Equipment
Callaway Big Bertha OS Irons and Hybrids
Spend enough time around golf courses and driving ranges and you’ll realize there are a few different types of golfers playing the game — everyone from the guy hitting 300-yard buttery draws to the newbie or recreational golfer who just wants to get the dang ball airborne.
Callaway’s new Big Bertha OS irons and hybrids are for the latter. Let’s take a look at the new technologies in these super-game improvement clubs, and how they can help golfers enjoy the game more.
Release: Big Bertha OS irons and hybrids will be in stores Sept. 30. They’re available for pre-order Sept. 9.
Big Bertha OS Irons
Take the back badging off of the Big Bertha irons and the structure looks a bit like Bane’s mask from the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. Behind the face sits vertical bars, which Callaway calls an Exo-Cage. It’s made of steel to support the face of the iron at impact.
“It’s the most complex iron that we might have ever made,” said Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s Senior Vice President of R&D.
The cage design, while having a positive effect on both lateral and vertical forgiveness, is inherently a higher-CG design than what’s ideal for an iron, especially a game-improvement iron that has the goal of higher launch.
As such, Callaway added tungsten — a total of about 100 grams throughout the set — in order to keep the weight as low as possible possible in the club head, while retaining the forgiveness benefits from the Exo-Cage.
The two-piece irons also have Callaway’s next-generation Face Cup, which is thicker in the center of the face and thinner near the perimeter for higher ball speeds on off-center hits to help bad shots fly more like good shots.
Also available for slower-swing-speed players is a set that is designed with higher-than-standard lofts and lighter club weights. The difference between the irons is denoted by a different color scheme.
The Big Bertha OS irons (4-SW) sell for $1,099.99 with steel shafts (True Temper Speed Step 80) and $1,299.99 with graphite shafts (UST Recoil ES 460).
Big Bertha OS Hybrids
Also designed for a super high launch and big forgiveness are the Big Bertha OS hybrids, which are the largest hybrids in Callaway’s arsenal, according to Hocknell. In their design weight is placed extremely low and rearward, as the hybrids use mass properties to manipulate CG back.
Due to their larger head sizes, the hybrids have larger faces than any other hybrid in the Callaway stable. There’s also an adjustable hosel for those players who want to fine tune their trajectory. While the club heads and faces are large, Callaway designed the soles with relief to limit turf interaction. That means all the benefits of a large club head, without the drag from a sole that’s too big.
As with the Big Bertha OS irons, the hybrid are also available in a lighter-weight option, which will appeal to golfers with slower club head speeds. They sell for $249.99 each, and come stock with True Temper’s Speed Step 80 (steel) and UST’s Recoil ES 460 (graphite) shafts.
See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the clubs in our forum.
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Whats in the Bag
Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)
- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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Equipment
Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons
TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
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 Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
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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KK
Sep 8, 2016 at 7:13 pm
MOI looks insane. Gotta respect the function before form approach.
Art Williams
Sep 8, 2016 at 3:18 pm
I still play BB X12 irons with X14 Pro series wedges. All the new stuff by Callaway is like looking back to the future. The new Steelhead is nice, but this BB looks a bit clunky, even by X12 standards.
PR
Sep 8, 2016 at 6:42 pm
But the technology is miles ahead of what they had in the X12 or X14 or any time before the 360 face cup.
About the only one I would bring up is the original Fusion irons with the Ti face insert. That thing was butter.
Sado Mas Izzle
Sep 8, 2016 at 10:56 am
Stunning! So much fun!
Mark
Sep 7, 2016 at 4:09 pm
I have shovels in my garage that look more attractive.
Jon
Sep 7, 2016 at 10:32 am
Such seemingly great technology wrapped in insanely ugly irons! Why couldn’t Callaway tone down the nasty lettering/patterns on the back of the irons..
msmizzllee
Sep 7, 2016 at 9:02 am
enough already. $1300 a set for the average player (at best)?
George
Sep 7, 2016 at 8:18 am
Pretty ugly
Tom
Sep 7, 2016 at 11:17 am
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
BD57
Sep 7, 2016 at 9:33 pm
When you paint, do you look at the paint brush or what you’re painting?
if they paint a pretty scorecard, they’ll become beautiful quick enough.
peter collins
Sep 8, 2016 at 9:42 am
LOVE your comments