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Callaway Steelhead XR Irons Review

SuperStroke
I put these in play (5-AW) today. Also have the 5H so in time I may be able to help out in distance comparisons between the 5H and 5i.

Shocked at the ease of the long irons so far. The 5i is forgiving, but really high launching. Given a lot of swing rust, I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

The only early negative, which is minor, was I thought these may have been louder than I expected. Hadn't noticed until my playing partner pointed it out, but when I listened for it, usually got a louder clack type sound than typical. Performance-wise, they blow away other irons I've gamed, especially low on the face.
 
Nice write up obedt
 
obedt said:
I put these in play (5-AW) today. Also have the 5H so in time I may be able to help out in distance comparisons between the 5H and 5i.

Shocked at the ease of the long irons so far. The 5i is forgiving, but really high launching. Given a lot of swing rust, I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

The only early negative, which is minor, was I thought these may have been louder than I expected. Hadn't noticed until my playing partner pointed it out, but when I listened for it, usually got a louder clack type sound than typical. Performance-wise, they blow away other irons I've gamed, especially low on the face.
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Good stuff man and glad to see life getting back to normal for you after the storm.

You don't like the clack/smack? I love it man haha.
 
Absolutely loving the long and mid irons on these. I’m getting rewarded by not very good swings way better than I should, and good strikes fly high and land soft.



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I played today with my previous irons. While forgiving laterally for the profile, low on the face I just really missed the Steelheads. I’m sure the cup face plays a role there, but whatever it is, there is an absolute difference.

My iron swing hasn’t been back to where it needs and these help me with my common miss.


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I need some help guys. Has anyone hit the Steelheads and the Mizuno JPX 850 cast irons? I have the Steelheads w the stock Matrix graphite, but can get a (great?) deal on the 850's with Orochi shafts. I'm thinking of picking up the 850 cast as a backup/travel set. I'd assume the Steelheads might be a little longer (lofts), but I also would like comparisons as far as ball flight, feel, forgiveness etc. I looked at trade in prices on CPO and they were the same, despite the JPX's being an older model. Does this speak to a better quality build in the Mizuno's? Honestly don't know, any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.
 
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Played these Sunday for the 1st time out. Guess I should have got some range time in first, because I wasn't hitting these very well. I'm coming from King Cobra 2's from 20 yrs ago. The difference in length, offset, lofts, and sole width messed me up. Hope to get them figured out with some range sessions. I'm a weekend warrior mostly and high handicapper. I had hoped some new tech would improve my game, but have some buyers remorse right now
 
Blujacket said:
Played these Sunday for the 1st time out. Guess I should have got some range time in first, because I wasn't hitting these very well. I'm coming from King Cobra 2's from 20 yrs ago. The difference in length, offset, lofts, and sole width messed me up. Hope to get them figured out with some range sessions. I'm a weekend warrior mostly and high handicapper. I had hoped some new tech would improve my game, but have some buyers remorse right now
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Give it a bit of time, took me a bit to get used to them. Just couldn't get comfortable at first, after about 3-4 rounds I was good to go. They are really good irons. Definitely spend some time at the range if you can.
 
Blujacket said:
Got another round in today. Hit them very well today :banana:
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Good to hear! I didn't have my swing the other day, but these bailed me out big time. Hit the 9i a lot, and had some fun GIR with it. Mainly putting it back in my stance and flighting them in a few times. Such an easy set to launch
 
Who still has the Steelhead XRs in the bag? I know most here go for the latest/greatest, but I'm cheap and picked up a set of 5-AW with KBS Tour 90 R on a Black Friday deal at DSG for $299!

I've been on a bit of a iron merry-go-round the past few years and last I tracked my handicap I was an 18. Ping G15s with the original AWT regular are my old faithful. I had a set of 718 AP1 fit after they were released in 2017, but I never got along with them. I used 716 AP2s for most of last season. I liked the AP2 heads, but had True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT R300s in them that are too heavy. I've sold the AP1s and AP2s since. My other iron set is MP4s with True Temper XP 105 R300 shafts that I really like and used for several rounds last year with satisfactory results, but I'm worried that if the wheels came off my game with those in play it could get really ugly.

While the Steelheads have been out a while I don't think there's been much advancement that would merit spending more money. I'm distance challenged and wanted to try to get the best help I could. Basically, if the Steelheads don't result in at least a little more distance then nothing will.

I've been hitting balls using my garage golf cage setup and so far like them. The irons seem to want to go straight and launch easily. The KBS Tour 90 shaft is really easy to swing. I'm not overpowering the shaft, but it does feel somewhat soft. The irons have a unique noise at impact. I'll take it as a way to indicate how well I struck the ball.

I'm a believer in the Maltby MPF measurement system and the Steelhead XR is an all timer. The C dimension is 1.641", actual RCOG 0.590" and actual VCOG 0.744". The only measurement that is not phenomenal is the MOI at 13.2.

I'll have them in the bag for the 2020 season.

Dave
 
I passed my XR16 Steelheads along time my son after I picked up my Miuras but since that set only comes 4-P I still use the 3I from that set and it is still one of my most reliable clubs.
 
Played yesterday in the cold and wind with a guy who has these Steelheads in his bag. He shot 5 under.
 
2+ years with these irons and I don't see them leaving the bag anytime soon. After a recent swing adjustment, I'm hitting them half a club longer and they're so easy to hit.
 
The 6-lw has been in my bag for 2 years now. No plans to change, my opinion is that their an underrated, excellent performing set.
 
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