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2013 Callaway X-Forged Irons Preview

SuperStroke
Chunkylover77 said:
I saw very little forgiveness in the Forged. I've hit them 3 separate times now. Each time there was a huge loss in distance on any sort of mishit. I would compare the Forged to the Razr X MB's in terms of forgiveness rather than the previous X-Forged line. JMO though. The Pro's are a very fun iron
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i did see some distance loss on mishits for sure but they held the line well for me.... i do agree the Pros are a great fun iron they remind me of my R11s but improved and with a thinner profile which i really like. honestly the pros and the forged top lines are very close i'm still torn on if i'm a good enough ball striker to game the Forged or not, i also think a different shaft could be a big difference so i'm excited to see what shaft options we have on these. I honestly believe either option would be closer to a players iron from where i'm coming from and thats where i do want to start heading i guess its gonna boil down to how quickly i want to jump towards that goal.
 
mikedean441 said:
Really some solid iron offerings either way, I think thats great you are stepping up and along with the other Callaway guys making sure multiple lines are represented!
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It's not a big sacrifice as you stated, both a re quality irons. This holds true for all the sponsors. 2013 had presented us with a multitude of quality irons with some much versatility and forgiveness
 
Buckjob said:
i did see some distance loss on mishits for sure but they held the line well for me.... i do agree the Pros are a great fun iron they remind me of my R11s but improved and with a thinner profile which i really like. honestly the pros and the forged top lines are very close i'm still torn on if i'm a good enough ball striker to game the Forged or not, i also think a different shaft could be a big difference so i'm excited to see what shaft options we have on these. I honestly believe either option would be closer to a players iron from where i'm coming from and thats where i do want to start heading i guess its gonna boil down to how quickly i want to jump towards that goal.
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Could have just been a bad day for me. Who knows. I can only share what I was seeing. For me a shaft change would not have helped. There are no dime sized marks on any iron that I have ever owned lol. These punished me on even slight mishits. Don't get me wrong. They are stunning. On good strikes, and I had a few, they were incredible. I just don't have the consistency that I feel these irons would need. Looking at how you hit the 47" beast of a driver that you have, these might be perfect for you. Plus they are insane looking. There are no nicer looking irons out right now. I say go for it dude! This is your shot at getting a dream bag.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Could have just been a bad day for me. Who knows. I can only share what I was seeing. For me a shaft change would not have helped. There are no dime sized marks on any iron that I have ever owned lol. These punished me on even slight mishits. Don't get me wrong. They are stunning. On good strikes, and I had a few, they were incredible. I just don't have the consistency that I feel these irons would need. Looking at how you hit the 47" beast of a driver that you have, these might be perfect for you. Plus they are insane looking. There are no nicer looking irons out right now. I say go for it dude! This is your shot at getting a dream bag.
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i always have hit my driver better than my irons i had a LONG talk with my fitter last night about it (prob why i only got my driver done) but he even said why give up more forgiveness? its a tough decision for me and the only one i truly am struggling with when deciding my bag. i wish i could find a demo set of the forged so i could get some on course time with them.
 
Tadashi70 said:
The xforged have more game improvement DNA then the Xhot pro. From the long to the pw they aren't like other "players". I wouldn't concidering them demanding
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I found the Xforged much easier to launch than the XHPros and there was a substantial difference in how the clubs felt. I honestly don't think you'd make a bad call with the forged, you can find the center of the club face on a regular basis.
 
Trout Bum said:
That's a great bag Jrodgers, those are some of the nicest irons out there!
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Thank you, i've been extremely pleased with Callaways line up this year. Only clubs i did not like in their line up are their wedges.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2
 
Me too but I think it's just a matter of finding the right bounces really. I need to fool with them a bit more.
 
Jrodgers0622 said:
Thank you, i've been extremely pleased with Callaways line up this year. Only clubs i did not like in their line up are their wedges.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2
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i like the rumors of new wedges to come out later this year.
 
Tadashi70 said:
The xforged have more game improvement DNA then the Xhot pro. From the long to the pw they aren't like other "players". I wouldn't concidering them demanding

Deano the hype on the xhot pros is so high that the xforged may have been forgotten. With them playing so close for me, I feel playing these will be a no brainer. Some of us Callawsy boys talk every night and this topic came up. The Xhot And pros will be represented so the xforged need an invite to the dance.
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Sounds like a toss up if they are that close. In the end, it comes down to what sticks will help your team win. IMO, that is the best way to represent than worry about if their entire line is played. If every Cally staff member is playing XHP, that should say something about the line and I'm sure Cally wouldn't be upset if the XF wasn't invited to the dance.

***Tappin in cuz I #SeeMore***
 
One reason why I went with the X-Forged rather then the XHP is they didn't throw my distances off that much compared to what I used to get. I did get about a club length longer, but I was getting even more then that on the simulator compared to my old irons with the XHP. I hit my hybrid about 215-220, 3w about 230-240, so I didn't want my 5i going 210-215 and messing up the bottom end of my bag. I just thought that the gap would be too great down there and at the time was really comfortable with my wedge setup that I didn't want to change anything. Did pick up one new wedge to experiment with though, not sure how it is going to work out just yet.

Getting out Sunday and Tuesday, will post up some more thoughts on these after my rounds.
 
threshold350 said:
Sounds like a toss up if they are that close. In the end, it comes down to what sticks will help your team win. IMO, that is the best way to represent than worry about if their entire line is played. If every Cally staff member is playing XHP, that should say something about the line and I'm sure Cally wouldn't be upset if the XF wasn't invited to the dance.

***Tappin in cuz I #SeeMore***
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Some say they are close. I feel like if you are a good player then maybe they are close because you don't need a certain level of forgiveness because you don't miss the center that much. I do feel it's important though for the people who don't see this to speak. I don't think the X-Hot Pro & the X-Forged are really that close in terms of forgiveness. I was seeing 10 yards of distance loss or more on toe hits with the X-Forged. That is a lot. I did not see that severe of a loss with the X-Hot Pros.

IMO and I guess only mine, I don't see these as similar. Not trying to say these are a bad iron. They are spectacular in the right hands. I just get worried that someone can read this, read they are forgiving, and purchase without hitting. Great iron for a good ball striker. I'm not a good enough ball striker for these on a day to day basis. I need more forgiveness
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Some say they are close. I feel like if you are a good player then maybe they are close because you don't need a certain level of forgiveness because you don't miss the center that much. I do feel it's important though for the people who don't see this to speak. I don't think the X-Hot Pro & the X-Forged are really that close in terms of forgiveness. I was seeing 10 yards of distance loss or more on toe hits with the X-Forged. That is a lot. I did not see that severe of a loss with the X-Hot Pros.

IMO and I guess only mine, I don't see these as similar. Not trying to say these are a bad iron. They are spectacular in the right hands. I just get worried that someone can read this, read they are forgiving, and purchase without hitting. Great iron for a good ball striker. I'm not a good enough ball striker for these on a day to day basis. I need more forgiveness
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I am with you here. I found the x hot pros to be more forgiving in my testing. I do really like the x forged and think they are a great looking iron.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Some say they are close. I feel like if you are a good player then maybe they are close because you don't need a certain level of forgiveness because you don't miss the center that much. I do feel it's important though for the people who don't see this to speak. I don't think the X-Hot Pro & the X-Forged are really that close in terms of forgiveness. I was seeing 10 yards of distance loss or more on toe hits with the X-Forged. That is a lot. I did not see that severe of a loss with the X-Hot Pros.

IMO and I guess only mine, I don't see these as similar. Not trying to say these are a bad iron. They are spectacular in the right hands. I just get worried that someone can read this, read they are forgiving, and purchase without hitting. Great iron for a good ball striker. I'm not a good enough ball striker for these on a day to day basis. I need more forgiveness
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I agree with you. XF are not as forgiving. I saw the same results as you when I mishit. As much as I wanted to get the XF because they did play similar to my old sticks, my fitter talked me hard into looking at the numbers and dispersion.

***Tappin in cuz I #SeeMore***
 
While I have finished up my review on these I wanted to chime back in here today with some feelings I've got rattling around in my head from 3 weeks of gaming them. Since putting them in the bag I hadn't had that one round where everything was clicking until today. I hadn't been hitting them bad, but nothing consistenly solid and pure. I will say that they did offer up just enough of an assist in the form of forgiveness to allow me to get by with some decent rounds despite not hitting them real well. I lost some distance on the miss hits, but not as much as I would have expected. No they don't bail you out when you miss the sweet spot by a mile, but if you're just a bit on the thin side like my misses usually are you're going to be fine. I also miss my share a little fat and most of the time that didn't kill me but certainly seemed to be the miss that would reek the most havoc which is to be expected.

The X Forged cuts through the turf like a hot knife through butter and I've really fallen in love with the performance of the 8, 9 and PW on greenside pitch and run shots!

I mentioned that up until today I hadn't had that round where it all came together. Today it did and the X Forged irons and I made sweet sweet music together all day long. Iron shots that were just pured one after another, one of those days that you just dream about and it came in pretty poor conditions actually. Temps in the low 50s with a 15 mph breeze steadily causing trouble but the purely struck iron shots cut right through the wind and I went on to card a smooth 75 on the day. On the 14th hole we're dead into the wind, the hole plays 430 and after what felt like a bomb of a drive I still have 179 so I pull 4 iron and put a smooth swing on it and had this amazingly gorgeous mid trajectory flight that ended up 20 feet from the pin. It was probably the best iron shot I've hit in a long long time. It felt amazing!

The distances on these irons are solid too, I hit them a good half club longer than my Bridgestone J40 CB irons. That is likely because they are 1* stronger lofted. They're also 1* stronger than last year's Razr X Forged set as well.

I'm trying not to just recite my review here, so you'll have to wait to read more but these irons are pretty damn solid. Oh and they're gorgeous too!!!
 
Great stuff jake. You leaning towards these now for the MC?
 
Buckjob said:
Great stuff jake. You leaning towards these now for the MC?
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It certainly could happen Buck. It really all boils down to what other Callaway staffers decide to game. We need these irons in play and if I gotta be the guy using them I'll gladly do it. Otherwise if others are going X Forged I think I'll go with X Hot Pro. But we'll see.
 
threshold350 said:
Sounds like a toss up if they are that close. In the end, it comes down to what sticks will help your team win. IMO, that is the best way to represent than worry about if their entire line is played. If every Cally staff member is playing XHP, that should say something about the line and I'm sure Cally wouldn't be upset if the XF wasn't invited to the dance.

***Tappin in cuz I #SeeMore***
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the MC Is a golf competition first and foremost. We as staffers have responsibility to rep our sponsors if we are able. It eh xforged are a solid offering from Callaway. I didn't always feel this way about the irons but my tune has done a 180. If I felt for a minute by playing these I would let my team down, there is not way I'd play them.
I feel on love with the sick distance of the xhot pros but the xforged actually play closer to my current set and my actually be more forgiving. By design the xhot pros have a great degree of forgiveness, this I understand. I have found the playability and forgiveness to my liking. And what has really sold me was my time with the long irons in Las Vegas last months. I have had issue with clubs beyond the 5 iron and I was launching the 4 iron into the Vegas night sky. I was truly surprised at the ease the ball was jumping off the club head.
So when we get down to brass tacks, I'll be gaming these in the MC. Callaway will have all of their lines represented and will help to bring the cup over to team paradise
 
Tadashi70 said:
the MC Is a golf competition first and foremost. We as staffers have responsibility to rep our sponsors if we are able. It eh xforged are a solid offering from Callaway. I didn't always feel this way about the irons but my tune has done a 180. If I felt for a minute by playing these I would let my team down, there is not way I'd play them.
I feel on love with the sick distance of the xhot pros but the xforged actually play closer to my current set and my actually be more forgiving. By design the xhot pros have a great degree of forgiveness, this I understand. I have found the playability and forgiveness to my liking. And what has really sold me was my time with the long irons in Las Vegas last months. I have had issue with clubs beyond the 5 iron and I was launching the 4 iron into the Vegas night sky. I was truly surprised at the ease the ball was jumping off the club head.
So when we get down to brass tacks, I'll be gaming these in the MC. Callaway will have all of their lines represented and will help to bring the cup over to team paradise
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I understand the issue with the inceeased distance of the XHP. I just experienced it today and will have to reconfigure my short irons.

I know you have the game for the XF even though i haven't seen you play yet but hope to someday.

IMO, don't overthink and just order the XF. With all the prepping you will be doing, the forgiveness of the XF will be enough.

These would be the clubs I would order in a heary beat if I was a Cally MCer. I really wanted these as I've mentioned previously. Just cant commit to the extra range and playing time to get dialed in this season or hit consistently.


***Tappin in cuz I #SeeMore***
 
Puttin4Bird said:
It certainly could happen Buck. It really all boils down to what other Callaway staffers decide to game. We need these irons in play and if I gotta be the guy using them I'll gladly do it. Otherwise if others are going X Forged I think I'll go with X Hot Pro. But we'll see.
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That is a stance I have had with the cobra irons as well. I actually have to talk to my tour rep about that. But that is something that can wait. Jake I think you can game either one of those irons and be successful with them.
 
Has anyone received these irons recently? I recently ordered these and am reading on other sites about people ordering the stock shafts/specs in January and still waiting on them. But I've also read of others ordering with upgraded shafts and rec'ing them within a week.
 
Finally got to hit these at an outdoor demo day this weekend. I play a SGI iron and these are a far departure from my norm. That said I'm a pretty solid ball striker. These were paired with a PX6.0 which is a little stiffer than I was fit for. Started with the 8 iron and instantly noticed how soft they felt and how they just slice through the turf. My first shot I was aiming at the 150 yard marker and bounced it about 4 feet right, I'm thinking "alright nice accuracy, just missed". Next shot is identical and bounced off the 4 inch wide sign. My buddy just said, "did you bring your wallet?" I hit a lot of good irons yesterday and nothing felt quite like the XF. I wish I were in the market now, but I think these might one day find their way into my bag.
 
TheHeez said:
Finally got to hit these at an outdoor demo day this weekend. I play a SGI iron and these are a far departure from my norm. That said I'm a pretty solid ball striker. These were paired with a PX6.0 which is a little stiffer than I was fit for. Started with the 8 iron and instantly noticed how soft they felt and how they just slice through the turf. My first shot I was aiming at the 150 yard marker and bounced it about 4 feet right, I'm thinking "alright nice accuracy, just missed". Next shot is identical and bounced off the 4 inch wide sign. My buddy just said, "did you bring your wallet?" I hit a lot of good irons yesterday and nothing felt quite like the XF. I wish I were in the market now, but I think these might one day find their way into my bag.
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That's awesome I was impressed with their accuracy as well. Just snagged a6 iron off the bay to mess with.
 
Got mine yesterday...look too pretty to hit lol
 
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