Callaway's Rogue Speed Tuned (ST) drivers have replaced the Mavrik range for 2022, there are four heads to choose from ranging from Draw biased to the Triple Diamond. That’s right, you can now buy what the male pros use - it's not just a prototype. I will be reviewing the Low Spin and Triple Diamond models in this review. If you are a lower handicap golfer, this one is for you.
The Rogue ST Max has replaced the Ping G425 as the most stable and forgiving driver on the market in my opinion, but can this technology hold up in a more workable, lower spinning head?
And can mere mortals like me hit the same driver as the likes of Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele? Let's find out.
The Tech
Taking inspiration from Formula One teams, Callaway are not reinventing the wheel with their new products year on year, instead they're fine tuning what they already have to make little improvements every time. Marginal gains is the key to better results in their eyes.
This places 26 grams of weight low and deep into the driver head, helping to increase ball speed on off-centre strikes and raising MOI to try and maintain the forgiveness levels seen in the rest of the range.
Artificial Intelligence has been included in Callaway's wood technology for a few years now, and the new Rogue ST range sees launch and speed added to ball speed in their optimisation formula. This is said to lower spin on the face, so that more forgiveness can be added to the driver.
Also designed with the help of AI, this provides stability in both horizontal and torsional direction to give you even more forgiveness and consistency. Speed tuning has taken place in the construction, shaping and positioning of the head, delivering more speed right across the face.
A titanium unibody construction offers plenty of stability and lowers the CG, while saving weight via the Triaxial Carbon crown. The weight is then redistributed to increase forgiveness and launch with a slight draw tendency.
The Triple Diamond model features all of the same technology as in the LS driver, although it is packed into a slightly smaller 450cc head which gives a more compact look at address. There is also the addition of a 6g weight at the front of the head, which moves the CG forward to provide lower launch and spin.
Callaway Rogue ST Max LS & Triple Diamond Drivers Review
Looks and Feel
The new Rogue ST range features a matte black crown, differing from the glossy finish of both the Epic and Mavrik ranges, with a dash of gold added in too.
It looks a little like a Ping G400 Driver in colour and finish with a nod to the Ping G425 on the sole as there is a similar weighting design on the back of the head.
The face is grey which can help with alignment and making sure you've centred up the golf ball, although the design seems a little more subtle with the LS and Triple Diamond compared to with the Rogue ST Max.
The Max LS sits a bit more square at address than the toed-in Max, but it is still 460cc in size. The Triple Diamond is 10cc smaller with a deeper face, so it looks more 'bubble' shaped rather than long.
On the sole of the drivers you can see the fixed weight at the rear of the head, the insertion of the Jailbreak frame bars and in the Triple Diamond there is a 6 gram fixed weight which sits inside the bars at the front of the head.
The drivers feel thick, strong and stable through the strike with a nice safe feeling overall.
As you work from the Max to the LS to the Triple Diamond, the strike starts to sound duller and 'heavier' but I was pleased that my off-centre drives didn't feel tingly or unpleasant in my hands, which I have experienced before in previous low spin Callaway drivers.
The Data
As the table demonstrates, there was very little difference between the Max and the Max LS, with the only real difference being that the flight was straighter and less draw-biased with the LS thanks to the more neutral address position.
The Triple Diamond started to show signs of change in the height and ball speed with a distance gain as a result. However the difference between my best and worst shots was greater with this head, which is probably to be expected as it is aimed at golfers who don't mis-hit it very often.
My shortest, a toe strike, was down at 193 carry with 1750rpm spin and a peak height of 44 feet. My longest was a 215 yard carry with 2160rpm spin and a peak height of 79 feet,
The ball speed was also noticeably higher with the Triple Diamond, consistently over 130mph which the other heads couldn't quite keep up with.
Performance
I decided to conduct a long drive competition with all three driver heads, to assess both the ball speed and distance potential of the drivers, as well as to see whether they could still provide the stability and forgiveness you'd want if you don't quite catch it out of the centre.
The Rogue ST Max and Max LS could not be separated after hitting three of my Sunday best with each, as they both finished with a best of 254 yards total.
The Triple Diamond just edged in front after finishing at 258 yards, which reflected the same results that I saw from my data collection on Trackman.
Once again I can't stress enough how impressive the forgiveness is in all of Callaway's latest drivers, even when I am just going for distance and not necessarily trying to hit it straight.
Callaway Rogue ST Max LS & Triple Diamond Drivers Verdict
Max LS - I get the feeling that even standard drivers are low spinning these days, as the weight in the head has been adjusted to try and launch the ball high with low spin for more distance.
The difference between this head and the Max was really minimal in terms of spin and performance, but if you are hitting the Max with too much draw due to the toed-in setup then have a go with this, as the flight should be more neutral.
The forgiveness is still exceptional, and my dispersion was actually better with this head as I didn't miss any shots to the left. The variance in distance between my best and worst carry was only 6 yards which is really impressive.
Triple Diamond - I wasn't expecting to be able to flight this driver, I thought I would be hitting drives down at 1500rpm which dipped out of the air. This only happened once and that was really down to me, due to a bad strike.
When you think that the Titleist TSi4 is so hard to hit, so much so that Adam Scott is virtually the only person on the planet to bother trying, then Callaway have done a great job to make their offering so forgiving.
Of course you need to be a good driver of the ball with a consistent strike, but you don't need to hit it right in the bullseye every time. You can hit the outer ring and you'll still be rewarded with good drives.
The stability of the Jailbreak Speed Frame and the AI technology have been transferred nicely into the smaller head, while I actually found that the smaller 450cc head helped to focus my mind to make better contact.
There is a distance and ball speed gain to be had with this club as shown in my data, and I am not a big hitter but a consistent one. If you are both, then definitely give this a go.
It isn't frightening and it is playable for the better ball striker, you don't have to be Jon Rahm to hit this but you do have to be a confident player with your big stick.
Who Are They Aimed At?
When you see low spin you automatically think that it is aimed at the better golfer, but I do think a mid to low handicapper could still use the LS head. If you've tried the Max and you're worried that it is over-drawing, then give this one a go.
The Triple Diamond is aimed at 5 handicappers and below and even then, you need to be a good and consistent driver of the golf ball. It is also more fade biased which helped me during my testing as the left shot is my bad shot right now.
Would I Use Them?
I thought that the LS head would be best for me, and I think my testing has probably shown that too. The Triple Diamond performed much better than I thought it would, and gave me my best results when I hit it well, and it was easier to hit than I expected which gave me more confidence.
However I have to remember that my testing was done indoors in the warm, without a scorecard in my hand. On the course, in a competition, things would not be so straight forward which is why I am edging towards the LS.
I am a realist and would rather edge towards the safety net than have to be at 100% performance on every shot.
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