When people think of Callaway Irons, their mind often goes to the Big Bertha. The Big Bertha line of clubs really changed the way amateur players thought about the game and what they could accomplish with their golf swing.
Callaway Irons have evolved quite a bit through the years. There are now options on the market for every handicap.
This year the new line of Callaway Apex irons really stood out as the best Callaway irons on the market. However, there are lots of options to choose from.
If you are a fan of Callaway or are thinking that Callaway may have an option for your game, you are in the right place.
As always, we give honest feedback about the golf clubs we review and whether or not they are truly going to be the best benefit for your game.
Here are the best Callaway irons of 2023 and some selection criteria to help you find the one that will work for your golf game.
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Best Overall Callaway Irons: Callaway Apex DCB Irons
The best Callaway irons on the market for 2023 are the Callaway Apex DCB. For the first time, Callaway made a cavity back iron feel like a players club.
We can assure you; this is not a marketing ploy. This is one of the best feeling Callaway irons we have seen, and it will, without a doubt, help you see what Callaway has to offer.
The Callaway Apex DCB is the first Callaway to incorporate the AI-designed Flash Face Cup technology.
This essentially means that you will get extremely high, hybrid, and wood-like speeds from the face of the iron.
Faster ball speeds and higher ball flights allow your approach shots to stop quickly after impact. This means you can be more aggressive and aim for the flag more often.
In addition, the DCB has a great sole width to help improve launch and turf interaction. If you have always thought the Apex irons were great looking, but the distance, ball speed, and forgiveness were not for you, this is your chance to get in.
We love that Callaway was able to take one of the best Callaway iron set options of all time and modify it to work for a player of any handicap level.
With consistency and increased forgiveness, this is a set of irons that can take you from a high to mid or a mid to low handicapper.
Key Features
- Tungsten Energy Core for the first time in an Apex golf iron
- A.I. Designed Flash Face Cup for very high ball speeds
- Urethane microspheres help to improve both feel and sound at impact
- Another step in making a distance iron feel like a players club
Best For High Handicappers: Callaway Big Bertha B21 Irons
One of the best things about Callaway is that they make an iron for all player levels. If you are a higher handicapper that seeks a better launch and some very high-performing game improvement irons, the B21 could be the best choice for you.
Big Bertha irons have been around for many years, and they are known for their wide sole, long-distance, and tons of forgiveness.
These modern Callaway Big Bertha B21 golf irons have been updated and improved to work for the modern golfer.
Each iron is offset, and the center of gravity is positioned low and in the center of the iron. These features make the clubs more forgiving, which means you’ll get better results even if you don’t strike the ball off the center of the clubface.
One of the downsides to game improvement irons is always the feel; however, there is not much vibration at impact with the urethane microspheres, especially in the short irons.
Overall if you want a Callaway golf iron that is easy to hit and has advanced distance technologies, this is the way to go.
Key Features
- Higher launch than other golf irons on the market
- Some of the best golf equipment available for the higher handicappers and beginners
- Irons feature a thick topline, wide sole, and offset to help straight out shots
- Great irons for those that struggle to get the ball flight they need
Best For Advanced Golfers: Callaway Apex Pro 21
The Callaway Apex Pro 21 is the ultimate forged players iron. If you are a golfer who can shoot below 80 and want something with the best feel, this is a perfect choice.
From the long irons to the short irons, each of these clubs is made to have a pure impact and almost no vibration.
The Apex 21 irons feature minimal offset, a compact club head, and impressive distance, considering they are players’ irons.
When it comes to ball flight, you should have no issues controlling the height of your shots. Advanced golfers that like to work the ball will love the performance of this iron.
The Callaway Apex 21 irons have tungsten weights that are referred to as the Tungsten Energy Core.
The Tungsten is there to help experienced golfers get just a bit of forgiveness from their iron set. Not something we have seen in the past in a player’s iron.
Those with swing speeds on the higher end will have the most luck with the long irons and mid irons in the Apex Pro 21 iron set. If you are prone to off-center hits, this wouldn’t be the club choice to go with.
Key Features
- Ultimate forged feel with a 1025 carbon steel hollow construction
- Tour distance and workability
- Great for those with lots of club head speed
Best For Distance: Callaway Apex 21
Mid handicappers love to get more distance from an iron set. If it means the game improvement irons are adjusted to have different lofts or the center of gravity is placed differently, it really doesn’t matter.
The bottom line is that this group of players really wants more distance from their Callaway irons.
The Apex 21 is the first forged Apex iron that was designed using artificial intelligence. This artificial intelligence is brought up quite a bit when talking about Callaway irons. This has everything to do with how advanced this technology really was.
The A.I allows Callway to test thousands of different parameters to put together a golf iron set that is perfectly suited for a player.
With the Apex 21, you will find a forged 1025 mild carbon steel club head and 64 grams of tungsten in the head as well.
The result is both distances and feel your entire way through the golf course.
Key Features
- Optimized center of gravity
- Higher ball flight and more distance than other game improvement irons
- Forged feel makes even the long irons feel great throughout the set
- Very high ball speed and improved shaping for better turf interaction
Best For Average Golfer: Callaway Mavrik Irons
With all the talk of the new Apex irons on the market this year, the Callaway Mavrik irons of last year are not talked about as frequently. However, they should be!
The Callaway Mavrik irons were some of the best Callaway irons to hit the market, and they are still packed with incredible technology.
The Mavrik had some of the highest ball speeds that we have seen in the game and a better feel than other Callaway irons like the Rogue.
One thing that we love about the Mavrik is that they transition really well into hybrids and fairway woods.
If you are a golfer that doesn’t like to carry long irons, the Callaway Mavrik irons are a great choice.
This particular model also comes in the Callaway Mavrik Max irons as well. The Mavrik Max is a bit larger, more offset, and has some extra forgiveness.
For the average golfer, the regular Callaway Mavrik seems to be the best fit. These iron sets could work for mid handicappers, high handicappers, and even lower handicappers who want easy performance out of a golf iron.
Key Features
- It feels like a forged iron even though it is a cavity back design
- 360 Face Cup design
- Higher launch golf club, better for mid handicappers to high handicappers
- Available in Callaway Mavrik Max irons as well
Best Cheap Callaway Irons: Callaway X Hot Irons
Although Callaway golf irons are not known to be the most expensive on the market, you can still expect to spend quite a bit. This is especially the truth when you are looking at a forged iron or a blade iron set. However, some of the older Callaway cavity back irons have dropped in price considerably.
The Callaway X Hot Irons have been on the market for many years. They are a forgiving cavity back game improvement iron that is perfect for the high handicapper or beginner.
The X Hot Irons are known for long distances and lots of forgiveness.
What these irons are not known for is having the best feel on the market. The Callaway X Hot irons are not a terrible feeling, but they certainly don’t have the precision or ball speed that a serious player will need.
However, if you want to get into a set of Callaway irons for a fair price, this is a perfect option to consider.
Key Features
- Good upgrade from the Callaway Steelhead XR Irons
- PLenty of forgiveness in these golf clubs
- Ball speed won’t be quite as high as some other Callaway irons
- Perfect opportunity for a beginner looking to get into a set of Callaway golf irons
Buyers Guide
Hopefully, you now feel a bit better educated on some of the best Callaway irons on the market. As you can see, there are some really great options on the market, and they can be hard to choose between. There are a few key benefits that you must consider if a Callaway set of irons is right for you.
Not only do you have to narrow down the brand, but you also need to make sure that the iron set you choose matches your specifications exactly. Here are the key factors that you will need to look into.
Iron Type
As you can see from our list, some Callaway irons are forged irons, and others are cavity back. Most of the time, forged irons are for those with lower handicaps looking to increase the feel that they can get from a set.
Related: Check our Best Irons From Mizuno Review for more forged irons
A cavity back iron is built more for the mid to high handicapper game. The cavity back irons have a low center of gravity and can really help players get both distance and forgiveness in their golf game.
The iron-type you choose will come down to your handicap player level right now and where you hope to be in the next few years as well. If you are on the verge of breaking 80 and think you may start putting more time in the game, go with a club that has a bit better feel.
If you have just started the game instead, chances are you will want something like the Big Bertha irons that maximize forgiveness with their cavity back club head.
Shaft
Callaway golf irons have a lot of steel and graphite shaft options available. For each release, Callaway’s handpicks some of the best stock shaft options on the market for your to choose from.
A high handicapper tends to miss the ball more often will want an iron set with graphite shafts. The graphite shafts help to increase distance, and they also decrease vibration at impact.
The steel shafts are better for golfers with high swing speed. The steel shaft iron sets will provide a bit more accuracy and control than the graphite shaft.
Do not be afraid to go with any of the stock shaft options on a Callaway iron. They have all been thoroughly tested and tour-proven. If you are unsure which is the best for your game, then a custom fitting could be a good idea.
Club Set Makeup
Getting the right combination of long irons, mid irons, and short irons is essential. You will need to ensure that your club set is properly suited to your swing speed and capabilities.
Most average golfers should not have anything more than a 5 iron in their bag. After the 5 iron, it makes much more sense to start hitting a hybrid club or even a fairway wood.
Golfers with faster swing speeds can use a four iron or even a three iron as long as the launch and the distance seems appropriate. Don’t be afraid to put a combo set together with some forged irons in the shorter clubs and more of a forged cavity in the longer irons. Also, consider adding a driving iron if you’re struggling off the tee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few of the questions that we get asked about the best Callaway golf irons on the market. For those that are Callaway golf iron fans, the latest releases are quite exciting. Deciding when it is time to upgrade and choosing can be a tough choice for any player.
Which Callaway Irons Are The Most Forgiving?
We can tell you that every single Callaway golf iron on the market at this point features some level of forgiveness.
However, the most forgiving of all of these is the Callaway Big Bertha B21 irons. By looking at the clubhead on this set, you can likely tell that it is quite a bit larger with a bit of offset.
The offset, wide sole, and large sweet spot all ensure that these golf irons have some of the most impressive forgiveness on the market. If you are tired of shots that spray left and right, or you have a hard time getting the ball up off the ground, the Big Bertha B21 is for you.
What Makes Callaway Golf Irons Better Than Taylormade?
Callaway and TaylorMade tend to fight for the most attention from the average golfer. If TaylorMade releases a new iron built for high ball speed, you can almost guarantee that Callaway will have something to offer in response.
This is the way the golf market operates, and it is a good thing for the consumer. While these companies compete with each other, you get access to better technology every year.
Callaway tends to win when you compare forgiveness between the Callaway and TaylorMade brands. However, sometimes TaylorMade will edge them out a bit when it comes to speed. In the end, you have to find the iron set that is best suited for your game and not just choose one specific brand.
What Are The Best Callaway Irons For An Average Golfer?
Average golfers will want to choose between the Callaway Rogue, Callaway Mavrik, and the Callaway Apex DCB.
Depending on what you want to spend and what irons you can find in your exact specifications, these are the choices we would recommend.
Keep in mind that average golfers’ handicaps are sometimes trending up, and sometimes they are trending down. Try to consider that when you choose a golf iron and open your eyes a bit to the other options out there.
Conclusion: The Best Callaway Irons
Finding the best golf equipment on the market can sometimes feel like a job. Luckily we have done this job for you.
The entire new line of Apex Callaway irons is really impressive. It seems like Callaway finally put together all of their impressive technology and really came up with a great solution.
The Callaway Apex DCB is the best overall iron set simply because of the impressive ball speed and serious forgiveness.
If you are looking to be impressed with the capabilities of a golf iron, take the new Apex out on the golf course.
We have said it before, but we will say it again; we are unsure where Callaway can go from here.
