Equipment
Callaway’s 2013 Women’s Golf Clubs: Editor Review
Looking for a premium women’s set? Here is a top pick from the GolfWRX editors.
Our testers have had Callaway’s 2013 line of X Hot women’s clubs in play for several weeks, and have both commented on how the distance the irons fly has made the game much more enjoyable for them.
The women’s versions use all the technology of Callaway’s GolfWRX Editor’s Choice-winning X Hot woods and irons, making them a top choice for a women who need more height and forgiveness from their clubs than the men’s versions can provide.
And how can you deny the looks of Callaway’s X Hot lineup going to a pink-and-gray scheme?
One of our testers, who is a higher handicap golfer, has always struggled with getting fairway woods off the ground. She said that the X Hot women’s fairway wood is by far the highest-launching and easiest to hit model she has ever gamed.
The whole set looks great, and put together with the XTT Xtreme Cart Bag in grey, the clubs look even more attractive.
You can’t deny the looks of Callaway’s X Hot lineup going to a pink-and-gray scheme is hot!
X Hot’s adjustable Speed Frame Face allows you to set the face angle in an Open, Square or Closed position to fine tune the trajectory and appearance you’re looking for at address.
The X Hot driver has also received a lot of praise from our testers. Both tested the 13.5-degree HT driver, and are hitting the club higher and farther than their previous drivers. Our testers have also enjoyed the fact that they can adjust the face angle of the club. They used Callaway’s OptiFit Hosel to close the driver’s face and get their shots started closer to the center line.
Like the men’s version, the women’s X Hot driver has three different face angle positions (Open, Square or Closed) to help golfers get the look and flight they need to play their best. It also has the company’s Speed Frame Face, which improves ball speed on mishits.
Callaway’s women’s X Hot driver comes with a lightweight, “W-flex” version of True Temper’s Project X Velocity shafts, which helps create a higher launch for more carry. The irons also come with a proprietary PXv shaft that boosts speed and launch.
The deeper undercut cavity on Callaway’s women’s X Hot irons helps create a higher launch and more ball speed over a larger area of the face.
Odyssey’s Women’s Divine putters are offered in shorter lengths than the men’s versions (32, 33 and 34 inches), with heavier head weights (350 grams) to optimize the feel of the putters.
They come in three popular shapes — 2Ball, Rossie and blade (similar to Odyssey’s No. 1 putter) — and have an insert with a feel that Callaway’s testing showed women preferred.
Callaway’s HEX Solaire Golf Ball has an S-Tech core with a lower compression than the company’s other offerings. That helps provide an extremely soft feel off the clubface, as well as improved accuracy and distance for women with slower club head speeds.
Its special HEX Aerodynamics helps create a long, penetrating flight and that is a better fit for low-speed, low-lift players. The pearlescent finish creates a stylish, elegant appearance on the course, and it’s also available in a vivid pink.
You can see the setup looks awesome on a cart. The strap of the bag is in the back side where it belongs. If you are not going to carry your bag or take a caddie, than this cart bag is the best choice.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Pat
May 18, 2014 at 5:06 pm
This review is an insult to women golfers . All the women I play golf with are serious about their game and always looking to improve. This review was nothing more then a description of color and fashion.
Absolutely useless.
MARIOC
Jan 29, 2014 at 11:23 pm
I was looking around to find a new set of clubs
for my wife’s birthday.This site was a joke,it
was all a fashion show.She may not be a pro,but
she is serious about her game.I think she would
find this site somewhat insulting.
Becky
Dec 21, 2013 at 12:18 pm
This is the absolutely the most lame club review I’ve seen. Worthless. Although I now know how to position my clubs on the cart for best asthetic effect.
Rebecca
Sep 29, 2013 at 7:28 pm
This review assumes that women only care about how clubs look and not how they perform. Where is the real analysis? You are never going to get more women involved in golf if you don’t realize that like men, one size does not fit all. We don’t all love pink. We don’t need a 13.5 HT driver with a watered down shaft. I am hitting Callaway’s Razr Fit Extreme 10.5 with a cut down senior flex shaft and it has done wonders for my drives. Plus I have switched from the “womens” balls and have found that I am longer off the tee and have a ton more feel around the greens. I wish Golfwrx would take reviews targeted at women seriously rather than just talking about the colors or reviewing clothing.
Tracy
Sep 9, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Pink clubs? Are you kidding me?
LaineyT
Apr 3, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Oddly enough pink is not a bad thing. Last season I was stuck with a choice of hot pink or powder blue when getting my clubs re-gripped (the “feel” was better than the straight black). Although I’m not a fan of pink in general, I felt it had more personality than the blue and in the end I was happy with my choice. The bright colour really stands out against the grass (especially since the shafts on my clubs are green too) and makes it less likely that I’ll forget to pick up an iron after putting.
MMM
Aug 24, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Where are the fairway woods (only 1in the bag) and the rescue woods?