Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Review - Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons

“The Callaway Rogue ST Max irons are categorized as game-improvement irons and they certainly live up to this categorization.”

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Overview

“With a whopping 62 grams of tungsten placed low in the heads of these irons, the Callaway Rogue ST Max’s are built for launch and power.”

And like any good, modern Callaway iron, the Callaway Rogue ST Max’s have been built with the assistance of AI.

The AI designed flash face cup is optimized for both ball speed and forgiveness in areas of the face that players tend to mis-hit.

They have a very sleek design which is really saying something as these are still cavity back irons.

The Callaway Rogue ST Max irons also feature urethane microspheres that dampen vibration and improve feel at impact.

One of the most interesting things about these irons though is their strong loft profile.

The 4-iron is set to 18.5° and the 9-iron is set to 36.5°. This gives these irons a piercing shot trajectory that was designed for pure distance.

Are the Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Forgiving?

“If you don’t mind a moderately heavy iron, then yes, the Callaway Rogue ST Max’s do offer a good amount of forgiveness.”

Most of the forgiveness comes from the design of the face. It flexes very well in areas that players tend to mis-hit so ball speed is preserved.

The distance improvement is almost effortless. After just a few swings with the 5-iron in this set, our testers were reaching max distances between 156 and 167 yards.

They have pretty large profiles overall; but it should be noted that the launch was a bit compromised by the strong lofts.

Are the Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“The Callaway Rogue ST Max are good for any high handicappers looking for more distance.”

From the deck, these irons perform very well. However, they aren’t great in tight lies or from the rough.

Should you Buy the Callaway Rogue ST Max’s or the Rogue ST Max OS’s?

“The Max OS irons have a larger footprint than the standard ST Max’s.”

They are also more forgiving. If max forgiveness is what you’re after, the Rogue ST Max OS irons would be the better choice. The Callaway Rogue ST Max’s are better if you need a bitmore workability and distance.

Callaway Rogue ST Irons

Category: Game Improvement – Player’s Performance

Callaway Rogue ST Irons First Impressions

The first thing we noticed about the Callaway Rogue ST irons is that they felt incredibly stable on full swings.

While high handicappers may not fully appreciate that benefit at first, it will certainly spoil them as they get better.

The large head sizes of the Max models will be a bit off-putting for lower handicappers; but that is what the Pro line is for.

All of the Max models have a wide sole that you can see from point of address.

Again this will look more comforting in the eyes of a beginner or high handicapper. Our testers also noted the near-effortless launch of almost all the irons in the set.

Key Tech

The clubs are packing all the latest technology too:

We’ve now got urethane microspheres up to the 6th groove which helps give a smoother feel and nicer sound.

A.I Optimized flash face to give a solid connection anywhere on the face and optimization for launch, spin and distance.

The Tungsten weighting is in the extremities of the head and allows for the sweet spot to cover more of the face, up to 260% more Tungsten than the Mavrik irons.

Callaway Rogue ST Selling Points

Up to 62 grams of tungsten weighting
450 grade steel faces
Pronounced soles
A.I. designed Flash Face Cup design
Layers of urethane
Strong lofts

Who are the Callaway Rogue ST Irons for?

The Callaway Rogue ST irons are mostly for high handicappers. The three different Max models are certainly for beginner to intermediate players while the Pro model would be better for single-digit handicappers.

But don’t get the wrong idea. The three Callaway Rogue ST Max irons aren’t as beginner-friendly when compared to some other irons. Just like we explained when we compared them to the Big Bertha’s, the Callaway Rogue ST irons are just a bit more refined than your average distance/game-improvement irons.

While most of the Callaway Rogue ST iron family is focused on upping the ball speed of high handicap players, the Pro model has a lot to offer more skilled players. Speaking of the different Callaway Rogue ST models…

The Callaway Rogue ST Iron Family

Callaway Rogue ST Max

The Rogue ST Max irons have the heaviest tungsten weight (62 grams) of any other Rogue ST iron. The head is not quite as big as the other Max models so it sits somewhere between the Rogue ST Pro and the other two Rogue ST Max models.

Callaway Rogue ST Max OS

If you need a little bit of draw bias in your irons, the pronounced offset of the Max OS irons will be helpful for you. Compared to the Callaway Rogue ST Max irons, the Max OS’s also have slightly stronger lofts. As a result the Max OS irons are more forgiving out near the toe.

Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite

As you can imagine, the Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite model is almost identical to the Callaway Rogue ST Max OS model. The key differences are lighter shafts and lighter swing weights.

The Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons also have the lightest tungsten weights (46 grams in the longest iron) and produce the highest launch angles thanks to an incredibly wide sole.

Launch is also helped with stronger lofts compared to the Callaway Rogue ST Max OS irons and the fact that these irons come standard in only graphite shafts should reiterate the emphasis on light weight and easier swinging.

Callaway Rogue ST Pro

The Callaway Rogue ST Pro irons are the most unique of the bunch. They feature the smallest head sizes and muscle backs. They also have a hollow body design. The spirit of the Rogue irons is still alive even in the Pro models though.

For instance, the Callaway Rogue ST Pro irons feature split weighting in the toe and heel to increase MOI and improve ball speeds on shots away from the sweet spot. So while they offer better spin dynamics, they are still pretty forgiving.

Ball speed is still there in the long irons as well – you’ll just have to be a lot more accurate.