New Callaway CB Wedges

[1860VS]

Rained all night and really hard upstream yesterday. I was up very early. Yes, I was on line at 0300 today. Course was closed because the swollen river was covering some of the back 9. My buddy let me go out and play around at dayn in the remaining drizzle and then clearing skies.. Since I had all day to play and not hold anyone up, I hit wedges (58 SM7 Vokey, RTX CBX, T22 and CB in real life, to real greens that I know well.. The CB's like to hit it tall. They stop very well because of that. The spin is more than adequate, but they are the lowest spinning of the bunch. The full swing distance is 2nd shortest, just slightly longer than the T22.however, the difference from longest to shortest isnt even 10 yards so it really isnt a factor.
BUT, time after time hitting 3 balls with each club into the very receptive greens the CB kept having the lowest average distance to the pin., Partly because less than stellar swings were being forgiven ( so were the CBX's) but a big part was the descent angle stop vs the super spin stop that often resulted in a close drop sucking too far away from the pin, especially on the usual tilted towards the fairway configuration.
And chipping was the usual predictability I am becoming accustomed to with these wedges. Just great.
Then my kid got us a time at a local shooting gallery. It was one of the few places open, 54 holes packed into 300 acres. The wind was up by then, 15-20 mph. CB's showed their mettle. Knock downs, long releasing pitches, high quick stopping full shots., They did it all with aplomb. They are pretty darn good IMHL.......

 

[IceyShanks]

I was able to use these, primarily the 56 on many full shots and the 60 for numerous shots out of the sand in the last couple rounds and I now have some favorite shots to hit.

The 56 from that 100-110 yard range was money for me, launched great and landed nice and soft, was able to almost hole out on a couple for kick in birdies.

From the sand, I've used both, but I think I enjoy the 60 more as it seems to give me a bit more loft/launch and I'm able to feel like I have a reasonable putt left to get that sandy up and down.

 

[Just_Brad]

From the sand, I've used both, but I think I enjoy the 60 more as it seems to give me a bit more loft/launch and I'm able to feel like I have a reasonable putt left to get that sandy up and down.

From the sand what would you usually use for club?

Do you find you need to alter your swing/setup at all to hit the CB out of the sand, compared to what you would normally do?

 

[IceyShanks]

From the sand what would you usually use for club?

Do you find you need to alter your swing/setup at all to hit the CB out of the sand, compared to what you would normally do?

I used to use a 58* quite a bit from the sand.

I haven't changed much at all, for me I play it pretty straight, maybe slight open on the club face, stance a bit open.

I will say from all of these, more than 50% style shots, the stock shaft feels great, loads a bit, but not too soft.

 

[Nappy]

Sick kids delayed this post, so my apologies.

Last Friday played a full 18 holes with the fire department crew. It was 95 and about as hot as I've ever played a round in Wisconsin. Felt like I was in Myrtle Beach again. So no pictures, but I wanted to post some thoughts. I'm struggling with full shots with the 54 degree still. It's considerably shorter than my Jaws Raw 54 and I'm not exactly sure why. That said I toyed around with it around the greens and the thing is a weapon on bump and run shots. I'm able to get it to spin considerably more than a full swing and the forgiveness has gotten me really close on some chips. It's actually been really fun to mess around with. My original thought was to take the Jaws wedges and the CB's out to the chipping green before the round and get some comparisons with bump and run, but honestly it was so hot that I didn't do that or I would've never made it 18 holes. The plan is to hopefully do that this coming Friday and get some pictures along with it.

On Saturday I played a casual 9 holes with some friends. We played best ball, but I again used the 54 degree on a couple bump and runs and the 60 degree on some full shots 70 yards and in. I'm still struggling with distance control, but I am still loving the forgiveness I've seen.

I handed these to a buddy who's been struggling chipping and he was blow away at how easy they were to hit. Gonna try and do some more practice with him later. He struggles to trust his wedges, but his eyes really lit up when he started hitting these.

 

[mson]

Played 18 over the weekend and 9 this morning. Still seeing solid improvement in my chipping and approach shots overall with these, with the most noticeable improvement inside 50 yard range. These just help simplify my short game. I can pretty much focus on hitting a stock shot every time without thinking too much and these will perform well while giving me room for error. I struggle a bit on really tight lies around the green or if I try to really open up the face, as I've thinned the ball a handful of times. Not sure if its because of the higher bounce or a me issue...probably a me issue. The less I try to do and manipulate, the better results I'm seeing with these.

I was able to get some really good spin on a few shots this morning where the ball checked up nicely. I just dont think I'm consistent enough in my delivery to where I'm maximizing the spin and really would see a noticeable difference. Putting aside any comparison to other wedges and only looking at the CB in isolation, I'm happy with the spin and I'm getting what I need out of it for my game right now.

Full swings have been a little hit or miss lately depending on the day and my swing. Could be that these are going ~5 yards shorter and I'm trying to compensate by swinging a little harder. Maybe its the different shaft weight from my SM8s that I've gotten used to over time. Feels like its just a swing issue, but not really sure and will continue to work on the full swings a bit more.

 

[Nappy]

Hitting these in the yard again last night. Picked up the Jaws Raw first and then the CB. Gotta say that after not grabbing a club for a few days, the CB wedges just felt better in hand. Yeah the shaft is lighter, but the feel off the face is just more appealing overall to me right now. It's not an in depth review, just something I noticed while putzing around and watching the kids ride their bikes. Still questioning the shaft a bit and wondering if a different shaft would be lethal, but overall just really happy with them.

As long as the toilet plague that's been affecting my kids the last few days doesn't hit me I'll be playing league tonight. Then a charity outing on Friday that I'm playing in. Hopefully I can provide some more pictures and comments then.

 

[mson]

Got in 18 today and the CBs helped save what would have been a horrible round. I was struggling off the tee and my irons were going all over the place so I was missing the green a lot, but the CBs were putting on a show all around the greens. I had a lot of great up and downs to save par, couple approaches that got me a birdie and a coupe of decent outs from the bunker. Never would I have thought my wedges and short game would have saved a round for me, but here we are. Just shows me how easy these things are to play.

I think one of highlights of the round was when I took the 54 from about 80 yards out on 18. It was a two tiered green surrounded by water and pin was towards the back on the upper tier. Initially thought I hit it a too hard and headed for the water, but actually got loads of spin as the ball checked up about 5 ft from the hole.

Really hard not to like the CBs right now.

 

[mson]

Got in 9 this morning. Didn’t find myself having to hit any full shots with it today, but had lots of 20-30 yarders and a bunker to play out of. I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’ve had any bad chunks with the CBs since I’ve started testing them which is saving me several strokes. I definitely catch the turf behind the ball a lot, but have been able to still see good results pretty consistently. These glide through the turf and get through sticky rough well.

Had my first real test out of the bunker with the CB today. I had about a 30 yard bunker shot with pin toward the back half of the green. I used the 54 and the club just worked. Club got through the sand no problem. I hit it a good amount past the pin, but the CB generated enough spin to hold the back of the green. I don’t practice bunkers Bert much (or at all) and these make it a little easier.

Confidence in my short game continues to build every time I use these.

 

[Nappy]

I've played a lot of golf in the last few days. 9 holes for league on Wednesday. 18 holes for a charity outing yesterday and another 9 hole charity outing this morning (Saturday). Wednesday was a disaster with the wedges. I don't think the wedges were to blame at all, but entire night fell apart after a 25 foot birdie putt on the first hole just lipped out. Seemed to throw me off and I just couldn't keep my focus for the rest of the night.

Friday was a different story. I forced myself to only hit the 54 on the front 9. And tried to only hit the 60 on the back. The 54 has become a really good bump and run weapon and I even hit a couple of full shots from 85 yards and in that I was able to stick within 20 feet of the pin. The 60 did produce a couple of right misses of the toe. Those were solely due to my lack of focus, but it was the first time I'd had any errant shots that way. Friday I had issues still controlling distance with the 60, but this morning I was judging distances perfectly and rolling some balls close to the pin.

Overall I gotta say I continue to be impressed by the wedges. I did pull out the 60 degree Jaws Raw wedge on one hole and I immediately missed the forgiveness that I get from the CB. It's just so easy to hit and get that feedback right away of whether or not you hit it square. Holding greens has been hard again because the rain has missed us for over a week and a half. Hopefully some rain tomorrow will make the greens a little more receptive.

Not sure what else I can add right now with the wedges. My bump and run comparison between the Jaws Raw and CB wedges will have to wait until I think the greens are bit more back to normal around here. I just haven't been able to get any extra time before any of my rounds to make that happen, but it will happen soon.

The glare - hasn't been an issue for me. Played in humid and bright sunlight all day yesterday and it never distracted me at all. People still comment on how shiny the wedges are, but I haven't had a single problem with it.

Sounds/Feel - still addictive and still feels so good. LIke I mentioned before there's almost instant feedback on a good shot.

Distance - I'm getting better at judging where I need to hit these on the green. I'm still not able to spin them much and again I'm sure that's on me and how I deliver the club. I never spun the Jaws Raws much so it shouldn't be much of a surprise. I just thought that maybe this grind would be a little easier to do that, but it hasn't been the case yet.

Overall - just happy to be testing these. Every time out I have at least two or three great shots with these. And every time out I get them a little bit more dialed in.

Hoping that my daughter and I can get out to the driving range at some point this weekend and I can offer some more thoughts.

 

[Mmaynard11]

It sure helps on the miss hits!

I like the sound of this…

 

[Nappy]

Got in 9 this morning. Didn’t find myself having to hit any full shots with it today, but had lots of 20-30 yarders and a bunker to play out of. I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’ve had any bad chunks with the CBs since I’ve started testing them which is saving me several strokes. I definitely catch the turf behind the ball a lot, but have been able to still see good results pretty consistently. These glide through the turf and get through sticky rough well.

Had my first real test out of the bunker with the CB today. I had about a 30 yard bunker shot with pin toward the back half of the green. I used the 54 and the club just worked. Club got through the sand no problem. I hit it a good amount past the pin, but the CB generated enough spin to hold the back of the green. I don’t practice bunkers Bert much (or at all) and these make it a little easier.

Confidence in my short game continues to build every time I use these.

I'm going to play a round by myself one of these days where I'm going to intentionally get in as many bunkers as possible. I think I've been in one the entire time I've had these. That's good for my game, but not good for reviews. The one shot I've had was not good, but it was also the first one. I'd love to spend more time and see if these make as big of a difference as I think they will.

Glad to hear they're working well out of the sand for you!

 

[Mmaynard11]

The more I think about these the more I really want to try them out on a course. I’m really interested in them from a full swing perspective

I might need to go pick one of these up.

 

[Bryndom]

I might need to go pick one of these up.

I’m really on the fence about these. As a full swing wedge - I could get a lot from it

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Glad to hear the new CB's are working. Does/did any of you have problems with the prior gen CB's in wet/compact sand? They are so light, it is hard to use in the sand, especially when it's wet. I have a graphite shaft in them.

 

[IceyShanks]

I like the sound of this…

It truly is something I've needed in a wedge for quite some time and these really shine in.

 

[Nappy]

I’m really on the fence about these. As a full swing wedge - I could get a lot from it

What keeps you on the fence about them? Curious if I can answer any questions you have.

 

[Bryndom]

What keeps you on the fence about them? Curious if I can answer any questions you have.

I’m really concerned about turf interaction on the full shot. I’m pretty afraid of chunking this consistently…. It’s my miss with my full swing wedges

 

[Nappy]

I’m really concerned about turf interaction on the full shot. I’m pretty afraid of chunking this consistently…. It’s my miss with my full swing wedges

Gotcha. Can tell you I've had no issue with the 60 degree on full swings. Typically its reserved for 60 yards and in, but I've actually reach a couple over 70 yards. Its been consistently easy to get through the turf and I've even had no issues on the dryer fairways making solid contact.

The 54 has been a different story. Up until the other day I struggled on full shots with it. I think the weight of that club has thrown me. This is the club where I really wonder if a different shaft would help me a lot. I have a recoil proto shaft I could put into it, but I want to give the current shaft a fair shot. Typically until 70-90 yards is what I want my 54 for. 90 yards could even be pushing it. I hit a 84 yard full shot into the middle of the green the other day.

I'll take some full swings with both when I get out later this week - hopefully find some range time and maybe a quick practice round. I definitely understand your concerns.

 

[IceyShanks]

I’m really concerned about turf interaction on the full shot. I’m pretty afraid of chunking this consistently…. It’s my miss with my full swing wedges

It used to be with my old wedges, the beefyness and design on these truly help it almost not chunk on full shots.

 

[mson]

I’m really concerned about turf interaction on the full shot. I’m pretty afraid of chunking this consistently…. It’s my miss with my full swing wedges

Ive always had a tough time with chunking, but I’ve found it pretty rare to full on chunk these around the green or full shots. Even if I catch it heavier, these are still getting through the turf and I’m able to get a decent outcome. On several occasions, I’ve caught it heavy from about 90 yards out and I’ve still been able to catch the front edge of the green to put myself in putting position, where it normally would have been a chunk and I would have had to hit another wedge to get on.

The help with my chunking has been one of the best things with this wedge.

 

[mson]

Spent some time at the range this morning working specifically on full swings with the CBs.

Sound/feel - one of the really big positives about these wedges. All around great sound and feel on all shots, but really liking it on fuller swings. They just sound very solid and have a soft feel to them that I'm enjoying.

Turf interaction - as mentioned above, I love the turf interaction as these get through the grass easily without any issues. I don't recall ever full on chunking these wedges since I've started testing them, which I tend to do a lot.

Distance - I think I've hit these enough now to say they're consistently around 5 yards shorter compared to my SM8s (just my eyeball test at the range and on the course). Not necessarily a bad thing, just something I need to mentally adjust to when I'm playing.

Ball flight - I've mentioned this before, but ball launches HIGH. I'm not great at flighting shots, so high ball flight it is for me. I still haven't 100% gotten used to it, but I know the height has helped me stick some close to the pin out on the course.

Shaft - it is much lighter than what I'm used to in a wedge, but when I really focus on putting a much easier, smoother swing on it, I've been seeing good results. Anything more than that and I seem to struggle to hit good shots. When I was trying to squeeze out the extra 5 yards to get comparable distance, I wasn't really hitting these that well, but once I backed off a bit and started playing it 5 yards shorter, I started hitting these much better.

Forgiveness - I was hitting the ball pretty much everywhere but the center of the face this morning, including several way out on the toe. Still saw fairly consistent results on every shot.

There certainly are some things to get used like distance and ball flight on full swings (which just takes time), but overall feels like I'm seeing far more consistent results with the CBs and minimizing really bad misses, without having to compromise on important things like sound/feel. Been exclusively using these since I got them for testing and still really enjoying these.

 

[GolferDad66]

Forgiveness - I was hitting the ball pretty much everywhere but the center of the face this morning, including several way out on the toe. Still saw fairly consistent results on every shot.

This has been my experience as well. And the most pleasant surprise of testing these clubs. As a high handicapper, they have won me over and are in my bag now. I am getting more and more comfortable with them every day. And I have almost never hit them with the leading edge. Maybe 2X since I have started testing these in total.

 

[Nappy]

Before league the other night I was afforded the luxury of spending some extra time at one of the chipping/putting greens at my club. Not as much time as I would’ve liked but got to play around with different ways to put some spin on these and primarily did some bump and run comparisons. I haven't had much time to try and manipulate the way I hit these, but I actually got some balls to just spin and stop pretty good. I wasn't sure I could do that with the sole, but I was wrong, just took me a little bit of time to figure out how to deliver the club head.

First picture though wanted to show how the 60 is holding up (the 54 looks pretty similar). A few scratches which are hard to see with the chrome and the picture. And you can see the scuff marks or other marks from bag chatter, etc. The other marks will come off with a magic eraser or even a good scrub I think, either way it's held up well, especially the face. I remember when I first go the clubs I accidently scraped one and got a big scratch on the face. I thought oh no these are going to get messed up quick, but that's not the case at all. These still look good and i still have no issues with the glare in the sun. I lost my brush a week ago and it’s yet to be replaced, so forgive me if these are dirty.



So my goal that night was trying to land it just on the green and see how far they’d run between the Jaws Raw and the CB 60 degree. (I did the same with the 54 but had no time for pictures). Used the same ball for all 3 shots (Chromesoft X LS 360 TT). Was playing in the longer cut just off the fringe. Didn't have a lot of time so just hit 3 balls with each and tried to let the results speak for themselves.



First shots are with the Jaws Raw. Little less forgiving but still feel good to me when I swing them. Like I’ve mentioned before I prefer the weight and feel of the head on the CBS these days. The Jaws just feel less stable when I swing. Greens have been fast at my club so all I was try is to bump this up on the green and let it roll towards the pin. If I had tried hitting it at the pin, the guy practicing on the other side might've taken some friendly fire to the chest. Keep in mind I’m not the most skilled golfer these days but results with Jaws 60 below.



Same type of shots with the CB 60 degree and they just ran farther. To be fair this is not a representation of how close they got to the pin. Just literally trying to land a bump and run on the first foot of the green and see where it ends up. I was aiming towards the same pin, just to have an aiming point.



I did the same type of thing with the 54 and had oddly different results because I think I managed to blade the CB for the first time ever but still very similar. Just more rollout from a face that seems a bit springier…I guess.

Again. Quick test - and not really scientific but wanted to try and provide some feedback from questions asked earlier in the thread. I’ll repeat my overall thoughts with these wedges stay the same. Forgiveness and Fun come to my head every time. They just feel good when you hit them and for someone who has struggled with wedges a lot the past few years, this is a welcome change. I had one bunker experience the other night and it wasn't positive, but I'm attributing that to having literally no practice out of them this year and a terrible swing on my part. I put some chips close Wednesday night because I’m figuring out the way these fly. Hoping to get on the simulator with them next week. For reasons I've yet to understand the landlord who owns are building at work, put a simulator in the basement and it looks like it's available to everyone. So hopefully I can reserve an hour or two and get some numbers to add in here. Looks like my next day on the course won’t be until next Wednesday unless the kids and I get out to hit some balls.

 

[Tee/Ski]

I may have to experiment with replacing my set gap 50* with one of these. I’m not all that happy with how I’m hitting that gap wedge.