It used to be that “Callaway” and “players irons” never went together in a sentence… unless the sentence was “Callaway doesn’t make very many players irons”. That’s not who they were.
That wasn’t the market that they were after. They would always make a Pro Series version of their “X” line, some of which were actually pretty good, but it wasn’t their thing. Callaway Golf set out to make golf fun for the average player… not make a blade for a lower handicap. Smart move… game improvement irons aren’t sexy but they sell!
The X-Tour was basically born on the day when Callaway Golf bought Hogan/Top Flite. Hogan made some of the best forged irons in the business and Callaway was looking to expand their line… and perhaps attract some Phil guy into their PGA Tour stable. Hogan had the forging and “players” club experience, and Callaway had a good design and a marketing machine to promote the new club. Would the public take this club seriously? Could Callaway “Kings of Forgiveness” Golf actually make a blade-like iron? Phil was hitting it… how bad could it be?
It turned out to be amazing. The Callaway X-Tour is a two piece forged iron. The first piece is the club face. The face is made from 1020 carbon steel and it is welded onto the cradle (the second piece). Callaway needed to make this club in two parts so they could incorporate some of their proven technologies… namely notch weighting and the undercut channel… into the club. The result is a very forgiving, very attractive and very solid iron.
The X-Tour doesn’t look like a Callaway club at all… it has a thin sole, a thin top line and a square toe. The iron features a fairly deep cavity and an undercut channel that increases forgiveness but these are hidden when looking down on the iron. The X-Tour also has a full hosel… something that Callaway has never used. It combines the feel of a forged Hogan and the forgiveness of a Callaway… that’s a match made in golf heaven! The stock shafts in the X-Tour are very good… Dynamic Gold steel (although they have been offering others at no charge too) and RCH Pro Series graphite (good but not a big seller).
Golfers love these clubs. They love the look, they love the feel and they love the forgiveness. Everyone asks about them and our testers were very excited to hit them. I think the comment I get the most concerns forgiveness. How many other “players” irons are good on miss hits? Not many. The ball flight is fairly high but if you want to bring the ball flight down, look at a Project X or Flighted Rifle shaft. Remember though… this club is designed for the better player… a higher handicap would be wise to look at a different iron. If you are a decent player in need of a quality iron… you’d be stupid not to hit these!
Overall Rating – 90%
Target Handicap: 15 and below
Ball Flight: Mid to High
Offset: Minimal
Construction: 2 piece forged
Stock Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold steel, RCH Pro Series graphite