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2013 Callaway X Forged Irons — Pics and Info

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What’s better than a forged muscleback iron at address? Nothing, except maybe an iron that looks the same, plays the same and has more forgiveness.

Callaway has attempted to create such an iron for 2013 with its X Forged, a tour-inspired forged cavity back designed by Roger Cleveland that offers cleaner looks and better performance than its predecessor, the Callaway RAZR X Forged.

Luke Williams, senior director of global woods and irons for Callaway, said the most popular irons on the PGA Tour and European Tour right now for the company are not its forged cavity backs. It’s the company’s muscleback offerings — last year’s RAZR X Muscleback irons and their predecessor, the Tour Authentic X-Prototype irons that Callaway tour players are trusting in their bags.

The reason is not necessarily that tour players don’t need the added size and forgiveness of a forged cavity back, either. Yes, one of the reasons musclebacks are more popular with tour players than forged cavity back irons is because of their clean looks. But there are also performance reasons.

According to Williams, Callaway’s recent musclebacks have been a hit because of what the company is calling CG Height progression. CG (Center of Gravity) Height Progression puts the center of gravity lower in the long irons for the higher trajectory that tour pros want. It also places the CG higher in the short irons for a flatter trajectory. Callaway’s previous forged cavity back irons, the RAZR X Forged, had the opposite CG progression. The center of gravity was actually the lowest in the short irons.

Callaway also got feedback from tour pros that the RAZR X Forged irons had a tendency to dig through impact, while the muscleback irons went more smoothly through the turf. So the new X Forged were designed to have what Williams called “a slightly wider muscleback sole.”

Aesthetically, the 2013 X Forged look more like Callaway’s musclebacks as well. They have a shorter blade length than the RAZR X Forged, but it’s not quite as short as the musclebacks. The 2013 X Forged irons also lose the high heel and sharp toe that gave the RAZR X Forged a polarizing appearance, opting for a face profile closer to the musclebacks.

“Pretty much every player that puts the muscle back iron down like the way it looks,” Williams said.

They X Forged irons go farther than the RAZR X irons as well. They do so, according to Williams, for two reasons:

  1. The clubs have one degree stronger lofts (21-degree 3 iron, 46-degree pitching wedge)
  2. CG height progression

Despite what many believe about modern iron design, the lofts were not strengthened simply to make the ball go farther. Stronger lofts are a result of tour feedback. Williams said that Callaway sets the lofts on its tour irons based on tour trends. And it’s vital for Callaway to follow the loft trends on tour, since changing the loft of an iron also reduces the bounce on an iron, which can lead to digging. Bending an iron one-degree strong won’t change a iron’s response to the turf that much, but bending a club stronger than that can certainly change things.

“We really design a forged iron product like the X Forged for the tour,” Williams said. “But we know if we get them right, they will work for amateurs as well.”

CG Height progression makes the X Forged long irons go farther because since they’re launching higher, they’re also carrying farther. It also makes the short irons go farther thanks to a more piercing trajectory.

Golfers looking for a tour-quality ball flight will also be happy to learn that the new X Forged irons come stock with a Project X PXi shaft, a lighter weight model of the popular Project X shaft with similar flight characteristics.

“We felt that PXi was the best fit, given the trend of going lighter with iron shafts,” Williams said. “Players are recognizing the value of lighter shafts if [those shafts] can maintain the consistency.”

Williams expects that the X Forged will become Callaway’s most popular iron on tour, knocking some muscleback irons out of the bags of Callaway staff players. Callaway has already received a glowing endorsement from Phil Mickelson, who was not very interested in switching from his musclebacks. He showed up to a recent Callaway ad shoot with a full set of X Forged irons in his bag and said he might put them in the bag in China at the HSBC World Golf Championships.

The 2013 Callaway X Forged irons will retail for $999.99 per set and will be available on Jan. 25, 2013.

Click here for more discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum. 

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21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. Pingback: Golf-Patents.com | Is Callaway Golf Bringing Back the Powersphere?

  2. Bart Knoch

    Mar 2, 2013 at 10:54 am

    Awsome clubs..far better than my ‘former clubs” Mizuno MP-67…soft feel, explosive off of the clib face, and deadly accurate. One of the best Callaway has ever produced

  3. SMSgt Kenneth Clouthier

    Jan 3, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    When are the new Callaway Irons be released?

  4. Nat Senior

    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    I bought RAZR X Forged in September 2012 and these are the best Irons I’ve ever hit for distance and workability… these look even better!

  5. TJA

    Nov 8, 2012 at 8:16 pm

    Great looking iron. Long time Callaway user and can’t wait to add the newest iron to the bag. Well done Callaway!

  6. Aj

    Nov 2, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    I’d like to see this in a bore thru, like the 06 x tour forged.

  7. Pingback: Golf Inventions, Patents, and Technology via The IP Golf Guy (aka The Golf Patent Attorney): Is Callaway Golf Bringing Back the Powersphere?

  8. Ray

    Nov 1, 2012 at 8:57 am

    Forged is forged and cast is cast. You play one or the other. Just because they change the design on the back of the club makes no difference whatsoever.

  9. darren

    Oct 28, 2012 at 10:52 am

    My callaway razr forged have green writing on the head where it says forged x anyone have a idea why

    • Barry Goodman

      Mar 12, 2013 at 2:03 pm

      I believe it means that it is a custom order.
      Simple answer.

      Barry

    • Barry Goodman

      Mar 12, 2013 at 2:09 pm

      I believe that it means your clubs were a custom order.
      Simple answer.
      Regards,
      Barry

  10. Pingback: Friday Golf Mashup 10/26/12 - Golficity

  11. Greg Capstick

    Oct 26, 2012 at 1:25 am

    These are sick!!, i really think Callaway has stepped up their game in the “better player” category recently in he last couple releases starting with the x prototype, if i didnt go titleist id either be going tCallaway or Mizuno

  12. thegolfingboy

    Oct 25, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    These look really nice, I do agree though with prior comments. Definitely looks like a Mizuno typed iron, but if the shoe fits..

  13. Tyler

    Oct 25, 2012 at 12:44 am

    It looks nice, but it also looks like a tweaked Mizuno MP64. It’s even got what looks like the Mizuno diamond muscle idea going on.

    • Ikbal

      Dec 10, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      I’ve tested these clubs out and they work relaly well. I was shocked at how much control I had with the club. My favorite club is still the Nike clubs they have more power than any other club I’ve used. Check out the brand new Nike clubs in my profile.

  14. Zan

    Oct 24, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    These look great. I play the razr x forged now and love them. Can’t wait to hit these though. Not sure how I feel about project x shafts though. I love the feel of my x100s.

    • Michael

      Feb 16, 2013 at 10:41 am

      I demoed these and the x-hot irons vs many other irons at the golfsmith store the other day. The lighter project x shafts (pxi and 95) made a huge differance. My clubhead speed increased 10-15 mph on average without changing my swing effort (i hit a LOT of balls with all if them so i had a pretty large sample group). I have been a DG guy for 20+ years and I have to say im completely sold on the px stuff. 18 yrds more for the callaway irons with those shafts is huge! Very good feel and control as well.

  15. Gman

    Oct 24, 2012 at 3:00 am

    That’s a very Japan-influenced design, it looks like, to me. Very Yamaha looking, know what I mean?

  16. jgpl001

    Oct 23, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    Decent looking iron. I don’t like the extra grooves on all new Callaway irons, but they are good, solid clubs.

    Much better offering than the new TM shovel

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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