Equipment

Callaway launches new Big Bertha Irons and Hybrids

Published

5 years ago

Nov 12, 2018

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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20 Comments

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
•
Well… so much for Callaway innovative “engineering” superiority… 😮

Reply Report comment
- ogo no
  
  Jul 17, 2019 at 5:11 pm
  
  Pathetic comparison. Pretty lame.
  
  Reply Report comment
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..

Reply Report comment
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!!

Reply Report comment
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!

Reply Report comment
- 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
  
  Reply Report comment
ogo

Nov 13, 2018 at 5:49 pm

OMG!!! … OMG!!! … OMG!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKiSX8qYL3M

Reply Report comment
- Ron
  
  Nov 14, 2018 at 1:00 pm
  
  LOL … LOL … LOL … TOO FUNNY 😀
  
  Reply Report comment
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?

Reply Report comment
- 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!
  
  Reply Report comment
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!

Reply Report comment
Speedy

Nov 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm

An awful looking club that deserves its ridiculous price point. Is Callaway losing it?

Reply Report comment
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!

Reply Report comment
- 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.
  
  Reply Report comment
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.

Reply Report comment
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

Reply Report comment
Young Tom Morris

Nov 13, 2018 at 8:50 am

Have fun launching a pw 20 yards over the green. Nobody needs these.

Reply Report comment
Corey

Nov 13, 2018 at 8:03 am

Callaway losing their minds on pricing…

Reply Report comment
- 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
  
  Reply Report comment
  - 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…
    
    Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

14 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

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And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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