Golfing News & Blog Articles

Callaway Rogue ST MAX hybrid leverage revamped Jailbreak design.Four models: Rogue ST MAX, ST MAX OS, ST MAX OS Lite and ST ProRetail price starting at $279.99

With any full family release, you expect plenty of overlapping technology. That holds true with the Callaway Rogue ST Max hybrid which incorporate Jailbreak ST, Speed Tuned Tungsten weighting and AI Face Optimization as seen in the Rogue ST drivers and fairway woods.

In addition, this might be the first time a product has more models (four) than keystone technologies (three). That’s just a fun little fact you can break out during your next family Zoom call.

TRICKLE-DOWN TECH

Hybrids are still the mini-van of the golf equipment industry. They’re not sexy and probably never will be. But the beauty is in the utility and versatility.

Typically, by the time we’re talking about hybrids, it’s alongside a shorter list of new technologies as compared to inline fairway woods and drivers. It’s simply a matter of mass properties.

The Callaway Rogue ST driver family consists of four modelsWhile the shapes have been refined, all feature the full complement of Callaway technologyRetail price is $549.99

I’m going out on a limb here but I predict the Callaway Rogue ST lineup will prove to be the best drivers made by a food and beverage company this year.

I’m kidding (a little) though, with more than half of its revenue coming from TopGolf, it’s likely Callaway will make more money selling fajitas and Bud Light than it will from its golf clubs.

What a world.

To be sure, money is money, Callaway is making a lot of it, and it all counts, but with its reach expanding further away from the golf equipment space with each new year and acquisition, it’s going to be interesting to see how Callaway decides to prioritize its expanding catalog of businesses in the coming years.

Welcome to Part Two of exploring the 2022 Odyssey putters. Part One covered the 2022 Odyssey White Hot OG and Toulon Design putters.

This time around, we will be checking out the 2022 Odyssey Eleven and Tri-Hot 5K putter lines. This time, Odyssey really earns that “new” moniker. Some of these putters do have classic Odyssey head shapes but both lines really represent a new direction in Odyssey putter design.

Getting to the specifics: Like its predecessor, the Odyssey Ten, the Odyssey Eleven mallet features unique materials and new geometries. Here is a Tri-Hot 5K tip to help you avoid my erroneous assumption: The Tri-Hot 5k is not a redux of the 2010 Ti-Hot line. Sorry to those of you looking for titanium putters. Metal is a big part of the Tri-Hot 5k build story, though.

First, let’s take a deeper look at the Odyssey Eleven.

Callaway is introducing three new Chrome Soft models featuring Precision TechnologyChrome Soft, Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X have all been refreshedRetail price is $49.99/dz

Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls with precision technology.

If you’re an avid MyGolfSpy reader, that’s perhaps not the first thing you think of when it comes to the Callaway Chrome Soft family of golf balls but Callaway is so confident in its increasing ability to produce consistent, defect-free golf balls that it’s stamping a “Precision Technology” logo on every box of 2022 Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft X and Chrome Soft X LS golf balls.

Turning the Tables

Under Chip Brewer’s leadership, Callaway has embraced the idea of the Mongolian reversal. If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, think of it as flipping the script or turning weakness into strength and, in the process, one-upping competitors. With that in mind, it’s fitting that Callaway, the company whose golf balls are basically the reason why off-center cores are a part of the golf ball conversation, now is leading the charge to quantify the impact of what it calls “COs” or concentricity offsets.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t see that coming.

Callaway Rogue ST Fairway Woods leverage new batwing Jailbreak design.Three models: Rogue ST MAX, ST MAX D and ST MAX LSRetail price $349.99

One could make the argument that the Callaway Rogue ST fairway woods offer a more compelling tech story than the 2022 Rogue ST drivers.

There, I said it.

And if you look at the 2021 Epic Speed/Epic Max and 2018 Rogue fairway woods, the Rogue ST fairway woods are less like their predecessors than the accompanying driver releases. Will those changes fundamentally alter performance? That’s the real million-dollar question.

For its part, Callaway states that, compared to anything on the market, the Rogue ST is clearly the “leading fairway wood in performance.” The caveat here is that, like every other manufacturer, Callaway tests its new product against existing equipment. Fortunately, 2022 Most Wanted testing is already underway.

Stay tuned.

Today, we get our first look at the 2022 Odyssey White Hot OG and Toulon Design putters. Actually, that’s only half of our Odyssey story today. I also have the scoop on the new Odyssey Eleven putter and the potentially game-changing Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K line.

But don’t jump over there just yet. We have a bunch of Odyssey putters to cover right here first. 2022 looks to be a big year for Odyssey. If 2022 is anything like 2021 was for them, “big” should probably be replaced with “huge” or “all-time.” From the tours to the shops, Odyssey smashed 2021.

Let’s take a quick look at last year before we jump into what Odyssey has in store in 2022.

Odyssey Putters, #1 in everything

As I said, before we dive into what is new for Odyssey in 2022, it’s worth revisiting 2021. As you can see from the graphic above, Odyssey continued to dominate all professional tours. I do mean all tours. Sure, Jon Rahm using a White Hot OG Rossie S to continue his winning ways was a highlight but his success was not an outlier for Odyssey users. Odyssey staffers and non-staffers made a bunch of money with Odyssey putters in 2021.

Two headlining models: Hona BERES 08 Black and Aizu.BERES 08 Aizu showcases Honma’s signature model offerings of 2 Star through 5 Star including a women’s 3 Star model offering.The entire BERES 08  lineup features drivers, fairway woods, hybrid utilities and irons.

Honma embraces a distinct position within the golf manufacturing world. Throughout the years, Honma has showcased three specific golf club lineups: TR, T//World and BERES, all of which have prominent roles within Honma’s product offerings. Each caters to different golfers. However, they all possess Honma’s DNA: craftsmanship, aesthetics and design and performance. With the new BERES 08, they continue a long heritage of luxurious, master-crafted golf clubs, but with a bold twists.

Honma BERES – RUNWAY, PLEASE

At first glance, aesthetics, craftsmanship and overall design stare you right in the face.

With the BERES 08 Black, you have classic black and gold signature coloring. From pictures alone, it appears to be a showstopper. In order to keep the overall appearance flow, the stock ARMRQ MX shaft features matching black and gold graphics. The design is consistent from the metalwoods down to the irons.

Don’t worry. The star of the show is next.

Aizu, 2 Star through 5 Star and 3 Star Women’s encompass flair. Honma’s master craftsmen bring forth the traditional Japanese “Aizu” Lacquer design with this lineup. Each product lineup within the Aizu model features its own unique, creative color scheme and design. There are two different crown prints on the metalwoods. Additionally, there are designs on the iron cavities. Both bring a fashion show to the golf course.

As you set your goals for the new year, I’d like you to think less about what you want to achieve and more about the person/player that you want to become. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t set outcome goals. I think you should know what you are working towards, why and how you are going to achieve it. Time is precious and we need a plan to allocate our time most effectively. Goal setting for golfers can be inspiring and motivate us to put in the effort each day. 

However, if the only goals we have are results based goals, there are drawbacks to the approach, such as:

1. It takes us away from the present

If we focus too much on what we want to achieve, we can miss out on the journey. If you are always doing something now to achieve something in the future, you are not fully experiencing the moment you are living in. If we focus too much on our future selves, we take valuable energy away from being our best selves in the present. 

Phil Mickelson has really been playing well on the Champion’s Tour. We all know that Phil has an amazing short game. He learned it with constant practice in his backyard when he was a kid. Practice really is the best way to ingrain the right swing for every club. Your brain needs to remember it and your body needs to feel it. Was it his short game or his long game that helped him win so many recent tournaments?

Phil has one of the longest drives on the senior’s tour, but it is not always straight and not always landing on the fairway or in bounds. During the second round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in 2021 he hit 2 tee shots out of bounds on the 547-yard, par-5. That’s two penalty strokes and still on the tee and hitting his 5th stroke. Bernhard Langer won that tournament and became the oldest winner in PGA TOUR of Champions history at 64.

Bernhard and Phil both learned important lessons during that tournament. Bernhard is not the longest driver, but he sure has an amazing approach shot to give himself a chance to sink more birdies.

On the other hand, Phil was 81st in driving accuracy and was well back in that tournament. When Phil was interviewed, he pointed out that he was number 1 in driving distance and his amazing skill in chipping and pitching normally get his out of trouble. On most courses he does not have to worry about driving accuracy as long as he has an open shot at the green to save his game.

Lanny Wadkins was the commentator that day who replied to Phil’s comments: “Life is just much easier from the fairway.”