Callaway Big Bertha Fusions irons

Callaway Big Bertha Fusion iron

Price: £899 (steel shaft), £999 (graphite)

Callaway can sometimes over complicate the publicity surrounding its clubs with ‘tech speak’ that can blind a potential purchaser.

Descriptions of the fine-tuned technology that obviously goes into club manufacturer can send even the seasoned golf club reviewer staring blandly into middle distance like actress Amanda Burton in any scene you care to mention from ‘Silent Witness.’

It happened again when the company brought out the Big Bertha Fusion irons at the end of 2004, describing them as ‘the most untraditional traditional-looking irons ever.’

What!

I didn’t even bother getting clarification; I merely accepted the opportunity to review the unusual-looking clubs and base my findings here on performance.

I don’t pretend that they’ll put 10 yards on every iron in your bag, or fly unerringly towards the target each time, but they feel delicious.

And that must be down to three new components - a Tunite alloy in the head, a lightweight titanium face insert, and a hard thermoplastic SenSert (similar to the material they used to make modern-day bowls) which gives the appearance of a black muscle back to each club in the set.

The alloy cradle apparently allows 77% of the clubhead mass to be repositioned around the perimeter of the head to help create greater resistance to twisting at impact. Combined with the lighter titanium face insert and the thermoplastic, vibration is reduced to give shots a crisp, responsive feel.

I hit dozens of good shots with these clubs that hardly made any impression on my fingers’ Richter scale and even the long irons flew powerfully without any hint of mishit.

At address the look is of a confidence-inspiring, slightly rounded, oversize head – the hallmark of a club for the game improver. In the swing, the club provides a nicely balanced tool for the long and mid-irons and around the green, the shorter irons deliver a soft, controlled feel.

At a thousand quid for a nine-club set (3-iron to sand wedge) featuring the RCH 75i graphite shaft, it’s a hefty price to pay for forgiveness. But these clubs and their 21st century technology are built to last and will retain their looks into the next decade. If I could keep ‘em, I would but the Callaway courier’s schedule to collect anytime soon.

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