Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max Review: Pros & Cons

Callaway is one of the best and most reliable golf brands on the market that supplies a range of irons. 

In this Callaway Rogue irons review, we will examine 3 models of the irons: ST Max, ST Max OS, and ST Max Lite. 

The Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max is a game-improvement iron that offers loads of forgiveness with larger clubheads and sweet spots. 

Are the ST Max Rogue Irons good for your game? Or is the OS or Lite better? Read on to learn about the pros, cons, specs, lofts, features, and alternatives. 

Rogue Irons ST Max Review: Which Version is Best for You?

The Callaway Rogue Irons release date was in February of 2018 and it became one of their top-selling products. 

The Callaway Rogue ST Max has since become their new top-selling product, but before that, the Rogue X Irons were king. Then earlier there were the original Rogue Irons. 

Check out our full comparison of the Rogue vs Rogue X.

But today the Rogue ST Max are the best option and you can buy them in 3 distinct models. 

	Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max	Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max OS	Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max OS Lite
Price	Top Tier Option	Most Affordable	Mid range
Best Value For	Mid to high handicapper	Mid to high handicappers	High handicapper to low handicapper
Best Known For	Fastest and most stable driver	Forgiveness	Best known for distance
Overall Rating	4.8 out of 5	4.6 out of 5	4.7 out of 5

Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max

Pros

• Super forgiving
• Excellent distance on the greens
• Available in Lite and OS versions to suit different swing styles

Cons

• Hard to find second-hand and often out-of-stock new
• Expensive for a full set

The Callaway Rogue ST Max irons are a great option for mid-to-high handicap golfers who are looking for a forgiving and long iron set. The clubs feature a new A.I. Face Cup that is designed to increase ball speed and forgiveness on off-center hits. The clubs also have a new Tungsten Speed Chassis that is designed to lower the center of gravity and increase the launch angle.

The Callaway Rogue ST Max irons are impressive in terms of performance. The clubs are forgiving on off-center hits, producing a lot of ball speed. The clubs also launch high and carry long, which is great for mid-to-high handicap golfers who struggle to get the ball in the air.

Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max OS

The OS stands for oversized. Oversized irons provide even more forgiveness across the entire front of the face at the sacrifice of a little control. The Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max OS suits high-handicap players.

Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max OS Lite

This version is aimed at golfers with a slow swing speed that need lighter irons to help with that potential issue. This maximizes your air time even at the slower swing speeds. 

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Reviews

 

 

Since we’ve covered what each version can offer, we’ve combined our Callaway Rogue Iron reviews into one, concentrating mainly on the ST Max line.

In line with Callaway’s philosophy of creating playable irons for mid-and-high handicap golfers, the Callaway Rogue Irons continue this tradition and moved the bar higher.

Rogue Irons ST Max Ratings

• Shaft Options: 3/5
• Aesthetics: 3/5
• Distance: 5/5
• Forgiveness: 5/5
• Price: 5/5

Distance For Mid & High-Handicap Players

A Callaway ST Max Rogue Irons set is not aimed at the advanced or single-handicapped player who can hit the ball over 300 yards. Instead, the strong lofted Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons will add distance that mid-to-high-handicap golfers need to get closer to the green for shorter approach shots.

The mid-launch angle adds distance to your shots while aiding the forgiveness of the irons.

Less experienced golfers will benefit tremendously from the playability of the Rogue model due to the combination of distance, forgiveness, and feel.

What Are The Rogue Iron ST Max Lofts?

A growing trend in the iron market is strengthening the lofts of irons to enable manufacturers to claim that the irons hit the ball farther than previous irons.

This can be seen in the change of a standard 7-iron loft around 34 degrees, now closer to 27 degrees.

However, manufacturers have created a higher launch angle with higher lofts that keep the ball in the air for longer carry distances. It also makes for a softer landing, and the angle into the green is much higher. The Callaway Rogue iron lofts are just following that same trend. 

Although this is working well at the moment, it creates gaps in the higher lofted clubs that are being filled by more specialist wedges. 

Read more: Callaway’s Most Forgiving Irons

Look, Sound, Feel

Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max Irons are slightly muted compared to some of the lime green irons in the Callaway brand like the Epic Irons. It features new precision tungsten weighting at 62 grams of high-density tungsten. This helps you to increase the MOI of your club. 

As mentioned above, the microspheres muffle the vibrations for an improved, less clicky sound at contact.

Long irons such as the 4-iron and 5-iron have a slightly larger backend to keep the center of gravity back for enhanced launch and forgiveness. 

Forgiveness

Callaway’s Variable Face Thickness Technology and Face Cup Technology create a larger sweet spot offering excellent forgiveness on mishits. This is especially true for the ST Max OS version of the Rogue Irons.

Read more: The Best Callaway Irons

Price

Callaway stopped producing the initial Rogue Irons, and you cannot buy a new set, but they’re still one of the best irons. These irons are well priced in the used market, offering tremendous value. The ST Max series will set you back just over $1000 for a full set, including every iron plus wedges.

Who Are the Callaway Rogue Irons Best For? 

They made the Callaway Rogue Irons for the mid-handicap to high-handicap golfer. In other words, they made it for the beginner and the intermediate golfer. The features like high forgiveness and better distance for slower swing speeds were meant to improve the game of the beginner to the intermediate golfer. 

You will receive a larger sweet spot on these irons, making it easier for you to hit them farther. 

Advanced golfers won’t receive as much value out of these irons because you can probably find a better set of irons to serve you. Some irons will have features that will improve your game even further.  

Read more: Callaway Rogue vs Mavrik Irons Review

Men’s Callaway Rogue Irons ST Max Specs

The strong lofted irons with a slight offset are available in steel and graphite shafts. Note that the Pro models are a little different.

Irons	Loft	Availability	Length	Lie	Offset	Graphite Swing Weight	Steel Swing Weight
#4	18.5°	RH / LH	38.875″	60.5°	7	D0	D2
#5	21.5°	RH / LH	38.25″	61.25°	6.8	D0	D2
#6	24.5°	RH / LH	37.625″	62.0°	6.4	D0	D2
#7	27.5°	RH / LH	37.00″	62.5°	6.1	D0	D2
#8	32°	RH / LH	36.50″	63.0°	5.8	D0	D2
#9	36.5°	RH / LH	36.00″	63.5°	5.3	D0	D2
PW	41°	RH / LH	35.75″	64.0°	4.8	D0	D2
AW	46°	RH / LH	35.50″	64.0°	4.3	D0	D2
GW	51°	RH / LH	35.25″	64.0°	3.7	D0	D2
SW	56°	RH / LH	35.00″	64.0°	3.2	D0	D2

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Shaft Options

 

Only stock shaft options were available at the Callaway Rogue Irons’ original release. Since the Callaway Rogue golf club’s production run ended, you may experience some difficulty finding an original Rogue Iron with a custom shaft. But, from some pro shops, you can order a new Rogue ST Max Irons set with custom shafts.

That should not be a major issue since the stock shafts are ideal for its purpose on the Callaway Rogue Irons.

Here are the shaft options for the current run of Callaway ST Max Rogue Irons:

Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue IR Graphite

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
Mitsubishi	Regular	60	Mid	Mid
Mitsubishi	Stuff	70	Low	Mid

Project X Cypher Black IR Graphite

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
Project X	Light	50	Mid-High	Low

True Temper Elevate Mph Steel

Manufacturer	Flex	Shaft Weight	Torque	Kickpoint
True Temper	Stiff	95	Low	Low-Mid

Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Technology

Callaway is renowned for its advanced technology and has implemented some existing technologies in the Rogue Irons.

Rogue Irons implemented Callaway’s fastest 360 Face Cup technology at the time of release, with the Center of Gravity weight placed directly behind the center zone.

A coefficient of restitution (COR) of approximately 0.835 is claimed by Callaway, which places the clubface of irons in the same league as what you can expect of a driver’s face.

Distance irons with large clubheads and a cavity back generally flex tremendously on mishits that can cause vibrations. To overcome this, Callaway filled the cavities with Urethane Microspheres to enhance the sound and feel off the clubface. The Urethane Microspheres create little air pockets that absorb unwanted sounds.

Although it enhances the feel, it is still not anywhere near the feel you will get from a forged iron.

FAQs

Alternatives

Here are some of the best alternatives to the Callaway Rogue ST Max golf clubs.

Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

Cleveland Golf is renowned for its advanced engineering that goes into clubs used by professional golfers. It then implements the technologies in clubs aimed at the mass market where most mid to high-handicap golfers compete.

Its Launcher CL Halo Irons are perfect for golfers with a mid-to-high handicap ranging from a 15-handicap to a 25-handicap. These are the latest and greatest among the Launcher line from Cleveland that offer extreme length without sacrificing forgiveness.

A wider topline enhances the confidence of these players, while the optimized MOI (moment of inertia) and lower center of gravity adds forgiveness.

Cleveland clubs are generally on the lower end of the pricing scale, and the Launcher XL Halo Irons compare well to the Rogue Irons but cost a little less.

TaylorMade Sim Max Irons

Although TaylorMade started as a producer of clubs for the higher end of the market, such as professionals and single-digit handicap golfers, they have produced outstanding irons for the mid-to-high handicap market.

The introduction of the Sim range started with the drivers and developed over three years into the long but forgiving Sim Max Irons too.

These aren’t quite as long and forgiving as the ST Max line. But they’re a little cheaper when you compare the Callaway to TaylorMade irons.

Final Thoughts

When replacing the Callaway XR Irons, there was a high expectation that the Callaway Rogue Irons would rectify the shortcomings of the XR Irons.

Indeed, the Rogue Irons successfully adopted the changes required to fill the void left by the XR’s lack of distance and unimpressive sound.

Callaway achieved this by strengthening the lofts on the Callaway Rogue Irons, while the Callaway Rogue X Irons have even stronger lofts to generate more distance. In filling the void left by the XR Irons, the Callaway Rogue Irons has been one of the bestselling sets Callaway has ever put out.

The Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons are even better than their predecessors and offer even more forgiveness and distance. They’re a no-brainer if you have the budget to add big brand name irons to your bag as a mid to high handicapper.

Read more: The Most Forgiving Irons This Year!