Callaway CB Wedges Review

Callaway CB wedges boast the “most aggressive groove in golf” and are designed to help boost confidence in your short game.

“Versatility Never Played Easier,” Callaway tell us about the new CB (Cavity Back) wedges, which have been built to deliver short-game forgiveness with high levels of spin and feel.

Designed to be one of the best golf wedges for the game-improvement market (mid-high handicappers), CB replaces the Mack Daddy CB in Callaway’s lineup.

The shaping inspires confidence at address with the cavity back designed to benefit playability on all types of wedge shots.

Available from 48º to 60º in two-degree increments, the CB has a larger head size and there are full face grooves from 54º upwards, making them even easier to hit.

There’s a pre-worn leading edge on the sole which acts like a skid plate to avoid you from digging it into the turf, and it’s paired with a higher bounce for even more forgiveness.

But while these wedges are targeting golfers who need that confidence boost from 130 yards and in, you should still expect incredible feel.

First for Callaway wedges

The Callaway CB is the brand’s first wedge to feature their Urethane Microspheres. Strategically placed behind the striking area of the face, they enhance both feel and sound.

You’ll also find the brand’s famous Jaws grooves – the most aggressive groove in golf – to create a spin machine. The grooves undergo a face blast treatment to increase the roughness of the surface, helping provide spin on those short shots around the green.

They extend across the face in the 54º, 56º, 58º and 60º models to ensure groove-to-ball contact from every location – ideal if you want to open the face up or don’t quite make the perfect contact.

Premium Shafts and Grips

The CB uses a True Temper Elevate 95 as the stock steel shaft, with a Project X Catalyst graphite in 65g, and UST F1 in a women’s flex.

Callaway have partnered with Golf Pride to create a special wedge grip that is longer than standard. Why? It allows you to choke down on the wedge for enhanced distance control, making each wedge even more versatile.

Video: How does the Callaway CB compare to other leading 2024 wedges?

What Callaway say about the CB wedges

Patrick Dawson, Callaway’s Senior R&D Manager, and Paul Winterhalter, Product Manager, offer their insight on the CB wedge and the thinking behind the model.

The construction

Patrick: We brought in a lot of the pieces that were successful in the Mack Daddy CB (and) continued those, but then added our Urethane Microspheres which is our big story for this (design). That’s technology that we brought in from the irons landscape to the wedges. And what that allowed us to do is to create a big, forgiving head that sounds like a more muscleback shape.

“But we didn’t rest on our laurels there, we also did some tweaks to the sole that we got based on feedback from the marketplace and trying to improve the soles to make them even easier for the core of the market, plus if you want to open it up and flop it, you can with this product.”

Paul: “We’re bringing everything with this product, the Urethane Microspheres is a new and novel concept to bring into this category, Jaws Grooves with face blast that have great spin on the green, the Tri-level Sole with a wider, more full sole, and then extending the grooves across the face. So (we have) some great elements to bring a well-rounded product that’s going to be really forgiving, versatile, and great for that core of the market.”

Urethane Microspheres

Patrick: “Up the Y Axis (in the graphic above) is a list of frequencies, and the color is how loud it is, and how far it goes down the X Axis is how long does that sound persist. What we’re trying to do with any design, especially on wedges, is we’re trying to get it as quiet as possible and/or as short as possible.

“With the peak on the new CB Wedge, it’s much shorter (compared to Mack Daddy CB). That will lead to a much more solid-sounding club.”

Paul: “In testing, we’ve surveyed hundreds of players and we know that feel always comes back ranked highest, they’re prioritizing feel. And a lot of times they’re not able to articulate what feel means, it can be very subjective. Your team on this looked at a way to look at it objectively, we’re basically seeing with and without the benefits by implementing Urethane Microspheres…there’s a perceivable difference.”

Design Features

Paul: “To recap, what we’re bringing to this product is confidence and forgiveness from that player-friendly shaping, really making this something that’s going to help those game-improvement players a lot around the greens.

“That premium feel from what we’re calling game-changing construction with Urethane Microspheres, and always talking about that spin element, implementing those Jaws Grooves that are extending across the toe, bringing that aggressive spin, and enhanced control.

“The other element that we are going to be calling out with the sole is the Tri-Level Sole, helping tie in that versatility – this club is not a one-trick pony, you’ll be able to hit a variety of shots with this wedge.”

Components

Paul: “We wanted to complement the wedge with a full offering of premium components. The stock steel shaft is going to be the True Temper Elevate, bringing this into a wedge flex we think is going to do well. The Project X Catalyst as a graphite option has had great success. And on the grip side, the SG1 from Golf Pride is an 11.5-inch grip, so players can choke down and have a little more control. On the women’s side, the premium UST Recoil, and the F1 Flex, and then the Lamkin Sonar with the red cap.”

Bounce Profiles

Patrick: “This is a piece that differentiates this from something like a main line Jaws launch. We were choosing the bounce that was right for every loft, as opposed to giving bounce options for everybody to pick from – that tends to make it more difficult to get people into the right bounce. For these ones, we try to flow it nicely starting from a Pitching Wedge at what a bounce would be in a normal set wedge, and then use that as our basis to bounce out the rest of them.

“Starting at the 10 degrees of bounce for the Pitch, then move into the Gaps and a little bit more where you start to get steeper. Then you get into the Sands, you’re getting steep and soft conditions – like soft sand and mud. Back to the lob we take a little bit of bounce off because you’re around the greens for shorter shots.”

READ NEXT
– Wedges ranked by spin
– Callaway Jaws Full Toe wedge review

BECOME A TODAY’S GOLFER MEMBER: Unlimited access to premium content and exclusive rewards!

Callaway CB Wedges

US RRP: $159.99 (steel), $169.99 (graphite)
UK RRP: £149 (steel), £159 (graphite)

Lofts/Bounce: 48º/10º, 50º/12º, 52º/12º, 54º/14º, 56º/14º, 58º/12º, 60º/12º (Full-face grooves from 54º up)

Stock shafts: True Temper Elevate 95 (steel), Project X Catalyst 65g (graphite), UST F1 (women's)

Stock grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet SG1 11.5" (men's) | Lamkin Sonar (women's)

Launched: June 2023

Replacing: Callaway Mack Daddy Cb