WRX Forum Buzzz

Callaway RAZR Fit X-DREAM Trip for a GolfWRX member

Published

13 years ago

Apr 27, 2013

GolfWRX

By GolfWRX Member: VAGolfer86

As many of you know, I was fortunate enough to win the recent WRX/Cally give-away for the signed Lefty driver, a trip to Carlsbad to visit Callaway HQ, and a full bag fitting of the latest and greatest gear – putter through driver. After a very long and anxiety filled couple of weeks, I finally made it out there from Wednesday until tonight. My primary contact was Chad (HashtagChad on here) and he was awesome from the initial travel arrangements, to walking me out of HQ for the final time last night. I didn’t get a TON of photos, but enough for my scrap-booking purposes and some good ones to share on here.

I flew out from DC, making the flight about as long as it could have been. The anticipation was killing me, and I’m pretty sure I beat everyone off my flight to the rental car shuttle. When I picked up the rental, I sped up I-5 as fast as the 4-banger Mazda would go, paying no attention to the blur of gorgeous mountain/coastal scenery in my peripherals. There was no traffic and I made it up the coast in under 30 mins, so I called Chad to see what the plan was for the afternoon, it was about 1:30pm at this point. I was starving and hadn’t eaten since 7am EST, so food was my first question when Chad got on the phone. Unfortunately, the Callaway Cafe had already closed, so I inhaled a meatball sub from subway and made it on over to Callaway. Finally!

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callaway golf

Chad came out to the front lobby and escorted me back to the ZooCrew bat-cave. I got to meet just about everyone, including Scott, Luke, Doc, Matt, and the man, the myth, the legend…Harry. Mr. Arnett was quite the character. It’s easy to see his commitment and work ethic right here on the forums, but the man has a true passion for golf, the company he works for, and the people he works with. His demeanor and attitude can be contagious, and it’s no surprise everyone under him in the Callaway hierarchy have followed suit.

After Chad and I shared some laughs with Harry, Hashtag and I went on a scavenger hunt around the office. We found some pretty neat equipment lying around…like Jamie Sadlowski’s new wedge, fresh of the press. I guess he likes Top Gun too!

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or Ryo’s bag from the Masters…

a sandblasted x-forged iron, and Roger’s gunmetal painted x-forged iron with the matching UST Mamiya Recoil shaft, and the only Master’s version of the Odyssey #7putter (phone pics, sorry):

IMG_20130424_144037 IMG_20130425_113759 IMG_20130424_164516

Click here to read the original article and related discussion in the forums

Then Chad took me for a tour of the fitting bays upstairs with the proprietary Callaway Performance Analysis System (CPAS), that is used for Callaway Tour pros and anyone else who has access to a Callaway Performance Center.

Here we had one of the head instructors training a new employee on how to extrapolate swing data from the CPAS output, and make it relatable to a prospective customer. (I think we made the trainee nervous by standing in.) So much analysis can be done, and it sucks to think there are computers out there that can quantify how flawed our swings are!

After the hitting bay tour we went down to the newly renovated area for a putter fitting. Here I am messing around with a few lefty putters laying around.

At this point, it was just about quitting time, but Chad and I headed back to the bat-cave for a quick game of corn hole, or, as he called it, “Baggo”. Don’t ask, it’s an Arkansas thing… :dntknw: I pulled out a narrow victory after he took an early lead, but have no pictures to support. That’s my fault!

PANO_20130424_190733 I left for the day and was told to be back by 9:30am sharp, for a tour of R&D, lunch, and then my fitting! I left, and went back to the room and relaxed. After researching some local places to eat, I read a lot of good things about In and Out Burger. Many claimed it to be superior to Five Guys, so I obviously went to see what the hype was all about. Bottom line: didn’t agree in the slightest and I left disappointed. Not even close to the amazeballs Cajun fries. Sorry for the tangential rant. I was really upset by this. Moving on..

I had no problem sleeping, and snapped this shot before going to bed. Looks kinda fake, but it was pretty. (another phone pic).

I got to HQ and hung out with Chad until I was ready for the tour. Unfortunately, I was not able to take any pictures due to the sensitive nature of the tour itself, especially the club side. Very cool stuff. The rest of the tour was about the manufacturing process for their golf ball line, or as I recall, graduate level chemistry. Paul gave me the tour- but lets call him Walter White, because for all intents and purposes, that’s who he resembled. He even had the lab equipment to match! I never knew such craziness went into golf balls. My head was spinning after that one.

Once we got done with the chemistry thesis, Chad, Scott, and I went to lunch. At this point, the nerves had set in, as I had never gone through the true fitting process before – #leftyproblems. I had put in tons of range time over the winter anddoubled it once I found out about the trip to Carlsbad. I am in the middle of a swing revamp that started last fall, so getting some of that stuff committed to muscle memory was important. Sure didn’t wanna come out here to snap hook all day.

So we pull up and the facility was ridiculous. I mean it was just silly. Not a thing out of place and I could see all the left handed equipment waiting for at the range. Nirvana, indeed.

Here I am trying to soak it all in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many lefty sticks in one place! There were 3 other racks just like it, and multiple bags with hybrids, woods, and drivers. Lefty overload. This is my perplexed face.

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Nick Arther was my fitter. Let me just say something about him briefly. I have never, I mean never, ever, seen a golf equipment/swing mechanic/physics encyclopedia quite like him. He knew everything about everything and I am still in awe at the wealth of knowledge he demonstrated in the few hours we spent together. He didn’t even need CPAS, heck, he probably invented CPAS. Just goes to show how the tour level personnel, from every facet of the game, is on a different level than the rest of us.

My nerves spiked once he handed me the PW to take a few initial swings to get warm. I remember shaking as I set the club on the turf. Earlier in the day Chad and I debated the direction of my first shot. I said fat and a chunk of grass would travel further than the ball. As I took the club back, I just tried keep my eye on the ball and make decent contact. I wanted to hit a decent shot so Nick didn’t think our entire conversation about my swing and long term goals was a figment of my imagination.

Skulled.

A straight worm burner right down the pipe. I could only laugh and tell him where I was at mentally. Then he said something that made sense to me: “Look, there is no way you are better than the best player I’ve seen, and there is definitely no way you are worse than the worst player I’ve seen. So just swing. Don’t worry about an impression.” Probably common sense, but it helped me calm down and the next few shots got progressively better. Once I got a few beads of sweat going, we were in business and went to the 6 irons of the X-Forged line. I took probably 30-40 swings with different shafts combos as Nick watched and performed CPAS analysis in his frickin head like the super computer that he is. Every few swings became a physics lesson as he described the shaft technologies and properties, and how they related to my swing. Incredible. We did the same process for the X Hot Pro irons, and only a few swings with the X Hot series. They were a little big and chunky for my taste.

Then we moved to 3woods and hybrids, which was fun, since I hadn’t hit anything below a 6 iron all winter… We agreed to wait on the wedges until the new line comes out in a month or so. After that we went inside for the putter fitting. Here are some pics from the range:

Perplexed by another pearl of wisdom…

Setting up:

Getting ready to swing the boomstick:

Fitting me for a putter:

Reaffirming that my short game needs a lesson:

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MEAT AND POTATOES!
Ok so the finished product that was recommended by Mr. Arther:

Driver:
Head Model: RFX 10.5
Face angle/ cog setting: S
CG setting: 13gm Heel
Shaft specs: GD Tour ADDI 6 S
Other: -1/2” length

Fairway Wood:
Head Model: X-Hot 3Deep
Shaft Specs: GD Tour ADDI 7 S
Other: -1/2” length

Hybrids:
Head Model: X-Hot Pro 18 and Pro 20
Shaft Specs: GD Tour ADDI HYB 85 S
Other: std length

Irons:
Head Model: X-Forged
Set Makup: 4-P
Shafts: KBS Tour Stiff
Other: +1/4” length and 2 Degrees Upright Lie Angle

Grips: Lamkin Crossline Round at +2 Wraps Tape

Putter:
Head Model: Odyssey Protype 9
Specs: 35” and Std Lie Angle

This was the end of the trip. We went back to HQ and hung out for a bit, discussing how much fun it is to be planning a wedding (we are both grooms). Chad walked me out one final time and the X-Dream was over.

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, or better hosts. Everyone made me feel like I was one of the group and it was a trip I will never forget. They have a championship team over there and the product to back them up. I absolutely can’t wait to get the clubs in and get out on the course with fellow WRXers. I apologize for the length, but I wanted to share. Thanks for reading and hope everyone enjoyed it half as much as I did.

Let me know if I left anything out!!

Thank you to Callaway and Golf WRX for putting this on. If only I had this much luck at the craps tables!! :read:

And a special thanks to HashtagChad for being such a great host and making sure I had everything I needed before, and during my trip. I can’t exaggerate how seamless everything was.

Let me know what you guys think about the set up!

-Adam

Click here to read the original article and related discussion in the forums

Equipment

Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

6 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:

“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.

I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.

I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”

Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

1 week ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:

“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.

I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.

Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.

Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer

MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot

Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”

And our members have been sharing their reactions in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”

Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

PXG Secret Weapon Version 2 mini driver lands on USGA conforming list – GolfWRXers react

Published

1 week ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

A second version of PXG’s Secret Weapon has this week landed on the USGA’s conforming list, much to the interest of our members.

The original version of the brand’s Secret Weapon launched in January of 2025, with the second version also featuring four distinct weight ports in the head and coming with 13-degree of loft.

In our forums, our members have been assessing the new version and sharing their thoughts.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

DTorres: “Kinda looks like the face on the new one might be slightly deeper. Little bit more rounded leading edge.”
snagy2000: “The current version is REALLY good, long…This one looks like they’re bringing some lightning tech to it…”
SEP1006: “Agree with this, hard to tell from that angle but looks like the face may be the same as the Lightning. If that’s the case may have to give this a serious look. Absolutely love my 2wd which is also a 13* loft. But that Lightning Tour Mid Driver face is hot and forgiving.”

Entire Thread: “PXG Secret Weapon Version 2 mini driver lands on USGA conforming list – GolfWRXers react”