Callaway Rogue ST Max Vs Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Irons

Today, we look at the differences between the new Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons and 2022’s Callaway Rogue ST Max irons.

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Overview

“The Rogue ST Max’s feature an AI-designed face, urethane microspheres for smoother feel, and 62g of tungsten weighting.”

The Rogue ST Max irons have a forgiving look both in the bag and behind the ball. They have a deeper face profile than the Paradym Ai Smoke irons and a deeper, more traditional cavity back.

And despite the super-strong loft (36.5° in the 9-iron) the low CG from the tungsten weights give these irons a lot of pop.

It was very easy to hold greens from distance with the mid and long irons. Currently, the Rogue ST Max’s retail for about $800

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Irons Overview

Ai Smoke Irons

“The Paradym Smoke Ai irons feature an updated AI face, hollow-body design and a pre-worn leading edge.”

In terms of looks, the Ai Smoke irons have a thinner top line, thinner sole and a shallower face profile. The blades look a bit longer than the Rogue ST Max irons so you get a bit less vertical forgiveness.

But the hollow-body design in conjunction with the new face architecture made the Smoke Ai irons play 8.9 yards longer than the Rogue ST Max’s on average. The Ai Smoke irons retail for $1000.

“If you’re looking for pure distance, the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons will work for you. If you need a bit more height and forgiveness, I recommend the Rogue ST Max irons.”

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 Paradym Ai Smoke First Impressions

“My first impression of the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons was that they were familiar.”

I love it when Callaway plays to their strengths and right away, I could tell the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons had classic Callaway design.

The face depth is about medium as is the width of the top line and the sole width. Again, very reminiscent of the size and shape of the Edge irons.

They look like they’re going to be forgiving at first glance and they live up to their initial appearance.

It took me just a couple of swings to get past the 170 yard carry mark with the 7-iron and I was also pretty pleased with the dispersion. Even on my toe-side mis-hits, I wasn’t over-drawing the ball.

Yes, I landed a little too right of the target, but the divergence was never greater than 9 yards.

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

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Selling Points

Smart Face Technology
Extra ¼ “ of length in the mid and long irons
True Temper Elevate and Project X Cypher shafts available
Hollow-body design
AI-designed face architecture
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.

Distance: 94/100

Accuracy: 90/100

Forgiveness: 93/100

Feel & Control: 91/100

Overall Score: 92/100

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Who Are the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Irons for?

In my humble opinion, I think the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons would be great for handicappers in the 17-23 range.

This is the area where you’re still going to need a good bit of distance and help staying on the fairway – two things that the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons do exceedingly well.

But if you have problems hitting the ball low, the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons are not for you.

For the naturally low hitter I would recommend the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke HL irons which, as you can probably guess, have weaker loft profiles which means higher launch.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Irons Family

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Irons6

In addition to the standard Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons, Callaway has released the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke HL and the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast iron sets.

As already discussed the HL version is a weaker-lofted, higher-launching set. The 7-iron HL checks in at 30° in comparison to the 28° lofted 7-iron of the standard Paradym Ai Smoke set.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke HL irons also have deeper cavity backs and are generally a bit more forgiving.

Then there are the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast irons which also feature a deep cavity back and even weaker lofts – the 7-iron is 31°.

The Max Fast irons boast a lighter design than the standard Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons so they would be better for slower swing speed players.