Callaway Rogue Drivers
How would Callaway's latest drivers stack up under scrutiny?
Adding another premium driver to its range for 2018 may seem a bold move for Callaway but Rogue has the performance to back it up. Those who have invested in Epic won’t be losing out considerably by not upgrading, but Rogue does seem to be slightly more forgiving and feel better too while the larger profile of the standard model may also suit the eye of the average golfer a little more.
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Marginal gains in forgiveness, feel and sound but Rogue certainly looks to have improved on what Epic brought to the market.
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The premium price tag without the longevity that comes with sole weight adjustability may be difficult for some golfers to justify.
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Callaway Rogue Drivers Review article and video - Joel Tadman tests and compares the new Callaway Rogue and Rogue Sub Zero drivers using the GC2 launch monitor
Callaway Rogue Drivers Review
The Great Big Bertha Epic drivers were seriously impressive and so with Callaway claiming that Rogue was even better, we were extremely keen to see how it performed. You can read about the technology in Rogue here.
RELATED: Epic Sub Zero v Ping G400 v Titleist 917 v TaylorMade M1
The first thing you notice about the standard Rogue driver is how it looks at address. It is considerably stretched back compared to Epic and the Rogue Sub Zero model. The other cosmetics and details look similar, bar a slight change to the Speed Step crown, which has been made thinner and therefore less visually imposing, and a new teal colour scheme.
Clip a few balls away and you soon notice that Rogue has a firmer, more solid feel than Epic that is arguably more powerful too.
We tested both the standard and Sub Zero models with Aldila Rogue x-stiff shaft that we were fitted for for the Epic Sub Zero. We were fairly sure we’d get more out of the Rogue Sub Zero, but started with the standard model to set some base numbers. We tested them all in 10˚ of loft.
The standard Rogue set the bar high, producing some impressive ball speed and carry distances but the launch and ball flight was a touch high.
Switching into Rogue Sub Zero in the back setting (14g in the back, 2g in the front) lowered the spin and increased the carry up to 275 yards, about where we were with Epic Sub Zero last year.
For one final tweak we switched the two sole weights around into the low setting and sure enough, as you can see above, the spin came down further and the distance went up fractionally again to 276 yards average carry. It might not have been as accurate in this setting, but it certainly gave the ingredients to max out on carry distance.
Two important things to note here. The first is that Rogue definitely feels and sounds better than Epic, it just seems to feel more stable, solid and efficient and transferring energy from club to ball.
The second is that the improvements appear marginal but lofting down to 9˚ looks like it could certainly allow us to break the 280-yard carry barrier. We’ll save this for another testing session when we put Epic and Rogue Sub Zeros up against eachother in a head to head battle so look out for that.
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