I’m old. I not only remember the original Big Berthas. I played them. I played the driver and 3-wood a bit but it was the irons that really stood out in my memory. There has always been this idea bandied about that God couldn’t hit a 1-iron. But I had the original “brick on a stick,” the utility iron before we knew they existed—the Big Bertha 1-iron.
If most 1-irons were so sharp and thin that they could be mistaken for a butter knife, the Big Bertha 1-Iron had a top line so wide and flat you (and your entire family) could sit down for dinner at it.
As ungainly as they were, those were the blueprint for a lot of the irons we play today, what with their 360-degree undercut cavities, unsupported faces, cavity badges and ungodly amounts of offset. “Demonstrably Superior, Pleasingly Different,” as Ely Callaway requested from his staff. And for a lot of golfers, they were a lot of fun, making the game easier than it had ever been.
While Callaway doesn’t use it all the time, the Big Bertha name screams fun and forgiveness in a way no other model name in the Callaway back catalog does. But it’s back and, in my best Vin Diesel voice, it’s all about family. Drivers, fairways, hybrids and, most importantly, irons. But like any family, every member is significantly different from one another, even if they share a common name.
Callaway Big Bertha Irons
The Big Bertha irons aren’t necessarily aimed at the MGS core audience. They aren’t scratch golfers using a Ventus Purple. They are for golf’s Everyman, who plays once or twice a month and want to enjoy the 19th hole as much as the course. They want to hit the ball higher and further and probably need some help with a slice. And they are probably using the whole club face while doing it.
The Big Bertha irons are like the “greatest hits” package of everything Callaway has been doing with their iron designs over the last few years. The irons are loaded with tungsten, with two separate weight locations in the head. Weight in the external perimeter of the head aids with forgiveness while a bigger slug of tungsten internally positions the center of gravity for high launch in the longer irons, and control at the short end.
Each iron features an individually A.I.-designed 450 HS steel Face Cup to increase ball speed and optimize spin across the face. Brian Williams, VP of Research and Development at Callaway, explains it like this: “The 450 is a high-strength material that lets us cast into that Face Cup, and still get high ball speeds. We’re not making this all about forgiveness. It’s a distance iron that’s going to be a speed-off-the-face iron. And then we use our A.I. modeling with that material to look at our spin modeling across the face for consistent spin up and down or heel to toe so that the player sees a consistent result even as they move the ball around the face.”
They are designed to feel good, too. Loaded with more Urethane Microspheres, Callaway claims they reach further up the face this time, to help with feel on shots not exactly hit on the sweet spot.
Maybe most importantly, they look like a Big Bertha. These aren’t pseudo player’s distance irons. They haven’t had the offset reduced to appeal to more players. These are chunky. The soles are wide. The offset puts the leading edge in a different time zone than the hosel. And this is all OK because it’s exactly what a Big Bertha player wants and needs.
Callaway Big Bertha Irons are available in 4-SW.
Retail price for the Callaway Big Bertha irons is $999.99 for a six-piece set with steel shafts and $1099.99 in graphite.
Callaway Big Bertha Driver
When the Callaway Paradym X was launched, it was described as having a mild draw bias. The 2023 Big Bertha is a certified slice fighter, designed to help negate the over-the-top banana ball. A low, forward and heel-biased center of gravity helps straighten the slice.
Williams explains: “This Big Bertha Driver recipe is one that we’ve refined now and carried over from the previous version and that was a different way to approach how to kill a slice. In this application, we’re talking about reducing spin for this player that swings down and across the ball. In this version, we’ve refined that approach with a little bit lower and more forward CG positioning.
“We have weight in the heel giving a visual signal that it’s going to be a draw bias. But really, it’s the spin reduction that they’re going to see that gets the ball further and straighter down the fairway. The lower RPMs reduce that side spin, reduce the overall backspin, bring the ball a little bit lower and keep it left.”
Elsewhere the formula is pretty typical Callaway. A Triaxial carbon crown saves weight that can be used to move that CG. An A.I.-designed XL Face and advanced lightweight Jailbreak system add forgiveness and help retain ball speed across the face. There’s a stretched-out forgiving look at address. While there is nothing ground-breaking about the Big Bertha, it is in the line-up for a specific job and one it should do very well.
The Callaway Big Bertha Driver is available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. Retail price is $499.99.
Callaway Big Bertha Fairway Woods
The 3-wood off the deck is inarguably a tough shot. In response to that reality, Callaway has set out to make the easiest-to-use fairway they’ve ever designed.
First things first. There’s the super-shallow face. From the original Adams Tight Lies and Orlimar Tri-Metals and. more recently. PING’s fairway woods, a shallow face is proven to get the ball airborne. A larger shape front-to-back helps add even more launch as well as confidence at address.
Jailbreak and an A.I.-designed face do what they always do: add ball speed and help retain it. But the one thing that will help maximize ball speed is the addition (or is that subtraction?) of progressively shorter shafts and slightly higher lofts. The 3-wood is ¼-inch shorter than standard at 16 degrees while the 5-wood is ½-inch shorter at 19 degrees, although both are fully adjustable. The better the strike, the more consistent the strike, the further the ball will fly more often. They’re available in 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-wood. The Heaven Wood is also available. With its 7-wood loft and 4-wood shaft length, this is a godsend for golfers seeking distance off the deck.
Callaway Big Bertha Fairway Woods are available in 3W, 5W, 7W, 9W and Heaven Wood.
Retail price is $299.99.
Callaway Big Bertha Hybrids
Definitely designed to pair with the irons, the hybrids feature the square-toe design Callaway has favored in recent years. According to Williams, “It has a more squared-toe iron shape, constructing a set that’s going to feel like a continuous set. The carbon crown has increased MOI and it’s a nice long blade length.”
While there is nothing ground-breaking about the design, it has tungsten weighting and a Triaxial Carbon crown to lower the center of gravity and raise the launch. It has Batwing Jailbreak and an A.I.-designed Face Cup for the ball speed.
But maybe the most important part of the equation is that the Big Bertha hybrids are available up to a 9H and they are fully adjustable.
Callaway Big Bertha Hybrids are available in 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H and 9H.
Retail price is $259.99
Shafts
As we said, no Ventus Purple here, just lightweight shafts designed for the target audience. In the driver and fairways, a Callaway RCH shaft is available in 45-, 55- and 65-gram options. The fairway woods feature 45-, 55-, 65- and 75-gram options. The hybrids come with an RCH 65 Graphite while the irons are available in an RCH65 graphite or Elevate 85 MPH steel shaft.
Availability
Retail availability for the Callaway Big Bertha line-up begins May 26. For more information, visit CallawayGolf.com.
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