Equipment
Callaway launches Rogue, Rogue Pro and Rogue X irons and hybrids
With its new line of Rogue irons — consisting of Rogue, Rogue Pro and Rogue X models — Callaway continues its search to answer a conundrum that’s plagued game-improvement irons for years; how do you make an iron that produces great ball speed without sacrificing sound and feel. The dilemma is that in order to increase ball speeds, engineers must make the faces of the irons thinner. The problem is, the thinner they make the faces, the more vibration is caused at impact, creating a longer-lasting, higher-pitched sound. Very few golfers want that off-putting, clicky sound, but they do want the ball speed and distance.
So, that’s why companies are experimenting with different materials and injections between the faces of game-improvement irons and their bodies. That buffer creates a dampening effect to reduce vibration, while still allowing faces to be constructed thinner to raise COR (coefficient of restitution, a measure of energy transfer) and ball speed. Companies such as PXG irons use TPE injections, and TaylorMade uses SpeedFoam in its new P-790 irons; Callaway says those constructions either constrict speed, or they don’t have a profound enough effect on vibrations.
For its Rogue irons that are made from 17-4 stainless steel, Callaway is using what it calls urethane microspheres, which are essentially little balls of urethane that it combines together, in the cavities of its irons. The difference between these spheres and other foams and materials on the market, according to Callaway, is that the material is porous. Callaway says the microspheres work to dampen sound without negatively effecting ball speed.
A look at the inside of a Rogue iron, via Callaway’s photography
The inner material in the cavity works in tandem with familiar technologies from previous iron releases such as Apex, Epic and Steelhead XR. Callaway says it has improved upon its VFT (variable face thickness) and Face Cup technologies, focusing on thinning out portions of the face where golfers tend to miss shots — low on the face, on the heel and on the toe. Each of the Rogue irons also uses Internal Standing Wave by way of Tungsten-infused weights that help control the center of gravity (CG) in the club heads; that means centering the overall weight between the scoring lines, and controlling where the CG is placed vertically throughout a given set (re: higher on the short irons for more control and spin, and lower on the long irons for more height).
For the consumer, all of this means getting performance-driven irons at a lower price compared to the Epic and Epic Pro irons. Each of the irons will be available for pre-sale on January 19, and come to retail on February 9. Read on for more info on each of the specific irons, and the Rogue and Rogue X hybrids that introduce Callaway’s Jailbreak technology into hybrids for the first time.
Discussion: See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Rogue irons and hybrids in our forums.
Rogue irons ($899.99 steel, $999.99 graphite)
Callaway’s Rogue irons are the standard model in this line of irons, equipped with all of the technologies described above. According to Callaway, these are essentially Steelhead XR replacements, but have more compact shapes. In the Steelhead XR irons, Callaway used a wider profile in order to center CG between the scoring lines, but due to the inclusion of the Tungsten-infused weights in the Rogue irons, it was able to shape the irons more similar to XR and X-Hot irons of the past — more preferable shapes for GI irons, according to Callaway.
Stock shafts include True Temper’s XP105 steel shaft, and Aldila’s Synergy graphite shaft.
Rogue Pro irons ($999.99)
The Rogue Pro irons, as you may expect, have a more compact shape, thinner toplines and thinner soles than their standard-model-counterparts. Therefore, the Pro design will yield more control that better players will prefer, but they are still packed with all of the performance-enhancing technologies of the Rogue irons. They also have a chrome plating that better players may be drawn to.
Rogue X irons ($899.99 steel, $999.99 graphite)
Callaway described the Rogue X irons to me as “bomber irons.” They have lofts that are 3-to-4 degrees stronger than the standard Rogue irons, and they have longer lengths and lighter overall weights, but according to Callaway, they will still launch in the same window iron-for-iron (re: a 7-iron will launch like a 7-iron). Despite cranking down the lofts, they have bigger profiles, wider soles and more offset; those designs work to drag CG rearward, which helps to increase launch.
Combine that design with the Rogue’s VFT, Face Cups, Internal Standing Wave and urethane microspheres, and the result is an iron that’s “all about distance,” according to Callaway.
Rogue and Rogue X hybrids ($249.99 apiece)
As noted previously, the Rogue and Rogue X hybrids include Callaway’s Jailbreak technology. Like Callaway’s Rogue fairway woods, they use stainless steel bars behind the face instead of the titanium bars that are used in the Rogue drivers. Also, like all of the other Callaway clubs that use Jailbreak, the idea of the design is that two parallel bars inside the club head connect the sole with crown help to add strength to the body at impact, allowing the faces to be constructed thinner, thus, create more ball speed across the face. The Rogue and Rogue X hybrids also have Callaway’s familiar Face Cup technology.
The standard Rogue goes up to a 6-hybrid, while the oversized, Rogue X “super hybrid” goes up to an 8-hybrid. Similar to the Rogue X irons, the Rogue X hybrids have an oversized construction, a lighter overall weight, and longer lengths. The goal with these Rogue X hybrids is to create higher launching, more forgiving and longer hybrid options for golfers who need help getting the ball in the air.
Discussion: See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Rogue irons and hybrids in our forums.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
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Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
Scottie Scheffler WITB 2024 (March)
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Spotted: Bettinardi irons at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here. Driver: TaylorMade...
WITB Time Machine: Jordan Spieth’s winning WITB, 2022 RBC Heritage
At the 2022 RBC Heritage Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole after nearly holing his greenside...
Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)
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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JH
May 6, 2018 at 1:45 am
Not everyone can play to an 8 hcp or less in fact 95% of golfers are 15+;we hit 70 practice balls and play a round a week if that. With these new “gimmicky” clubs, one can have more fun, retain same distance and keep improving even as they age, one caveat you will have to have good fundamental swing mechanics for any club to work. Look at Gary Player you think he is still playing forged blades, 8 degree driver don’t think so, he is 82 and still shoots his age or lower.
Mad-Mex
Jan 20, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Didn’t you get enough attention as a child Stan!?! Grow up,,,,,
Jon
Jan 20, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Stan,
I don’t respond to the back and forth very often but feel like I have to respond to the arrogance you throwing around. If you are such a great ball striker the how come you aren’t out the tour making big bucks competing with Jordan, Dustin and Rory? Get a life. I rarely strike the exact center of the club face either but ENJOY the game apparently more than you do. On top of that YOU need to figure out that you need all of us “hackers” or every golf course will close and all you pure ball strikers will have to find a different game (I’d suggest bowling….not wait, Polo for you). If your lucky you might be able to compete against the rest of your fellow pure ball strikers at your local Top Golf.
Stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 10:35 pm
My boyfriend uses jelly to dampen the vibrations, if you know what I mean.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:46 pm
FAKE-FORGED JELLO-FILLED GOLF CLUBS!!!
😮 😛 😎 😉
Mikele
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:18 pm
No more fake than your lob and run comment.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 11:49 pm
At least I’m not a desperate gearhead who slobber and funner golf.
Jgpl001
Jan 18, 2018 at 3:49 pm
The word “Pro” here is such a joke,
How could anyone buy this stuff?
If you need these, then give golf and take up stamp collecting
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:39 pm
The ‘Pros’ who are playing these bloated clubs are paid to advertise them on the Tour. If one of those ‘bought’ pros wins with these clubs or even win, the gearheads will have a feeding frenzy on Monday… after the Sunday win.
In any case, Ping can claim the G400s are “Tour Tested”…. and what’s good enough on the Tour is good enough for YOU!!! 😛
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:42 pm
Ooops… correction …. “If one of those “bought” pros is on the leaderboard or even wins with these clubs….” …. now that’s better …;-)
JOEL GOODMAN
Jan 18, 2018 at 7:20 pm
THESE “CLUBS” AND THEY ARE CLUBS SUITABLE FOR KILLING SNAKES AND RATS AND MICE, I WOULDN’T HAVE THESE UGLY EXCUSE FOR GOLF CLUBS IN MY BAG FOR 10 SECONDS EVEN IF THEY GUARANTEED TO TAKE 50 SHOTS OFF MY GAME.
Mikele
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:20 pm
Full of dung much?
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 11:54 pm
Hollow jello-filled irons are for those who miss-hit… and that is admitted by a club designer who says these abominations are for max forgiveness.
All these hollow irons are for failures who can’t hit on center and want a mushy slushy feeeel from impact… it’s soooo pa thetic …. :-O
Mikele
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:19 pm
Do you have to work hard at being an arrogant twit or does it just come to you naturally?
Golfraven
Jan 18, 2018 at 2:33 pm
Wow, is half an inch of topline now the new sexy? I think I need to clean my glasses. Callaway finally arrived back at the seniors market, where whey belonged all the time – and likely where they want to be because the old folks have all the cash now.
HDTVMAN
Jan 18, 2018 at 1:46 pm
As a fitter, I would have like the price to stay at $799, as the majority of my customers are mid-range players. The Ping G400 have been a harder sale since they rose in price to $899 from the $799 G. However, that being said, having the Rogue and G400 at $899 will definitely put the “puck” in Ping’s corner…as the G400’s are excellent clubs. I have not see the price for the M4’s, and if they also rise $100 for a set of 8 irons.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:34 pm
The only golf club market that exists nowadays is the rich hacker and neurotic gearheads. It’s a shrinking market because all the old Baby Boomers are giving up on golf and the millennials can’t afford to golf.
These grossly expensive clubs are for those who have more money than brains and talent. The desperate OEMs are now squeezing the last dollar from the shrinking market with overpriced clubs to stay alive.
It’s a collapsing golf club market now … believe it.
SUHDUDE
Jan 18, 2018 at 1:12 pm
yeah, shut up stan. Dilly dilly!
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:36 pm
… and dilly dilly to you too …. because it’s all TRUE …!!!!
mike
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:56 pm
shut up stan
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:48 pm
…(mike obviously has these fake-forged jello-filled clubs in his WITB… ouch!!)
TexasSnowman
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:42 pm
ugly. Unbelievable that calls would think these will sell….maybe I’m wrong but anyone with less than a 15 hdcp will not give these a 2nd look imo.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:36 pm
PXG, TM and now Cally…. all jumping on the jello-filled clubheads for gearhead hackers …. soooo obvious …. 😉
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:28 pm
Mushy irons filled with jello to absorb the off-center hits by hacking gearheads who can’t stand the vibrations from their beloved WITB clubs! 😮
Robert Parsons
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Tons of offset and a topline thick enough a skateboarder could grind.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:34 pm
…. and engorged with jello to deaden the off-center hit vibrations and twisting… lol
alexdub
Jan 18, 2018 at 10:16 am
Look at those shovels!
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:32 pm
They shovel-swing with no whipsnap in their release, so these are perfect clubs for gooney gearheads who can’t break 100 honestly …. lol
John B
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:31 pm
Stan’s a loser. Just because you don’t like them don’t complain. You’re probably a chop yourself.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 7:04 pm
Ooooh …. did I hit a nerve… a feeeel nerve? LOL
C
Jan 18, 2018 at 7:22 am
I didn’t think it would be possible to beat Ping on amount of offset. Good lord.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Offset for offcenter hacker gearheads
Tucci Gang
Jan 18, 2018 at 3:38 am
P790 all the way, baby!
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:30 pm
P790s…. admission of failure to hit the ball on the center of the clubface.
Oooooh but they feeeeel soooo gooood ….. 😛