Is the Callaway XR forgiving?
I found the club very forgiving and by adjusting the loft to a higher degree than standard it became far easier to hit consistently straight tee shots.
Rogue and Rogue Pro replace the Steelhead XR and Steelhead XR Pro in the Callaway family of irons.
Let's review the pros & cons
Callaway has repositioned the COG in its entire set of clubs, including the long, short and middle irons to give the players a feel of their game. Steelhead XR has everything that a high-handicapper needs to improve confidence – good offset, thick topline and a large head.
The most forgiving Callaway Irons are the Mavrik Max OS, and they're also the easiest Callaway irons to hit. They are great for high handicappers who want to improve their accuracy and distance. The new technology incorporated is unique to Callaway and focuses on improving your off-center hits.
If you're an 18 handicap, you should shoot around a 90 (18 over par). If you're a scratch golfer, you should shoot right around par. While the majority of golfers shoot over par, there is a positive handicap as well. For example, a +2 handicap means you normally shoot around two under.
These irons are designed to be very long, forgiving, and easy to hit. The XR OS iron is equipped with the prime 360 Face Cup technology of Callaway and has wider soles hence it is best suited for high handicappers, beginners, and golfers who fancy large clubheads with reliability, large forgiveness, and high launch.
ERC Soft is Callaway's longest golf ball with soft feel, and it's built for increased control around the green. To create all that distance, their engineers developed a High Energy Core that promotes maximum speed and total performance from tee-to-green.
The XR Irons are the first high speed, cavity back, cup-face iron. Our improved face cup technology provides outrageous ball speed all across the face.
Tiger's precision iron play is reliant on exceptional feel and control, qualities his custom-made TaylorMade P7TW irons exude.
Our Longest Irons Ever
Rogue ST MAX Irons have refined game-improvement shaping, and the strongest lofts in the Rogue ST family. They fit a wide range of golfers who want incredible speed, forgiveness, and all-around iron performance.
What Callaway irons have the strongest lofts?
Callaway Rogue ST Max Iron
The Rogue ST Max irons have the strongest lofts in the Rogue ST family and are suited to a wide range of players that are looking for speed and distance with forgiveness. Added distance also comes from the combination of High Strength 450 steel with the A.I.
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Performance:

Callaway Apex DCB 21 Irons
This is the perfect fit for a high handicapper who wants a very healthy dose of forgiveness and distance, but also with feel and looks that resemble a players iron. The Apex DCB 21 iron has a lot going for it.
Game-improvement irons are most commonly used by golfers with handicaps of more than 10, although many low-handicappers and even professionals play them as well.
Callaway Mavrik Irons
These are one of the most forgiving golf clubs. Using their A.I. -designed Flash Face Cup, they allow golfers to produce long and consistent distances. The faces are thinner around the edges with thicker areas near the sweet spot to maximize center strikes and rectify the off-center hits.
The long irons, like the one, two, and three iron, are the hardest golf irons to hit. These clubs have less loft than other clubs, require a fast swing speed to hit them well, and a smaller sweet spot makes off center hits more common.
The Apex 21 Pros are geared toward low single-digit handicappers looking for a little more forgiveness and more speed across the face.
For example, if you typically shoot around 90 on par 72 golf courses, your golf handicap would be around 18.
If you shoot 100 on an 18-hole course, the USGA handicap system scores you at roughly 28 for a golf handicap. Remember that this assumes you played on a 72-par course (100 – 72 = 28).
As you can see, the clearest trend is that approach shots are where golfers lose the most strokes. The gap seems to widen as handicaps get higher as well. Tee shots take second place. The difference isn't as extreme as approach shots, but they are still very significant.
What irons should a beginner buy?
- Editor's Choice: Callaway Rogue Irons.
- Good Overall: Taylormade M6 Irons.
- Easiest Irons: Cobra F-Max Irons.
- Best Value: Ping G Irons.
- Best Performance: Mizuno JPX919 Hot Metal.
Callaway Max OS Lite Irons. Callaway is know for making some great irons including the Apex lineup and the new Rogue ST Max lineup. While the Max OS irons are a top pick for beginner and high handicaps, the “Lite” version is a great version for seniors.
Club | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
6-iron | 130-150-170 | 70-100-130 |
7-iron | 120-140-160 | 65-90-120 |
8-iron | 110-130-150 | 60-80-110 |
9-iron | 95-115-140 | 55-70-95 |
Srixon Z-Star XV Golf Ball
This ball feels a little firmer compared to the standard Z-Star; it's designed for big distance off the tee with a mid-high flight and low driver spin. It has a compression rating of 102 and is rated for swing speeds of 100 mph or greater.
- Titleist Pro V1X. Top pick. ...
- TaylorMade TP5X Pix. TaylorMade TP5 Pix 2.0 Golf Balls. ...
- Callaway Chrome Soft X. Callaway Golf Chrome Soft X Golf Balls. ...
- Bridgestone Tour B XS. Bridgestone Tour B XS Golf Balls. ...
- Wilson Staff Model. ...
- Srixon Z-Star 6 XV. ...
- Cut DC. ...
- Mizuno RB Tour X.
What Golf Balls Are Similar To Pro V1? There are several golf balls on the market that compete with Pro V1, such as Callaway Chrome Soft and Taylormade TP5. The ball that most closely resembles the Pro V1 is the Bridgestone Tour B XS. What is this?
Due to the design, blades offer more control over the trajectory of your shots. While this metric may not seem important if you're an average golfer, it's something the pros obsess over to ensure they win. - Easier to Shape. You can shape or fade your shots with a blade iron much easier than a cavity back.
According to Titleist, 70% of tour players use cavity backs while 30% use blades. Cavity back irons provide increased forgiveness while blades offer more control and a better feel. This is why a lot of tour players have both cavity backs and blade irons in their bags.
Blade irons are generally reserved for lower handicap golfers and professional golfers. They are less forgiving but offer more control than cavity back irons. Cavity back irons have a larger “sweet spot” improving consistency on off center strikes.
Phil Mickelson uses Callaway X Forged UT, X21 UT Proto and Apex MB '21 irons. Phil Mickelson uses an Odyssey Milled Blade "Phil Mickelson" putter. Phil Mickelson uses Golf Pride MCC grips on his clubs.
What irons does Jordan Spieth use?
Jordan Spieth New Irons: Titleist T100 and T200
For the 2023 season, Jordan Spieth has used a combination of Titleist T100 and T200 irons. Primarily, he uses T100 irons ranging from a 4 iron to a 9 iron, and the T200 2 iron may or may not be in the bag for any tournament.
Rory McIlroy Irons: Taylormade P770, Taylormade Rors Proto
The specs of Rory's irons have irons have remained similar since then. In this series, he uses a 4 iron to a pitching wedge with Project X Rifle 7.0 shafts. They have similar to standard 4° increments with lie angles that shift at a rate of 0.5°.
As a golfer, you already know that long irons are some of the hardest clubs to hit in the game. In fact, in recent years, more and more players have been tossing out their three irons and four irons in favor of extra hybrids. While that's a good choice for some golfers, it's not right for everyone.
Drivers are specifically designed to give you distance off the tee. They are typically the longest clubs in your bag and will have the lowest loft angle – the tilt of your club face that affects distance and trajectory – of all of your clubs.
Offset | Standard | Minimal |
Sole Width | Moderate | Narrow |
Headshape | Moderate | Compact |
Model Category | Players Distance | Players Performance |
Recommended Handicap Range | 5 to 15 | +5 to 5 |
Stronger lofts mean more distance/lower trajectory, weaker lofts mean less distance/higher trajectory. Strengthening loft means subtracting loft (going from 27 to 25 degrees, e.g.); weakening loft means adding loft.
What loft driver should seniors use? Most seniors should use a driver loft of at least 11 degrees. While some players might get away with 10 or 10.5 if they still have a higher swing speed, most golfers should between 11-13 degrees.
In general, mid-handicappers are expected to play game-improvement irons because such irons tend to be in line with their skill level. But this certainly isn't the only way to go. If you play a less forgiving iron, you may score worse initially, but over time, you'll learn to adjust and improve your ball striking.
For a mid-handicapper, you want to make sure that the club offers plenty of forgiveness. At this point in your game, breaking 100 is no problem, so you don't need a huge, forgiving club with a massive sweet spot. Instead, you want an iron set made for a mid-handicapper, not a game improvement set.
“It's actually an ultimate take on creating distance using a cup face. The goal was to create the same sort of distance as XR but through a higher ball flight.” Compared to the XR irons, the XR OS irons add loft in the long and mid irons to varying degrees.
What is a +15 handicap in golf?
What does 15 handicap shoot? According to Golf Span, the average handicap for men and women golfers is around 15. This means that they would shoot around a 90 on a typical 18-hole course.
High handicapper – (18 and above)
These players can make a bogey on all 18 holes and generally end up with a number right around 90 for their day on the course. This is considered to be about an average golfer or Bogey golfer.
The Rogue ST irons are for the mid to high-handicap golfers. The Rogue ST Pro is for the lower handicap players, and the Rogue ST Max OS is for the higher handicappers and beginners. The Rogue ST Max is the standard set built for the mid-handicap average golfer.
From experience, most golfers will tell you that the 7-iron is the easiest club to master. A 5-iron will go further, and you can be on the green in three if you are lucky, but a 7-iron will go at least 120-130 yards, getting you easily on the green in four.
The average golfer with a handicap comes in right around 90 for 18 holes, which tells us that average amateur golfers with a handicap play “bogey” golf. According to the United States Golf Association (USGA), the average American golfer carries a handicap of just over 14.
A 20 Handicap can record up to an 8 on Hole# 5 —Double Bogey plus 2 Handicap Strokes.
No Handicaps On Tour
Professional golfers like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth do not use handicaps when playing on the PGA Tour. Handicaps are for amateur golfers that maintain an official handicap number.
A scratch player on a course of average difficulty will typically shoot 69 to 79. Conversely, a 25-handicapper will typically shoot 95 to 110, a difference of 15 strokes.
World Number One and 2021 U.S. Open Winner Jon Rahm , 2021 Men's Gold Medal Winner Xander Schauffele , 2021 PGA Championship Winner Phil Mickelson , and new Callaway Staff Professional Abraham Ancer are among the players who are using a new Rogue ST Driver.
Player | 7 iron distance - Men | 7 iron distance - Women |
---|---|---|
Beginner/High handicapper | 100 yards | 60 yards |
Mid handicapper | 135 yards | 75 yards |
Low handicapper | 165 yards | 140 yards |
Senior golfer | 105-115 yards | 65-85 yards |
Is Callaway discontinuing Rogue Irons?
Callaway stopped producing the initial Rogue Irons, and you cannot buy a new set. These irons are well priced in the used market, offering tremendous value for money. But the ST Max series will set you back just over $1000 for a full set, including every iron plus wedges.