BIG BERTHA IRONS - FOND MEMORIES, GOOD LOOKS & BIG DISTANCE.

For golfers that are a little longer in the tooth, the name Big Bertha summons up fond memories of when clubs started to move towards the more recreational golfer. The latest generation of Big Bertha irons have gone back to those routes and are being hailed as the “easiest to launch distance irons” in the brand’s history. This statement alone grabbed our attention, but they really had us interested when we saw the first images of the new set.

You cannot beat a club with a smoked grey finish, paired with the shiny silver/grey Recoil ZT9 shaft, the Big Bertha irons are at the top of the class in the looks department. Set up is easy with a white paint fill in the bottom two grooves, this really pops on the face giving making alignment easy. The slightly rounded edges and dark finish make the thick topline less noticeable at address and the red highlights in the cavity give the irons a high end, stealthy look in the bag.

Callaway Suspended Energy Core

The new Big Bertha’s introduce the Suspended Energy Core, essentially it’s a tungsten bar surrounded by urethane microspheres positioned low inside the head. This combination of materials makes for a very pleasing, woodsy ‘tak’ sound as the ball comes off the face, and they sound so good that your playing partners will think you’ve flushed every shot.

Callaway’s tag line for the 2019 Big Bertha irons is simple: “Easy Launch. Serious Distance.” The first part – “Easy Launch” – may be an understatement. With the Suspended Energy Core so low and across the length of the face, every swing sent the ball airborne. Even my menacing thin strike surprised me as the ball sailed up in the air.

As far as “Serious Distance,” Callaway is also spot on, but that wasn’t as shocking to me. The Big Bertha irons share a lot of technology seen in other models in Callaway’s lineup, including 360 Face Cup that wraps around the edge, creating a flex that boosts ball speed.

The Big Berthas aren’t as long as the Rogue X, but that’s because the lofts aren’t as strong.

The high launch combined with the strong carry distances resulted in solid green holding for the Big Bertha irons. An added bonus was the realization of that old saying, ‘the club will do the work’. The balance of the shaft and head made every swing feel effortless with my moderate swing speed, dispersion came down as I trusted that a reasonable swing would produce powerful ball flights.

Performing research for this review, I was pleased to see how Callaway incorporates technology across its lines. The 2019 Big Bertha irons share many features with even their premium players’ irons. There’s no mistaking that the Big Berthas are Super Game Improvement irons, but they may be the most attractive in the category.

Looks don’t lower scores, but the combination of powerful launch and distance of the Big Bertha irons sure can.