Alpha C830.2 Driver

The Alpha C830.2 driver comes with a great pedigree earned in long-drive competitions around the world. But the elements that make the C830.2 great for the biggest of the big bombers also make it a good driver for the rest of us.

The C830.2 driver from Alpha (a division of Kent Sports, Inc.) has been a favored driver in long-drive competitions since late in 2003, when it first started showing up in the hands of Long Drivers of America (LDA) stalwarts.

Since then, this driver has won numerous long drive competitions around the world. But the Alpha C830.2 isn't just admired by long drivers. Fans of component clubs - those golfers who prefer to order a clubhead, a shaft and a grip and put the club together themselves - are also big fans of Alpha driver heads, including the C830.2.

Count Golf Digest among this driver's fans, too. In their February equipment issue, GD named the Alpha C830.2 one of two "best drivers you've never heard of." "... the C830.2's oval geometry in the back of the face increases ball speed in impacts around the perimeter of the sweet spot," the magazine's editors wrote.

Alpha uses an airtight, cold-forging process in make the C830.2 heads. A face insert of dense but thin and elastic SP700 titanium provides the maximum COR. That face is backed by the "oval geometry" referenced in Golf Digest; it's what Alpha calls "Increased Target Design" technology, or ITD. Using ITD, Alpha says it is able to expand the sweet spot in an oval pattern, increasing the area on the face that is "hot" but also helping to produce better shots from areas around the fringes of the sweet spot.

What does it all add up to? We've seen that this driver has many fans in the industry and among more knowledgeable club-builders. Now it has some more new fans: those golfers who tried it out along with us during several sessions at the driving range and over several rounds of golf.

The Alpha C830.2 is an attractive club with its midnight black finish and the Greek "alpha" symbol on the crown. It's easy to setup; it's shape and size (460cc) inspire confidence at address.

Alpha says the C830.2 is a maxed-out driver that still provides workability without sacrificing distance or accuracy. We found that distance with this driver was excellent, and dispersion very good. The better players who tried it were able to shape their drives to their satisfaction.

The weaker players - well, some of them were just happy to get the ball airborne! But they put to the test Alpha's expanded sweet spot, and it passed. Everyone felt the C830.2 offered great forgiveness on balls struck around the edges of the target zone.

One thing that everyone agreed on - and this was the standout feature for us - is that the Alpha C830.2 has a fantastic feel and sound at impact. Many 460cc drivers sound (and feel) as if they are exploding at impact - it's loud, and you feel it in your hands. The Alpha C830.2 produced a sound and feel that was very crisp - the only "explosions" going on were as the ball jumped off the clubface.

That's a function of the fine craftsmanship in the head, and its stability over time. Alpha brags that no long driver has ever broken one of these clubheads in competition. You'll understand why when you feel that crispness and stability. We had a few testers hit popups, but the black finish survived well without any serious skymarks.

The Alpha C830.2 is available in eight lofts ranging from 4.0 to 12.0. All versions are 460cc in volume, 45 inches in lenth, with a face angle of -0.5. Shaft flexes of X, S, R and A are available for all models (3, 5 and 7 fairway woods are also available).

The shaft in the version we've been playing with is Alpha's Platinum 65 (stiff). The Alpha Platinum shaft is the stock version; customized shafts are also available. With the stock shaft, the C830.2 sells for $325 at the time of this writing.

To learn more about this driver and other Alpha clubs, click the "manufacturer's site" link.