Callaway Big Bertha irons for 2023. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Price: $999.99 (six clubs) with True Temper Elevate 85 steel shafts; $1,099.99 with Callaway RCH 65 graphite shafts and Callaway Universal grips.
Specs: Cast stainless steel body with 450 stainless steel cup face, internal and external tungsten weights and internal urethane microspheres
Accomplished golfers who love to feather a high-fade over a bunker to a ticked flag typically want to see a thin topline and minimal offset, but golfers who shoot in the 90s and 100s are looking for clubs that are visually reassuring. Thicker toplines, longer blade lengths, wide soles and ample offset can inspire confidence, and you get that in the Big Bertha irons, but the triple PVD finish adds a premium look to these clubs.
To enhance distance, Callaway gave the Big Bertha irons a hollow-body design and a cast, 450 stainless steel face cup that was crafted using artificial intelligence. The supercomputers strategically made thin and thick regions in the hitting area, which when combined with the cup face, enlarge the sweet spot and help to protect ball speed on mis-hits.
Inside each head is a large tungsten weight in the toe area that is encased in urethane microspheres. The weight varies by club – but gets as heavy as 43 grams – and helps to lower the center of gravity location and encourage a higher launch angle. The urethane microspheres, absorb excessive vibrations to improve sound and feel.
The 450 stainless steel cup face is designed with the help of artificial intelligence. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
A second tungsten weight, that is visible on the back of the club, helps to shift the center of gravity back, away from the face, to increase the moment of inertia and boost stability.
The Callaway Big Bertha irons have strong lofts, to help golfers get more distance, but with the low-and-back center of gravity location, they can still hit high-flying shots. But while the 5-iron has 21 degrees of loft and the set’s pitching wedge has 42 degrees of loft, according to Callaway, the Big Bertha irons are the highest-launching irons the company makes.