Callaway Epic, Epic Pro Irons and Epic Hybrids: In-Hand Photos

[Callaway_HarryA]

How the Epic Irons came about....

 

Callaway Board Meeting, Q1Financial Review: "Great work team, this Epic Driver has been a big success. How do we keep these revenue projections up?" Someone in room: "let's make an Epic iron"

 

Board to CEO: Make an Epic Iron released before June.

CEO to Harry: "We need an Epic iron line before June".

Harry to Doc Hoc: "Doc, we have to have an Epic iron line before June"

Doc Hoc: "What? Why?"

Harry: "We just have to. Driver still doing well. Board thinks they can repeat this momentum for Q2 with irons".

Doc: "No way. Won't work."

Harry: "I know. Oh... and they have to be $250 per club".

Doc: WTF Harry?

Harry: Look Doc, don't sweat this. Gather the team and let's meet in my office in an hour...

 

An hour later...

 

Harry: "Ok team, we've got to get an Epic iron line out by June".

*Notable mumbling heard around the room

What have we not done yet?

Someone on marketing team: "Tungsten"

Doc: "We've done Tungsten inserts in the Apex line"

Harry: "What if we could call it a Tungsten injection. That may work. Doc spin me something around injected Tungsten and what that would do"

What else?

Mkt Intern: "I mean we've already put the face cups in the Apex"

Harry: "Is that all we've got?"

Silence from room...

Harry: Ok listen. Just go to the drawing board and take the injected tungsten story and the cup face welded to the body and come up with some new name we can call this process. Let's reconvene in two weeks".

 

Harry to CEO: "I'm going to need double the video budget for this".

CEO: "Why Harry? We've already tripled the marketing budget this year"

Harry: "I know but you've demanded an Epic iron line by June and we've got nothing. This is going to take some epic story telling"

CEO: "Fine Harry just get it done by June"

 

Two weeks later... in marketing board room...

Harry: "Ok team, what have we got..."

Doc: "Harry, check this out- "Energy Lensing"

Harry: Sounds cool. What is it?

Doc: It's the new name we call putting the face cup in the body of the iron

Harry: Love it. What else we got?

Silence from the room...

Harry: Fine. Let's see the design...

Doc: "Here she is (unveils the Epic iron design)"

Harry: "That's what we've got. It looks like the Fusion design. Maybe a little X2Hot also"

Marketing Intern: "Well we were going to use this badging on next fall's XR Fusion irons but we just pushed it up here and changed the color scheme to Epic"

Harry: "Da*nit! This thing has got to look premium!!!! We're charging $250 for this thing!

Doc: "Harry you didn't mention that in the meeting!

*Rumblings around the room

Doc: "We can re-design it. Just give us 2 more weeks.

Harry: We don't have 2 weeks. I need final drafts to get the marketing materials out in time for a pre-June release"

Doc: "Well Harry. I mean.... we could.... ummm...."

Harry: "Ok guys everyone settle down. Take the black part and make it look like the carbon material on the driver so it at least looks consistent with that. Maybe that'll pass. Oh and curve some metal across there so it looks like the 'jailbreak'. Meeting dismissed. Doc you stay.

 

Harry to Doc: "Look. I got us twice the video production budget for this thing. Write me some copy on what our engineering staff and production look like."

Doc: I'm not sure I understand?

Harry: I mean anything and everything we've got. How many engineers do we have now? How long is the production process. Get all that too me. I've got to sell this thing in this video. Oh and forward me that PXG ad copy we've been laughing about.

 

Two weeks later:

CEO to Harry: "Harry, I've got to admit you've done it again"

Harry: "I'm not confident this is going to work."

CEO: "Doesnt matter. Board loves it. Great work. You should have heard them laughing about the "no restrictions on materials line". Great stuff. This is approved.

Harry: "Ok. Well let me know what else you need"

 

Damn, I'm good!

[CasualLie]

How the Epic Irons came about....

 

Callaway Board Meeting, Q1Financial Review: "Great work team, this Epic Driver has been a big success. How do we keep these revenue projections up?" Someone in room: "let's make an Epic iron"

 

Board to CEO: Make an Epic Iron released before June.

CEO to Harry: "We need an Epic iron line before June".

Harry to Doc Hoc: "Doc, we have to have an Epic iron line before June"

Doc Hoc: "What? Why?"

Harry: "We just have to. Driver still doing well. Board thinks they can repeat this momentum for Q2 with irons".

Doc: "No way. Won't work."

Harry: "I know. Oh... and they have to be $250 per club".

Doc: WTF Harry?

Harry: Look Doc, don't sweat this. Gather the team and let's meet in my office in an hour...

 

An hour later...

 

Harry: "Ok team, we've got to get an Epic iron line out by June".

*Notable mumbling heard around the room

What have we not done yet?

Someone on marketing team: "Tungsten"

Doc: "We've done Tungsten inserts in the Apex line"

Harry: "What if we could call it a Tungsten injection. That may work. Doc spin me something around injected Tungsten and what that would do"

What else?

Mkt Intern: "I mean we've already put the face cups in the Apex"

Harry: "Is that all we've got?"

Silence from room...

Harry: Ok listen. Just go to the drawing board and take the injected tungsten story and the cup face welded to the body and come up with some new name we can call this process. Let's reconvene in two weeks".

 

Harry to CEO: "I'm going to need double the video budget for this".

CEO: "Why Harry? We've already tripled the marketing budget this year"

Harry: "I know but you've demanded an Epic iron line by June and we've got nothing. This is going to take some epic story telling"

CEO: "Fine Harry just get it done by June"

 

Two weeks later... in marketing board room...

Harry: "Ok team, what have we got..."

Doc: "Harry, check this out- "Energy Lensing"

Harry: Sounds cool. What is it?

Doc: It's the new name we call putting the face cup in the body of the iron

Harry: Love it. What else we got?

Silence from the room...

Harry: Fine. Let's see the design...

Doc: "Here she is (unveils the Epic iron design)"

Harry: "That's what we've got. It looks like the Fusion design. Maybe a little X2Hot also"

Marketing Intern: "Well we were going to use this badging on next fall's XR Fusion irons but we just pushed it up here and changed the color scheme to Epic"

Harry: "Da*nit! This thing has got to look premium!!!! We're charging $250 for this thing!

Doc: "Harry you didn't mention that in the meeting!

*Rumblings around the room

Doc: "We can re-design it. Just give us 2 more weeks.

Harry: We don't have 2 weeks. I need final drafts to get the marketing materials out in time for a pre-June release"

Doc: "Well Harry. I mean.... we could.... ummm...."

Harry: "Ok guys everyone settle down. Take the black part and make it look like the carbon material on the driver so it at least looks consistent with that. Maybe that'll pass. Oh and curve some metal across there so it looks like the 'jailbreak'. Meeting dismissed. Doc you stay.

 

Harry to Doc: "Look. I got us twice the video production budget for this thing. Write me some copy on what our engineering staff and production look like."

Doc: I'm not sure I understand?

Harry: I mean anything and everything we've got. How many engineers do we have now? How long is the production process. Get all that too me. I've got to sell this thing in this video. Oh and forward me that PXG ad copy we've been laughing about.

 

Two weeks later:

CEO to Harry: "Harry, I've got to admit you've done it again"

Harry: "I'm not confident this is going to work."

CEO: "Doesnt matter. Board loves it. Great work. You should have heard them laughing about the "no restrictions on materials line". Great stuff. This is approved.

Harry: "Ok. Well let me know what else you need"

 

I also have a full Callaway bag (yeah,even the bag) and this doesn't really bother me. It's as though these incredibly high priced and not terribly aesthetic irons are now causing you personal embarrassment. And like, a LOT of embarrassment.

 

It sure is... (from one Cally bag to another). Sadly it must have taken 1000x longer to type than for me to scroll through.

[BottleCap]

I think pre teens would really like the look of the irons

[double or triple?]

So who will actually hit these irons and take back their words if it turns out these irons could be better than their current set?

[jongalt55]

So who will actually hit these irons and take back their words if it turns out these irons could be better than their current set?

 

There is literally nothing they could do that would make me want to spend $250 per stick. So what--a 7 iron now goes 190 instead 165 to 170 in conventional clubs? Fantastic. All that means is I now have to go buy two more wedges so I'm stopping my irons at 6 or 7 instead of 4 or 5 and I'm carrying six wedges. Why is that desirable?

[GiantGolfer]

The wording of the article makes me think they are considering ending the Apex line. Not sure where the Apex are suppose to live in their line up now outside of the new MBs.

 

It almost strikes me as something from a GI improvement stance as something like Epic -> Apex CF16 -> Epic Pro -> Apex Pro

 

Apex is not being phased out. It will continue into 2018.

[TheMoneyShot]

I got to see these and hit these the other day. Wow.

 

There's something else coming soon that'll make Golfwrx implode. Particularly the 3 deep fans.

 

Tell me more!

[double or triple?]

So who will actually hit these irons and take back their words if it turns out these irons could be better than their current set?

 

There is literally nothing they could do that would make me want to spend $250 per stick. So what--a 7 iron now goes 190 instead 165 to 170 in conventional clubs? Fantastic. All that means is I now have to go buy two more wedges so I'm stopping my irons at 6 or 7 instead of 4 or 5 and I'm carrying six wedges. Why is that desirable?

 

You're focusing purely on distance claims of 1/2 club. What if the clubs increased your dispersion by 25%? 50%? What if you were a lowball hitter that could now hit an iron into a green and hold the green instead watching your ball hit and roll off the back of the green? Would these be worth it then? Just a matter of preference. Don't get stuck on the price per club if the technology involved is worth it.

[Judge440]

Gross.

[hurricanes7]

how about we wait until they come out, and actually hit them ( like everyone on this site will do), and then say whether u like them or not

[JDSPGA]

Ok so my rep stopped by to show me these, as well as a few other upcoming products. I got to hit them as well(the pro irons not the regular). I'll post my little write up in the other thread as well. We are only one of 10 green grass accounts in Missouri that will have these available for fitting, so they are really not going for the masses here.

 

I'll keep as much bias as I can out of this. I am on staff with Callaway, yes, but they don't pay me nor am I obligated to speak highly of the equipment. Club fitting is my passion and main job, so I test and fit stuff from the other major OEMs as well.

 

These were described to me as being the project of Doc Hoc who always wanted to play a pro like iron at appearance, but with the forgiveness and distance of something like the Apex CF16. He also was given no budget to work with and they spared no expense in R&D and building the clubs themselves. These have been in development for a long time, and I'm sure they slapped the Epic name on given the success of the rest of the line, but they were not created and pumped to market out of nowhere just to capitalize on the name.

 

So on to the performace......wow.

 

They have cup face throughout the entire set, not just the longer irons like the Apex. Any Apex player will notice the glaring jump in distance from the 7 iron to the 8 iron, which can create some problems. This does not exist with the Epic pro. They are not forged, but they do feel really good. As far as looks go....yeah, I'm not a big fan of the green..but at address they are stunning. Personally I don't care what a club looks like if it looks good at address and performs well, which these clubs really do.

 

I have played the Apex CF16 for the past year, and carry my 7 iron about 170. My issue with the Apex is the stupid distance and lack of spin. I believe these Epic Pros will be an answer to that problem. On GC2 I was carrying the 7 iron about the same as my Apex, but a touch more spin. They launched high and flew incredibly straight and extremely forgiving for a club that is so small and tidy at address.

 

The Epic pros are for that player who wants the performance and distance of the Apex or M1 or PXG 0311(etc.) but the looks of something smaller and sexier at address. They really deliver on that goal.

 

I did hit the hybrids but wasn't blown away. I'll keep my BBOS hybrid in the bag for now. Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have about the epic pro irons and I'll answer them to the best of my ability, given the small amount of testing I was able to do.

[BreakingPar]

 

Damn, I'm good!

 

But Harry, so was Fonzie before this:

 

 

[Scooterboy59]

I just don't get all the hate. Companies bring out product all the time in every industry.Phones,cars,computers,clothes,guns,TV, etc.... Don't bash something you have not hit yet or even seen in person. Callaway has been spot on for the last few year and especially since Chip Brewer has taken over. From the X Hot to the Epic, Callaway has brought great clubs to market and lets not forget about Odyssey putters. I understand if your a fan of other companies and that's great and you can think it is the greatest more power too you. All I know is that Callaway is not losing money and they have had a Epic year. I also don't think this iron is going to slow anything down. They have a company full of smart people doing an outstanding job. I believe they know what they are doing. This is just my thoughts and 2 cents worth.

In closing play what is best for you and your game.

 

Have a nice day.

[18th Legion]

 

Yep, Multi Material reminds me of these. Recall for the time, the Fusions were overpriced as well. . . .

[18th Legion]

Sorry if it was already mentioned, but the most positive aspect is price should come down on CF16s which I have decided on over the TaylorMade PSi. Curious though that both the models have "CF17" stamped on the the hosel. It appears these will replace the Apex Pro and Apex CF16, but a major difference is that the new "Pro" version seems to have a "Cup Face" (i.e. the hosel stamp), whereas I don't believe the Apex Pro was Cup Faced. If I am guessing (or betting) they will promote a combo set, but still maintain a forged Apex Pro line . . . or they may go to a similar MB/CB line to Titleist/TM, where the Apex Pro may assimilate. Fun stuff, at least until you look at the price tag.

[EaglesGolf99]

I got to see these and hit these the other day. Wow.

 

There's something else coming soon that'll make Golfwrx implode. Particularly the 3 deep fans.

 

Spill it!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please.

[4puttJohnny]

Lot of poor people and hating going on in this thread. Guess what? Neither you nor a mass market is the demographic Callaway is seeking with this product. "They won't sell many." Well, guess what. Maybe they didn't produce many because they understand the number necessary to satisfy the demographics that WILL buy these. That's why they have other product selections to fit those other demographics that seek a quality prouct at a lower price point. A few months ago there were threads claiming the $499 price tag on the Epic driver was ridiculous and "no one will buy them!" Yeah, we see how badly those have sold.

 

Hybrids look great and the irons look sufficiently different from a cosmetic standpoint to meet demographic demand. Chip Brewer continues his incredible streak of understanding exactly what market place demand is.

[Callaway_HarryA]

Damn, I'm good!

 

But Harry, so was Fonzie before this:

 

Haha. More likely these are about to hit 'em with the Hein.

[specimania]

I will give them a whirl. I will however, wait till peak season to even ponder these. If this is a marketing strategy then it may work. 250 per gets the aficionado's going. Capitalize on early hype and then hope people maintain interest. Drop price to 'normal' and maybe snag a buyer.

I would love to see some guarantee that these are going to better then anything on the market. That is a dream, albeit they did say they were the best they ever made. Robot or not, lets hear a claim that these are better then xyz... Put your mouth where your money is Callaway and stand behind it. You might have made this easy to put other irons in customers hands. Good luck CMP, you are going to need it.

[Redbird]

They are out of their god damn minds charging $250 an iron for those.

[maowv]

The most tragic news in this release is Callaway likely won't sell many due to the horrid looks and you know what that means ... there won't be as many available for 1/2 price on Callaway Pre-Owned in 3 months.

[Warrick]

I have been known to be a bit of a PXG hater, but I at least hit the clubs before I made the statement they were not really better than anything else I hit.

 

I am not really interested in these, but don't have too much to say, as I am not sure I will even get the chance.

[andrieddle]

Not digging the irons really, much prefer the Apex series, even the 2014 ones

[CaseyDan]

These irons.....at that price....is the perfect way to introduce Callaways new club financing option.

 

I said it first.

[Goopher]

Has Callaway ever had an iron (from a set) priced at $250 before? Curious.

 

yes ... the Great Big Bertha irons (titanium body with tungsten soleplate) were roughly the same price in europe

[Goopher]

my mate an I had a chance to hit the pros yesterday ... tbh I like bigger clubheads and the CF17 certainly reminded me of the FT Fusion with less offset ... very nice and clean look from the top (topline does not look fat at all)

 

I compared the ballspeed to the CF16 and it went up by ~3% (couldn't measure the specs but launch angle and spin were pretty much identical) and was very consistent on the (intentional *cough*) misshits. I do have a tendency to miss slightly inside and the speed didn't decrease a lot on those inside hits. I think Doc Hoc deliverd when he was asked by his boss to design a game improvement iron that he actually wanted to play :-)

 

I'm generally not a huge callaway fan, but to me they really delivered with the CF17 pro

[dgsmith09]

I haven't posted in WRX for years. I like checking in to see what's new, may be some upcoming club pics.

 

This is news. Callaway wants $2000+ for a set of 8 clubs. So much for growing the game and finding new players. I'm aware there is a market for the golfer with the wallet that can afford these irons. And that golf culture comes with some exclusivity. But, if this is mildly successful, they'll be out with Epic 2's this time next year and these will be on discount for what $1500? This idea is unsustainable. And somewhere in the future we'll be reading about Callaway being bought by Dick's out of bankruptcy if they continue with short-sighted attempts at going "premium."

 

And for aesthetics: Nike tries red, not so great. Cobra tries is it all, I guess they're doing ok with it, but every time I see a Cobra on the course it's the black one. TaylorMade goes white, there's less and less white every year. Callaway is now giving us neon green from Trapper Keepers, fiber glass reflective tops, get's Mitsubishi to offer a "green board", and this is "Epic" at $500 a clip. Golfer's can't get enough... So let's make the irons $2000+ and match the ugly glow-in-the-dark green. I don't see the appeal. That's ok if you do.

[BForrester]

So who will actually hit these irons and take back their words if it turns out these irons could be better than their current set?

 

Irons are Irons. As long as a 7i goes the distance I expect every time, there's not much an iron can do to blow up my skirt outside of looking good in my bag. I don't want a 190 yard, 30 degree 7 iron. I want an 7i that travels 160-165 and stops on the green within a few feet of its landing spot.

[DTown3011]

I haven't posted in WRX for years. I like checking in to see what's new, may be some upcoming club pics.

 

This is news. Callaway wants $2000+ for a set of 8 clubs. So much for growing the game and finding new players. I'm aware there is a market for the golfer with the wallet that can afford these irons. And that golf culture comes with some exclusivity. But, if this is mildly successful, they'll be out with Epic 2's this time next year and these will be on discount for what $1500? This idea is unsustainable. And somewhere in the future we'll be reading about Callaway being bought by Dick's out of bankruptcy if they continue with short-sighted attempts at going "premium."

 

And for aesthetics: Nike tries red, not so great. Cobra tries is it all, I guess they're doing ok with it, but every time I see a Cobra on the course it's the black one. TaylorMade goes white, there's less and less white every year. Callaway is now giving us neon green from Trapper Keepers, fiber glass reflective tops, get's Mitsubishi to offer a "green board", and this is "Epic" at $500 a clip. Golfer's can't get enough... So let's make the irons $2000+ and match the ugly glow-in-the-dark green. I don't see the appeal. That's ok if you do.

 

They have Steelhead, Big Bertha, and Apex at lower price points if you don't want to pay $2k for a set (BTW who plays a 3-iron anymore anyways, so these are a veritable BARGAIN at $1750 for 7 clubs - I kid, I kid!)

 

Personally, I think it's cool. No restrictions on price, go make the best set of irons you can make. Why not? They don't want nor need to sell a million of these and the freedom of design the R&D team had must have been fun. Titleist did it. TaylorMade and others will probably follow suit.

 

There is nothing wrong with capitalism and choices - and the market dictates what people are willing to pay. Don't see the value? Then don't buy them! But that's why we are all driving different cars and wearing different clothes and swinging different golf clubs are varying price points. There is NO WAY this is bad for the consumer.

[ram01002]

I haven't posted in WRX for years. I like checking in to see what's new, may be some upcoming club pics.

 

This is news. Callaway wants $2000+ for a set of 8 clubs. So much for growing the game and finding new players. I'm aware there is a market for the golfer with the wallet that can afford these irons. And that golf culture comes with some exclusivity. But, if this is mildly successful, they'll be out with Epic 2's this time next year and these will be on discount for what $1500? This idea is unsustainable. And somewhere in the future we'll be reading about Callaway being bought by Dick's out of bankruptcy if they continue with short-sighted attempts at going "premium."

 

And for aesthetics: Nike tries red, not so great. Cobra tries is it all, I guess they're doing ok with it, but every time I see a Cobra on the course it's the black one. TaylorMade goes white, there's less and less white every year. Callaway is now giving us neon green from Trapper Keepers, fiber glass reflective tops, get's Mitsubishi to offer a "green board", and this is "Epic" at $500 a clip. Golfer's can't get enough... So let's make the irons $2000+ and match the ugly glow-in-the-dark green. I don't see the appeal. That's ok if you do.

 

They have Steelhead, Big Bertha, and Apex at lower price points if you don't want to pay $2k for a set (BTW who plays a 3-iron anymore anyways, so these are a veritable BARGAIN at $1750 for 7 clubs - I kid, I kid!)

 

Personally, I think it's cool. No restrictions on price, go make the best set of irons you can make. Why not? They don't want nor need to sell a million of these and the freedom of design the R&D team had must have been fun. Titleist did it. TaylorMade and others will probably follow suit.

 

There is nothing wrong with capitalism and choices - and the market dictates what people are willing to pay. Don't see the value? Then don't buy them! But that's why we are all driving different cars and wearing different clothes and swinging different golf clubs are varying price points. There is NO WAY this is bad for the consumer.

 

Might not be bad for the consumer but I think its bad for the company. I can see how the new Titleist JP wedges work in the marketplace. One-on-one fitting, unique product, and a very premium aesthetic. These possess none of those attributes. And for the people who argue "who cares how the cavities look!" The type of buyer paying $2k for a full set of irons cares very much how the cavities look. Which is why he'll be interested in the JP wedges or PXG/Miura irons and not these.