Callaway Golf's Epic line has expanded to now include the Epic and Epic pro irons, marking the company's foray into the semi-luxury equipment market.
And, yes, the Epic irons use Jailbreak technology -- at least a concept very close, though not exactly the same thing as found in its larger cousins.
Callaway Golf Epic and Epic Pro irons
The company formally announced the irons May 23, and both the Epic and Epic Pro irons use the same steel cage-like structure as the foundation for the clubs. Then, a pair of titanium bars in the back of the cage connect the sole and topline akin to how Jailbreak is designed in the Great Big Bertha Epic line of drivers and fairway woods. The idea behind Jailbreak technology is to allow the connected parts of the club to flex better together, delivering more energy and ball speed at impact.
In its research, Callaway has realized that stiffening the iron's Exo-Cage body helps the face flex at impact to deliver improved ball speeds. Further increasing ball speeds is limiting the use of material that transitions the Face Cup 360 -- thinner than 1 mm in spots -- to the sole, helping flex on hits low on the face for more forgiveness.
By hollowing out the hosel, Callaway was able to move mass to its Internal Standing Wave technology, using steel-tungsten alloy that's injected into a mold and then welded in the head for specific center of gravity locations. Near one-third of each iron's weight (3-8) is in the plug. CG is lower in longer irons for forgiveness and a higher launch, and it's higher in short irons for more spin and versatility.
The company says the 3-7-irons in the Epic irons deliver coefficient of restitution numbers up against the USGA's equipment limit, meaning more distance in what's akin to a game-improvement iron in the Epic.
The Epic Pro -- which was really the basis for the Epic, instead of the other way around -- is for better players, trading in less offset and weaker lofts with a slimmer all-around look in exchange for better workability and the look they want. The idea was to produce an iron that could beat the well-lauded Apex irons, with Callaway saying the Epic Pro is about a half-club longer.
The Epic and Epic Pro irons will be available June 16 and come in at $250 per iron, meaning an eight-iron set with Project X LZ steel shafts comes in at $2,000. The price tag goes up to $2,240 ($30 extra per club) for a set of eight with UST Mamiya Recoil graphite shafts. There are also models available up or down 5 grams off the standard models for better fitting.
Callaway Golf Epic hybrids
The Callaway Epic hybrid uses some of the same technology from the woods, including using triaxial carbon to reduce the crown weigh to 5 grams to have more discretionary weight. The company's 455 Hyper Speed Face Cup technology helps preserve ball speeds across the face. The injection molded Standing Wave plugs are adopted from the Epic irons to deliver lower center of gravity in a mid-sized hybrid.
The Callaway Golf Epic hybrid is available June 9 for $280 each in 18-, 20-, 23- and 26-degree options with a stock UST Recoil 760 graphite shaft.
