Callaway X Forged CB Irons Review

I'm ho-hum on the look. Nothing stands out good or bad. But I bet they feel great.
 
@Canadan just had a chance to watch a few swings in the video. I am at work so I can't take the whole thing in yet. But, looking at the spin numbers specifically, how would you compare what you were seeing in the review of this iron vs. what your typical numbers would be with your current sticks?
 
I see the MMT is a stock graphite option. This may be the first time that I can actually demo a graphite shaft that is xstiff assuming it's in the fitting cart. I am almost as excited for that as I am to try the iron!
I saw this and did a complete double take. NOW I'm really interested
 
The last Apex line launched at $1400 for Steel and $1500 for Graphite in early 2019.

and the last x forged launched at $1,300 in late 2017, correct? i just don't see this increase (with more tech and more premium materials) as egregious.
 
@Canadan just had a chance to watch a few swings in the video. I am at work so I can't take the whole thing in yet. But, looking at the spin numbers specifically, how would you compare what you were seeing in the review of this iron vs. what your typical numbers would be with your current sticks?

i'm not @Canadan (in spite of my nightly wishful prayers) but he did mention in the video that the ball he was using was specifically chosen to greatly reduce his spin. so the right ball in the player's hands will likely bring spin into their desired window.
 
These look great, I will definitely be keeping an eye for them at the golf shop. I like the techy presentation - I think it is in line with the tech packed into the clubhead. $1600 is steep - at this price they had better be head and shoulders different and better than an iron set in the $800-1000 range. I consider myself a value shopper and while not the same type of iron, something like the Mavrik Pro packs a lot of value.
 
I was not the biggest fan of the original x forged but these look pretty darn great. the easy weighting is my favorite thing here and should be a fitters dream - you can really dial someone in if you can move the CG and SW at will.
The goal is to keep CG in place while adjusting SW. Traditional tip weighting can impact CG but this is designed to avoid that.

I don't think this in an iron you could buy blind, a fitting would be a must have for these.
I wondered about that too but there will still be a lot of blind buys still! LOL

I guess my thought would be that if you find a shaft/head combo that is close to optimal, being able to further fine tune that club during the fitting by adjusting the weight on the head to see if timing can be improved on would be cool. Or, if they're getting good numbers, but the player feels the club is too heavy or too light. I don't know how viable it would be I guess in the grand scheme of things. I don't know how much a minor swing weight change would alter results. Probably overthinking it. I may or may not have a tendency to do so, lol.
I don't think you are overthinking it, especially for really picky, really good players who can tell when they hit 1mm left of center for example. Maybe this and the Apex MB feed niches that many of us aren't in, but Callaway wouldn't spend the time and money on it if they didn't see the demand/need for it.
 
and the last x forged launched at $1,300 in late 2017, correct? i just don't see this increase (with more tech and more premium materials) as egregious.

That is correct. Right around the same time as these in October.

i'm not @Canadan (in spite of my nightly wishful prayers) but he did mention in the video that the ball he was using was specifically chosen to greatly reduce his spin. so the right ball in the player's hands will likely bring spin into their desired window.

Yes, he chose a low spin golf ball to pair with it so he could compare distances vs what he is usually playing. For those that have not caught our golf ball spin test video, the difference was about 1200 RPMs with a 7 iron, which would definitely not make these low spin.
 
i'm not @Canadan (in spite of my nightly wishful prayers) but he did mention in the video that the ball he was using was specifically chosen to greatly reduce his spin. so the right ball in the player's hands will likely bring spin into their desired window.
Oh, got it. I will watch it with audio when I get home this evening.
 
Oh, got it. I will watch it with audio when I get home this evening.

when i first saw low to mid 5k on a 7i, AND that these come stock with px i/o that are supposed to reduce spin, i thought of you haha
 
Great video and info!

The external and internal MIM'd tungsten weighting is pretty cool. Like with the Apex MB, I like these more and more every time I see them. Can't wait to see them in person. I bet a fitting would be pretty fun.


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Big fan of the styling not to mention i believe the X forged lineage has been Callaway's best club.
I think this will be a huge release from Callaway if people can get past the price.

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Looks wise these are a huge step backwards from the 2018 version. That price isn’t making me want to jump.

I’ve loved my XForged and won’t be upgrading to these.

I do like seeing a set AW this time around, I really wish mine had that. I may pick up just the AW and see how well it gaps with what I have.

I like the look, though these are not designed for me. I did suspect that owners of the previous iteration would feel the way that you do. I wonder if performance will get some past that feeling.
 
Great video and info!

The external and internal MIM'd tungsten weighting is pretty cool. Like with the Apex MB, I like these more and more every time I see them. Can't wait to see them in person. I bet a fitting would be pretty fun.


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i'm with you. every time i see these i love them more and more. fingers crossed i get to hit these a week from today. i have a full bag fitting with callaway scheduled at my club. no real intention to buy anything as i love my current setup, but fittings are fun and feedback on the forum is funner.
 
I like the look, though these are not designed for me. I did suspect that owners of the previous iteration would feel the way that you do. I wonder if performance will get some past that feeling.

i wonder if the weight in the back were a more subtle color if these would be more appealing to people
 
i'm with you. every time i see these i love them more and more. fingers crossed i get to hit these a week from today. i have a full bag fitting with callaway scheduled at my club. no real intention to buy anything as i love my current setup, but fittings are fun and feedback on the forum is funner.

I'm with you on the looks - I'm a big fan. I'll be interested to hear what you think when you hit them.
 
The individual look of these looks fine to my eye.
When I saw Shanewu's post with all the irons, I think they look dramatically better as a set.

Also, these remind, in shape, of Rambo's Proto P750s.
 
Stock shaft was a concern for me, but Callaway continues to have a great custom catalogue.
I love these at address, definitely an iron I could game!
 
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Not being very good but pretty picky I left Callaway due their inability to swing weight their most expensive irons at the time. This would be a huge step for them to actually be able to hit D2 for instance though the whole set.
 
Can appreciate the player this is geared towards. I hit my 5i 180 max and that's at 23.5*, I can only imagine how much shorter I'd hit it at 26*. And no I'm not trying to make this about the tired argument of "It's just a number that is stamped and it needs to hit the launch window blah blah blah" or whatever because honestly I'm team #JackedLofts anyway.

I like the cavity design on the 2017 X-Forged better, but again, that's simply for looks for a player like me, no way would I ever game these or MBs...Not good enough! hah.
 
I like the look, though these are not designed for me. I did suspect that owners of the previous iteration would feel the way that you do. I wonder if performance will get some past that feeling.

I really should see them in person. The 18 XForged were in my mind some of the best looking cavity back irons ever so that would be hard to top. I could get past the looks.

Price is another issue. It’s never stopped me before as I’ve always been willing to pay to get what I’m looking for. Just feels too high.
 
Not a big fan of the looks, but I doubt that these were designed with a player like myself in mind. That said, just some more good choices for golfers.
That plate though is interesting. Could be hollow or could be filled with microspheres....be curious!
 
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