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2014 Callaway Big Bertha Irons Review Thread

SuperStroke
JuKu said:
Low spin- how ate they holding the green?
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Many (most) distance irons and larger profiled irons are low spin. It does not offer any issue in terms of holding greens because of 2 reasons, first, trajectory impacts the stopping as much as spin. Second, you are still putting out plenty of spin to have a ball stop.
 
Definitely held greens no problem on Friday. Even with mostly taking knockdown swings.
 
Gave them another swing 7i BB vs 7i callaway Apex. 20 yards longer and straighter, of course easier to hit.:)
 
Johan185 said:
Gave them another swing 7i BB vs 7i callaway Apex. 20 yards longer and straighter, of course easier to hit.:)
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Whoa. That is awesome.
 
I want to hit these for sure. Easier and more forgiving? I'm all in for that these days
 
Yes a few days ago after my first try. But I am 6'3" so I required plus one inch regular flex shafts, with a one degree upright head, special ordered.

So for now while I wait for my Big Bertha's to arrive via UPS, I just keep visiting golfsmith's launch bays and doing back to back comparisons.

I have only mentioned Callaway, but they have easily beat any of the 7 Irons I have tried at golfsmith. Easiest to hit. Straightest, most forgiving clubs I have yet to try. It's just target practice. Check alignment and swing. Always the same distance no hooks or slices. Less work more fun

Before any one starts the Rant.

I have looked over the specs. I understand how the lofts and shafts have been manipulated by the big boys. But to be fair. I don't care what number is stamped on the club. I start with a 60* wedge and build my set to have between 12 - 15 yard gaps up to my 3 Fairway Wood . Larger gaps at the top end and smaller towards the wedges. I use fairway woods and hybrid to get the best balance of distance coverage and playability to have a fun and enjoyable but low scoring round.

But also to be fair and honest golfsmith usually only has 7 irons and drivers to demo. So I have done the best I could to share what I have experienced with the big bertha irons. It was that experience made me buy a set on the spot the first time I tried them and have not given me a second of buyers regrets.

Cheers and low scores

Johan
 
Thanks for the info Johan. The easier the game is the more fun in my book.
 
I've heard they "Were Huge!", but actually was relieved when I first held one.
Distance,forgiveness, easy to hit?

Yes please.

I do believe a WIDE range of players can/would benefit from gaming these.
 
Michigan Slice said:
I've heard they "Were Huge!", but actually was relieved when I first held one.
Distance,forgiveness, easy to hit?

Yes please.

I do believe a WIDE range of players can/would benefit from gaming these.
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Of anyone I could think of, these SCREAM you all over them. Game changer.
 
Michigan Slice said:
I've heard they "Were Huge!", but actually was relieved when I first held one.
Distance,forgiveness, easy to hit?

Yes please.

I do believe a WIDE range of players can/would benefit from gaming these.
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Yea, huge is definitely a relative term. I don't think they are anything abnormal if you're used to playing GI irons. The sole is pretty conventional for the style and the blade size isn't unusual or anything. To me, the G30's are a good size comparison. I can actually compare the two with pics here today.
 
OK, so here's what I'm seeing next to the g30. Less blade length, thicker top line, similar (in general) sole width.

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Some feedback from Friday's round. Planned on playing them on Sunday as well, but circumstances beyond my control made me miss that round, so apologies there.

Had the opportunity to let a group of THP'rs try them out on the range and I think most were in consensus on a few things - they were long, forgiving, and the sound at impact wasn't loved. Saw Jrod find the 211 yard flag with the 7 iron, which is just silly. Nobody seemed to be too concerned about the size or look at address, aside from the typical preferences we all see and have with irons.

As far as how my round went, I think I'd characterize it as an average round with Hawk. Spotty ball striking, yet still scored well by keeping the ball in play off the tee, near or on the green on approaches, and getting the ball in the hole with wedges and the putter. Good round to showcase what I'd call the Bertha's strongest asset - forgiveness. Definitely hit my fair share of toe balls and still managed some reasonably good results there. Had a couple good breaks where bounces gave me shots closer to the hole than they deserved, but if I hadn't been near the green to begin with those breaks wouldn't have happened.

I've been mostly just hitting knockdowns since I seem to hit them far enough that I can get enough distance with the shorter swing. Still shorter than full swings, but a little more control I suppose - relatively speaking. For example, on a 158 yard par 3 (with a little wind help) I was able to hit a 3/4 swing 6 iron and get the ball to the hole. Ended up really close thanks to an awesome bounce, but even without that I would have covered the distance as least. A good example of the forgiveness benefiting me would be a shot to a back flag from the fairway with a PW - it was 115 yards I think and again I took a 3/4 swing. Toed the ball badly and still ended up middle of the green with a par putt. Far left side of the green. Actually that happened twice if I remember correctly.

In all, I'd say a big success for a first round out there. It wasn't pretty like most rounds I play, but still finished with a respectable number. Definitely leaned on the forgiveness and the length helped me swing a little easier.

I'll reiterate that if you're looking for pretty and great sounding, look somewhere else. If you're looking for a lot of forgiveness and length without going full hybrid iron set, check them out for sure.
 
Good thoughts Hawk, definitely a good tweener option as far as looks go.

Glad to hear toe forgiveness confirmed....curious to see how these do at retail.
 
Ahh.....the sweet sound of toe forgiveness....music to my ears.

Seeing that we have eerily similar games, Im liking what Im hearing with these so far!
 
Hawk do you find yourself catching a few more shots out on the toe compared to other irons due to the width? I know you are playing a ton of different clubs so maybe that is tough to answer
 
Nope same as with anything. I call it the alternative sweet spot :)
 
Looking at these irons closer today it strikes me that they are probably the closest attempt to honoring the original 1994 and 1996 versions of the Big Bertha. While the 02, 04, and 08 versions were big SGI clubs packed with forgiveness none of those offerings stepped outside the box whereas this new version attempts to do just that. The club may or may not be ideal for me but I give Callaway credit for trying to build an irons that honors the original, which I have very fond memories of playing nearly 20 years ago.
 
Orange Hog said:
I'll be honest, these are really interesting clubs in how they are set up compared to the G30's and even to my Apex irons. The thicker topline isn't too unsightly (hell, I gamed the Cleveland 588 Altitudes last year), but I'm kind of surprised at 1) the amount of offset they appear to have and 2) the deeply curved sole on the club face. Compared to Hawk's G30 above that curve is pretty significant. Is that intended to get the ball airborne easier or perhaps allow thinner shots to still catch the sweet spot?

I'm gonna have to hit these at some point down the road and see what they're all about.
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I was worried about a lot of those things and than I hit them. I really had no issues with the look at address or the even the sound as some have. They are just effortless to hit and go a mile.
 
NoLine said:
Looking at these irons closer today it strikes me that they are probably the closest attempt to honoring the original 1994 and 1996 versions of the Big Bertha. While the 02, 04, and 08 versions were big SGI clubs packed with forgiveness none of those offerings stepped outside the box whereas this new version attempts to do just that. The club may or may not be ideal for me but I give Callaway credit for trying to build an irons that honors the original, which I have very fond memories of playing nearly 20 years ago.
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When I returned to the game 3 years ago or whatever it was, it was with '08 BB's. This version looks fairly unappealing to me (bigger than the G30s to my eye at least) but long and straight is a wonderful thing. It would be kind of humorous to come full circle in such a short time. I'm definitely intrigued.
 
Is anyone that has tried these irons a sweeper? My miss is vertical and with the width of the sole I'm curious if it's still easy to get under the ball.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
 
DufferToo said:
Is anyone that has tried these irons a sweeper? My miss is vertical and with the width of the sole I'm curious if it's still easy to get under the ball.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
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Hawk is
 
My set should be in by Friday.

I only wish I hadn't hit the X2 HOT's so well on the range today.

165 - 170 yards 7 irons which I only hit about 155 yards a few days ago.

The hard work is paying off but how do you fill out the gaps in your bag with a 150 yard Big bertha PW.

I GUESS FRIDAY WILL TELL....
 
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