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Callaway XR Driver Review Thread

SuperStroke
This driver is intriguing to me. I say that with the preface that the brain/mind is a funny thing. Prior to owning this one I had the BBA 815 in the bag and absolutely enjoy it. Hitting the XR I found to be fun, rewarded great tee shots with distance & was forgiving with mishits, but something was off. Now this is totally personal, but I narrowed it down to the sound. It's not a bad thing, I'm just used to the sound and feel of my BBA815 more than this one.

Now if I was told the XR was the driver I had to game I could play it without hesitation, but that's the beauty about options. I guess I need to put this up for sale since having two drivers is pointless.
 
Played this for 9 holes today...wow this is very forgiving
 
I have been playing the DBD this season and having pretty good results. I was able to pick up the XR head with the LZ Pro shaft and absolutely hated it. On a whim I decided to stick the Rogue 70S in the XR head and give it a shot. I have a new driver now. It is soooooo much easier to hit and the Rogue as well as lowering the loft to 8 degrees has made this thing very long.
 
With driver in the bag and the right shaft, on the search for! I thinks I might likey. i'm on learning curve now but will soon master the sucker. And let me say this, the Pro sounds so much different to me then the non pro model, i like the sound
 
I noticed that my XR Head is 186.5g, while my V Series 9 degree head is 190g. I hit the V Series more consistently, but the XR head is sooooooo forgiving, that I want to see what a couple of grams of tungsten tape will do to the XR Head.
 
Desmond said:
I noticed that my XR Head is 186.5g, while my V Series 9 degree head is 190g. I hit the V Series more consistently, but the XR head is sooooooo forgiving, that I want to see what a couple of grams of tungsten tape will do to the XR Head.
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WIth shaft adapters weighing different amounts, grips weighing different amounts and of course shafts weighing different amounts, the odds of most golfers being able to tell the difference in 3 grams is not that high. Of course the drivers in question are very different designs.
 
JB said:
WIth shaft adapters weighing different amounts, grips weighing different amounts and of course shafts weighing different amounts, the odds of most golfers being able to tell the difference in 3 grams is not that high. Of course the drivers in question are very different designs.
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Agree as to most golfers. In this case, I can use the same shaft. Just experimenting to see what happens. Waiting for the BB Alpha to get to callawaygolfpreowned. If there is a new V Series with a MOTO face, I'm in. Wondering if they will discontinue the V Line, since the XR has taken its place as to speed and light, aerodynamic heads.
 
Desmond said:
Agree as to most golfers. In this case, I can use the same shaft. Just experimenting to see what happens. Waiting for the BB Alpha to get to callawaygolfpreowned. If there is a new V Series with a MOTO face, I'm in. Wondering if they will discontinue the V Line, since the XR has taken its place as to speed and light, aerodynamic heads.
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The xr line has not, nor was it intended to, replace the V-Series line. Two different lines.
 
Jman said:
The xr line has not, nor was it intended to, replace the V-Series line. Two different lines.
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I can vouch for that. I have struggled mightily with the XR and have been gaming the Optiforce (which is what the V-series replaced)
 
Jman said:
The xr line has not, nor was it intended to, replace the V-Series line. Two different lines.
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Good to know.

Thx!
 
cpljohnst said:
Hit 11 fairways of the 13 i hit driver on today. This head/shaft combo is just magical for me.
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I agree. Best Callaway driver I have ever owned and I have owned a lot of them from Callaway.
 
I have owned the XR Driver 10.5 with an Oban Isawa 55 Stiff at 45 in and D2 ... for two weeks.

I found the XR a bit frustrating at first -- I own a BB V Series 9, playing at 10, and was hitting it high and long on the range. I have a positive angle of attack between 4-5 degrees so I like a forgiving mid-spin driver as my speed (92-98) and swing do not give me excessive spin. The XR should fit me. And it feels like the entire face is one BIG soft sweet spot, so what's not to like?

On the range, I switched out to the XR and got low bullets or ugly pulls. Adjusted my grip but nada. Would pull out the BB V again and hit it well. I was confused. I hit the XR again, got the pulls and low bullets ... again. I began adjusting the club every which way I could except for the draw setting. Finally, I'd had enough and set it to neutral and 9.5.

On the second cycle with the V Series, I started hitting the V Series in the same way as the XR. So the culprit was me, not the club. Something in the XR swing bled out to the V Series swing. Well, I could fix that issue.

After thinking about it on the range, I had been practicing drills that did not involve my post-impact extension, which was to come later. But I thought my post-impact extension, or the lack of it, was causing this issue. Subconsciously, I was slowing my swing after impact and not extending because I was working on other issues, and this caused the club to literally turn over. This affected the XR more than the V Series, or affected me, for unknown reasons.

So --- I concentrated on keeping my hips turning and upwards, and my arms wide on extension past impact.

It resolved everything.

Afterwards, I hit mid-high, straight bombs on a consistent basis.

I wrote about my issues because I know different drivers get different results for unknown reasons - maybe my journey will help someone else analyze if they and/or the different design is more temperamental as to certain swing issues that one may be having. The club is giving feedback. Sometimes, it's tough to determine what the club is saying. Listen to the club.

Whew ... Now to repeat that tomorrow, and then go to the course next week.
 
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Has anyone found a way to mute the sound of this driver? Would be nice to get it sounding the same as the Alpha.
 
billp said:
Has anyone found a way to mute the sound of this driver? Would be nice to get it sounding the same as the Alpha.
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Not attempted with the XR, but a club maker did put a wee bit of hot melt into an R1 that made it sound and feel softer.
 
billp said:
Has anyone found a way to mute the sound of this driver? Would be nice to get it sounding the same as the Alpha.
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Going to be difficult because the Alpha sounds the way it does because of the use of composites versus the all titanium build of the XR. You could muffle the sound maybe with hot melt or cotton balls, but its not going to do much.
 
Desmond said:
Agree as to most golfers. In this case, I can use the same shaft. Just experimenting to see what happens. Waiting for the BB Alpha to get to callawaygolfpreowned. If there is a new V Series with a MOTO face, I'm in. Wondering if they will discontinue the V Line, since the XR has taken its place as to speed and light, aerodynamic heads.
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Just an FYI the alpha 815's starting popping in on preowned.
 
Callaway XR Driver Review Thread

First couple swings with a XR 9* N/S setting with proj X HC 6.0 @ 45".



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alez367 said:
First couple swings with a XR 9* N/S setting with proj X HC 6.0 @ 45".



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Good to great numbers for first swings with the club, especially when you take out that one ball. I wonder ... what would happen with +1 on loft to get spin up to 2200 avg. Of course, more time with the club may offer you higher quality consistency. Good luck with the XR. Love its forgiving nature, and it has taught me that any tension in the swing can lead to disaster. A relaxed full swing can lead to the longest drives of your life.
 
The XR is the most forgiving driver I've ever gamed. In recent years I've gained the following drivers:
FT Optiforce 460
X460
Razr Hawk
X-Hot
Big Bertha 2014
And now the XR

By far the XR is the best of the bunch and it will take something special to get this driver out of the bag.

Dax


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Tried the XR on the course this morning and with only 18 holes as my judge, I really like this club but might need to have a buddy add some hot melt or lead tape to help with light weight feeling of the club


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alez367 said:
Tried the XR on the course this morning and with only 18 holes as my judge, I really like this club but might need to have a buddy add some hot melt or lead tape to help with light weight feeling of the club


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I added two or three strips of lead tape to the heel of mine, but really could not feel the difference.
 
I really love the forgiveness of this driver, but haven't found the right shaft for me still. I've gamed the ultra light 55 gram UST Prototype shaft that came in mine with awesome distance results, but not so awesome dispersion. I recently switched to the UST Elements Chrome 6F5T and its apparently too stout. I hit 12/14 fairways my first time gaming it, but nothing was over 230 yards (and the lack of distance is probably why I managed to stay in the fairways. I've hit the 55 gram shaft over 300 twice and regularly 270+. So I'm not sure where to go at this point. I've considered cutting the 55 gram shaft down an inch to make it play at 45" instead of 46", but I hate taking the chance of cutting it and not seeing much improvement in dispersion. I've also considered looking for a shaft in the 70 gram range in stiff.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I added two or three strips of lead tape to the heel of mine, but really could not feel the difference.
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I'm thinking of adding strips to the bottom near center of sole similar to XR pro weight screw


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I was fortunate enough to put on a freaking XR commercial this weekend with a bunch of THPers. Hitting fairways all weekend long, even as my energy level waned, I was still smoking this driver with nice smooth swings. My iron game went to crap, but I was getting off the tee so well with this driver. It won't go anywhere unless the fitters at Callaway tell find me an even better option, but I dare them to try because I just don't know that it's out there.
 
Nebgolfer said:
I was fortunate enough to put on a freaking XR commercial this weekend with a bunch of THPers. Hitting fairways all weekend long, even as my energy level waned, I was still smoking this driver with nice smooth swings. My iron game went to crap, but I was getting off the tee so well with this driver. It won't go anywhere unless the fitters at Callaway tell find me an even better option, but I dare them to try because I just don't know that it's out there.
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You were Mr Automatic with this thing. Me, not so much. BBA 815 is the one for me.
 
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