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

[Bob57]

Everybody screamed bloody murder about how hideous and big the Tungsten 'Tis were until they hit them. Plus they had an advantage of supplying light late night at the range producing sparks on mats with sand..

[caloge]

I have no fundamental issue with the irons or the price. What i take issue with is the copy and pasted ad jargon. I referenced the c16 and the 0311 previously. Blatant ripping off the buzzwords is pretty bold. The golf digest article mentions describes it as a "concept" iron, which is straight up Titleist magic trick, blended with the PXG "infinite budget" magic trick. Ah well. Maybe they should have given some of that infinite budget to the marketing team to find some third reason to up the ante.

 

[Jesse Sanchez]

IMO the pro should have been forged and CNC milled for that price. I will have to demo these after all the hype is over. Still game the original X-Tour's.

[Techgolfer1]

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.

 

Great review! I'll try them before I bash them like the rest of these keyboard cowboys. I for one like the way they look all around. Different!

[misplacedtexan83]

Hoping they are along the lines of the apex with a lot of uncharged shafts for free..

 

LZ 95/105 nice lighter options but the recoil 780... meh... I would like to see the 95/110s recoils.

[Bubb]

Just what golf needs, a major manufacturer following a boutique company's lead and making their most highly engineered product even less affordable and thus increasing the barrier to participation in the game. Surely, others will continue down this path because they can't help themselves. Why would I buy another Callaway iron that is purposely under-engineered so as not to compete with their premium iron?

 

Don't get me wrong, they're free to manage their company however they want, but this doesn't make me want to support Callaway in any way. The downturn of many great companies started the same way. Callaway is basically asking "How much can we get away with charging for this?" instead of "How can we continue to provide great value to our customers?". It makes me less likely to buy any of their products, which is me voting with my money as a consumer against this trend they're hopping on.

[mbradley]

A great move on Callaway's part. a concept iron that features technology that will trickle down to less expensive clubs. Made very good use of current technology; exo-cage and variable CG from the BB OS irons. The carved out hosel and a more cheaply manufactured dense weight will certainly show up in other models. I will be shocked if these irons are not good performers. I don't think that Callaway is overly concerned about how many they sell, but Tour use will help these a lot.

[misplacedtexan83]

Same offset as the Steelhead pros. Puts them around .25 under the apex pros per DTown's epic pro specs on the Easyy thread.

[duffer987]

A great move on Callaway's part. a concept iron that features technology that will trickle down to less expensive clubs. Made very good use of current technology; exo-cage and variable CG from the BB OS irons. The carved out hosel and a more cheaply manufactured dense weight will certainly show up in other models. I will be shocked if these irons are not good performers. I don't think that Callaway is overly concerned about how many they sell, but Tour use will help these a lot.

 

No one on the PGA Tour is putting those irons in play. 45* PW with super-far tech? They'd need to bend the crap out of them ;)

Cally seems to have a tough time getting their tour pros off their older really good irons (MBs, X-Forged '13s, Razr-Xs, Legacy Blacks) and onto their shiniest offerings.

Maybe some LPGA players might bag them though.

[Orange Hog]

If you want to follow the PXG model and go after the super-affluent consumer then I get it, but for goodness sake please come out with a good looking golf club. These are absolutely hideous, particularly compared to the Apex CF16 and their MB irons.

[wldchld22]

Hit both iron heads. I have not felt that confident over a small players iron in a long time.

 

I was for for my irons a month ago so I'm steamed these came out. The epic pro beat my current set by 3 yards and the epic did it by 2 yards. Not enough for me to make the jump but they are impressive when you consider the shape and that I'm playing F7 irons that would be considers game improvement.

 

I like that the LZ 105 is a stock shaft.

[Big Oh!]

Wow these look "Epic", And this is some great "Kool Aid!"

I will pass and stay with the Steelhead XRs.

[nkugolfer24]

In my opinion this is a similar strategy to what Callaway did back in 2001 with the VFT irons. Those were $1400 dollars in price and one of the higher priced sets on the market back then. I'm not sure if this line can reach the popularity of the VFT but in their minds with consumers already making the Epic Driver #1 in sales if they match up with Epic irons they could have hit a sweet spot in marketing.

[hurricanes7]

is it possible that callaway actually knows what they are doing and we should cut them some slack since they know better. If its too expensive for you, then dont buy it, but why bash it?

[mukster]

A guy walks into a golf shop wanting irons. (Okay, that guy is me.) He sees the Srixon range of irons and right next to them are these guys at a far higher price point. What on earth would make me walk out of the store with those Callaways?

[hurricanes7]

I just got the srixon and they are awesome

[BigHook25]

A guy walks into a golf shop wanting irons. (Okay, that guy is me.) He sees the Srixon range of irons and right next to them are these guys at a far higher price point. What on earth would make me walk out of the store with those Callaways?

 

Because you love Callaway and are so brand loyal you will buy anything they put out, especially if it gets you 2 extra yards.

[SheriffBooth]

Just what golf needs, a major manufacturer following a boutique company's lead and making their most highly engineered product even less affordable and thus increasing the barrier to participation in the game. Surely, others will continue down this path because they can't help themselves. Why would I buy another Callaway iron that is purposely under-engineered so as not to compete with their premium iron?

 

Don't get me wrong, they're free to manage their company however they want, but this doesn't make me want to support Callaway in any way. The downturn of many great companies started the same way. Callaway is basically asking "How much can we get away with charging for this?" instead of "How can we continue to provide great value to our customers?". It makes me less likely to buy any of their products, which is me voting with my money as a consumer against this trend they're hopping on.

 

Almost every manufactured retail product on the planet is sold in ranges of high to low - from automobiles to mattresses to personal computers. I wouldn't call a company selling its top of the range product for its highest price a "barrier to entry" - the consumer is free to purchase a downrange product at a lower price point. If anything, we are living in a golden age of golf equipment where a wide variety of excellent clubs are available at retail and second hand - club costs as a barrier to entry are perhaps at their lowest point in the history of the game.

 

As many others have stated, PXG didn't create the ultra-premium iron game. Callaway has done this on multiple occasions in the past, most recently with Fusion and FT irons, which were priced at over 150% of the standard pricing at the time. Japanese manufacturers have been selling ultra-premium club products for decades.

[Bubb]

is it possible that callaway actually knows what they are doing and we should cut them some slack since they know better. If its too expensive for you, then dont buy it, but why bash it?

I bash it because I'm not ambivalent toward the recent trend of doubling and tripling the price of golf equipment. I can afford it, that's not the issue. The cost of golf equipment is already a significant barrier to participation and if major companies are jumping on this bandwagon, we're headed in the wrong direction as a sport that's struggling with participation. The message from Callaway to the recreational golfer is "you can't afford our good stuff, here, have some crumbs, peasant."

[Bubb]

Just what golf needs, a major manufacturer following a boutique company's lead and making their most highly engineered product even less affordable and thus increasing the barrier to participation in the game. Surely, others will continue down this path because they can't help themselves. Why would I buy another Callaway iron that is purposely under-engineered so as not to compete with their premium iron?

 

Don't get me wrong, they're free to manage their company however they want, but this doesn't make me want to support Callaway in any way. The downturn of many great companies started the same way. Callaway is basically asking "How much can we get away with charging for this?" instead of "How can we continue to provide great value to our customers?". It makes me less likely to buy any of their products, which is me voting with my money as a consumer against this trend they're hopping on.

 

Almost every manufactured retail product on the planet is sold in ranges of high to low - from automobiles to mattresses to personal computers. I wouldn't call a company selling its top of the range product for its highest price a "barrier to entry" - the consumer is free to purchase a downrange product at a lower price point. If anything, we are living in a golden age of golf equipment where a wide variety of excellent clubs are available at retail and second hand - club costs as a barrier to entry are perhaps at their lowest point in the history of the game.

 

As many others have stated, PXG didn't create the ultra-premium iron game. Callaway has done this on multiple occasions in the past, most recently with Fusion and FT irons, which were priced at over 150% of the standard pricing at the time. Japanese manufacturers have been selling ultra-premium club products for decades.

Sorry, but a major manufacturer upping the price for their top level of irons to $2000 is new territory. I don't think it should be glossed over.

[mukster]

I always wonder why if people do not like the look of a club, or if they don't automatically buy into all the advertising hype, they are "bashing" a product.

 

I always love reading these threads and then glance at the poster's sig to see what's in his bag. Any coincidence that that for the most part, the guy with all the Cally stuff is always vehemently defending the new gear and the associated hype? ;)

[Gnomesteel]

By all accounts these are very long, but I just don't get it. Is that what people want? A 7 iron that goes as far as last years 6? Honestly, why? That does nothing for my game at the end of a round.

[Bob57]

Maybe it is the year to raise the price on premium high tech irons. TaylorMade wanting $1700 for those 750 forgings laden with tungsten is laughable. At least Callaway has as good a BS line on the Epics as PXG and the C16s had. The 750 have nothing revolutionary about them.

The bottom line is if you don't like the back of the irons or the color offends the wannabe interior decorators DON'T BUY THEM. I hit a 4 and 7 iron today and ordered a set right then. So much bettter looking at address compared to the Steelhead Pros and the feel is night and day better with hard to believe better performance. Amazing the pros actually have a more compact blade than many of today's players irons. I've owned the C16s and used PXGs and these look better at address and perform better to boot. The 4 iron might eclipse the need for many hybrids and for sure a 7 wood.. It was real close to an epic 5 wood as well..

 

Reminds me of the furor (pre social media) over how ugly the Ping TISI was and how nobody would ever play them. Bottom line one of the highest volume woods in history that just happened to create the COR test due to never seen performance compared to competitors..

[RobS14526]

By all accounts these are very long, but I just don't get it. Is that what people want? A 7 iron that goes as far as last years 6? Honestly, why? That does nothing for my game at the end of a round.

I would imagine that a lot of the people that have the disposable income to buy a set are entering a phase of their life where they are trying to maintain their "old" distance.

[baudi]

Hit the Epic CF17 Pro iron today. Sharp looking head; nice high toe. Very little offset. The heads have a nice different kind of glare.

Whether or not you like the finish: in every way the refinement is superb. The sole grind radius is sort of conventional style.

 

It is nothing like the old Callaway heads. Feel is solid at impact with a high clipping/cracking sound. Very direct, not soft at all.

Mishits towards toe were perfectly corrected. I praise the club for its excellent consistent ball flight.

 

Another aspect is the shaft: the LZ 105 gr 6.0. I like the LZ from day one but this combination is stunning.

Do I like the CF17 over Mizuno JPX? Yes. I could play these clubs the rest of my life.

 

Also hit the Epic Hybrid. It reminded me of a bit of the old Titleist 910.

Nice clean set up. The face stands out well.

Good roll and bulge pronunciation on the face. Pretty explosive hybrid. Tested with a recoil es s.

[Dscvrr St Louis]

Just what golf needs, a major manufacturer following a boutique company's lead and making their most highly engineered product even less affordable and thus increasing the barrier to participation in the game. Surely, others will continue down this path because they can't help themselves. Why would I buy another Callaway iron that is purposely under-engineered so as not to compete with their premium iron?

 

Don't get me wrong, they're free to manage their company however they want, but this doesn't make me want to support Callaway in any way. The downturn of many great companies started the same way. Callaway is basically asking "How much can we get away with charging for this?" instead of "How can we continue to provide great value to our customers?". It makes me less likely to buy any of their products, which is me voting with my money as a consumer against this trend they're hopping on.

 

Almost every manufactured retail product on the planet is sold in ranges of high to low - from automobiles to mattresses to personal computers. I wouldn't call a company selling its top of the range product for its highest price a "barrier to entry" - the consumer is free to purchase a downrange product at a lower price point. If anything, we are living in a golden age of golf equipment where a wide variety of excellent clubs are available at retail and second hand - club costs as a barrier to entry are perhaps at their lowest point in the history of the game.

 

As many others have stated, PXG didn't create the ultra-premium iron game. Callaway has done this on multiple occasions in the past, most recently with Fusion and FT irons, which were priced at over 150% of the standard pricing at the time. Japanese manufacturers have been selling ultra-premium club products for decades.

Sorry, but a major manufacturer upping the price for their top level of irons to $2000 is new territory. I don't think it should be glossed over.

 

So Titleist is off your list also then, correct?? With the C16 irons being $3000 per set...?

[Bubb]

Just what golf needs, a major manufacturer following a boutique company's lead and making their most highly engineered product even less affordable and thus increasing the barrier to participation in the game. Surely, others will continue down this path because they can't help themselves. Why would I buy another Callaway iron that is purposely under-engineered so as not to compete with their premium iron?

 

Don't get me wrong, they're free to manage their company however they want, but this doesn't make me want to support Callaway in any way. The downturn of many great companies started the same way. Callaway is basically asking "How much can we get away with charging for this?" instead of "How can we continue to provide great value to our customers?". It makes me less likely to buy any of their products, which is me voting with my money as a consumer against this trend they're hopping on.

 

Almost every manufactured retail product on the planet is sold in ranges of high to low - from automobiles to mattresses to personal computers. I wouldn't call a company selling its top of the range product for its highest price a "barrier to entry" - the consumer is free to purchase a downrange product at a lower price point. If anything, we are living in a golden age of golf equipment where a wide variety of excellent clubs are available at retail and second hand - club costs as a barrier to entry are perhaps at their lowest point in the history of the game.

 

As many others have stated, PXG didn't create the ultra-premium iron game. Callaway has done this on multiple occasions in the past, most recently with Fusion and FT irons, which were priced at over 150% of the standard pricing at the time. Japanese manufacturers have been selling ultra-premium club products for decades.

Sorry, but a major manufacturer upping the price for their top level of irons to $2000 is new territory. I don't think it should be glossed over.

 

So Titleist is off your list also then, correct?? With the C16 irons being $3000 per set...?

Yup. That's exactly my concern. These companies all copy each other because they don't want to seem "less premium" than their competitors and the next thing you know the whole industry's pricing just jumped an astronomical amount. The PXG effect could have far-reaching consequences if the same attitude trickles into the major manufacturers.

[callawayjay]

We all will spend $500+ on a driver

250-275 on hybrids and fairways

250-400 on a putter

$200+ on shoes

200+ on a Rangefinder

 

 

$250 an iron? Blasphemy!!!

 

 

[mxtitleistgolfer]

Yup. That's exactly my concern. These companies all copy each other because they don't want to seem "less premium" than their competitors and the next thing you know the whole industry's pricing just jumped an astronomical amount. The PXG effect could have far-reaching consequences if the same attitude trickles into the major manufacturers.

 

If this was the next XR line, or even the Apex line, and they're trying to get $2000/set then I would say you have a point. But this is clearly being advertised as an ultra-premium club. And I'm sure Callaway knows very well that they are not going to sell anywhere close to the same quantity of clubs as the XR's. There are still plenty of options within lower price ranges so I don't see what all the fuss is about. I'm not going to stop driving my Altima just because Nissan sells the GT-R and that car is unaffordable to me.

[mukster]

We all will spend $500+ on a driver

250-275 on hybrids and fairways

250-400 on a putter

$200+ on shoes

200+ on a Rangefinder

 

 

$250 an iron? Blasphemy!!!

 

Well yes. Blasphemy. And no, not everyone will spend that sort of money on any of the other gear. With a name like callawayjay, $250 per iron probably makes more sense to you than the non-believers. :)