Equipment
Callaway launches new Big Bertha Irons and Hybrids
Callaway has today announced the introduction of its new Big Bertha Irons and hybrids, which feature a thinner club face and optimized center of gravity, designed to provide easier launch and greater distance.
Big Bertha Irons
Following on from the 2016 Big Bertha OS Irons line, which showcased Callaway’s EXO-Cage technology, these new Big Bertha irons will feature the company’s brand new Suspended Energy Core. The Suspended Energy Core features a Metal Injection Molded (MIM’d) Tungsten Floating Weight suspended within a urethane microsphere material to create a deeper center of gravity. According to Callaway, this yields easy launch, longer, and more consistent golf shots.
The Big Bertha Irons will also feature Callaway’s 360 Face Cup, which employs a flexible rim around the face that flexes and releases at impact — this aims to increase ball speed. Owing to the new Suspended Energy Core, this will be Callaway’s thinnest face cup yet, which the company says results in increased ball speeds.
Callaway’s new Big Bertha Irons will be available with Recoil ESX, Recoil ZT9, and KBS Max 90 shafts. The irons hit the shelves on Jan. 18 and will cost $1,200 in steel and $1,300 in graphite.
Big Bertha Hybrids
The new Big Bertha Hybrids will feature Jailbreak Technology, which Callaway first introduced in 2017 with the Epic line. The technology, which was created with the aim of promoting faster ball speed and greater distance, incorporates two internal bars that stiffen the body, placing more impact load on the face. It proved to be a very popular addition from Callaway, and in their new Big Bertha Hybrids, the company have combined this technology with a new shorter and lighter OptiFit Hosel System designed to optimize the center of gravity for an easier launch and a higher, long-carrying flight.
The new hybrids from Callaway also feature an ultra-thin, Carpenter 455 steel face and Hyper Speed Face Cup, with the combination designed to create optimum ballspeed across the face.
The Big Bertha Hybrids will be available in both premium Recoil ESX and ZT9 Shafts, and they will be in stores on Jan. 18 for $269.99 each.
A special thanks to our Brian Knudson for braving the chill and doing his best to find a few blades of green grass for the outdoor, in-hand photos readers prefer.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Equipment
Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes
As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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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.”
View this post on Instagram
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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ogo
Jan 7, 2019 at 10:42 pm
A WILLIAM ROSS PATENT SPRING-FACE IRON, CIRCA 1893
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/the-jeffery-b-ellis-antique-golf-club-collection-n08380/lot.379.html
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Well… so much for Callaway innovative “engineering” superiority… 😮
ogo no
Jul 17, 2019 at 5:11 pm
Pathetic comparison. Pretty lame.
Piter
Dec 7, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Very similar looking to the Callaway FT from a few years back. I like the look though.
I never buy a current model so price doesn’t bother me, it will come down eventually. If the same applies to irons as with drivers (about 1 yard distance gain for each new model per year) I will wait for 5+ years..
Ron
Nov 14, 2018 at 1:04 pm
I’ll wait for the GREAT Big Bertha irons for even more distance claims. GBB all the way!!
Paulie C
Nov 14, 2018 at 11:47 am
Ridiculous that a set of irons have to be this much money. They’re at a point where the ball speed leaving the faces are maxed out. Golf balls can’t legally go any further. Been that way for years yet every year we hear about picking up an extra 6-7 yards per club. Every year the faces get thinner too. In what? Laboratory testing? They shave .000000037 off the face just so they can say they’re more forgiving and higher launching than the previous model. Keep ’em!
Roy
Nov 14, 2018 at 9:45 pm
Thought COR only applied to drivers?? That aside – why is it so hard to. Elite e that a bigger budget leads to a better product. But no worries,sure there were lots of guys questioning how they would improve the Model T
ogo
Nov 13, 2018 at 5:49 pm
OMG!!! … OMG!!! … OMG!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKiSX8qYL3M
Ron
Nov 14, 2018 at 1:00 pm
LOL … LOL … LOL … TOO FUNNY 😀
jim
Nov 13, 2018 at 5:33 pm
I see all the Callaway Haters are out. It is the Big Bertha iron, it will do what is is suppose to do for the players that it needs to do it for…..Launch easily! yes, and of course will go further than its predecessor. That is not a good thing? If you don’t like them or they are not for you then simply move on, not a big deal. But if you think they might be, go try them. Is that so hard?
Tom
Nov 13, 2018 at 6:51 pm
jim, what department at Callaway do you work in…..lol!Its not just Callaway, nobody has anything different, except cosmetics….sellers be sellin! Save your money!
Tom
Nov 13, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Well, its pretty obvious the club manufactures have absolutely nothing new….so they jack up lofts and tell you that’s better…..what a joke!Save your money. Sellers be sellin!
Speedy
Nov 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm
An awful looking club that deserves its ridiculous price point. Is Callaway losing it?
RR
Nov 13, 2018 at 10:39 am
I used to have a SGI set of Wilson Di5’s. I used to fly the green all the time and take penalty strokes. The 9 iron would fly 190 on a pure strike. Crazy! It was like a hitting the ball with a trampoline. I now miss the green short with forged irons sometimes but I am always in bounds. These shovel sets are getting over the top…..but I will be old with a slow swing speed one day and will still want to golf so keep on improving that tech!
Johnny Penso
Nov 14, 2018 at 12:24 am
Odd. I have a set of Di-7’s I picked up last winter for $75 that I played 20 times with this year and never hit a single flyer. I guess the physics in mine were different than yours.
dat
Nov 13, 2018 at 10:30 am
Hideous, jacked, no feel, ultra expensive. These will sell well because your average Joe can hit his 7i in a simulator 175, which is 6 yards longer than his set from 2009.
JP
Nov 13, 2018 at 9:55 am
Recycled tech and jacked lofts. The offset looks terrible.
Go back to what you do best. Woods
Young Tom Morris
Nov 13, 2018 at 8:50 am
Have fun launching a pw 20 yards over the green. Nobody needs these.
Corey
Nov 13, 2018 at 8:03 am
Callaway losing their minds on pricing…
jeremy
Nov 13, 2018 at 9:46 am
Most fitted club at Club Champion this year was the P790…. Had a price point… oh yeah, $1300 per set…….. need to do some research
Corey
Nov 13, 2018 at 7:39 pm
790s at least involved new tech for TM that would account for the price. These appear to just be a recycle for Cally. I don’t need to do any research, thanks for the tip though…