Callaway X-Tour Forged Irons

[hollisdude]

That's all I can say. I have had Pings all my life and just switched from the I3's to these new X-Tour babies from Callaway. They're my first forged set and they are sweetness. 10-15 yards better than anything Ping ever produced (including the G2s)

 

[pmg]

What do you mean by 10-15 yds?

 

[hollisdude]

by 10-15, I mean I am now hitting one club better with these forged clubs than the I3 Blades from Ping. I'm 56 years old and a 10 handicap. The best I could ever hit and control a Ping 8 iron was about 130-135. The Callaway X-Tour 8 iron will take me from 140-145. And I have steel shafts in both Pings and these new X-Tours. I'm just saying that when you hit a forged club - you get more distance than a perimeter weighted club like the Ping, because the weight is dispersed more in the Ping.

 

[forgotmyusername]

It may also be a difference in lofts and or shaft frequency. There is no standard loft although the trend has been to strengthen lofts over the years to make you believe their clubs go longer.

For instance, I play Titleist 990 irons and am looking at the Mizuno MP32s. The loft on the mizuno wedge is 2 degrees stronger at 47 versus 49 on the 990 set. All the other clubs are between half and one degree stronger. I used to play Mizuno MP 14s a long time ago and they were 2 degrees weaker across the board from other popular clubs.

Anyways, check the specs to see if there is a difference. You probably will get a little more distance on center cut shots with the forged, but the biggest difference should be consistent distance on good shots. Enjoy your new forgings.

I'm going tomorrow to get my first club fitting from a guy that works with several tour players. Should be interesting. I am particulary interested in mixing shafts and possibly heads on the longer and shorter irons.

If anyone has any info on these new Project X shafts I would like to hear it.

 

[pmg]

What are the lofts on those 8-irons? The lofts, as someone mentioned, are no longer standard, so that's the first thing I think of when someone hits the same club a different distance. My Ping Eye pw is 52 deg, and I now see that most pw's are around 48 degrees.

 

[capnamerca]

Forged != blade, just like cast != perimeter weighted. Sigh ...

 

[hollisdude]

My X-Tours are actually 1 degree stronger than my I3s. Even still, there is way more flush with these irons. You can feel it.

 

[Texas007]

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[pmg]

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[K-Man]

Where do you guys go to get good measurements of how far you really hit your irons.

I think my P-wedge goes about 115-120, and I have a lob wedge that I think flies around 80-85. I think I want to add a sand wedge for the 100 yd shot, but I have no idea what the loft is on my lob wedge or any of the 3 sand wedges I own...

I am getting tired of always running it up by feel with my P-wedge, just because I don't trust the distances with my lob wedge and/or sand wedge.

Oh, and I can definitely tell when my Tommy Armour 845 cast cavity backs "explode", but it's worth it at my handicap (15) to get the forgiveness on miss-hits.

 

[forgotmyusername]

The driving range.


Serioulsy though, where are you located? I went to an outfit with a launch monitor to get fitted and the readout showed carry distance. I only hit driver and 6I, but I imagine you can hit all your clubs to get an idea on distance. The Golf Galaxy here in SA has a launch monitor, as does Golf Stix Ltd, where I went.

 

[K-Man]

I'm in Austin near Morris Williams. I go to their range and there is a 100 yd pole, but I'm not even sure where it's measured from, and I can't really walk out there and check on 80 yds, 120 yds. etc.

 

[pmg]

Get a shag bag, and head to someplace flat. Used to be able to go anywhere around Austin, but it's getting crowded now. I used to have a string 150 yds long, with marks every ten yards. Range balls won't fly the right distance. And you'll need to be able to see where the balls land, not where they end up.

 

[JohnnyM]

get some bushnell rangefinders and head to the range to check on distances.

for the 100 yard shot, don't add another club if you already have a few wedges, but get dave pelz's short game bible and learn his 4 wedge/12 shot routine. it has tremendously helped my game.

 

[capnamerca]

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[txeconomist]

i wouldnt mind a set of them, they look pretty good. I have no idea what took them so long to make an iron with a THINER topline.

 

[wildman]

I have to agree that they look outstanding. If they play half as good as they look I see at set in my future.