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Callaway XHot Hybrid - Forum Testing Review

SuperStroke
Some awesome reviews over the past couple of days, gents.

Dev- That review was well done. Finding confidence in your game for those long approach shots is something that can be hard to find. Having long struggled with that area of my game, I fully understand how exciting it can be to finally be able to pull a club from the bag with confidence and hit a pure shot. Sounds like your game is really coming around, good job dude!
 
Dev and FW with a couple excellent reviews. Enjoyed them both very much gentlemen.
 
Well done Rickus. Doesnt sound like there will be much of an adjustment period or "getting used to it". I think having early confidence with this club is huge, not having any hesitancy or questioning your club selection due to past performances is something Im trying to get better about.

Also, love that you were able to get some side by side comparisons with your existing (or former now) hybo, seeing the differences with your eyes and yardage/results on the course is huge.

Great job again, looking forward to following along.
 
I love all the comparison pics, it's by far the best way to get a feel for how a club looks at sets up at address, especially if you've gamed or seen or even spent some time next to one of the comparison clubs.

Thank you all for putting them in when possible!
 
Man I want one now! Dev and FW, you guys literally answered any questions I was going to ask. That is the result of a solid review!
 
Ricky, that was an excellent review buddy. I'm excited to see you launch this thing in AC shortly! We'll have to compare notes.
 
I'm hoping I'll get home early enough tomorrow to hit the range before its too dark. But I'm excited for cheap buckets of range balls all weekend since I'll be home. I'll be able to do more photos and have some better input on these!
 
Darren K. said:
I'm hoping I'll get home early enough tomorrow to hit the range before its too dark. But I'm excited for cheap buckets of range balls all weekend since I'll be home. I'll be able to do more photos and have some better input on these!
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Awesome man. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!
 
Jjmorris said:
Awesome man. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!
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Range balls for $5 and unlimited course access beats paying $35+ for golf and $15+ for range buckets here in Pittsburgh. I'll make up for not hitting any balls since Saturday haha!
 
Great info it's pretty awesome you guys get to try this stuff out.
 
Nice job guys on the early reviews with these. I bought a 3h and 4h shortly after the testing was announced, and what you all are seeing so far matches up very well with what I'm seeing. Nice high ball flights, good distance, and very easy to hit. My only critique so far is also something you all have mentioned which is the ballooning wind performance.

After reading this thread this morning, I went out to the range at lunch specifically to compare distances between my Cleveland Mashie+ 2 hybrid (18 deg) and the X Hot 3 hybrid (19 degree). The range balls are a bit spotty quality wise, but after hitting a couple of each that appeared to be good, the distance between the two was pretty much the same to the X Hot being a few yards shorter (less than 5). The wind was pretty low today, and the X Hot performed very well in stiller air.

I'm actually seeing very similar pros and cons with the X Hot 3W as well, so I'm not sure what exactly is causing the wind performance to be poorer than I have seen in the past (shaft characteristic, higher backspin rate, ball type?), but it is something I look forward to reading your thoughts on as the testing progresses.
 
The ONLY thing shying me away from these at the moment is the chance to balloon in wind. Everything else about them is what I have been ultimately looking for in a hybrid recently.
 
Jjmorris said:
The ONLY thing shying me away from these at the moment is the chance to balloon in wind. Everything else about them is what I have been ultimately looking for in a hybrid recently.
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It was pretty windy when I played Saturday and never once did I have one balloon. I actually noticed a really piercing ball flight.
 
Darren K. said:
It was pretty windy when I played Saturday and never once did I have one balloon. I actually noticed a really piercing ball flight.
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That is good to know. I may have to get some Launch #'s to see what it would do for me.
 
Range Session with the Xhot Hybrid

Things have been quite hectic in my world for the past week, but I was able to get the XHot Hybrid out on the range for a quick session to get some first time swings with it. Having not swung the club before, I was quite intrigued by results others were having and how it would work for my game.

Some thoughts I had prior to hitting the range were;
- How would the smaller, more shallow face work for me?
- What kind of ball flight would I see?

So, with those two thoughts in mind, I hit the range. I started out off the tee, and then took some shots off the deck.

Off the tee; I enjoyed the Xhot off the tee. Results that I saw were quite impressive, sending the ball carrying past the 200 yard marker. Ball got up in the air quickly, and I was quite impressed that the flight of my shots was much higher than I have seen with other hybrids. One adjustment I did have here was that I needed to tee it a bit lower for better results. I had the tee only slightly above the ground.

Off the deck; More of the same that I was seeing off the tee. Good distance, highly accurate and playing a small cut, which I prefer. I was quite impressed with the turf interaction, or I should say, the lack of turf interaction. Seemed to make such smooth contact with the ground, slide across the top with no concern on digging or chunking. I hadnt paid much attention to the sole design, but with such a smooth feeling as it slid across the top of the ground, I have to say that Callaway did this one right!

Thinking back to what I had thought prior to getting on the range in regards to a smaller more shallow face of this hybrid, as well as pondering the ball flight I would see, I left the range thinking that the two go hand in hand. The design of the XHot hybrid really seems to promote a higher launching ball flight, and one that got up in the air quickly and with a nice decent downward that leads me to think that a longer shot in to a green that will hold it’s landing is a real possibility.

Distance; People talk about distance and how far you hit this club vs that club, which is fine and all, but what I want to know is; Do I know my yardage and do I hit it consistently? With the Xhot Hybrid, I found that I was carrying the ball just out past the 200 yard marker, dont have an exact distance (obviously), but I would speculate that on the course I will see around 210-215 yards with this one. More imporantly, shot after shot, it was in the same area. Being able to rely on a Hybrid for a consistent distance and being able to call your shot with it is a huge confidence builder.

THWACK - Yep. You read that right. Thwack. Best word I can use to describe the sound of this hybrid. Not loud or tingy like others, but just a solid sound that I loved. Gives you the “That was hammered” feeling. I need to capture some audio of this, because it just had that solid sound that made you want to hit it over and over again.

Overall Thoughts w/ the XHot; As I have said since before this testing thread started, from what I have read, the Hybrid is the hidden gem of the Xhot line. My first time out on the range with it made me realize what so many others have been saying. Performance was there through consistent distance and accuracy, A reliable and trusted ball flight shot after shot, and Versatility to hit it off the tee as well as effortlessly hit a bomb off the deck...all packed in to this matte gray beauty. As someone who dropped a hybrid out of the bag last year in favor of a long ironor a high lofted fairway wood, I have to say that this Hybrid has me stoked to have one back in the bag. Confidence is building, ready to get this one out on the course...
 
adwillingham said:
Nice job guys on the early reviews with these. I bought a 3h and 4h shortly after the testing was announced, and what you all are seeing so far matches up very well with what I'm seeing. Nice high ball flights, good distance, and very easy to hit. My only critique so far is also something you all have mentioned which is the ballooning wind performance.

After reading this thread this morning, I went out to the range at lunch specifically to compare distances between my Cleveland Mashie+ 2 hybrid (18 deg) and the X Hot 3 hybrid (19 degree). The range balls are a bit spotty quality wise, but after hitting a couple of each that appeared to be good, the distance between the two was pretty much the same to the X Hot being a few yards shorter (less than 5). The wind was pretty low today, and the X Hot performed very well in stiller air.

I'm actually seeing very similar pros and cons with the X Hot 3W as well, so I'm not sure what exactly is causing the wind performance to be poorer than I have seen in the past (shaft characteristic, higher backspin rate, ball type?), but it is something I look forward to reading your thoughts on as the testing progresses.
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My review will have a little info on that, though I don't specifically talk wind. For me, it's a higher spinning and launching hybrid. During my last couple rounds of LM testing I noticed a bit of a distance variance that was related directly to both, in comparison to earlier tests. Ball speeds were good though.

However, I was testing an R flex shaft. A different shaft could change all that.
 
Callaway XHot Hybrid - Forum Testing Review

Jjmorris said:
The ONLY thing shying me away from these at the moment is the chance to balloon in wind. Everything else about them is what I have been ultimately looking for in a hybrid recently.
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Like DK said, I played in the wind on Monday and hit quite a few shots directly into the wind. This particular shot was directly into the wind over water:
IMG_1734_zps4d989e20.jpg


Every other time I have played that hole I lay up to right in front of the water and hit a wedge into the green. I went after it with the XHot and the ball really pierce through the wind and I ended up about 50 yards over the water which is something I have never done. The few times on that hole I have hit HY or FW, the wind has grabbed the ball and knocked it either in the water or way short of the green. It was this hole and that shot with the XHot that put me over the edge and gave me so much confidence in this club.
 
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Hawk said:
My review will have a little info on that, though I don't specifically talk wind. For me, it's a higher spinning and launching hybrid. During my last couple rounds of LM testing I noticed a bit of a distance variance that was related directly to both, in comparison to earlier tests. Ball speeds were good though.

However, I was testing an R flex shaft. A different shaft could change all that.
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It may just really be that the head/shaft combo launch the ball so much higher with these, which is probably one of the desirable characteristic my older hybrids were lacking. One of my first shots with these was from the rough decently uphill to a small, hard green, and that ball flew high enough and landed vertically enough that it didn't move 5 feet from where it first hit.
 
adwillingham said:
It may just really be that the head/shaft combo launch the ball so much higher with these, which is probably one of the desirable characteristic my older hybrids were lacking. One of my first shots with these was from the rough decently uphill to a small, hard green, and that ball flew high enough and landed vertically enough that it didn't move 5 feet from where it first hit.
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Yea buddy. Like I said, a different shaft could change all that, but the height I saw was pretty much unrivaled compared to anything else I've tested in the last year.
 
Lots of solid thoughts rolling in. Definitely a fantastic looking club, like reading that it's high launching yet still penetrating. That's a fantastic combo for a hybrid as all too often we get that high launch that hits the wind and goes nowhere.

I am thinking this could fill the 17-25* range of the bag xtremely well.
 
I got to the range at about 6:30 tonight and bought a large bucket with the intent of only working on my driver and this X-Hot.

Got the driver work done, pulled the X-Hot for about 3 balls, and then the Heaven's opened up. HUGE downpour and lightning. I think I left about 60 balls still in the bucket...talk about a bummer.

However, the few balls I did hit with this club were more of the same. BEAUTIES! I love this thing. Seriously.
 
Some range time occurred this afternoon. Some XHot happened. Really enjoying this little club, and quite possibly the easiest hybrid I have ever hit off the deck. Love the small profile of it.
 
Hawk said:
Dev and FW with a couple excellent reviews. Enjoyed them both very much gentlemen.
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I could have written a review but I keep missing these reviewer selection thing. :-(
I second Hawk on DEV and FW with excellent reviews.
 
War Eagle said:
Some range time occurred this afternoon. Some XHot happened. Really enjoying this little club, and quite possibly the easiest hybrid I have ever hit off the deck. Love the small profile of it.
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yea. small is new big now
 
War Eagle said:
Range Session with the Xhot Hybrid

THWACK - Yep. You read that right. Thwack. Best word I can use to describe the sound of this hybrid. Not loud or tingy like others, but just a solid sound that I loved. Gives you the “That was hammered” feeling. I need to capture some audio of this, because it just had that solid sound that made you want to hit it over and over again.
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Good catch here War, this is one item I omitted from the review inadvertently and I think it deserves some merit.

The sound of the X Hot(s) are extremely solid. No "tings" or "tinny" sounds, very meat and potatoes type of sounds. "Thwack" is a good description if you can divorce yourself from the old Batman & Robin series which always gave us plenty of sound visuals. The X Hot line produces some of the nicest sounds of any woods I've ever played (including the X Hot Pro driver which I just don't get along with). Theses woods/hybrids/metals mean business and the sound that the clubs produce support that. Like I posted in my review, the ball comes off the face really fast and gives you the impression that it's going far! The sounds are part of that equation. I can't say enough good things about my Pro 17* 4-wood (which has the same shaft as this club) and I'm hoping I am able to dial the spin down on this hybrid to make it a full-time GAMER!!
 
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