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What’s new? How much do they cost? And how do they perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on Callaway’s Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons
How did we find Callaway’s lightest and most forgiving irons in the Rogue ST lineup? Find out more in our Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons review.
NCG SUMMARY
I found these irons performed exactly as Callaway intended: high launching and super easy to hit due to the light weight.
These irons are perfect for players who want to get the ball up in the air more easily and stop the ball from curving to the right.
Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons review: First impressions
The Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons were designed specifically for players looking to get the maximum performance out of the club, and it definitely looks that way when you address the ball. These clubs have huge club heads, wide soles, and enhanced offset giving the feeling that it’s hard to mishit a shot.
The Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons feature lighter shafts and swing weights than the other irons in the Rogue ST range, which makes you feel like the club is going to help you out.
Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons review: NCG verdict
Let’s get this out of the way at the beginning: if you are looking for all-out distance and nothing else matters, the Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons aren’t for you. Both Callaways Max and Max OS irons have much stronger lofts than the Max OS Lite, and realistically they won’t compete in a head-to-head distance challenge.
These irons, however, aren’t designed for maximum distance. Callaway has produced an iron that is explicitly aimed at the inconsistent ball strikers with a low swing speed who nee help getting the ball in the air. They have hit the nail right on the head.
Setting up to the ball, the club head feels massive. The Rogue ST Max OS Lite has a thick top line, oversized head, and enhanced offset. It makes you feel like the sweet spot on the club is enormous, which is precisely the feeling a higher handicap golfer wants.
I was really impressed with the launch and trajectory I achieved with these irons. Typically on ‘super game improvement irons, the lofts are so strong that when I hit them, the ball flight comes out low and fast. The Rogue ST Max OS Lites, however, gave me a much softer, higher flight which I actually felt I could play with.
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I liked the light shafts and reduced swing weight that the Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons come with. It helped me gain a bit of speed, and in general, the light weight of the club made them feel easier to hit.
The gapping I saw in the 9, 7 & 5 iron I hit was pretty much perfect with 30 yards between each club. I didn’t gain any distance using these clubs as the lofts are ‘weaker’ to encourage a higher flight. I hit shots from all over the face and the results were remarkably consistent, with tight front-to-back dispersion which I don’t normally see in irons like these. This could be down to Callaway’s A.I. designed face which is designed to keep spin consistent from all different strike locations.
You can see that my shot pattern was left of the target. This is Callaway’s enhanced offset working as it should, as the offset’s purpose is to enable you to square the clubface up earlier. As I’m already a left-biased player this just sent my shots more left.
These irons wouldn’t go into my bag, but I’d definitely recommend them to a slow swing speed player. I think Callaway have done a great job offering a club to those players who arent obsessed with distance, and just want to be able to hit the ball up in the air more consistently.
I tried the Rogue ST Max OS Lite irons with the Project X Cypher 50 HB/IR graphite shaft, and it felt brilliant. The shaft really enables you to hit the ball higher and you feel like it is actually working for you. The ball feels super solid off the face thanks to the new Flash Face Cup and extra Tungsten weighting in the head that features in all of the new Rogue ST irons.
