Equipment
Callaway launches new Big Bertha Irons and Hybrids
Callaway has today announced the introduction of its new Big Bertha Irons and hybrids, which feature a thinner club face and optimized center of gravity, designed to provide easier launch and greater distance.
Big Bertha Irons
Following on from the 2016 Big Bertha OS Irons line, which showcased Callaway’s EXO-Cage technology, these new Big Bertha irons will feature the company’s brand new Suspended Energy Core. The Suspended Energy Core features a Metal Injection Molded (MIM’d) Tungsten Floating Weight suspended within a urethane microsphere material to create a deeper center of gravity. According to Callaway, this yields easy launch, longer, and more consistent golf shots.
The Big Bertha Irons will also feature Callaway’s 360 Face Cup, which employs a flexible rim around the face that flexes and releases at impact — this aims to increase ball speed. Owing to the new Suspended Energy Core, this will be Callaway’s thinnest face cup yet, which the company says results in increased ball speeds.
Callaway’s new Big Bertha Irons will be available with Recoil ESX, Recoil ZT9, and KBS Max 90 shafts. The irons hit the shelves on Jan. 18 and will cost $1,200 in steel and $1,300 in graphite.
Big Bertha Hybrids
The new Big Bertha Hybrids will feature Jailbreak Technology, which Callaway first introduced in 2017 with the Epic line. The technology, which was created with the aim of promoting faster ball speed and greater distance, incorporates two internal bars that stiffen the body, placing more impact load on the face. It proved to be a very popular addition from Callaway, and in their new Big Bertha Hybrids, the company have combined this technology with a new shorter and lighter OptiFit Hosel System designed to optimize the center of gravity for an easier launch and a higher, long-carrying flight.
The new hybrids from Callaway also feature an ultra-thin, Carpenter 455 steel face and Hyper Speed Face Cup, with the combination designed to create optimum ballspeed across the face.
The Big Bertha Hybrids will be available in both premium Recoil ESX and ZT9 Shafts, and they will be in stores on Jan. 18 for $269.99 each.
A special thanks to our Brian Knudson for braving the chill and doing his best to find a few blades of green grass for the outdoor, in-hand photos readers prefer.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
ogo
Jan 7, 2019 at 10:42 pm
A WILLIAM ROSS PATENT SPRING-FACE IRON, CIRCA 1893
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/the-jeffery-b-ellis-antique-golf-club-collection-n08380/lot.379.html
•
Well… so much for Callaway innovative “engineering” superiority… 😮
ogo no
Jul 17, 2019 at 5:11 pm
Pathetic comparison. Pretty lame.
Piter
Dec 7, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Very similar looking to the Callaway FT from a few years back. I like the look though.
I never buy a current model so price doesn’t bother me, it will come down eventually. If the same applies to irons as with drivers (about 1 yard distance gain for each new model per year) I will wait for 5+ years..
Ron
Nov 14, 2018 at 1:04 pm
I’ll wait for the GREAT Big Bertha irons for even more distance claims. GBB all the way!!
Paulie C
Nov 14, 2018 at 11:47 am
Ridiculous that a set of irons have to be this much money. They’re at a point where the ball speed leaving the faces are maxed out. Golf balls can’t legally go any further. Been that way for years yet every year we hear about picking up an extra 6-7 yards per club. Every year the faces get thinner too. In what? Laboratory testing? They shave .000000037 off the face just so they can say they’re more forgiving and higher launching than the previous model. Keep ’em!
Roy
Nov 14, 2018 at 9:45 pm
Thought COR only applied to drivers?? That aside – why is it so hard to. Elite e that a bigger budget leads to a better product. But no worries,sure there were lots of guys questioning how they would improve the Model T
ogo
Nov 13, 2018 at 5:49 pm
OMG!!! … OMG!!! … OMG!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKiSX8qYL3M
Ron
Nov 14, 2018 at 1:00 pm
LOL … LOL … LOL … TOO FUNNY 😀
jim
Nov 13, 2018 at 5:33 pm
I see all the Callaway Haters are out. It is the Big Bertha iron, it will do what is is suppose to do for the players that it needs to do it for…..Launch easily! yes, and of course will go further than its predecessor. That is not a good thing? If you don’t like them or they are not for you then simply move on, not a big deal. But if you think they might be, go try them. Is that so hard?
Tom
Nov 13, 2018 at 6:51 pm
jim, what department at Callaway do you work in…..lol!Its not just Callaway, nobody has anything different, except cosmetics….sellers be sellin! Save your money!
Tom
Nov 13, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Well, its pretty obvious the club manufactures have absolutely nothing new….so they jack up lofts and tell you that’s better…..what a joke!Save your money. Sellers be sellin!
Speedy
Nov 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm
An awful looking club that deserves its ridiculous price point. Is Callaway losing it?
RR
Nov 13, 2018 at 10:39 am
I used to have a SGI set of Wilson Di5’s. I used to fly the green all the time and take penalty strokes. The 9 iron would fly 190 on a pure strike. Crazy! It was like a hitting the ball with a trampoline. I now miss the green short with forged irons sometimes but I am always in bounds. These shovel sets are getting over the top…..but I will be old with a slow swing speed one day and will still want to golf so keep on improving that tech!
Johnny Penso
Nov 14, 2018 at 12:24 am
Odd. I have a set of Di-7’s I picked up last winter for $75 that I played 20 times with this year and never hit a single flyer. I guess the physics in mine were different than yours.
dat
Nov 13, 2018 at 10:30 am
Hideous, jacked, no feel, ultra expensive. These will sell well because your average Joe can hit his 7i in a simulator 175, which is 6 yards longer than his set from 2009.
JP
Nov 13, 2018 at 9:55 am
Recycled tech and jacked lofts. The offset looks terrible.
Go back to what you do best. Woods
Young Tom Morris
Nov 13, 2018 at 8:50 am
Have fun launching a pw 20 yards over the green. Nobody needs these.
Corey
Nov 13, 2018 at 8:03 am
Callaway losing their minds on pricing…
jeremy
Nov 13, 2018 at 9:46 am
Most fitted club at Club Champion this year was the P790…. Had a price point… oh yeah, $1300 per set…….. need to do some research
Corey
Nov 13, 2018 at 7:39 pm
790s at least involved new tech for TM that would account for the price. These appear to just be a recycle for Cally. I don’t need to do any research, thanks for the tip though…