Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Irons Review – Still Good And Forgiving For High Handicappers?

Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Irons Review – Still Good And Forgiving For High Handicappers?

“The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons debuted in 2004 so we are closing in on their 20th birthday.”

For an iron that  is 20 years-old, I was really surprised when I read about all the tech that went into them. It seems that the R&D team responsible for the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons project was very busy in 2004.

However, a lot of the technology that went into the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons isn’t really used in Callaway irons anymore – or maybe the tech has just evolved. In any case, I wanted to see what the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons were all about and see if they are still viable for high handicappers.

Are Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Irons Still Good?

“The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons have been developed with precise weight placement in mind.”

I will say that when I first picked up the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion 4-iron and took a few practice swings with it, it did feel pretty well-balanced. Apparently, this is thanks to a “tunite” sole that helps shift the weight to the perimeter of the club head. After looking at these irons for a long time, I now believe that this special sole cradle was necessary.

Why? Because despite the fact that the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons are firmly cemented in the game improvement category, they are not really cavity back irons. One of the purposes of a cavity back design is to remove mass from the back of the club and place it around the perimeter of the head for more stability on mis-hits.

The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons only have a couple of very shallow cavities in the back. The rest of the back is covered with plating. So the tunite sole cradle essentially takes the place of a cavity back design.

The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons also feature a 6-4 titanium face construction. The 6-4 titanium allows the face to be milled very thin while still retaining a high degree of strength.

When I started hitting balls, one of the first things I felt was the ball launch off the face like a rocket. The titanium face really does impart a hot feel to these irons. Even better, it also imparts fast ball speeds.

The back cavity is covered by a thermoplastic urethane insert that improves face flexion and dampens unwanted vibration.

And as you would expect from any Big Bertha clubs, the Fusion irons are big. They have a very chunky profile both in the bag and at address. They are oversized and have a good amount of offset.

Are the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Irons Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“No doubt about it. The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons look forgiving at address and play forgiving almost immediately.”

It didn’t take me very long to start sending arrows down the fairway. And when I wanted to, I could easily hit my normal draw. The offset gave me a wider draw than I’m used to at first. But again, once I fell into a groove with these irons, I found that I could hit a straight shot or affect a baby fade.

The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons are a shade on the weak-lofted side with the 9-iron coming in at 41°. But the soles are thick and the CG is placed low in the head. So they launch high with little effort. If you struggle hitting the ball too low, the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons can help.

The sweet spot is expansive from side-to-side. On lateral mis-hits, I definitely lost some ball speed; but the dispersion stayed tight. My balls weren’t flying into the trees on bad-mis hits and for the most part, I got very playable lies out of the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons.

The distance was right about average for more. With the 7-iron, I averaged a carry distance of 155.7 yards. But I suspect that a high handicapper with launch issues will actually get a significant distance boost.

Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Vs Callaway Edge Irons

“The Callaway Edge irons feature traditional cavity back construction.”

The Edge irons are also pretty big. The Callaway Big Bertha Fusions are just a bit larger from heel to toe though. The Edge irons also launch high but I found the Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons to fly straighter. The extra offset in the Fusion set will be a bigger help to high handicappers.