Equipment
’13 Callaway Irons: In-hand photos, video and specs
Callaway’s X Hot and X Hot Pro irons were designed for two distinct categories of golfers, but they have one major similarity — they’re designed to fly a long way with consistent distance.
The X Hot is Callaway’s most forgiving iron in its 2013 lineup, featuring a deep cavity to improve distance and forgiveness. It’s a game-improvement iron, a category of irons that gets a bad rap for causing flyers — shots that are hit slightly above the center of the face and tend to fly unexpectedly far.
[youtube id=”OD5ltnU6GB4″ width=”620″ height=”360″]
That’s why Callaway removed the undercut that sits behind the top line of most cavity back irons. By reinforcing the top part of the face, engineers lowered the sweetspot to slightly below center (0.155 inches lower then than Callaway’s previous game-improvement model, the RAZR X), which is where most amateurs make contact with their irons. By doing this, Callaway engineers said they’ve removed the “high hot spot.”
“Golfers have a mortal fear of hitting the globe first, so they hit it thin,” said Dr. Alan Hocknell, vice president of R&D for Callaway. “That’s why these irons are very forgiving low on the face.”
X Hot 3 Iron
X Hot Pro 3 Iron
The X Hot Pro irons are designed for golfers who need forgiveness but don’t want to look at an oversize club. The Pro model has less off set, thinner soles, thinner top lines and 1-degree weaker lofts than the standard model. Like the standard version, engineers stiffened the upper part of the face to eliminate flyers and make the lower portion of the face more forgiving on mishits. The Pros also feature Callaway’s 20-degree close-spaced grooves, which Luke Williams, global director of woods and irons for Callaway, said increases backspin as much as 1000 rpms out of the rough.
“This is the first time that we’ve cast the groove that we’ve been forging,” Williams said. “It’s a harder, more expensive groove to make. But we wanted to put in in the (pro) line where players are more likely to notice.”
Both models are cast from 17-4 stainless and feature dual-material medallions in the iron cavities to improve sound and feel.
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
Availability: Jan. 25, 2013
Price:
- X Hot Irons: 3-PW or 4-AW — $699 (steel), $899 (graphite)
- X Hot Pro Irons: 3-PW or 4-AW — $799 (steel)
X Hot Shafts:
- Steel — True Temper Speed Step 85 Lightweight, Regular (93 grams) and Stiff (95 grams)
- Graphite — X Hot I-750, Light (68 grams), Regular (79 grams), Stiff (79 grams)
X Hot Pro Shaft:
- Type: Project X 95 Flighted Steel [5.0 (R), 5.5 (S) and 6.0 (X)]
- Weight: weight: 92.3 grams (R), 92.3 grams (S) and 97.3 grams (X)
Specs:
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
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Whats in the Bag
Taylor Pendrith’s winning WITB: 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Accra TZ Six ST
3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 80 6.5 TX
7-wood: Ping G425 Max (20.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 90 6.5 TX
Irons: Srixon ZX (2, 3) Buy here, Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-9) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.5 90, 6.5 100 (2-3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 Tour Rack (46-10 Mid, 52-10 Mid, 56-10 Mid, 60-9 Full) Buy here.
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Odyssey Jailbird Versa Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Ben Kohles WITB 2024 (May)
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 9 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4, 5), Titleist 620 CB (6-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.0
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-12F, 54-12D, 60)
Shafts: Project X 6.0
Putter: Scotty Cameron P5 prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Ben Kohles’ clubs in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)
- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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Art
May 14, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Does anyone know if the Callaway X hot are bore through?
Ed
Apr 30, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Had a fitting for irons by a leading Pro Fitter. I tried out the new TM Rocketbladez and the Callaway X-Hots. I hit my current 6 iron further and with closer ball dispersion than any of the TM 6 irons I tried out using a number of different shafts. The Callaway X-Hot went 10 yards further with the bog standard off-the-shelf shaft with equally close dispersion to my own iron. My current irons? – Callaway FT Fusions. And yet both these new 6 irons have the same loft as my old FT Fusion 5 iron!!!
FCM
Jan 13, 2013 at 5:48 pm
Hallelujah on everyone calling out the ridiculous lofts from Callaway and TM. Of course they will be longer than the other brands. Even the X Hot Pro iron’s have much stronger lofts than the other better player irons. Titleist and Ping are two of the big companies still making true honest products. None of the marketing BS needed to back up their products too.
Nick
Dec 20, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Golf Pro: “What makes your 2013 iron so good?”
TMaG Sales Rep: “With the addition of the speed pocket in the Rocketbladez, we were able increase the size of the sweet spot from a pea to a quarter.”
Callaway Sales Rep: “Forget about the sweet spot. We fixed the ‘high hot spot’ problem. You’ll never hit a flyer again!”
Joe Golfer
Dec 21, 2012 at 4:10 am
Exactly, Nick. They fixed the mythological “high hot spot”, that thing that exists on courses where unicorns roam.
FCM
Jan 13, 2013 at 5:48 pm
LMAO!! Great!!
Lee
Dec 20, 2012 at 4:34 am
Certainly nothing special and cheap looking but at least Calli are using decent shafts especially in the Pro model. The loft specs get more and more rediculous every year however having grown up with a 50 deg PW they are now in a position I like. 5-AW is pretty much what 3-PW used to be so with these clubs you don’t need the 3 & 4 irons and can balance the business end of the bag accordingly.
Joe Golfer
Dec 20, 2012 at 2:19 am
Repeating the other posts, Wow, those lofts really got strong. “Gotta keep up with the boys at TaylorMade”, said the
Callaway R&D team, “even if it makes for a cruddier club”. Now even the “Pro” model has superstrong lofts.
And that garbage about flyers is ridiculous. They talk about hitting the ball above the center of the face? Maybe off the tee on a par 3, but not off the turf. You’re not going to get spring effect from an older Callaway iron no matter how much you hit down on the ball, EVER. C’mon, Callaway, cut the crapola. New Callaway motto ought to be “We can’t make a better clubhead, so we’ll just hype it with a bunch of mularkey.”
Want to hit a flyer? Hit out of rough and have grass get between ball and grooves, so you don’t get spin on the ball. That’s a flyer.
On the GolfWRX homepage, there’s an article by Tom Wishon called “Wishon: The way golf clubs are being sold has harmed golf”. Everybody should read that article, as it explains why Callaway has just jumped the shark in terms of making a better club.
cg
Dec 18, 2012 at 12:40 pm
they look just like titleist aps
Dominic Chong
Dec 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Exactly.
I am looking into the AP1 right now.
cg
Dec 18, 2012 at 12:39 pm
just last year, we were told the slot behind the face helped us get it higher. I have never met a golfer who said that was bad…now we hate fliers? most people would love a flier so they can get to the green. I think the designers are laughing at the public as they go back and fourth with the ULTIMATE club design that will never be beaten..until next year.
forget a gap or a gap gap wedge..you need a gap gap gap wedge. Or else let us carry 16 clubs.
Jeff
Dec 17, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Wow, they got really aggressive with increasing the lofts. The pitching wedge is 44*. If you have a standard 52* gap wedge there will be an 8* difference. Are we approaching the point of needing a gap gap wedge?
Jay
Dec 17, 2012 at 8:14 pm
These are just ugly…
– not in the high tech new design type of ugly
– but in the cheap walmart type ugly
Please Callaway, you have to get a new design team.
No matter how the clubs perform, they are not going to sell well if they keep looking like this.
Don’t believe guys on this forum who say they don’t care about looks as long as they perform. That’s total BS.
luke keefner
Dec 17, 2012 at 5:28 pm
The Xhot 6 has a stronger loft than my Mizuno 5 iron