Callaway X Forged CB Irons Review

The comment about the offset is interesting to me. During my fitting we found that I responded well to a bit of offset. But I have a visual preference for something smaller. I'm also someone who doesn't mind hitting a longer iron.

It's a harder sell to lose distance though - if it's more lofts than anything, I'm OK with that.
What irons are you gaming right now?
 
I got to hit the 7i from this set today, I came away positively impressed. It is really appealing in person, at least to me, it looks fantastic. Elegant and purposeful are terms that come to mind. I dig the machining in the cavity. It is definitely a players type look, moderately thin top line and at address I had no objections to any of what I saw.

I hit them at the very end of a session that included my ZipCore Tour Rack testing posted in that thread followed by Mizuno 921F with Modus 120X vs. ProjectX 6.5 shaft testing. I was getting tired, not doing a great job finding center anymore. They are powerful and pure off center, very solid. Off center hits were sharper than the 921F's I had just finished testing, but not at all objectionable (plus the 921F are PLUSH, and more forgiving). They gave me the spin numbers that I would typically be looking for in a 7i and about the right carry distance as well.

I'm looking forward to going back and hitting them again when fresh. Very appealing package. I hit the ProjectX IO shaft in 6.0.

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Next to Mizuno 921F
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I got to hit the 7i from this set today, I came away positively impressed. It is really appealing in person, at least to me, it looks fantastic. Elegant and purposeful are terms that come to mind. I dig the machining in the cavity. It is definitely a players type look, moderately thin top line and at address I had no objections to any of what I saw.

I hit them at the very end of a session that included my ZipCore Tour Rack testing posted in that thread followed by Mizuno 921F with Modus 120X vs. ProjectX 6.5 shaft testing. I was getting tired, not doing a great job finding center anymore. They are powerful and pure off center, very solid. Off center hits were sharper than the 921F's I had just finished testing, but not at all objectionable (plus the 921F are PLUSH, and more forgiving). They gave me the spin numbers that I would typically be looking for in a 7i and about the right carry distance as well.

I'm looking forward to going back and hitting them again when fresh. Very appealing package. I hit the ProjectX IO shaft in 6.0.

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Next to Mizuno 921F
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Good numbers! Not surprising that they're a little shorter than the 921F. It's a couple degrees weaker after all. If you had to say one felt better than the other, which would you choose?
 
What irons are you gaming right now?

Still playing the T300 and Apex combos (depending on the day). I’m guessing these distances will be in line with the 770s based on the lofts.

Only one way to find out I guess - I’ll take some swings at the local shop
 
Still playing the T300 and Apex combos (depending on the day). I’m guessing these distances will be in line with the 770s based on the lofts.

Only one way to find out I guess - I’ll take some swings at the local shop
Yes, you should!

The 770 are longer for me based on my time with each. Not a ton, but not nothing either. Different ball speeds.

From your comment about offset and longer irons though, I'd imagine you might really like either one.
 
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Yes, you should!

The 770 are longer for me based on my time with each. Not a ton, but not nothing either. Different ball speeds.

spin a little less with 770?
 
spin a little less with 770?
Ya know I don't actually remember that off hand, which is weird. I know what the X Forged has been spinning for me, so I want to say no (or not enough to say yes to), but I try not to compare stuff like that across different sessions for different clubs. Balls and monitors are different sometimes, mats, etc. I remember taking a hit on ball speed hitting them back to back at the same place, but I'll have to pull out my tablet when I get home to remember the spin.
 
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Good numbers! Not surprising that they're a little shorter than the 921F. It's a couple degrees weaker after all. If you had to say one felt better than the other, which would you choose?

The 921F feels plush and fast to me, in general I would refer it it as "better". However, that is not to say the XForged CB isn't good, or doesn't have its own appeal. The XForged CB was very solid and dense on center, and I'd say there it feels every bit as good as the 921F. Maybe a little more dense and concentrated. Off center they are a little higher frequency, and the feel rolls off a little faster as you move off center, the head is more compact. This is all based on just a few shots at the tail end of a session. They deserve their own follow up session when I'm fresher. My immediate reaction when I hit the CB was they reminded me of my Apex MB's.... that's a compliment.

I really liked the spin window and peak heights on the XForged CB. 39 yds is a capability I like to see. 5600 rpm is a number I am very comfortable with. I like the forgiveness appeal of the 921F's, but those are a little flatter and lower spin than I'm used to at the moment. :unsure:
 
I got to hit the 7i from this set today, I came away positively impressed. It is really appealing in person, at least to me, it looks fantastic. Elegant and purposeful are terms that come to mind. I dig the machining in the cavity. It is definitely a players type look, moderately thin top line and at address I had no objections to any of what I saw.

I hit them at the very end of a session that included my ZipCore Tour Rack testing posted in that thread followed by Mizuno 921F with Modus 120X vs. ProjectX 6.5 shaft testing. I was getting tired, not doing a great job finding center anymore. They are powerful and pure off center, very solid. Off center hits were sharper than the 921F's I had just finished testing, but not at all objectionable (plus the 921F are PLUSH, and more forgiving). They gave me the spin numbers that I would typically be looking for in a 7i and about the right carry distance as well.

I'm looking forward to going back and hitting them again when fresh. Very appealing package. I hit the ProjectX IO shaft in 6.0.

View attachment 8970777View attachment 8970779View attachment 8970780

Next to Mizuno 921F
View attachment 8970781

View attachment 8970782

View attachment 8970783
I'm wondering if there's a visual comfort level in here with the swing, or you weren't as tired as you thought, because that's the closet ball speeds I've seen anyone have between those two irons. It's pretty surprising. Do you have club head numbers on those?
 
I'm wondering if there's a visual comfort level in here with the swing, or you weren't as tired as you thought, because that's the closet ball speeds I've seen anyone have between those two irons. It's pretty surprising. Do you have club head numbers on those?

Thanks! No clubhead numbers unfortunately, the store hasn't gotten the module to work correctly and isn't in the practice of putting the dots on the heads. It's been 18 months and I think they've run out of interest :(.

I was definitely comfortable with these at address... I'm used to a short blade length and have spent a fair bit of time with my Apex MB's. I tend to do well with compact heads. I technically hit the 921 Tours much tighter than the 921F's. Last three shots with the XForged were soooooo off center that ball speeds were ~103. I deleted those... I was shot! But agree I don't think I'll hit them more than a 1-2 yards further when fresh. I had been swinging PX6.5 in the 921's, and stepping down in weight to the IO 6.0's threw me a little bit in terms of finding center I think.
 
spin a little less with 770?

Ya know I don't actually remember that off hand, which is weird. I know what the X Forged has been spinning for me, so I want to say no (or not enough to say yes to), but I try not to compare stuff like that across different sessions for different clubs. Balls and monitors are different sometimes, mats, etc. I remember taking a hit on ball speed hitting them back to back at the same place, but I'll have to pull out my tablet when I get home to remember the spin.


Yep, that's a negative. Pretty darn close when hit during the same session with same shaft and ball for me. Makes sense why my first thought after my first time hitting the X Forged on it's own was that the spin was pretty spot on for what I expected (already owning the 770), because it was less than a 100 different for that session than when I hit it later alongside the 770, and right in line with my earlier 770 spin numbers.
 
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Yep, that's a negative. Pretty darn close when hit during the same session with same shaft and ball for me. Makes sense why my first thought after my first time hitting the X Forged on it's own was that the spin was pretty spot on for what I expected (already owning the 770), because it was less than a 100 different for that session than when I hit it later alongside the 770, and right in line with my earlier 770 spin numbers.

good stuff!
 
Can I rant for a minute about the spec sheet listing offset in mm while all remaining specs are in inches? I know... .039/mm round to .04 but still.... maths. My mind is calibrated to interpret offset in inches?

Dear Callaway - I don't want to have to convert mm to inches. And prefer consistent units. Pretty Please? 🙋‍♂️ Thx, GR
 
So I'm getting a little time in with the 7i right now, because they have the whole set now, but they're not set up to hit yet. No worries about the PW for me from the look, the 4i, which I really value, is pretty small players-ish. Still more offset than I'd like, but it looks pretty good.

Anyway, I'm taking a break from working the daylights out of a 7, and I'm impressed. I'm moving them around as much as I can, and trying different strikes, and they're pretty, pretty good. I can spin one up to about 62/300 or knock it down below 5k pretty easily. Standard shots are right in line with expectations for me. Wife is here now and jotting notes, so I'll post my general spin numbers in a few hitting ProV1.
 
So I'm getting a little time in with the 7i right now, because they have the whole set now, but they're not set up to hit yet. No worries about the PW for me from the look, the 4i, which I really value, is pretty small players-ish. Still more offset than I'd like, but it looks pretty good.

Anyway, I'm taking a break from working the daylights out of a 7, and I'm impressed. I'm moving them around as much as I can, and trying different strikes, and they're pretty, pretty good. I can spin one up to about 62/300 or knock it down below 5k pretty easily. Standard shots are right in line with expectations for me. Wife is here now and jotting notes, so I'll post my general spin numbers in a few hitting ProV1.
Haha, wife is dedicated. Last time my wife was with me in a golf store, she just sat there asking if I was done yet.
 
Haha, wife is dedicated. Last time my wife was with me in a golf store, she just sat there asking if I was done yet.
I think she figures the more she helps the faster it'll be over. :LOL:
 
5624 spin over 10 shots with ProV1 just now working through my whole shot tree. Most of which are lower than a.. more regular (?) player. I'm not especially low spin in the 7i range, but I wouldn't call my shots standard. Stock shots in the 5650-5850 range for me just like my other sessions with similar balls.



Edit: changed from 5612 to 5624. Wife is so fired. She'd never make a mistake like that at work! Obviously I'm less important to her, and my hurt feelings deserve new clubs. :p

Stock straight shot average was 5731 at 33* standard loft, 2 flat, around 16.5* launch. Like I said, right in line with all my other times with it.
 
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Man, that offset is the only thing that bugs me. It only has a tick more than the older ones, but it looks different. Something about the base of the neck to the face transition. It's make a guy hate to have to take a club 1 strong for a gapping issue, and the thought of it in that 4i isn't awesome. I like to strengthen the 4 sometimes when I carry a long hybrid instead of utility iron. I thought I had a picture of them side by side from above in the 4i, but I guess not. Got one of the PW sole though. Pretty similar overall, just a little different toe.
 
Haven't had a chance to watch this through all the way. But, if you like TXG, they just posted a video on the new X Forged CB and Apex MB.

 
Okay, so got the hit the set today. I want to amend my thoughts. When I got to see the whole set I mostly looked at the sole and offset of the short and long irons, especially 4 & PW, because I'm picky about them. Looked fine. Still feel that way about the 4, but have gone a little the other direction on the short irons and PW.

When I put a ball down in front of the wedge I immediately thought of @DNice26 , and what he said the other day about his new Honma's vs. his T100S. I'll paraphrase instead of searching for a quote, but it was something like "it's weird having a small 4 iron and huge wedge, I'm used to the other way around". The wedge feels that same way. It's really tall at the heel and makes it look like there is a ton of face for what a guy might expect after looking at the long irons. So that was interesting.

Feel and numbers were good all around. Big fan of the long irons. Numbers and flights and everything was fine for me in the short irons, but the look thing kind of stuck with me. Had planned on pulling the trigger on a set today, but want to get them on the turf now before making that move, and I'm leaning towards a single clubs order and non-matching combo like the one @radiman posted of the txg guys. Odd that the day after I b*tch about manufacturers not making small bladed set gap wedges I get kind of visually jumped by the wedge in a set I was looking to buy. Picked up a 21* UT, and my guess would be CB 4-7 and Apex MB 8-P come next.

Anyone else hit some shots with the shorts yet? Is just a me thing on this one?
 
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Okay, so got the hit the set today. I want to amend my thoughts. When I got to see the whole set I mostly looked at the sole and offset of the short and long irons, especially 4 & PW, because I'm picky about them. Looked fine. Still feel that way about the 4, but have gone a little the other direction on the short irons and PW.

When I put a ball down in front of the wedge I immediately thought of @DNice26 , and what he said the other day about his new Honma's vs. his T100S. I'll paraphrase instead of searching for a quote, but it was something like "it's weird having a small 4 iron and huge wedge, I'm used to the other way around". The wedge feels that same way. It's really tall at the heel and makes it look like there is a ton of face for what a guy might expect after looking at the long irons. So that was interesting.

Feel and numbers were good all around. Big fan of the long irons. Numbers and flights and everything was fine for me in the short irons, but the look thing kind of stuck with me. Had planned on pulling the trigger on a set today, but want to get them on the turf now before making that move, and I'm leaning towards a single clubs order and non-matching combo like the one @radiman posted of the txg guys. Odd that the day after I b*tch about manufacturers not making small bladed set gap wedges I get kind of visually jumped by the wedge in a set I was looking to buy. Picked up a 21* UT, and my guess would be CB 4-7 and Apex MB 8-P come next.

Anyone else hit some shots with the shorts yet?
Of all the sticks you’ve bought, tried lately, what set is the club house leader?
 
Of all the sticks you’ve bought, tried lately, what set is the club house leader?
Man, that's tough. Lots of pieces I love, but I need a few more weeks to finish putting them together into sets I plan to play through the winter. I know there's enough stuff I like to sell my Apex Combo, so that's.. a lot of good stuff.
 
I like my T100S but I think I enjoyed the Apex Pro 19s more. I’m very interested to see the new Apex Pros and what Ping has planned to replace the iblades.
 
I like my T100S but I think I enjoyed the Apex Pro 19s more. I’m very interested to see the new Apex Pros and what Ping has planned to replace the iblades.


You ain't the only one. 😁 :callaway:
 
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