Callaway 2022 Great Big Bertha Iron Review

Callaway 2022 Great Big Bertha Iron Review

The very first set of titanium irons to hit the market – Tommy Armour’s Ti 100, in 1997 – had longer shafts, larger heads and a funkier impact sound than any other iron on the market. And they were an utter failure because the all-titanium head was unforgiving and clunky. I’m reminded of that because Callaway’s touting its new-for-2022 Great Big Bertha irons as “the titanium iron reinvented” in its marketing effort. 

These will be much more successful than Armour’s. It’s Callaway’s first ultra-premium multi-piece, titanium iron design – combining what the company touts as driver-like power with an iron’s precision. It combines a forged titanium clubface and CP4 titanium body with up to 145g of tungsten – leaving more discretionary weight for club designers to gain you more speed, forgiveness, distance and overall performance. Essentially, this is Callaway’s attempt at including all the bells and whistles under one hood – via multi-material, lightweight construction. The iron also incorporates artificial intelligence–designed characteristics to further enhance ball speed, and urethane microspheres that help the impact sound and deliver a softer feel, while still allowing the face to flex for more ball speed.

So how does it deliver on its promises? Quite well in our testing, actually. Its looks are outstanding. There’s something about the clubhead shaping that just inspires confidence that you’re going to hit one solid shot after another. The face height seems to be just right, as does the amount of offset through the set, the top line thickness and matte finish, and the general look as you stand over the ball. Then there’s the two white grooves for alignment and the soft grip that feels super premium in your hands. The aesthetics are nice, too – from the carbon weave in rear badge to the cavity cutout to the sage green tungsten cartridge bar along the nicely shaped sole. It all comes together really well visually.

And then you swing. As with the Great Big Bertha driver, the graphite shaft feels a little too flexible – albeit less so on the irons, likely because the shafts are shorter. But the ball flight is high and mighty, wanting to move slightly from left to right for me despite the offset. Impact feels crisp and the turf interaction is like cutting a knife through butter – even when you’re facing uneven lies you can extract the ball cleanly. And while we don’t usually dwell on distance for irons, this one is notably on the long side. I was between clubs on one par-3, so I opted for the shorter iron and landed it pin high – a pleasant surprise. The 7-iron has a loft of 30°, so it isn't as strong as many of the best distance irons but I would imagine it would still compare favorably in the carry department, such is the power on offer here.

Yes, the performance is fantastic. But it better be for $450 per club. It’s difficult to think past this, while you’re out on the course. Especially because there are so many good irons on the market right now. But if you’re seriously considering these when they launch on November 11th, odds are that money is no object, and you'll thoroughly enjoy the playing experience because most of all, they make hitting accurate approach shots seem easier.

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