Callaway Review: Rogue Pro Irons, Sub-Zero Driver, New X-grind wedge

[CaddiesFault]

Hey guys,

 

Its still early in the season here in Chicago, but I received my newest set of Callaway Clubs about a month ago and have about enough swings to give a first review:

 

So I am a 0-2 HDCP, with my wedge game being my strength and long irons & driver my weakness(I hit my hybrid great). I am also a PGA Class A Professional who does a fair amount of clubfitting & teaching, for whatever that's worth...Im no Monte, but I know my golf!

 

Previous clubs:

Mizuno MP 59/69 combo set with TT gs90 stiff shafts -1/2" 1*flat

Callaway X2Hot Pro 8.5 Diamana Blue 60 stiff 44.5"

 

New Clubs:

Callaway Rogue Pro KBS tour V Stiff -1/2" 1*flat

Callaway Rogue Sub-Zero 9* Diamana blue 60 stiff 44.5"

Callaway MD4 X-Grind 58*

 

Lets start with the driver, since i have the same shaft in each of them. The first thing i noticed is that the shaft felt softer with the Rogue head on it(it must be a heavier head). Testing it verified that fact as i wasn't quite generating as much pop, and my dispersion was everywhere. I solved that pretty quickly by removing the 14g weight and putting in a 7g weight from my X2hot Pro. Immediately I found myself hitting it much better. Was it longer than the X2hot pro on my best shots? No, but it wasn't shorter either. And TBH, the max COR for a driver of .830 has been reached for over a decade now by all club makers, so If you hit the dead center, its not going to go farther than your old one inless you are swinging faster of your launch conditions are better.

 

What I did notice was that my bad shots are not nearly as bad with the Rogue. They retain more distance, and dont go as far sideways. I havent really noticed the fade-bias in the sub-zero head(unless the x2hot pro has a fade bias too, in which case im just used to it). I am a believer in the jailbreak. I currently have a 9g in the back, and a 7g in the front, set on neutral/standard.

 

 

 

Now for the irons, which is the main reason I am writing this article, because I have had some interesting results. First off, I love the KBS tour v shaft. I had them in my 2014 apex pro irons. Im best off with an iron shaft around 110g. These are much more stable than the gs90s, which i have been overpowering. I used to have a draw with the old irons and gs90 shafts that i sometimes couldnt control. Now the ball flies very straight, and a little lower(imagine that right?). As for the heads, I am still getting used to the sound of a cast head, and the slightly thicker topline and sole. They look really nice, just different than a mizuno blade. They are also more forgiving on my most often mishit, the toe ball.

 

Here has been the most peculiar part though; i cannot get any distance out of the wedges! Now before i get 350 responses about how distance with wedges isnt the goal, there still needs to be gap control of some sort, and when my 3/4 PW that im used to going 140yds is going 110, we have a problem. I rarely hit my wedges full, so a 130yd shot before would be a choked up, 3/4 PW. Now I have to full swing a PW to get 130, not good. I now have a massive 40yd gap between my 8 & PW, with only my 9 iron to fill it.

 

Mizuno MP59/69:

210 5 iron

195 6 iron

180 7 iron

170 8 iron

160 9 iron

150 PW

130 AW

110 GW MD2 wedge

95 SW MD2 wedge

 

Rogue Pro:

210 5 iron

195 6 iron

180 7 iron

170 8 iron

??? 9 iron

130 PW

115 AW

110 GW MD2 wedge

95 SW MD4 wedge

 

I cannot figure out why the short irons aren't going anywhere, and the fact that they are cast and i cant bend them is unfortunate. I ran out of time to distance test the 9 iron to determine if its a problem club or not. I havent hit it much for whatever reason. Ill update that tomorrow hopefully. In summary, they are quite forgiving, and the long/mid irons are nice. Maybe its just me with the short irons(or maybe im having trouble loading the shorter KBS shafts?) who knows...

 

 

 

Finally, the new X-grind wedge. I am a big fan of this. I previously had the U-grind, which had a more round leading edge and wider sole in the toe. I have a steep AOA around the greens, and have problems with lower bounce wedges digging and not skipping or sliding, The X-grind with 12* bounce has a straight leading edge, with plenty of bounce, and a thin heel so you can open it up on tight lies, which i love to do. It has everything you could want if you have a steep AOA and like to play a variety of shots with your SW. Definitely recommended.

 

 

 

Edit: Expect another review in a month or so with sim numbers/pics, and an update on gap control. I will head to TrueSpec in a week or 2 for analysis VIA the Foresight GCQuad.

[Stuart_G]

I cannot figure out why the short irons aren't going anywhere, and the fact that they are cast and i cant bend them is unfortunate.

 

Did you ever get this figured out?

[Bar_Stroll]

I cannot figure out why the short irons aren't going anywhere, and the fact that they are cast and i cant bend them is unfortunate.

 

Did you ever get this figured out?

 

Yeah, I'd like to know what happened too. I just ordered Rogue Pros.

 

I hit Rogue (standard) and a friends JPX850's and used to own Callaway Warbird Tungsten's and the problem I had with those larger cast clubs in the high lofts was my ball went absolutely nowhere. This is why I went with the Rogue Pro hoping that would not be the case.

[Z1ggy16]

My guess is that maybe his lofts were totally jacked up toward the weak end?? I have no idea how a club would suddenly become 20-30 yards shorter, with the same shaft. Maybe CPM those shafts just to make sure they aren't HS'ed/SS'ed a bunch by mistake? Interested just for the sake of knowing... no skin in the game here.

[Stuart_G]

Could be - but I'd be more likely to think something about the set was causing him to deloft the shorter irons more then the longer ones. That tends to be more a weight issue so I'd suggest getting the swing weights checked if those same shafts worked well in a different head.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

My question would be did you get properly fit?

 

Something is either seriously wrong with Callaway's quality control you've bought them thinking you know better.

 

 

[Z1ggy16]

Could be - but I'd be more likely to think something about the set was causing him to deloft the shorter irons more then the longer ones. That tends to be more a weight issue so I'd suggest getting the swing weights checked if those same shafts worked well in a different head.

Good to know in case I run into this issue in the future.

 

OP, can you get on trackman and post numbers? If the deloft is happening, it would be really obvious with data.

[swoll cracker]

I've had my Rogue Pro's for a few months and couldnt be happier. Absolutely no issues with the gapping and distances consistent which what I saw on a launch monitor prior to procuring them.