a stock shaft for $30 and install it and return it. Simple fix.

[jasman29]

You can't really blame the OEM for thier policy. Like others have said, got get an OG shaft for your club and install and ship it back for replacement. It is quite possible that the heat from the shaft change could have caused the epoxy to fail, not saying that it did for sure but it is a possibility.

It is a pretty simple solution since even Callaway told you to put old shaft back in and send it to them.

[Ugo DeRosa]

[quote name='pickerjohn' timestamp='1321474231' post='3808895']
This has always been Callaway's policy,
and every other OEM I know of. If modifications
are not done by them, then no warrenty.
You can fix it yourself with lead tape or leaded
epoxy.
[/quote]


+1. Sorry to hear about the issues, but the result would have been the same no matter what OEM club you are playing. It is OK to be upset by this policy, but just understand Callaway is not alone in this policy. Good luck finding a company that will honor a warranty if they do not perform the shaft change in-house.

From my personal experience with Callaway, they are head and shoulders above any other golf company in terms of customer service. There have been tons of posts on golfwrx about Callaway CS over the years, and I believe the consensus is they are the best, so I am not alone in my opinion.

Having said that, I do feel your pain, and nothing wrong about be upset about it. Just be aware of this industry policy the next time you swap driver shafts.

[teeituphigh]

To be honest, I think your a little out of line on this one. You tried to save a few bucks by not going to Callaway to get the shaft put in and have all the warranties still in place and this is what you get.
If you filled your Toyota up with diesel and it broke down would it be Toyotas fault or your own? (maybe not the greatest analogy) but you get my drift.
Just saying, that in all my dealings with Callaway they have been nothing but awesome and I have read on here that some people have the same feelings as me....they are touted as the best in the business I think.

[golfware]

This is the policy of every OEM. Heck, some won't even give you that advice. Once it's been reahaftsd, you are out of luck. Callaway is the BEST. Hands down.

[shankz]

I had a prob with a Callaway driver and one CS agent denied me, called a minute later and a different CS agent gave me the ok. Some customer service agents are better than others, I'd say call Callaway again and see what they say, if they give u an answer that you don't like, see if you can talk to someone in management.

[Jamboy72]

Yep...I certainly understand your frustration, but once you had it reshafted by someone other than the OEM, you voided the warranty...doesn't necessarily feel good, but I don't think Callaway is unique in their position on this..good luck...

[pun3536]

The driver probably has a ton of swings in it.... thats a few years old now. Stuff breaks after a while.. it should be out of warranty anyways. Just epoxy the thing back in there!

[CallawayLefty]

Callaway customer service is essentially second to none. I have described in a few other posts my numerous positive interactions with them.

Have you thought about simply having your expert clubfitter guy fix the club for you? Sorry, the picture isn't working, so I can't see exactly what kind of damage we're dealing with here.

On a general note, you seem pissed that Callaway doesn't care that you "needed" a stiffer shaft. Is that really their fault? OEMs can't take back doctored equipment for reasons that seem abundantly clear. Although your guy was a professional club guy, how many hacks do you think go digging into their driver heads and screw something up every year and then try to get a freebie off the OEM? Again, the policy is understandable, and from what others have said, universally enforced across OEMs.

[Hambone1]

I've seen this happen to multiple people. Short term solution, using epoxy you can get the weight back on there, but it won't hold more than a few months. I have a ZCom 65 stiff pulled from another FT9 that I can hook you up with for pretty cheap if you want

[Skaffa77]

[quote name='teeituphigh' timestamp='1321475047' post='3808937']
To be honest, I think your a little out of line on this one. You tried to save a few bucks by not going to Callaway to get the shaft put in and have all the warranties still in place and this is what you get.
If you filled your Toyota up with diesel and it broke down would it be Toyotas fault or your own? (maybe not the greatest analogy) but you get my drift.
Just saying, that in all my dealings with Callaway they have been nothing but awesome and I have read on here that some people have the same feelings as me....they are touted as the best in the business I think.
[/quote]

Yeah...the car analogy is not the best in my opinion. A better analogy (especially with cars) in my opinion would be using an independent (certified) mechanic for service work or repairs on your car. That work the mechanic provides should not void your automotive warrenty.

In this case, the OP had a professional installer put in the shaft and the club had some defect. In my opinion, if an owner can provide proof of service by a professional (possibly a golf retailer who carries Callaway equipment), I believe that Callaway (or other manufacturers) should cover defects.

I know that is not the case, but it's sad that I can't have service done by a qualified local professional without it voiding my warrenty.

[enduro]

100% predictable that Callaway wouldn't take that driver back, their policy on reshafted drivers is pretty clear. It sucks that there are so many failures with the FT series drivers though.

Cheapest option would be to just pull the XPP8 shaft and buy another FT9 head, if you'e lucky you could find one under $50. Or upgrade to a newer, full hosel Callaway

driver, that are far less of a PITA to reshaft.

[ExoticsGuy13]

[quote name='NJGolfer21' timestamp='1321473418' post='3808855']


I promise you though if this happened to Phil and it wasn't reshafted from Callaway they would still give him a new one.



[/quote]
I can't decide if that is the funniest or stupidest thing I have heard here??

Buy the cheap driver off ebay and pop the weight off it and epoxy to yours.

[BlkNGld]

Understand your disappointment, but you might want to check with other OEMs before you buy their product. At the end of the day, you may find yourself going to a component fitter as every OEM I've dealt with has a similar policy.

We all know there are good clubbuilders out there, and there are bad ones. You may know your guy is good, but an OEM can't investigate every one out there to verify it.

Quite honestly, them telling you to put a stock shaft in and send it back was nice of them.

[kekoa]

I don't play cally now, but back when I had some irons in the bag they have always been great to deal with. The fix they are suggesting is very easy to do and IMO shows that they do have great customer service and try their best to stand behind their product.

Heck, put up a wtb ad here and you will probably have something by day's end. get a new driver and move on.

[NJGolfer21]

I lost the weight on the driving range, I assume. Didnt even knew it happened til I got to the box.

And I refuse to pay Callaway for overpriced work. Correct. I guess that is me being cheap. I am not paying out the a** for a different custom spec shaft and for them to charge me a custom spec fee along with the reshafting fee for a club, as someone has said, is pretty old already.

Im just ashamed thats all. I guess its just my way of thinking.

And I think he flew off because of the cold honestly, the epoxy just couldnt hold. It was 45 degrees with some good wind that day.

Skaffa Basically made my point. my clubmaker that does my work for me works and talks with Callaway quite frequently and they do work together on fixing equipment that he has fixed before. Still wouldnt take it this time.

[mantan]

[quote name='Skaffa77' timestamp='1321476910' post='3809107']
[quote name='teeituphigh' timestamp='1321475047' post='3808937']
To be honest, I think your a little out of line on this one. You tried to save a few bucks by not going to Callaway to get the shaft put in and have all the warranties still in place and this is what you get.
If you filled your Toyota up with diesel and it broke down would it be Toyotas fault or your own? (maybe not the greatest analogy) but you get my drift.
Just saying, that in all my dealings with Callaway they have been nothing but awesome and I have read on here that some people have the same feelings as me....they are touted as the best in the business I think.
[/quote]

Yeah...the car analogy is not the best in my opinion. A better analogy (especially with cars) in my opinion would be using an independent (certified) mechanic for service work or repairs on your car. That work the mechanic provides should not void your automotive warrenty.

In this case, the OP had a professional installer put in the shaft and the club had some defect. In my opinion, if an owner can provide proof of service by a professional (possibly a golf retailer who carries Callaway equipment), I believe that Callaway (or other manufacturers) should cover defects.

I know that is not the case, but it's sad that I can't have service done by a qualified local professional without it voiding my warrenty.
[/quote]

That's closer...but for the most items it's not a term that an independent mechanic will void the warranty.

A better example may be a computer or laptop that clearly has a label saying 'removing this part will void your warranty.' Even though a lot of people are qualified to fix it, the terms are clearly out there.

I understand the OP being frustrated. But Callaway (or any other OEM) can't try to determine the qualifications of every clubbuilder. And while it's highly unlikely the work he did caused the damage, it becomes a very slippery slope once they start warrantying 3rd party work.

[gmoney]

Sorry about your club but I have to side with Callaway on this one. In this day and age, you "modify" anything , car, truck, boat, plane, or yes even a golf club, you void the factory warranty. That's nothing new. That's a given..

Not sure how you can blame them for you needing a stiffer shaft. They did not fit you did they?

If you have someone try to bend a set of ping irons, and they crack, Ping is not replacing them. No OEM is warranting anything you modify by reshafting, changing lie or loft. About the only thing you can change and not void a warranty is the grip...

Pretty cut and dry really...

[rlccwolh5]

+1 on Cally service, second to none. My dealings with new and pre-owned departments, as well as, warranty have been excellent... Crappy luck on your part, but as others have said, all OEMs deny warranty on non-factory modified clubs...

[CosmosMpower]

Just buy another head those are cheap

[Scanlun]

I definitely feel your pain. I had a Razr Hawk Tour re-shafted by my clubfitter (top 100 fitters in Golf Digest) with a AD DI and by no fault of mine the bottom of the head cracked when I was at the driving range. I called Callaway CS like you did and was told the same thing. No warranty on their product if you had it re-shafted outside of Callaway. I understand what everyone is saying--most if not all OEM's have the same policy. I love the head too but I will not be buying another one

[sandiegonative]

[quote name='mantan' timestamp='1321480947' post='3809419']
That's closer...but for the most items it's not a term that an independent mechanic will void the warranty.

A better example may be a computer or laptop that clearly has a label saying 'removing this part will void your warranty.' Even though a lot of people are qualified to fix it, the terms are clearly out there.

I understand the OP being frustrated. But Callaway (or any other OEM) can't try to determine the qualifications of every clubbuilder. And while it's highly unlikely the work he did caused the damage, it becomes a very slippery slope once they start warrantying 3rd party work.
[/quote]

I think your analogy is spot on. When there is clear warning not to alter something and you do, you void the warranty. There is no way for Callaway or any OEM to determine if a warranty claim is legit or if something was damaged/made loose/etc during the reshafting of the club?

IMO, the fact that they will fix the club if and when the OP puts in the original shaft is going above and beyond. Fair or not, the OP clearly voided the warranty (the moment the club was altered by a third party) and is not entitled to any repairs.

As others have stated, most if not all OEMs have this policy. Here are two examples from Callaway and TM.

[url="http://www.callawaygolf.com/Global/en-US/CustomerService/Warranty.html"]Callaway's Warranty[/url] states, " Callaway Golf does not warrant its products against damage caused by third parties."

[url="http://www.taylormadegolf.com/customer-service/warranty"]TaylorMade Golf's warranty[/url] states, "TaylorMade warrants, to the original consumer only, that its golf clubs will be free from defects... as long as "the golf club has not been abused, altered, defaced, or misused, or otherwise damaged through the act or neglect of the consumer or a third party".

Looks like leaving Callaway Golf for another OEM will not solve your problem.

[Socrates]

[quote name='NJGolfer21' timestamp='1321480661' post='3809393']
I lost the weight on the driving range, I assume. Didnt even knew it happened til I got to the box.

And I refuse to pay Callaway for overpriced work. Correct. I guess that is me being cheap. I am not paying out the a** for a different custom spec shaft and for them to charge me a custom spec fee along with the reshafting fee for a club, as someone has said, is pretty old already.

Im just ashamed thats all. I guess its just my way of thinking.

And I think he flew off because of the cold honestly, the epoxy just couldnt hold. It was 45 degrees with some good wind that day.

Skaffa Basically made my point. my clubmaker that does my work for me works and talks with Callaway quite frequently and they do work together on fixing equipment that he has fixed before. Still wouldnt take it this time.
[/quote]
You are learning a lesson, the hard way. When you fool around with the OEM equipment (or pay someone else to), keep all the original parts just in case you have to put it back together for unexpected circumstances. There are a couple of choices here: suck it up and get a shaft so that you can send the club back or do nothing and blame Callaway for having a policy against messing with their equipment and sticking to it.

[NJGolfer21]

I understand its voiding the warrenty, well atleast I now do after speaking with Callaway. Just don't think I should be the one thats s*** out of luck because they didn't make a quality product.



I wasn't ever able to swing an X Stiff in the ft-9 head, There fitting cart does not come with any X-Stiff shafts to chose from.

Mantan- Your absolutely right. Even if callaway was thinking about replacing it for me in the state with the shaft on it they could just say "Well what if when you pulled the shaft this..." They could make any excuse they want. Just dont think the little guy should get the short end of the stick.