Equipment
Callaway Big Bertha Irons and Hybrids
In the last two years, Callaway Golf has seen its U.S. dollar share in golf equipment sales — that is the amount of money consumers spend on Callaway’s clubs versus other companies’ clubs — grow 37 percent.
The company’s growth points to several factors, such as the strong play of Callaway Staff members and the revival of iconic golf clubs names such as Big Bertha and Apex. Inside company headquarters, however, there seems to be one key development that sounds through the halls of its R&D department, its marketing team and even CEO Chip Brewer. It’s the face cup technology that debuted on Callaway’s 2013 X Hot line of fairway woods.
Remember when Phil Mickelson used Callaway’s X Hot 3Deep fairway wood as his driver in route to winning the Scottish Open and Open Championship in back-to-back weeks? The extra distance he was getting from his 3 wood was thanks to a face cup.
Last year, Callaway added face cups to its X2 Hot and X2 Hot Pro hybrids to much fanfare and a perfect showing in our 2014 Gear Trials: Best Hybrids list. And now, for the first time, face cups will make an appearance in a Callaway iron: the 2015 Big Bertha.
The debut of face cup technology in the new Big Bertha irons comes with a bold claim of more distance. Just how much more? According to Callaway, the Big Bertha irons will be up to two clubs longer for certain golfers.
Note: Callaway’s distance claim is based on head-to-head testing against its 2011 RAZR X HL irons.
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Let’s be clear: not every type of golfer is going to see game-changing distance from the new irons, nor will every golfer want it. Many better players will hit the Big Bertha irons too high, struggle to work they ball with them and they probably won’t enjoy their appearance at address, either. They’re larger than the company’s current Apex and X2 Hot irons, with wide soles, generous blade lengths and quite a bit of offset.
A Big Bertha 5 iron at address
Scott Manwaring, Callaway’s director of design, put it this way:
[quote_box_center]“[The Big Bertha irons] are for center-of-the-green players. They’re past aiming for pins and they’re not necessarily working on their game.”[/quote_box_center]
One of the easiest ways for golfers to hit more greens is to hit a shorter club into those greens, which is why the Big Bertha irons were designed with two parts. The first part is a lightweight face cup that’s made to be as hot as possible. Those faces are welded to the second part: stainless steel bodies that move weight low in the head for a higher launch. Both the club heads and faces are cast from 17-4 stainless steel.
So what creates all the distance? The face cups, of course. Their construction allows for extremely deep undercuts that sit behind the bottom of the club faces and act as hinges at impact. The more these hinges bend, Manwaring said, the more ball speed can be created, which is why the hinges are shaped to create as much bending as possible. The theory is similar to the one that has companies putting slots in its metal woods and irons for more distance, although Manwaring believes the benefits of face cups outweigh those of slots.
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The Big Bertha irons ($999 steel, $1099 graphite) are available in 4-PW, AW and SW, although most golfers who are a fit for the clubs might want to skip the long irons. For them, Callaway has designed Big Bertha hybrids, which are adjustable to help golfers fill the distance gaps the long-flying irons are sure to create. The hybrids use the same Opti-Fit hosels as the company’s Big Bertha drivers, giving them a 3-degree range of loft adjustability and two independent lie angle settings: neutral and upright.
The Big Bertha hybrids also have the same 455 Carpenter Steel Hyper Speed Face Cups as Callaway’s X2 Hot hybrids, although they have a larger, more fairway-wood like shape than those hybrids. That makes them more forgiving and slightly higher spinning.
They’re available in the following models: 3H (19 degrees), 4H (22 degrees), 5H (25 degrees), 6H (28 degrees) and 7H (31 degrees). By themselves, the hybrids sell for $249 each, but golfers can create an 8-piece Big Bertha combo set with 2 hybrids and 6 irons for $1299.
The Big Bertha irons and hybrids will be in stores October 17.
Specs
Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the 2015 Big Bertha irons in our forum.
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- Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: TPT Driver 15 Lo
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 X
Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3, 4), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-10S, 60-04T), Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (56-10 MID, 52-10 MID)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X Seven
Putter: TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Limited
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (with Mindset)
Check out more in-hand photos of Jason Day’s WITB here.
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- Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 9 X
Irons: Titleist 718 TMB (2), Titleist T200 (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour Hybrid 105 X (2), KBS Tour 130 X
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S, 60-08M, 60-04T), WedgeWorks Proto (60-10V)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Ludvig Aberg’s clubs in the forums.
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We have seen a few new mini drivers from the likes of Titleist and TaylorMade being tested out on tour recently. Now, Callaway looks to be jumping into the mix at the RBC Heritage. We spotted Christian Bezuidenhout testing out a new Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 mini driver on the range. We don’t have any details yet but the club clearly states “mini driver” on it, and the “340” could easily refer to how many CCs the head is.
What we do know is that this mini driver has a very similar design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood. The sole looks to be made from steel or titanium, not forged carbon like the Paradym Ai Smoke drivers. It has weights up near the face and at the back of the club. Callaway’s OptiFit hosel is also present on this driver to allow loft and lie adjustments, and if you look closely on the face, you can make out the “Ai Smart Face” text at bottom center. The crown looks to have the familiar carbon fiber weave and Ai Smoke logos we have seen on the current clubs.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke DUW
The other Callaway prototype that was spotted looked to be a little more of a traditional fairway wood — but with non-traditional weight placements on it. Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke DUW looks to have four adjustable weights on it — two on the sole, one on the hosel, and one on the toe. This hosel isn’t adjustable, and I would assume that is to save some weight from creating spots for the movable weights.
It is hard to tell from the photos, but the face looks to be a touch deeper than the traditional Triple Diamond fairways. This deeper face could be where the “DUW” name comes from. With three weights all pushed forward near the face this DUW has to be a very low spinning and launching head. The sole is made from metal and similar in design to the current Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond fairway woods as is the carbon crown.
- Check out more of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10) Shaft: TPT...
Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)
Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)...
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Want to buy em
Feb 15, 2015 at 5:40 pm
When will the price drop
Hate to buy em and a week later
Could’ve got em for $300 less
Mark
Nov 20, 2014 at 11:11 pm
I hit the alpha Hybrid during some testing and gained 30 yards consistently on the hybrid. current 3 hybrid is a 250 club worth 260 on a perfect strike, and hit the alpha 280 repetatively but 290 on a perfect strike. couldn’t even feel the ball off of the face. I can’t wait for another day of testing more product.
Bert
Nov 3, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Wife decided her new Mizuno’s were out of the bag and going in were the 2015 Big Bertha irons with “Recoil” shafts. Lucky she hesitated and asked the right questions and I did the research and found the supposed Recoil shafts are not offered by Callaway and to get “real” Recoil shafts you must pay a $75 upgrade per club. Now think about it; Callaway charges you $75 upgrade for a $40 shaft and keeps the original shaft (whatever a 460 Recoil is. This is another gimmick to fool the buyer into believing they’re not. My wife was fitted by a rep using their fitting cart. She hit an iron with a 660 Recoil shaft and was never told the shafts she received would be different (460’s). She was never told the factory shafts were something of less quality.
Advice; BUYER BEWARE and stay abreast of technology since the fitter will tell you anything you wish to hear and sell you something you weren’t fitted with.
So the bottom line is the shafts being sold in the 2015 Callaway Big Bertha Irons are not the Recoil shafts played by better golfers and Callaway will not tell you such. They are a lesser, cheaper iron shaft and if you desire a Recoil Shaft be prepared to pay quite a bit more.
Chris
Oct 17, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Would love to see the handicaps of people commenting on these irons. Also consider most high handicappers slice the ball. In fact roughly 80 percent of golfers slice the ball.
There is definitely a target group of golfers for these irons, and they will help them. Personally, I’m hitting the hybrids on my way home. I currently game the 913H.
Alex T
Oct 7, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Seen it all before. Fusion. Slingshot. Rocketballz. Etc. These kinds of designs are as niche as butter knife thin blades. There’s only about 1% of golfers who could actually get any benefit out of them, the only difference being that everybody wishes they were good enough to hit blades. Nobody wishes they were bad enough to hit these monstrosities. These will be forgotten in a heartbeat and will be on sale for $499 by next march. Here’s a tip: If you want two clubs more distance hit two clubs more. 20 yards more distance and I won’t even charge you $1000 dollars for it.
marcel
Sep 30, 2014 at 2:13 am
well what counts is being on the fairway… yes BB hit further but he lost control and ended up in sand… these clubs are “game improvement” clubs for 30+ handicapers
simon
Sep 25, 2014 at 4:00 am
I’m pretty sure if you measured the swing speed on those two 6 iron shots they would be very different.
Maybe the Big Bertha does go further but certainly not 23 yards.
Plus they are seriously ugly to my eye.The top edge must 8-10mm. A little thicker than a garden spade.
JH
Sep 25, 2014 at 1:39 am
Is the target golfer of these clubs really going to plunk down $1000+ for a set of these?
Can’t believe that price tag.
BeenInHB33
Sep 25, 2014 at 12:53 am
Maybe the ugliest irons I’ve ever seen.
Billy
Sep 25, 2014 at 2:39 am
Seriously!
Phat
Sep 25, 2014 at 12:37 am
Haha so the old 1 or 2 iron is now a 4 iron. Took me a while to figure out why the new school 4 irons were hard to hit.
Gonzo
Sep 25, 2014 at 12:30 am
I wonder if these will stay at this price point, like the Apex, or be subject to massive price cuts, like the X2 Hot.
Jeff Daschel
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:17 pm
Anybody else think it’s funny P Reed hit a hook with the new big Bertha iron ? Middle of the fairway 186 or 209 in the left bunker? No wonder high caps don’t get better
BeenInHB33
Sep 25, 2014 at 12:55 am
HAHA was thinking the same thing! There’s like a foot of offset on these “irons” lol. Terrible. These should cost $75 or less.
Ben
Sep 25, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Way too much offset. I feel bad for the high capper who struggles with a hook because the GI selections on the market will only make it worse.
Eugene Marchetti
Dec 19, 2014 at 9:08 pm
I totally agree. I hit these hybrids/irons this week and the offset was very visible. Consequently, I actually hit them way right because I was so afraid I would hook the heck out of them, I didn’t release the club. Too thick and too offset for me.
Joey
Sep 24, 2014 at 9:34 pm
Tisk tisk. The more things change the more they stay the same. Pure propaganda, their selling campaign at this point.
Jimmy
Sep 24, 2014 at 9:12 pm
1300 bucks with hybrids and the irons are not forged WONDER WHY NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY THIS GAME ANYMORE i could see if it was hybrid 3-7 irons 9-pw with graphite shafts all around but man those are nit cheap you better get your 2 clubs worth of distance
Vandy
Sep 24, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Anyone else notice that the specs read that the 4 iron is at 20.5…. about half a degree stronger than a normal 3 iron, and are at 39.125″. So yeah their “4” iron will go farther than yours.
akapipe
Sep 24, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Agree 100%!
Justin
Sep 24, 2014 at 6:31 pm
Is it just me, or does the hybrid look similar to a Titleist 910h?
Peter
Sep 25, 2014 at 10:42 pm
yes they do. the only reason why i read some comments was to see if anyone else thought so too. i think its the big fat toe on the above view and it also has a surefit hosel lol.
Desmond
Sep 24, 2014 at 4:39 pm
In the late 90’s those would be called hybrids, not irons….
d
Sep 24, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Fusion!
Pingbrad
Sep 24, 2014 at 3:55 pm
The longer distance comes from bending the clubs stronger and lengthening the shafts. The 5 iron is this set equivalent to most other manufactures 4 iron.
Feel
Sep 24, 2014 at 3:35 pm
They feel awesome!
Don
Sep 24, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Sometimes I get the feeling these companies think we are all lemmings and that they can guide us to the cliff.
mrjoe
Sep 24, 2014 at 2:52 pm
So what’s new here? Cup face has been done in irons. Max COR has been done in irons.
Callaway just catching up.
Lime Shark
Sep 24, 2014 at 2:07 pm
The Callaway 7-iron has a loft of 30 degrees and a length of 37.25 inches.
Compare that to the Ping G5:
Ping G5 6-iron – loft = 30.5 degrees, length = 37.25 inches.
Ping G% 7-iron – loft = 34 degrees, length = 36.75 inches.
At least one club worth of “extra length” can be attributed to the fact that the 7-iron is really a 6-iron.
TW
Sep 24, 2014 at 2:52 pm
I was gonna say the same thing.
most standard 4 irons are 24-25 degrees, callaways is 20.5. I am and have been a pure callaway guy for a few years. Will likely keep my hex chrome plus but will be looking to go another route on irons this season. (looking at titleist first and might give nike a shot, on balls and irons but doubt I switch balls)
Thomas J Coyne jr
Sep 24, 2014 at 1:38 pm
And we all wonder what the reasoning is for the loss of golfers, beginners, sales of equipment, golf course closures? All of this stuff is made in China. All of it is also duplicated with another name, like Bertha/Bursur. The new gimmicks, soul weighting, comeon, Browning did that with the 440 and 440 plus 40 years ago. I’m still hitting them and regrove them myself. I also have a set of Bursurs. Talked to the importer-he said they come from the same factory as Callaway’s. Only the price is 90% cheaper. We live near a small country golf course, 9 holes, par 36 each 9 from 2 sets of tees, some holes are short but it’s in good shape and hilly, greens are small, upsets visiting pros, when they barely break par. Price for 9 is around 10 or 12 for seniors. Cart for another 5 or 6. Affordable, but it’s the only deal in the Portland, Oregon area. All others are in the 40’s plus for 18. In these economy days this is why golfers are dropping out, plus the fact that there is less organized golf now. Used to have local men’s clubs, every Sat., all gone as the clubs want fresh money and it’s not there, so they lost all around.
I asked some kids why they were spending more time on the I-phone than playing sports. Easier, less cost, no instruction, no pressure from coaches, teach themselves, Keep up with their friends or what they call important stuff. It’s all about money-eh?
Scooter McGavin
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:42 pm
And people need to stop complaining about strong lofts on distance irons. That lower loft is there to help with distance. You can’t compare your old or Player’s club lofts to something where the weighting has been engineered to launch the ball higher. Higher launch means they can strengthen the clubs and still maintain ideal ball launch/height.
Lane
Sep 24, 2014 at 1:48 pm
So at what point does it become apples to apples? You say can’t compare because of weighting, yet the manufacturer will want to compare when they make distance claims (2 clubs longer). So how about you call them up and say they can’t claim that because the weighting of the club is different and can’t be compared to older irons?
NMBob
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:21 pm
exactly. If this goes two clubs farther..ha ha ha what a crock of you know what. That would make my pitching wedge go a full 150. What iron set has no irons you can score with inside 150. Did they just reinvent the nike slingshot? You guys know how many guys I have had to sell real pitching wedges to that had burner 2s or diablos with 41.5 deg pitching wedges that cam e in the set. At what point do folks start to remember they need a set of tools spread across distances to help them score and changing the numbers on clubs and in truth simply removing the Pw and now almost 9 irons from folks sets leaves them without the tools to score from certain yardages. Also, making that shaft longer, how many 4 or 5 irons are now pushed out of the realm of consisting hitting because it is just too long?
Chris
Oct 17, 2014 at 12:28 pm
Titleist explained this well last year with the new 714 line, and how moving the CG around necessitates the decreasing in loft to get the proper trajectory for each iron.
People continue to go on, and on, ad nauseam about “de-lofting”, “longer shafts”, blah, blah, blah. If you don’t like them, don’t buy them. You aren’t offering anything earth shattering to the equation here.
Viper
Oct 21, 2014 at 9:59 pm
I agree with Chris if you don’t like the irons, don’t buy them and moved on. I just played our club championships (match play) the guy who came runner up, gamed this irons and his almost scratch 1.1 index, his in mid 30s and using the F3 Regular Flex Recoil.
Scooter McGavin
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:38 pm
I thought it was called a “cup face”, not a “face cup”.
OhioGolfDude
Sep 25, 2014 at 9:50 am
Take a look at the photo of the hybrid – it specifically states “Hyper Speed Face Cup”
Boner
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Wow the ball went on fire with the Big Bertha iron!!!!!! Those irons mean serious business! I have already per-ordered, can’t wait!!!!!!
dapadre
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:28 pm
These look more like Hybrid irons. I find the 2 clubs longer claim though, sighting that my 5 iron is 28deg and this is 23deg. So essentially my 5 iron is their 7/8 iron, ok I get it. Do like the look of the hybrid but at $249, come on.
Ev
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Think I’ve finally found a possibly replacement for my X-12’s!
RobN
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:12 pm
The irons? No thanks, I’ll stick with my Apex. Now that hybrid I DO like!! The adjustable hosel should make that one a winner. But I’m still not giving up my X2 Hots. They are just too good.
Don
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:10 pm
These look … clunky to me. Not really drumming up any excitement for Callaway for me.
jc
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:08 pm
that’s why I went to ping….not as many changes…and only every couple of years between the next ones….I will stick with my g25s even if they don’t have turbulators or a new name.
JIMMY
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Yikes, probably great for 25-capper, that huge offset screams,
FORE LEFT!!!!!!!
Roger S.
Sep 24, 2014 at 2:24 pm
I would seriously hook those clubs about 100 yards left. The ball would probably make a 90* in the air.
li0scc0
Jul 28, 2017 at 9:36 am
Then you are not a very good golfer. I’m a 12 handicap, and I can hit these, or a zero offset, straight. My 6 iron distance is 198, generally. Offset does not cause hooks, draws, etc.
BcavWecllh
Sep 24, 2014 at 12:04 pm
The sole of the irons look like the Rocketballz.
David Smith
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:58 am
This is sad… what is going on?!?!
cb
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:56 am
Hey patrick swing easy with this club and now really go at it with this club. Oh my gosh! your second swing went farther than the first!
WHY!?
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:43 am
So many lines and models. Its TM vs. Callaway these days. I can see Monte playing these when you consider his current gamers.The hybrid doesnt look that bad. Not much offset and nice shape.
SMH
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:17 am
Sadly they’re really starting to become like TMAG and just jamming product after product down the consumer’s throat. I still haven’t hit a hybrid yet that I would take over the old Titleist 503H that I’ve been playing since it first came out.