50 Words or Less
The Callaway Rogue irons are long, forgiving game improvement clubs with a very satisfying impact sound.
Introduction
If you’re making the switch to Callaway’s Rogue woods this year, it’s very likely that you’ll be getting longer off the tee. If you’d also like to hit shorter clubs into the greens, consider making the switch to the Rogue irons, too.
Looks
Fans of Callaway’s game improvement irons will feel very comfortable looking down at the Rogue irons. The top line is fairly thick and there’s a healthy amount of offset.
What surprised me is how compact the club looks from heel to toe at address. Putting it next to the Rogue Pro (above, left), it’s clearly a longer iron, but something about the shaping and finish make it appear smaller.
Sound & Feel
One of Callaway’s focuses in developing the Rogue iron was dialing in the sound and feel of a thin faced iron. Thin faces are great for performance, but not for feel. To combat this, they used elastic-urethane microspheres to dampen the vibration of the face without negatively impacting COR.
The result of all this innovation is an iron that produces a firm “clap” when it connects with the ball. It’s a unique sound – neither a speedy “click” nor a forged “thud” – and I found it quite satisfying.
The Rogue irons provided good feedback for a game improvement iron. I didn’t feel like I had pinpoint accuracy in locating impact, but I could easily distinguish a mishit from a pure strike.
Performance
Every Rogue club that I’ve tested so far as been long, from the drivers to the truly ridiculous fairway woods. Thus, it came as no surprise when the Rogue irons went 10 yards longer than my gamers…with the stock shafts.
You can point to strong lofts as part of the explanation, but that’s not the whole story. The ball speed and smash factor that the Rogue irons produce are extremely high. With a 6I, I was routinely over 1.4 smash factor (smash factor shows how efficiently a club turns club head speed into ball speed).
The other impressive thing about the Rogue irons is the forgiveness. In a testing session that had some good swings and a number of bad ones, I didn’t see any smash factor numbers below 1.38. Just as importantly, my shot pattern was tight. Catching the ball a little toward the heel or toe barely mattered to the final result.
Conclusion
If you’re in the market for game improvement irons this year, the Callaway Rogue irons should be on your demo list. They’re long, they’re easy to hit, and they put the ball in a tight circle whether you strike it perfectly or not.
Buy Callaway Rogue Irons HERE
Callaway Rogue Irons Price & Specs
Matt Saternus
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Thanks for review! Based on past reviews, your GI winner was Ping G400, possible followed by Titleist AP1. Where do Rouges stand in this viewpoint? I can not comment on Ping, but to me Rogue appear to have more bulky heads, they have a 1/4 inch longer shafts and stronger lofts in long irons (and weaker lofts in short irons for some reason…) than AP1…not sure how it affects gaping… thanks!
Peter,
I prefer the Rogue to the AP1 and would consider it a peer of the G400. I would suggest trying both to see what fits your swing better.
Best,
Matt
Matt, with a 19 & 22 degree loft hybrid, you could replace the 3-5 irons, if the irons are so strong why hike the loft?
Mark,
The lofts are pretty standard for GI irons these days.
Matt
I’m surprised you attribute the 10 yards difference to anything other than loft. These clubs are nearly exactly 1 club stronger than ‘standard’….23*…that’s a strong 4 iron…not a 5 iron.
Nathan,
What’s “standard” these days? These lofts are pretty typical for a GI iron.
Best,
Matt
Miura Golf CB 1008 (your gamers) are what I would consider ‘stsndard’.
The Miura’s are exactly 1 club weaker in loft and what I would credit for the distance difference… no?
Nathan,
It’s certainly part of it, but the trajectories are still appropriate for the given irons.
I get the moral outrage about iron lofts – I used to have it myself – but I just can’t get excited about it anymore. At the end of the day, people want to hit the club that’s marked “7” longer or at least the same distance as they did when they were younger. If a combination of stronger lofts and technology can accomplish that, it doesn’t bother me.
Best,
Matt
10-4.
Thanks for all the great work with the site.
Looking down at it it surprisingly looks very much like the 2002 BB irons. The biggest difference is the hybrid like sole and the weaker lofts of the 2002 BBs, which are still a great club.
When looking at these irons on their respective manufacturer web sites, is there a standard measurement for top line and offset? I enjoy your reviews, but would really like to evaluate irons in advance of getting to the golf store and identify clubs I can filter out. I hate the thick top lines and I know that is an individual taste.
Andy,
Some manufacturers will give you offset measurements but I’ve never seen a topline measurement.
Best,
Matt
Looking to replace my X-18s.
Rogue vs. Steel XRs…can’t go wrong with either? Is there an advantage to one for a 14-handicapper?
Thank you.
Mike,
I haven’t tested them head to head, so I can’t say definitively. More importantly, the answer will vary from one player to the next. The best advice is to get a fitting or at least test the two head to head to see if one performs better for you.
Best,
Matt