Picking the right set of irons for your game is one of the most important things you can do to improve your scores. A lot of people play irons that they see on TV, but they don’t realize that those irons are probably not the best option for them.
One of the most popular game-improvement irons of 2022 was the ST Max. A friend of mine (high handicap) and I (mid handicap) tested the standard ST Max and ST Max OS to see how they performed.
In This Review
Product Details | Intro | Looks | Feel & Sound | Performance | Bottom Line | Alternatives
Callaway Rogue ST Max Irons Product Details
| Rogue ST Max | Rogue ST Max OS | |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $799.99 | $799.99 |
| Handicap | Mid/High | High |
| PW Loft | 41 | 41 |
| Shafts | L, R, S | L, R, S |
| Ball Flight | Mid/High | Mid/High |
| Forgiveness | High | Higher |
| Sole | Moderate | Wider |
| Head Size | Moderate | Bigger |
| Offset | Moderate | More |
| Callaway Website |
The Intro
Callaway has been my favorite golf company for a while now and when they released the Rogue series, I was pretty excited to get my hands on them.
They were designed to be a game improvement iron that would help with distance and forgiveness. This is exactly what the majority of average players should be looking for.
You don’t need to try shaping the ball around as you see on TV. All you should be doing is hitting it right down the middle.
A friend of mine started golfing 2 years ago and was in the market for a new set of irons. I recommended the ST Max. I knew they wouldn’t magically fix his game, but he’d take any edge he can get.
The rest of the review will compare the standard Rogue to the OS version and then we’ll get into which one he prefered. I’ll also share which one I liked better.
The Looks
Since these are game-improvement irons, they’re going to have a cavity-back design. More weight is around the perimeter of the club, which improves the forgiveness. You can learn more about cavity backs and muscle backs HERE.
The thing you’ll notice right away is the thicker top line and the decent amount of offset. This is more noticeable on the OS version, where the standard ST Max is a bit more compact.
If you’re familiar with the game-improvement irons from Taylormade (Stealth or M4/M6, for example), the standard Rogue will be similar. The OS version will be a little chunkier.
The Sound & Feel
Callaway’s goal with these irons was to make them long and to make them feel/sound good at impact. They use urethane microspheres to reduce vibration and create a more solid-feeling strike.
The reason some people don’t like GI irons is that they don’t provide good feedback. It can be tough to tell where you struck the ball. Toe and heel strikes don’t feel that terrible.
I actually thought these irons felt nice. Pure shots were explosive. Mishits were noticeable but still felt and performed pretty well.
Overall, they didn’t feel as smooth as a well-struck forged iron. That said, they felt better than a lot of the other cavity back irons on the market.
The Performance
The most important things to look for in a GI iron are distance and forgiveness. More specifically, something that hits the ball a long way and finds greens and fairways.
To figure out how these irons performed, I compared them to my current irons, the Taylormade M4’s. If they could hit the ball farther and straighter, I’d consider switching.
I used the 7 iron and hit 10 shots into the green. I recorded how far each shot went and whether or not I hit the green. Here are the results:
| Shot # | Distance | Green Hit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 177 | No |
| 2 | 182 | Yes |
| 3 | 161* | No |
| 4 | 175 | Yes |
| 5 | 179 | No |
| 6 | 198* | No |
| 7 | 181 | No |
| 8 | 176 | Yes |
| 9 | 184 | Yes |
| 10 | 182 | No |
| Average | 179.5 Yards | 40% |
On average, I hit the 7 iron 180 yards and was able to hit 4/10 greens. Both of those are pretty decent, I’d say. Two of the shots were mishit (*), one was hit fat and the other thin.
Compared to my M4 irons, the results were somewhat similar. The Rogue irons may have been a touch straighter and were also 4-5 yards longer on average. The Rogue was 1 degree weaker (less loft), which helped slightly.
The Bottom Line
After taking everything into account, the ST Max irons perform very well and could be an awesome iron set for mid to high handicap golfers. Even though they’re an older model, they still hold up to irons that are two years newer.
For me, I prefer the standard ST Max irons. They’re a bit sleeker than the OS version and are more versatile. They did perform slightly better than my M4 irons, but I’m going to be getting out of the game-improvement iron space soon.
My friend decided to go with the OS irons. He’s only been golfing for two years and hits a lot of shots to the right. They’ve helped him quite a bit and is quite a bit better now. He’s pretty happy with his purchase.
If you have any questions or would like to share your experience with the ST Max irons, be sure to leave a comment below. I’d like to hear what you thought.
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The Alternatives
Even though the Rogue irons are great clubs, they may not be right for everyone. If you want to see some alternatives to make sure you get the right ones, be sure to check out one of our guides below:
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