Callaway X Forged CB Irons Review

What do you think @Scarnici - hunting pins?

Since getting the 9 iron I have had 2 driving range sessions and got it on the course once hitting it about 3 times.

I really like the looks of the iron. I am far from a strong iron player but these really intrigued me and I wanted to give them a go.

It’s a small sample size and it’s just the 9 iron but I feel this is a set I can game. I’m playing tomorrow so I will make sure I hit this a bunch and report back
 
My favorite iron and wedge shaft right there.

I played around with the 7i from a fitting cart today. Even though I was not wearing the right stuff (seriously don't try and get a feel in boots/jacket while indoors) I was really impressed. Seeing good ballspeed. Launch was a bit higher than expected and spin was in a good window. My only thing is I wish I could of tried something other than the IO 6.5 and the LZ 6.0 that was more in the weight and profile I like but who knows with the drop in playing I'll do next year if I should also go with the lower weight.
Nippon makes a fantastic shaft - and very friendly in X.

I hope it's a great fit.

Got some range time with them. It's a great combo. I know a swing should never fit into equipment; it should be the opposite. BUT there's something about this set that really has me swinging extremely comfortably and fast due to 1. the offset and 2. shaft profile.

The offset that the CB's have is really interesting to my eye. It gets me to set up so that my hands ever so slightly past the club head. This might be completely obvious for some. But gets me to a better set up during my backswing.

Anyway, taking these out for a round tomorrow morning. I haven't played in about 2 weeks. Maybe 3. Itching for a round with this set.
 
So who's taking advantage of the extra trade-in bonus on some new CB's?!
 
So who's taking advantage of the extra trade-in bonus on some new CB's?!

I feel like I missed something - trade bonus you say? Still tempted by a 5 & 6.
 
These look fantastic. Well done Callaway... wow, what a great iron
 
I feel like I missed something - trade bonus you say? Still tempted by a 5 & 6.

Haven't seen that yet.

Huh. It was up at all the stores here yesterday. Should have grabbed a pic of the signage for the exact details. Trade in bonus towards X Forged CB irons, BB21 drivers fwys hybs and irons, and something Mavrik. Pretty sure that was it. One said they had literally just put the (whatever we call little ad signs in golf stories) out when I mentioned it.
 
Huh. It was up at all the stores here yesterday. Should have grabbed a pic of the signage for the exact details. Trade in bonus towards X Forged CB irons, BB21 drivers fwys hybs and irons, and something Mavrik. Pretty sure that was it. One said they had literally just put the (whatever we call little ad signs in golf stories) out when I mentioned it.

You must have gotten the early look. Will keep my eyes peeled.
 
Went and hit these again today. Spin was way up. Not sure why.

Kinda need to wait until/if the Apex pros come out now since I don't like seeing spin above 7k w/ a 7i.
 
I spent an hour at local Club Champion to get some final numbers on key clubs. Its something I do every year to see how my shot dynamics have changed over the year and to know where I need to be come spring to try to pick up where I left off. Just a small thing that I can use as a baseline going into winter and recheck when we get to spring and the snow melts.

While I was tehre, I decided to go give the X-forged a try since I knew I could try them with the same shaft I run in my T200's ( Oban CT125 ) and they had been on my mind considering whats coming up in 4 weeks. Figured it would give me a decent baseline comparison just to see how they do against what I have said in the past has been one of the best irons I have ever played in the T200's. To make it close, I used the 6 iron from the X-Forged CB at 29 deg and the 7 iron from the T200's which is at 30 degrees. Same shaft, same lie/offset. Only difference is the head and a slight difference in shaft length. Here are the averages of of about 10 shots with my T200 and about 20 or so swings with the X-forged CB 6 iron. All shots were done with my own Tour BX balls and not the balls at CC.

X-Forged CB 6-iron ( 29 deg )

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T200 7-iron ( 30 deg )
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Dispersion circle for each
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Overall impress is that the CB's are no joke. They feel really soft but solid. They still thump the ball which is one of the things I like with the T200's. What surprised me was how forgiving they are and how consistent the spin was on shots. The numbers above really don't tell the tale. If you look at the last 5 or 6 swings, my average spin was 6320 with only 102 variance. Ball speed was within 1.5 miles per hour variance, and smash factor was a 0.01 variance.

Last 5 shots with X-forged CB 6-iron
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So net / net, even though these heads are much smaller than the T200 and look visually smaller, the consistency across the hitting surface is crazy as far as I can tell and in comparison, I give up a degree or so of launch angle, about 600 rpm's of spin and 2 degrees of land angle for 7 or 8 feet less height but get a way softer feel off the face. I definitely hit some shots not dead center and around the face and they still flew a long way with a consistency I didn't deserve.

All in all, can't wait for the Grandmama and seeing what the wizards at Callaway can do. Its a good sign when both the fitters there had recently switched to the CB's. :)
 
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Good info @Tevenor ! Their literature basically says spin robustness, consistency, forgiveness. Sounds like that was you're experience. I've tried to mention to a few people that the X Forged CB's are more forgiving than I think people believe they'll be. It surprised me.
 
You must have gotten the early look. Will keep my eyes peeled.
I got some unwanted clarification on it yesterday. 6 piece minimum on the X Forged CB to qualify. :( So it's off to eBay for me to sell, and then just order the couple I want.
 
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Good info @Tevenor ! Their literature basically says spin robustness, consistency, forgiveness. Sounds like that was you're experience. I've tried to mention to a few people that the X Forged CB's are more forgiving than I think people believe they'll be. It surprised me.

Had the same feeling. I was very surprised. I thought I was going to be spraying them all of over the place. After all, I am no @Canadan . 😁 There was two shots I thought I blew out to the right hard and both actually just sat there and drew back to be just right of the target line. I did seem to draw these a bit more than the T200s.
 
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Hit these again today this time with Steelfiber. Beyond impressed with consistent distance this time.

I had a series of shots were mishits in different ways in a row. Heel, then toe, then fat, then thin and they all went the same distance dead straight. A ton of forgiveness from this small package.

Well struck shots that I actually controlled the face were hot. The biggest question is always what spin profile will I get. These are definitely a high spin players iron. But its wonderful to have the distance control.
 
Finally had a chance to hit the x-forged cb today. 7i with a glued in Project X IO S shaft, rather than a fitting head. 🤷‍♂️ Solid feel at impact and numbers I would expect for me at that loft. On the forgiving side. Shaft felt pretty good. The head is little bigger than I expected but looks far better in person than the photos. Very nice iron. I will put in more time with it over the next few weeks.
 
Finally had a chance to hit the x-forged cb today. 7i with a glued in Project X IO S shaft, rather than a fitting head. 🤷‍♂️ Solid feel at impact and numbers I would expect for me at that loft. On the forgiving side. Shaft felt pretty good. The head is little bigger than I expected but looks far better in person than the photos. Very nice iron. I will put in more time with it over the next few weeks.
Since they one wasn't a fitting head, I'm assuming you at least saw/held the rest of the set. What did you think about the look and shape of them?
 
Now that they are out, I have to get in and take a look at a stock set. Only ones I have seen in hand were the fitting heads with the large hosel. The offset has been mentioned a lot. Have to see what it looks like first hand. Don't plan on hitting them again until next year when everything else is out.
 
I wonder if it is more how the transition of the hosel looks than the actual amount of offset that people eye seems to pick up. I looked up the specs and they are pretty comparable to my Srixon's, and in general don't object to the number on paper. I didn't mind them in the store either.
 
Yeah, it's all about the perceived offset created by the transition. If you're taking about the ZX7 @GraniteRoost , they definitely have less perceived offset than the X Forged.
 
Yeah, it's all about the perceived offset created by the transition. If you're taking about the ZX7 @GraniteRoost , they definitely have less perceived offset than the X Forged.

I was referring to my z745's as I have not had the ZX7 in hand yet, but their specs are the same on offset. I actually have a spreadsheet open on this X Forged CB to ZX7 comparison (darn mm to inches conversions!), and the ZX7 are more progressive, having a 0.008" more offset at the 4 iron and in the long irons and 0.019" less by the time you get to PW.
 
I was referring to my z745's as I have not had the ZX7 in hand yet, but their specs are the same on offset. I actually have a spreadsheet open on this X Forged CB to ZX7 comparison (darn mm to inches conversions!), and the ZX7 are more progressive, having a 0.008" more offset at the 4 iron and in the long irons and 0.019" less by the time you get to PW.
I can probably drop them down next to each other and snaps some pics for your tomorrow.
 
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So hard to try to show in pictures @GraniteRoost , but maybe it'll come through in these.

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Grabbed some of the soles and shapes for you too.
 

Those are awesome pictures, thanks for doing that! The hosel transition definitely is a little different there, does appear more pulled back on the X Forged regardless of what the specs on paper say.
 
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