Callaway Rogue Irons Review

Game improvement irons offer loads of forgiveness from a larger clubhead and a bigger sweet spot. This reduces the distance lost when you miss the club’s center, allowing for longer shots that are less likely to end up in a hazard.

Callaway is a premium brand that supplies a range of golf clubs and iron sets to the game improvement market at a premium price. The Callaway Rogue Irons series was released in February of 2018 and are one of their top products. Today we’ll do an in-depth review to see if they are a good fit for you.

Callaway Rogue Irons Reviews

Men’s

Women’s

In line with Callaway’s philosophy of creating playable irons for mid-and-high handicap golfers, the Callaway Rogue Irons continues this tradition and moved the bar higher for competitors to meet.

Callaway launched the Rogue Irons on February 9, 2018, with the XR model in the US and the UK but had disappointing results at first.

This was due to the lack of distance and the clunky sound off the face. Golfers were disappointed with the launch angles that robbed them of the distance they craved.

To address these issues, Callaway launched the Rogue range of irons later in 2018 aimed at mid-to-high handicap golfers and both left- and right-handed males and females.

The sets generally consist of a 4-iron thru 9-iron, Pitching Wedge, and Approach Wedge, although the 3-iron is available for men, while the Sand Wedge and Lob Wedge can also be acquired separately.

The Rogue range of Irons consists of three sets aimed at different golfers. The range consists of the Rogue Pro, Rogue, and Rogue X Irons. This Callaway Rogue review will only look at the Callaway Rogue Irons.

Watch this video to give you a basic understanding of the Callaway Rogue Irons.

More Distance For Mid & High-Handicap Players

Callaway Rogue Irons are not aimed at the advanced or single handicapped player that doesn’t lack distance. The strong lofted Callaway Rogue Irons will add the distance that mid- to high-handicap golfers need to get closer to the green for shorter approach shots.

The mid-launch angle adds distance to your shots while aiding the forgiveness of the irons.

Less experienced golfers will benefit tremendously from the playability of the Rogue model due to the combination of distance, forgiveness, and feel.

Men’s Callaway Rogue Irons Lofts & Product Specs

The strong lofted irons with a slight offset are available in steel and graphite shafts.

Iron	Loft	LH/RH	Standard Length	Lie angle	Offset	Graphite swing weight	Steel swing weight
3	18-degrees	LH/RH	39.50 inches	59.8 degrees	0.270	D1	D3
4	20.5-degrees	LH/RH	38.875 inches	60.5 degrees	0.260	D1	D3
5	23-degrees	LH/RH	38.25 inches	61.3 degrees	0.250	D1	D3
6	26-degrees	LH/RH	37.65 inches	62.0 degrees	0.240	D1	D3
7	30-degrees	LH/RH	37.00 inches	62.5 degrees	0.230	D1	D3
8	34.5-degrees	LH/RH	36.50 inches	63.0 degrees	0.220	D1	D3
9	39-degrees	LH/RH	36.00 inches	63.5 degrees	0.210	D1	D3
PW	44-degrees	LH/RH	35.75 inches	64.0 degrees	0.200	D1	D3
AW	49-degrees	LH/RH	35.50 inches	64.0 degrees	0.175	D1	D3
SW	54-degrees	LH/RH	35.25 inches	64.0 degrees	0.150	D1	D3
LW	58-degrees	RH only	35.00 inches	64.0 degrees	0.125	D1	D3

Women’s Rogue Irons Product Specs

Women’s irons have slightly different specifications since their shafts are generally approximately 1-inch shorter than men’s irons. They also use a lower swing weight to enable women to swing the club faster.

Iron	Loft	LH/RH	Standard Length	Lie angle	Offset	Graphite swing weight
4	22-degrees	LH/RH	38.000 inches	60.5 degrees	0.260	C3
5	25-degrees	LH/RH	37.375 inches	61.3 degrees	0.250	C3
6	28-degrees	LH/RH	36.750 inches	62.0 degrees	0.240	C3
7	31.5-degrees	LH/RH	36.125 inches	62.5 degrees	0.230	C3
8	35-degrees	LH/RH	35.50 inches	63.0 degrees	0.220	C3
9	39-degrees	LH/RH	35.00 inches	63.5 degrees	0.210	C3
PW	44-degrees	LH/RH	34.75 inches	64.0 degrees	0.200	C3
AW	49-degrees	LH/RH	34.50 inches	64.0 degrees	0.175	C3
SW	54-degrees	LH/RH	34.25 inches	64.0 degrees	0.150	C3

Shaft Options

At the release of the Callaway Rogue Irons, there were only stock shaft options available. Since the Callaway Rogue golf club’s production run ended, you may experience some difficulty finding a Rogue Iron with a custom shaft.

That should not be a major issue since the stock shafts are ideal for the purpose it serves on the Callaway Rogue Irons.

Men’s steel shafts are from True Temper shafts, while the men’s and women’s graphite shafts are from Aldila.

Men’s True Temper XP Steel shafts

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
True Temper	R300	93	Low	Low-Mid
True Temper	S300	95	Low	Low-Mid

Men’s Aldila Synergy Graphite

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
Aldila	Light	58	Mid	Mid-High
Aldila	Regular	62	Mid	Mid-High
Aldila	Stiff	64	Mid	Mid-High

Women’s Aldila Quaranta 40 Graphite

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
Aldila	Women’s	50	High	Mid

Technology

Callaway is renowned for its advanced technology and has implemented some of the existing technologies in the Rogue Irons.

Rogue Irons implemented Callaway’s fastest 360 Face Cup technology at the time of release, with the Center of Gravity weight placed directly behind the center zone.

A coefficient of restitution (COR) of approximately 0.835 is claimed by Callaway, which places the clubface of irons in the same league as what you can expect of a driver face.

Distance irons with large clubheads and a cavity back generally flex tremendously on mishits that can cause vibrations. To overcome this, Callaway filled the cavities with Urethane Microspheres to enhance the sound and feel off the clubface. The Urethane Microspheres create little air pockets that absorb unwanted sounds.

Although it enhances the feel, it is still not anywhere near the feel you will get from a forged iron.

Look/Sound/Feel

Callaway Rogue Irons are slightly muted compared to some of the lime green irons in the Callaway brand like the Epic Irons.

As mentioned above, the microspheres muffle the sound for an improved sound at contact that is less clicky.

Long irons such as the 4-iron and 5-iron have a slightly larger backend to keep the center of gravity back for enhanced launch and forgiveness.

Distance

A growing trend in the iron market is to strengthen the lofts of irons to enable manufacturers to claim that the irons hit the ball farther than previous irons.

This can be seen in the change of a standard 7-iron loft around 34-degrees initially, now being closer to 30-degrees.

However, manufacturers have created a higher launch angle with higher lofts that keeps the ball in the air for longer carry distances. It also makes for a softer landing, and the angle into the green is much higher.

Although this is working well at the moment, it creates gaps on the higher lofted clubs that are being filled by more specialist wedges.

Forgiveness

Callaway’s Variable Face Technology combined with its Face Cup Technology creates a large sweet spot offering excellent forgiveness on mishits.

Price

Callaway stopped producing the Rogue Irons, and you cannot buy a new set. These irons are well priced in the used market, offering tremendous value for money.

Ratings

• Shaft Options: 3/5
• Aesthetics: 3/5
• Distance: 5/5
• Forgiveness: 5/5
• Price: 5/5

Men’s Callaway Rogue Irons

Women’s Callaway Rogue Irons

FAQs

Are Callaway Rogue Irons any good?

Callaway Rogue Irons replaced the Callaway XR Irons in 2018 to address the lack of distance and feel. It has done so successfully and has become some of the bestselling Callaway clubs.

Are Callaway Rogue Irons discontinued?

Callaway no longer produces Rogue Irons, but they are still available as pre-owned sets on their website and many other e-commerce sites.

Are Callaway Rogue Irons suitable for beginners?

Beginners and high-handicap golfers will benefit from the extra distance from Rogue Irons and additional forgiveness.

Who should use Callaway Rogue Irons?

Callaway Rogue Irons are not aimed at advanced golfers. Its target market is mid-to-high handicappers that want more distance without sacrificing forgiveness.

What does CF18 mean with Callaway Rogue Irons?

CF18 refers to the model number, and it could refer to 2018 since some new Callaway Rogue Iron models were released.

Alternatives

It would be unfair to compare the Callaway Rogue Irons to the latest technology in the market; hence we will look at some of its competitors at the time of their release.

Cobra F9 Speedback Irons

Cobra is renowned for their advanced engineering that goes into clubs used by professional golfers and then implement the technologies in clubs aimed at the mass market where most mid to high handicap golfers compete.

Its F9 Speedback Irons are aimed at golfers with a mid-to-high handicap ranging from a 15-handicap to a 25-handicap.

A wider topline enhances the confidence of these players, while the optimized MOI (moment of inertia) and lower center of gravity adds forgiveness.

Cobra clubs are generally on the lower end of the pricing scale, and the F9 Irons compare well to the Callaway Rogue Irons.

TaylorMade M6 Irons

Although TaylorMade started as a producer of clubs to the higher end of the market, such as professionals and single-digit handicap golfers, they have produced outstanding irons for the mid-to-high handicap market.

The introduction of the M-range started with the M1-Irons and drivers and developed over three years into the long but forgiving M6-Irons.

It produces a better feel and sound than the Rogue Irons but competes at a higher price point.

Final Thoughts

Men’s Callaway Rogue Irons

Women’s Callaway Rogue Irons

When replacing the Callaway XR Irons, there was a high expectation that the Callaway Rogue Irons would rectify the shortcomings of the XR Irons.

Indeed, the Rogue Irons successfully adopted the changes required to fill the void left by the XR’s lack of distance and unimpressive sound.

Callaway achieved this by strengthening the lofts on the Callaway Rogue Irons, while the Callaway Rogue X Irons have even stronger lofts to generate more distance.

In filling the void left by the XR Irons, the Callaway Rogue Irons has been one of the bestselling sets Callaway has ever put out.

At the price point previously owned, Callaway Rogue Iron set will certainly be an option for me to try in the near future.

I sincerely hope that this Callaway Rogue Iron review will put you in a position to consider it as an option for your next budget.

Read more: The Most Forgiving Irons This Year!