PLAYING WITH … CALLAWAY ROGUE DRIVER FAMILY
Cost: $719.99. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Writer (GA Handicap 9.4)
Jimmy Emanuel gets his hands on the Callaway Rogue driver family. Find out which model will suit you best.
MODELS PLAYED: Rogue with 9° loft, fitted with Project Hzrdus shaft, Rogue Sub Zero with 9° loft, fitted with Project X Even Flow shaft and Rogue Draw with 10.5° loft, fitted with Aldila Synergy shaft. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Putting the Rogue driver down at address for the first time I immediately noticed the increased footprint compared to the Epic, with its larger appearance inspiring confidence and an almost can’t-miss feeling. The Draw model possesses the same confidence-boosting look, while the Sub Zero features a more compact appearance that is also slightly open and is closer to my personal preference.
Similarly to the noticeable appearance changes from the Epic models, the sound of all three Rogue drivers was louder to my ear, resulting in a more powerful and firmer feel off the clubface. The Sub Zero again was my pick in this regard, due to its slightly more solid feel. HOW THEY PERFORMED: The ball flight of all three drivers set to the same loft were as expected, with the Sub Zero consistently the lowest, the standard Rogue next and the Draw the highest flying. The Sub Zero’s penetrating flight was particularly strong in windy conditions but the standard model was not launching way up in the air for me by any means, and was within a metre or two of the Sub Zero in terms of distance on similar strikes.
With my look and feel preferences leading me to believe the Sub Zero would be the pick for me from the outset, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Rogue standard performed for me again and again during my testing.
The flight, while higher, was strong and straight, with a very slight draw on occasion, and my mis-hits managed to find a few more fairways with less distance loss than with the Sub Zero. In addition to being easier to hit, the standard driver was also long in calm conditions, besting the Sub Zero on multiple occasions, albeit by a small amount, and could be made to fade and draw when required without too much manipulation.
Despite not being consistently much longer for me, as I suspected might have been the case prior to hitting any shots, the Sub Zero impressed me with its slight fade ball flight, look and feel as
well as more forgiving performance than is typical of many low-spin models. It also produced the majority of my standout drives during testing that jumped off the face and seemed to stay in the air forever. Unlike the Epic models, the Sub Zero is the only model to feature adjustable weighting, with two small weights offering spin and launch changes. Moving the heavier weight to the back, I noticed a fractionally higher flight but more left and right movement in the air when slightly mis-hit, prompting me to leave the heavy weight at the front in the more forward CG position.
Although not designed for my game, and my typical left miss with driver, the Draw does as its name suggests and never once moved left-toright in the air for me. In fact when testing the draw, I attempted to keep the face open to test the effectiveness of the weighting on multiple occasions and the ball still turned over slightly, or at worst stayed straight and slightly right of the target.
Overall, all three Rogue drivers impressed me in varying ways that underlined the range’s appeal to a wide spectrum of players.
The Draw does just that and is perfectly suited to any player who fights a fade ball flight and is extremely easy to hit.
The standard model stood out for its combination of forgiveness and distance, making it a perfect driver for the majority of golfers. The larger look at address and more powerful sound took a little getting used to, but eventually gave me added confidence to swing with freedom knowing the forgiveness of the head would look after me if I didn’t make my best swing.
Despite almost being swayed by the standard model’s all-round performance, the Sub Zero was my pick of the three models. The slightly firmer feel than the Epic Sub Zero is an improvement for mine and the penetrating ball flight suited my eye perfectly.
While the Rogue models didn’t dramatically exceed the Epic and Epic Sub Zero in distance for me, the added forgiveness makes them a more friendly option that gives nothing away in other key performance areas.