I cranked it down a degree from 13.5 to 12.5 and went out to hit 3 more. Oh baby, we could be on to something. We shall see tomorrow.
Callaway X2 Hot Driver Preview
- Staff
- #202
Glad to hear this Natedogg.
Aside from 20mph in ball speed, it sounds like you and I have some similarities in our driver trajectory. Moving to the HL X-Hot was an absolute game changer for me last year, and I haven't found a single driver that comes close to matching it. I figure on perfect strikes I lose 5'ish (possibly a little more) yardage compared to a couple other drivers, but in terms of all-around performance it's just not close.
Aside from 20mph in ball speed, it sounds like you and I have some similarities in our driver trajectory. Moving to the HL X-Hot was an absolute game changer for me last year, and I haven't found a single driver that comes close to matching it. I figure on perfect strikes I lose 5'ish (possibly a little more) yardage compared to a couple other drivers, but in terms of all-around performance it's just not close.
Mountain Slicer
Member
I tried the X2Hot driver in both the stiff and reg blue shafts on Saturday at a local Dick's Sporting Goods store. I could see an immediate difference in distance and draw on the sim. Now I'm waiting for my Like New X2 Hot to arrive, it's on UPS for today from Callaway Pre-Owned. It will be hard to put my X-Hot driver to the side but I hope my Opti-fit sleeve my MP4 will fit the X2 head so I can compare these 2 shafts.
Very interested to hear how it goes. I have my 10.5* driver set to +1 and draw and it launches very easily, perhaps a bit too high, but at that +1, smacking it is just so easy. Curious, though, Nate...where do you expect to use this club? Is it a FW or 3H replacement? I'd be really curious to see how the 13.5* would pair with a low-launch, low spin shaft like the Miyazaki Black or some such but I don't have $250 to experiment with!
Anyway, keep us updated, Nate!
P.S. I love my X2 Hot Driver!
Nothing wrong with high & long! You've got me thinking about a 12.5˚ setup for my round tomorrow... It shall be done methinks.
How's that Kusala working out for you? I'm waiting for my wallet to get back to a happy place, but I'm hard pondering another B Asha 5S to try out in this one.
- Staff
- #206
Great! I love it dude. Very similar to the TB for me, but something I can actually order custom through Cleveland for the MC. It's been in three drivers already lol. First was in the 588 Custom (didn't make the driver not bad for me), the Altitude (better, but the light head still causes issues), and finally the X-Hot where it seems to be right at home.
Nice. I really loved it with the Classic. Didn't play too well in the R1 for me though. I could go with a number of options in this head to be honest. Part of me is thinking a boring old PX Black just for grins.
Ok, here we go. First time out on the course today with the 13.5 degree tuned down to 12.5. Wow! I am in love with this driver. I was 9 of 13 fairways when hitting it. 2 drives that I "missed" we're hit exactly where I wanted but ended up outside the fairway cause I didn't know better (new course). Much higher ball flight and the forgiveness is unmatched.
So now to my pre round worries......distance loss. I played with a guy today that hit a low bullet each time for 300 yards. I stayed right with him the entire round. At most, he was 10-15 yards ahead of me on a few. I was beyond ecstatic. My miss is a slight over hook when I didn't swing out on the ball. It got me in trouble early but corrected it in no time. Such ease....such effortless swinging. I'm beyond pumped right now with this club. I might play around with a few heavier shafts to see if I can improve any but this is what I've needed!! The guy playing with me even said "Your gonna keep playing with that driver now.....right?!" He uses a 7.5 degree driver.
So now to my pre round worries......distance loss. I played with a guy today that hit a low bullet each time for 300 yards. I stayed right with him the entire round. At most, he was 10-15 yards ahead of me on a few. I was beyond ecstatic. My miss is a slight over hook when I didn't swing out on the ball. It got me in trouble early but corrected it in no time. Such ease....such effortless swinging. I'm beyond pumped right now with this club. I might play around with a few heavier shafts to see if I can improve any but this is what I've needed!! The guy playing with me even said "Your gonna keep playing with that driver now.....right?!" He uses a 7.5 degree driver.
I'm wanting this as my driver...my club off the tee. I wanted to keep my distance but have a bit more left/right forgiveness. I think I've found that in this driver! Next round is tomorrow on a tighter course. We shall see.
Got in a range session today and did a shootout with the X2H vs R1. Played the X2H stock stock, 10.5/neutral (which I know is a couple degrees closed), played the R1 11.25* and neutral, which is also a touch closed.
-I've liked the R1, I love the 'line drive and plenty of rollout', I even like the sound, which I know a lot of folks don't. But it's not very forgiving and I tend to swing outside in a bit, slices still slice.
-The X2H does feel very ALIVE off the face, and launches quite high
-X2H much much more forgiving. Hit some cuts that kinda sorta wanted to come back (though there was a crosswind helping them come back), certainly the R1 sliced way more on similar swings. My typical heel miss, if I got the club square, still flew a helluva long ways.
-absolutely nutted on the sweet spot, probably not much to pick and choose in terms of ultimate distance....just I was getting that distance with X2H probably 5x per every once with the R1. And, of course, it's air distance vs rolling distance for a large portion.
-I've always found the R1 somewhat heavy to swing, the swing weight of the X2H is lighter and I feel I can get down and through square more easily. I can also rip at it and not feel like I'll be wayyyy behind with the clubhead.
Clear winner for my game, X2H. Probably keep the R1 around for real windy days when I don't want to launch so high.
Another pretty good day with the driver on a tight course. I used it on many holes where I don't normally to continue to get a feel for it. I'm starting to feel like I can work the ball with it a bit more. Need to get a good range session in with it to really figure out all that I can do with it. I have a ton on confidence with it so far. The only thing I don't like 100% about it is it's slightly closed face at address. But with the higher lofted face it doesn't bother me as much as it normally would.
BigTex
Well-known member
Be curious how this works out for you. Been thinking about adding a "thriver" to my bag, using an XHot2 or another Bertha with a slightly cut down shaft.
It's been a fun experiment so far!
TNTCigarguy
2014 #THPMC @TntCigarguy
This club continues to be a beast for me. I am really happy with the ball flight and control I have with this club off the face. I have a ton of confidence standing over the ball as I know where its going to go.
Played late yesterday. Cranked down the loft to -1 due to high ball flight. I used my driver on every single non par 3...confidence was soaring. Most of my mishits were cheating a bit left to compensate for expected slice and then going dead straight left! I still sliced a couple but greatly reduced. My partner was slicing and when his ball would hit the ground, it would jump 90 degrees right due to the spin he was putting on it with his RBZ Stage 2. Mine were just a hair more than a fade.
But on hole ten at the course I was playing, pin was at 326. My drive ended up two yards short of the fringe. Longest real life drive of my life. I typically hit a shade over 200 yards carry, a REALLY good hit might stop at 250 or 260. This one was a legit 305 or more. It helped (a LOT) that there was a serious downward hill in front of the green so I had a LOT of roll out but my confidence in the X2 was enough to let me rip it hard and I got the screws on it, which GOT me to the hill.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE this club?
But on hole ten at the course I was playing, pin was at 326. My drive ended up two yards short of the fringe. Longest real life drive of my life. I typically hit a shade over 200 yards carry, a REALLY good hit might stop at 250 or 260. This one was a legit 305 or more. It helped (a LOT) that there was a serious downward hill in front of the green so I had a LOT of roll out but my confidence in the X2 was enough to let me rip it hard and I got the screws on it, which GOT me to the hill.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE this club?
You could always dial it down to 12.5, which would in turn open the face a bit
JFlores
Active member
Just purchased a head to try, currently gaming the Bertha but been wanting to try this one out. The battle shall begin now.
Which Bertha? I found the X2 to have better numbers than the BB. However, I did better with the BB Alpha although it was a bit harder to tame than the X2. I went with consistency.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
Good stuff Nate. I cranked mine up to 12.5 just to see this weekend. I played horribly but was seeing about the same distance as I was with the 11.5 and what appeared to be a noticeably higher ball flight. So far so good. I'm gonna keep it there for a while and see what's what.
I did dial it down to 12.5 for the first 2 rounds. It's not terrible just something I noticed. I let another guy hit it on Saturday before our round and he mentioned the same thing about it looking a bit more closed at the setup compared to his driver. So far it's been a non issue.
Hit a couple of balls to compare the X2 to the R1. X2 felt a little heavier at impact but was much more forgiving and when you get ahold of it, you really get ahold of it. The R1 on average was a little longer but not quite as forgiving. It also felt a little more effortless at impact, which I like, but the end result is what counts.
I'm playing my x2 Hot 10.5 Driver at 11.5 right now, but after reading this thread I'm going to see how it does at 12.5; I'll get to find out tomorrow morning. I'm curious to see if the extra loft translates well for my game.
Very nice! The big thing your looking for is the same distance you were getting at the 11.5 setting but a bit more accuracy with the extra loft. Will be curious to see how it goes for ya!?!
mattcrabbe
Member
I have the 9 degree, set to 11, playing the Fubuki from a Big Bertha in it. I like how it feels, but lately I have been out distancing myself with my 3deep. I need to get to the range.