50 Words or Less
The Callaway CB wedge is designed to instill confidence in golfers’ short games. With a blend of classic looks and game improvement features, there should be a huge number of golfers who these clubs can benefit.
Introduction
The majority of golfers aren’t elite ball-strikers or single digit handicaps. So why would they play the same equipment as one? This is the logic behind the new Callaway CB wedge. In recent years, OEMs have invested heavily in technology to help add forgiveness on imperfect strikes. But where drivers and putters have seen massive innovations, wedges have often been left out. Callaway’s new product shows that doesn’t have to be the case.
Looks
The Callaway CB has classic wedge shaping. It’s easy to look at down by the ball. Size-wise, the face is noticeably a bit taller and wider than my gamers, the Callaway Jaws Raw (review HERE). The sole is much wider, the top line is a smidge chunkier. There is also just a touch of offset.
There are a few other visual cues that set the CB apart from some other wedges. First and perhaps most notably are the full face grooves. The gap wedge doesn’t have them, but the sand and lob wedges do. While they aren’t my preference, they are meant to give golfers the sense that the ball will come off well regardless of strike location. The faces also have a matte finish, which helps eliminate glare.
Sound & Feel
The sound is on the lower end of the spectrum. Between a higher pitched ‘click’ and a lower register ‘whack,’ it’s much closer to the latter.
The feel on chips is perhaps not as pleasurable as a traditional bladed wedge, but that also depends on quality of strike. Clipping one well still feels great. You won’t get a ton of feedback through the hands. Full shots feel solid and powerful. Apparently Callaway has placed something called Urethane Microspheres behind the face, which is meant to enhance sound and feel. I’ll take their word for it because the club feels pretty good.
Performance
The Callaway CB wedge does everything it’s supposed to do. Chips come off with plenty of spin. Considering the CB also features the aggressively milled Jaws grooves, that isn’t particularly surprising. Full shots fly high and straight. The cavity back seemed to have more impact on approach shots than around the greens, in terms of supporting the club’s forgiveness.
Around the greens, the wide sole of the sand or lob wedge is not particularly easy to manipulate. For that reason, I think it’s best suited for playing shots around the green with a straight face. The club is essentially telling the golfer, “Don’t overcomplicate this. Choose the proper club and make a confident stroke.”
Speaking of the face, I need to mention the full face grooves again. I’ve said before that they just aren’t for me, for a couple of reasons. But I can admit that I have struck a wedge off the toe where there are no grooves on more than one occasion, so I understand its performance benefit in an intimate way.
Another interesting performance feature is the grip. The CB features a longer grip developed in collaboration with Golf Pride that allows players to choke down further than normal to try to gain more control over delicate chips.
Conclusion
If you’re one of those golfers who uses game improvement irons and blade wedges, this club was made for you. It does almost everything a traditional wedge does and provides forgiveness that a blade can’t match. There are lots of golfers out there who should probably be looking at moving into this or a similar wedge this year.
Visit Callaway HERE
Callaway CB Wedge Price & Specs
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7 Comments
Hey Dylan, I have the previous version of this in a 56, the CB MD.
Is there really any reason to ‘upgrade’ to these? Other than improved aesthetics, they largely look very similar with very similar features (CB, full face grooves, longer grip…etc).
Hi Johnny,
I don’t have any experience with the CB MD so I can’t comment on that.
I recently put these into play about a month ago and they’ve been outstanding for my game (11 handicap playing TM Stealth irons). IMO the feel is much better than the previous Callaway CB Wedge version to answer Johnny and I also like the better than Cleveland’s cavity back wedges. I do play them with the graphite shaft. As the review mentioned they play straightforward so no need to overthink your set up (perfect for me since I’m always overthinking golf – I’d do much better with a caddie telling me what to do:-). Would highly recommend these wedges if you’re looking for something in the game improvement category.
#DoubleSecret
I would really like to try the 56 degree sand wedge. I have a feeling it would help improve my sand game.
Appreciate your reviews guys. I am high handicap and really getting serious about golf for the first time and have a long way to go.
Really intrigued by the cavity back and forgiveness these offer. Recently got fitted into Mizuno JPX23 Hot Metal Irons- wondering if I should stick with something like the Mizuno S23 wedges for a similar feel or give these CB’s a shot.
Dan,
I would prioritize performance over feel by a pretty strong margin. My advice would be to get fit for your wedges the same way you were fit for you irons, and pay particular attention to fitting the wedge shafts so they make sense with your iron set.
Best,
Matt
Just played my first round with new CB 48, 52, 56 and 60. Played 3 of the 4 and already happy with the weight and swing of the clubs.