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Callaway XR Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
alez367 said:
this is exactly how I've been lately with driver shafts. I actually just tested a handcraft 6.0s in another driver and while the driver head did not fit me, the shaft was great. Compared to the stock LZ in the XR, the handcrafted wasn't as smooth but definitely didn't require too much effort to load and get the same feeling I experienced demoing the XR. And I definitely agree with the wording of "harsh" to describe some other shafts that don't feel my swing tempo.
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You found major differences between the LZ and HandCrafted LZ?
 
Canadan said:
I wouldn't mind seeing some shaft/shaft comparisons between their gamers and the LZ in the XR head.

It's hard to experience LZ with an open mind. There is a very obvious feeling of the shaft driving through the zone that may not be as noticeable in some of the shafts available today. People tend to fear change (sometimes for good reason) but I respect the idea that it's another element in trying to really understand XR as a whole.

Personally, I think the shaft loading through the zone is a breath of fresh air.
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I actually just did this - hit the XR with both my standard shaft (since I'm playing a Callaway, the exact same shaft, not just the model), and the LZ shaft on a monitor. Given my skill level/consistently, it all amounted to basically a wash for me - maybe (and that's a big maybe) a little more distance out of the XR. But, I'm playing a year old driver that has worked better than any other driver I've played. Not really in the market for a new driver. I hit a few other drivers in a fitting recently and nothing else worked as well as my Bertha did for me.

I'd happily put the XR in play, but I'm currently taking a "if it ain't broke" approach with my game. While it took some swings to get used to, I like the extra kick you get from the LZ. I'm someone who likes to feel the shaft flex during the swing, and I'll usually end up a flex down from what I've had suggested on something like the shaft optimizer to get that feel - find myself finding the middle better.
 
I'll be honest, I'm amazed as the differences some are seeing in the LZ and the LZ HC, especially knowing its pretty much the same shaft minus the hand crafted monniker. Hmmm.
 
JB said:
You found major differences between the LZ and HandCrafted LZ?
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Yes but that might have been the driver head difference that caused a majority of what I was experiencing. That aside, the stock LZ felt softer than HC as well the HC seemed to launch a tad lower than the stock LZ. As i said, the second could be the difference between the driver heads i was testing but it was definitely a difference, which for my low ball flight, would make a difference.
 
alez367 said:
Yes but that might have been the driver head difference that caused a majority of what I was experiencing. That aside, the stock LZ felt softer than HC as well the HC seemed to launch a tad lower than the stock LZ. As i said, the second could be the difference between the driver heads i was testing but it was definitely a difference, which for my low ball flight, would make a difference.
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Very interesting. So they were not both tested in the same head?
 
JB said:
Very interesting. So they were not both tested in the same head?
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no. Same loft in both heads but not same OEM.
 
alez367 said:
no. Same loft in both heads but not same OEM.
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Smart money is on the head causing you frustration. Changing the weighting even slightly will alter ball flight quite a bit. See CG movement forward and back.
 
That brings a lot of variables into the equation IMO, all kinds of performance and weight traits that will be different.
 
JB said:
Smart money is on the head causing you frustration. Changing the weighting even slightly will alter ball flight quite a bit. See CG movement forward and back.
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I'm trying to find a cally dual cog to test the HC on XR but local GM is out. Might not be able to test it before purchasing an XR
 
fupresti said:
For you guys that are claiming this thing needs to be delofted to be manageable, what numbers are you talking about or seeing. I know it spins a bit much for me, but I am only seeing 5-10 yards on pure strikes, but the minor loss in distance is made up for with a lot more fairways hit.
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I don't know that I'd say it needs to be delofted to be manageable, its just quite a bit higher launch than I'm used to; but all last year I played the J40 in 9.5*, so I doubt my launch numbers were optimal with that. One of the reasons I'm calling this a high launcher is because the 10.5* in the XR was launching as high as 11.5* in the bio cell. Again, I have no idea if that's optimal for me, but I'm going to drop the loft a degree and see how things change. It is certainly manageable at 10.5*, and we always hear AMs need higher launch than we think, so it's possible the 10.5 setting might be ideal.

I will say that I was hitting a lot on the heel and high on the face, and still getting results that had me thrilled, so I'd call it extremely manigable in the stock setting, and as I get into season and dial in my swing to find the center of the face, I'm going to be looking at some sweet performance.
 
I'm looking forward to hitting the LZ and the LZ HC head to head in this, this week. Should be able to provide some numbers and such too.

Still boggled by what some are seeing.
 
Jman said:
I'm looking forward to hitting the LZ and the LZ HC head to head in this, this week. Should be able to provide some numbers and such too.

Still boggled by what some are seeing.
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I'd be curious to find out whether the old trick of blacking out the shafts would create the same results. Obviously we're talking about different heads that have created the different feedback, so it's definitely narrowed the scope of expectation.

Personally, I find the characteristics to be quite similar. By my personal profile I'd be leaning more towards 6.5 or 7.0 due to my swing issues, but certainly not because of the loading sensation the LZ provides. I bet it's eye opening for a lot of casual golfers.
 
Canadan said:
I'd be curious to find out whether the old trick of blacking out the shafts would create the same results. Obviously we're talking about different heads that have created the different feedback, so it's definitely narrowed the scope of expectation.

Personally, I find the characteristics to be quite similar. By my personal profile I'd be leaning more towards 6.5 or 7.0 due to my swing issues, but certainly not because of the loading sensation the LZ provides. I bet it's eye opening for a lot of casual golfers.
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I think the blind test would change everything for some, I liken it to the "Pro" or "Tour" monikers on things, that "Hand Crafted" thing plays a role. Strange.
 
So my course was very wet yesterday so I still don't want to comment on distance because that wouldn't be fair right now. I hope to head out to my local shop and get on a LM soon. I will say there is a 270 yard par 4 at the course I play at on Sundays. I hit both drivers back to back, both hit the green, my current driver (Titleist 915 D3 - Diamana D+ White S) had a bit of a draw starting at the flag and going left and pin high almost at the fringe. The XR (LZ 6.5 X) held a straight line to the flag, launched a bit higher and was just about 5 yards short of the flag.

The XR left me with the easier putt but of course that's just based on the circumstances on that particular hole and the fact one had draw spin and the XR never deviated from the line lol.

Sound/feel at impact was very different. There is a certain pop with my current driver that let's me know middled it, the XR, had pretty much the same sound regardless and because of that (and the fact it launched higher) i FELT that I wasn't hitting it as great. But while I drove down to my ball, it was right in the same area my drives usually are.

I plan on getting some more rounds in this week where I'll have a chance to hit it back to back when the course has a bit less traffic.
 
That's interesting Flash! I had a friend who requires a bit more speed in his driver demo this during our round the other day, and I called out his misses purely on sound a couple times.

There's also a very distinct sound when I hit this one right on the button. a sort of MASHING sound that is downright addictive. When you find it, come back and brag about it haha! Crazy good sound.
 
fupresti said:
For you guys that are claiming this thing needs to be delofted to be manageable, what numbers are you talking about or seeing. I know it spins a bit much for me, but I am only seeing 5-10 yards on pure strikes, but the minor loss in distance is made up for with a lot more fairways hit.
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My answer is pretty similar to Nebgolfer's. I definitely wouldn't say it has to be delofted to be manageable. I seem to be a high launch/high spin player, so I'm just hoping that delofting will help me get a little bit consistently better flight/distance. For others, the high launch may be ideal.

I'm really looking forward to doing some testing and getting some comparison numbers this week, but here are some numbers from some testing I did last fall. I hit a 9.5* RazrHawk with the stock Aldila RIP shaft (my longtime gamer) with a 15-17 degree launch and spin averaging around 4000. I hit the 9* Big Bertha with the Aldila Tour Green with about the same launch and spin in the 3200-3500 range. Lofting the Big Bertha down to 8* on the course helped me get a little better launch/distance (at least to my eye, I didn't have a launch monitor). After all that, I ended up with an X2Hot Pro with a D+ 72g Whiteboard that I play at 8.5*. It has been the best driver by far that I've ever played, both in terms of distance and dispersion, but I never bothered to get numbers. I will take the XR and the X2HotPro and mix and match shafts and report back with some numbers.
 
bigskyirish said:
My answer is pretty similar to Nebgolfer's. I definitely wouldn't say it has to be delofted to be manageable. I seem to be a high launch/high spin player, so I'm just hoping that delofting will help me get a little bit consistently better flight/distance. For others, the high launch may be ideal.

I'm really looking forward to doing some testing and getting some comparison numbers this week, but here are some numbers from some testing I did last fall. I hit a 9.5* RazrHawk with the stock Aldila RIP shaft (my longtime gamer) with a 15-17 degree launch and spin averaging around 4000. I hit the 9* Big Bertha with the Aldila Tour Green with about the same launch and spin in the 3200-3500 range. Lofting the Big Bertha down to 8* on the course helped me get a little better launch/distance (at least to my eye, I didn't have a launch monitor). After all that, I ended up with an X2Hot Pro with a D+ 72g Whiteboard that I play at 8.5*. It has been the best driver by far that I've ever played, both in terms of distance and dispersion, but I never bothered to get numbers. I will take the XR and the X2HotPro and mix and match shafts and report back with some numbers.
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I know the RIP well. That thing was CRAZY harsh in comparison to flex, so it doesn't surprise me that LZ would be a shock to you.

Give it some time to grow on you irish. That loading feeling will begin to get intoxicating after some time. And while I agree that the stock 6.0 LZ isn't PERFECT for higher spin and higher launch players, I fit that profile and could probably get away gaming XR at 8* without much issue. The added forgiveness of the head makes up for the marginal increase in spin compared to my typical gamers. It may cost you 5% carry, but that can't be a huge deal if you're hanging out in the middle of the short grass, right?
 
Dan, I'm skimming here but have you put the XR in play?
 
Canadan said:
Give it some time to grow on you irish. That loading feeling will begin to get intoxicating after some time. And while I agree that the stock 6.0 LZ isn't PERFECT for higher spin and higher launch players, I fit that profile and could probably get away gaming XR at 8* without much issue. The added forgiveness of the head makes up for the marginal increase in spin compared to my typical gamers. It may cost you 5% carry, but that can't be a huge deal if you're hanging out in the middle of the short grass, right?
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I'm with you on all counts. I actually really like the feeling of the LZ and love the XR head so far too. Just working on getting adjusted to the combo to get some more consistent results. It's still very early though. I think when I get a little more comfortable, I'll have absolutely no problem gaming the XR.
 
Wake said:
Epic Skim, I can't wait to read your review. I'd be really interested on your thoughts on Vapor Pro vs XR. I know they are totally different drivers, but for some reason they both call to me.
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I find them notably different to be honest. Sound, profile, forgiveness. Each head has greater value in certain aspects, but I think I would have a pretty tough time offering a level comparison between the two heads.

it also doesn't help that that shaft I've got in my Vapor Pro is akin to rebar.
 
Canadan said:
That's interesting Flash! I had a friend who requires a bit more speed in his driver demo this during our round the other day, and I called out his misses purely on sound a couple times.

There's also a very distinct sound when I hit this one right on the button. a sort of MASHING sound that is downright addictive. When you find it, come back and brag about it haha! Crazy good sound.
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Lol will do. Maybe I just got so used to the loud shotgun shell of the 915 :). I will say when I took it out to the range, my friend just kept saying that was hit, that was hit....so MAYbe I wasn't missing it with the XR to know the difference hehe :D. I kid i kid. I'll be sure to focus more on that this week and not how the shaft is ribbed :bulgy-eyes: lmao.
 
Hit this club 7 times today in my round. First 6 missed the fairway. Had a 2 way miss going today. All me though. On the final one, hit a bomb leaving me 225 into a par 5 in the fairway. I noticed a swing flaw and when corrected and executed the club did what it does
 
I'm slowly starting to hit this club better. I noticed that I hit it better if I shorten my backswing a bit. Impact tape indicates I hit it more often on the heel.
 
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