With its release of the new Rogue family of clubs, Callaway Golf threw its R&D weight into innovations to its fairways and hybrids to make them stand apart from each other and its driver.
Unique enhancements to the Rogue ST fairway lineup added up to 10 yards in testing against its Epic models, said senior equipment director David Neville.
“These fairways woods are incredibly hot and there’s two really big innovations that are the reason for that – an all-new batwing Jailbreak system that’s different from driver and hybrids and a totally different speed cartridge in the perimeter and bottom of the club and as far forward as possible without touching the face,” Neville said.
The batwing shaped Jailbreak system inside the head of the fairways is designed to promote speed and stability. The two batwings are pushed to the perimeter, providing stiffness while allowing the face to flex for high ball speeds.
Callaway added tungsten to its fairways for the first time – a flat cartridge up to 27 grams low and forward – combined with a high-strength face cup to provide speed and spin consistency.
“That’s going to give you that hot launch,” Neville said.
Similar to the Rogue ST drivers, the three fairway models include the Max (the longest with a high moment of inertia, neutral ball flight and widest offering from 3W to 11W), Max D (the highest launching with a draw bias) and the Max LS (the lowest spin model with neutral ball flight and a compact shape).
The hybrids offer their own unique innovations, with two mini Jailbreak speed frames pushed out to the perimeter to deliver higher MOI but still provide vertical stiffness and face flex. They’ve also incorporated precision tungsten weighing (up to 24 grams) that it didn’t have in the Maverick lineup, providing a precise center of gravity for optimal launch and more ball speed.
The four hybrid models compare to the new Rogue ST irons: a game-improvement Max; the offset Max OS with a larger clubhead and more draw bias; the OS Lite with lightweight components for more swing speed and easier launch; and the Pro with fairway wood shaping and shallow face for the most workability.
“We’re really excited about the whole lineup – this is by far our most ambitious family that we’ve ever released,” said Neville, noting the more than 100 distinct A.I. optimization faces across the entire Rogue family from driver to irons. “There’s innovation across the board in all the different Rogue models and they’re unique.”