50 Words or Less
The Callaway Epic irons feel incredibly hot. Solid distance and remarkable consistency.
Introduction
In 2017, if you’re talking about drivers, you’re likely talking about Epic. Callaway’s new flagship woods family has been tremendously successful in terms of sales, performance, and hype. It’s no surprise that the Epic name now appears on irons that claim to be among the longest and easiest to hit. We tested them to see if they can measure up.
Looks
When I initially saw the pictures of the Epic irons, I assumed they would be a direct replacement for the Big Bertha OS irons based on the cavity. When I saw them in person, however, I realized that the Epic is significantly smaller. This is still a game improvement iron with some offset and a medium top line and sole, but it’s pleasingly compact from heel to toe.
As a game improvement iron, the cavity is “allowed” to be a little more unorthodox. Callaway did a nice job of adding the carbon fiber and a streak of green without going over the top.
Sound & Feel
Hot. The Callaway Epic irons are easily among the two or three hottest feeling irons of the last year or two. When you hit the ball on the center there’s a crisp “snap” and the feel that the ball is going to carry forever. On mishits, the snap gets duller and the hit feels heavier, providing good feedback to the golfer.
Performance
If you’ve read any of Callaway’s marketing around the Epic irons, you know it’s a word soup of technology buzzwords. “Energy lensing,” “Exo Cage,” and “Metal Injection Molded Tungsten” all feature prominently. At the end of the day, what it’s all trying to push is the idea that these irons will create more ball speed. In my testing, I found them to be roughly a club longer than my gamers, which is to be expected given the strong lofts.
What impressed me is the consistency. Short of completely laying the sod over the ball, I found it difficult to hit a shot that was more than 10 yards short of my “normal” distance. Well-hit six irons were carrying about 185 yards, and whether I hit the toe, heel, or bottom groove, mishits carried approximately 175 yards. That kind of forgiveness is invaluable.
With the Epic irons, Callaway is offering either the UST Recoil (graphite) or the Project X LZ 95 (steel) as the stock shafts. They are also making other premium shafts available at no upcharge.
Conclusion
At $2,000 per set, the Callaway Epic irons are short of PXG prices, but they do raise the bar for Callaway. While I didn’t find huge distance gains, the consistency and forgiveness that the Epic irons displayed will make them worth the price for some golfers.
Buy the Callaway Epic Irons HERE
Callaway Epic Irons Price & Specs
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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The gap wedge and the sand wedge have the same loft?
Nope, that was an error on my part. Thanks for pointing it out. Fixing it now…
Hi
Actually playing Callaway Apex CF 16, is it good enough to justify the change ?
Alex,
I didn’t hold them side by side, but my recollection is that the Apex is a big smaller than the Epic. If you want something a little more GI, certainly check out the Epic. I don’t think you’ll find 10 more yards making the change unless the Apex is a bad fit for you.
Best,
Matt
44* PW?! I think they’re going a bit overboard now lol
Adam,
While I don’t disagree, it’s far from the only iron with a 44* PW.
Best,
Matt
I believe it is more than stronger lofts — these are high launch, low spin (or advertised as such) irons. To get more distance, one needs to reduce spin in a high launch irons – one way of reducing spin is lowering the loft. One must look at the entire design, not just a loft number. The cavity is better looking that I first thought. I play PXG 0311 and the Epic is $70/iron less in graphite – while I like the look of PXG more and its laterial or heel to toe forgiveness, I’d like to demo the Epic. After all, everyone needs a battle for the bag :-)
Did you feel like they could hold a green? Wouldn’t they tend to roll more once they land?
Tom,
I think any distance iron has that potential, so it makes fitting the shaft that much more important. I was hitting these on my normal trajectory, but that was with a shaft that fits me.
Best,
Matt
I am a 77 year old male who hits his Callaway XR 7 iron with a 5.5 graphite shaft about 138 yards. I just finished a club fitting where I hit the Epic 7 iron with a graphic lite shaft on one of my best swings 154 yds. Should I attribute this to the shaft, the Epix head or both?
Jim,
I’d guess it’s mainly the head. The lofts on the Epic irons are very strong.
Best,
Matt
Matt are these suitable for low single handicap golfers of more for the 10HC plus?
Eamonn,
It depends what you like in your irons. There are plenty of really good players in GI and SGI irons. No reason not to take the forgiveness.
Best,
Matt
I played my Epic irons for the first time today. I’m 71 year old 6 handicapper and felt I had lost one club length. These made that difference up with ease. I gained at least one club difference that my mizuno’s. What really sold me was even bad hit shot flew long maybe just 10 yards less than. The club are very workable as well. My only complaint was I should have bought them sooner when I first looked at them. I like most of us didn’t think they were worth the extra money, boy was I wrong.
I’ve loved golf since I was little. I technically grew up, holding a golf club.This year I needed new clubs, so me and my dad went to second swing. We were looking for lefty epic golf clubs, but there were none. honestly, I feel discriminated against and offended. This is a major no, and a disgrace to golf.