Callaway FT Irons

[Goldenhawk]

Added some requested pics at address

Here's some pics of my new FT Irons. The FT Irons are sweet feeling and are more forgiving than my X-20 Tours. The FT's are also about a 1/2 club longer than my X-20 Tours. It must be the Nippon shafts.

The FTs also have a hosel but the bore-through of the shaft looks interesting.

[The Chicken Connoisseur]

Nice. I'd try those, but at the price tag they carry, no way I'm gonna buy a cast set of irons for that much.

[BJG718]

would you mind posting some pictures of a few of the clubs at address? thanks very much!

[alexthegrrr8]

[quote name='Goldenhawk' post='857830' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:05 PM']The FT's are also about a 1/2 club longer than my X-20 Tours. It must be the Nippon shafts.[/quote]

What are the lofts like compared to your X-20 Tour irons?


Nice sticks. Enjoy.

Alex

[littlepingman]

Nice looking sticks. How are the shafts?

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='alexthegrrr8' post='857837' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:12 PM'][quote name='Goldenhawk' post='857830' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:05 PM']The FT's are also about a 1/2 club longer than my X-20 Tours. It must be the Nippon shafts.[/quote]

What are the lofts like compared to your X-20 Tour irons?


Nice sticks. Enjoy.

Alex
[/quote]

I just tried to get the specs from Callaway. They said similar to the BB Fusions. Maybe the shafts of the FT's fit my swing better than the X-20 Tours. But then again, the FT's have a titanium face set in a cradle for a trampoline effect.

I will take some pics of the clubs at address later tonight and will post them.

The shafts are Nippon 1100s. Supposedly about 20 grams heavier than the 990s in the BB Fusions. The 1100s work, the irons have a good feeling balance to them. The 1100s are probably easier to hit than the PX Flighted 5.5s in my X-20 Tours.

[Boba]

Those look sweet! How are they as far as vibration absorbing? Do you get a muted feedback or just pure sweetness?

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='Boba' post='857849' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:17 PM']Those look sweet! How are they as far as vibration absorbing? Do you get a muted feedback or just pure sweetness?[/quote]

Sweet feeling when hit dead on. I can definitely tell shots that are thin, on the heel and on the toe.

[golfware]

I'll 2nd that. SWEET looking irons.

Can you add some pics at address too??

That would be awesome!

[BJG718]

how do you guys think these irons would fare against ping raptures? ive wanted a set of rapture for a long time now. but im worried about the offset and extra bounce of the raptures. is forgiveness comparable?

[herkyjerk]

Enjoy your new sticks those look sweeet. I had the original Fusions and loved them, changed only because I'm a whore. Turned me on to Nippons for life.

[bulletbob]

Nice, VERY Nice!. I play the originals and love 'em. Can't see changing for quite some time. Enjoy!

[cloudlx]

good looking sticks, expensive though!

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='golfware' post='857857' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:21 PM']I'll 2nd that. SWEET looking irons.

Can you add some pics at address too??

That would be awesome![/quote]

Okay. Here's a couple of pics of the FTs at address. I took the pics this morning at the range.

The 4 iron:
[attachment=206473:DSCF3114.JPG]

The 6 iron:
[attachment=206475:DSCF3115.JPG]

The pitching wedge:
[attachment=206474:DSCF3116.JPG]

These are so easy to hit that I wish the set came with the 3 iron. The FT set I got was 4 iron through AW. So I have to order the 3 iron.

[bcheeks]

Those look pretty nice. How's the offset? Is there less offset than the original fusions?

[golfware]

I have FOUND my next set of irons.

Man, they look SWEET!

Thanks a ton for the address pics!! I'm SOLD!

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='bcheeks' post='859398' date='Jan 11 2008, 04:00 PM']Those look pretty nice. How's the offset? Is there less offset than the original fusions?[/quote]

The FT's have half offsets. I thought the BB Fusions also had half offsets.

I just called Callaway. They will be shipping me my FT 3-iron next week. Then my bag will be complete until the FT Square 3-wood comes out.

[755]

[quote name='littlepingman' post='857841' date='Jan 10 2008, 04:14 PM']Nice looking sticks. How are the shafts?[/quote]



Oh no....looks like another set of irons for the Ho.

[mallet]

Goldenhawk,

Where did you purchase the FT's? I want to get a set of these and heard they were not coming out until Feb 2nd. Please let us know. Thanks!

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='mallet' post='862509' date='Jan 13 2008, 09:00 PM']Goldenhawk,

Where did you purchase the FT's? I want to get a set of these and heard they were not coming out until Feb 2nd. Please let us know. Thanks![/quote]

I got them from Callaway On January 7. I had a whole bunch of Callaway and Ping stuff laying around the house and used their Trade In Trade Up and ended up paying $114.00 for a 4 to AW set with shipping included. Callaway's official release date for the FT's and the BB 2008 is January 15, 2008.

The FT sets are showing up in the DC Area at some of the Washington Golf Centers and Dick's Sporting Good Stores. A friend of mine picked up a 4 to AW set at Wash. Golf over the weekend. It was the only set they got in, but the FT's are trickling into the stores. The strange thing about this set is that 4 to AW seems to be the standard set to be found.

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='scotttimmons' post='861784' date='Jan 13 2008, 11:44 AM']Since you are buying the fusions, are you looking to sell your X20 tours?[/quote]

I'm keeping my X-20 Tours as a back-up set for now. After cleaning out the house of clubs to pay for the FT's (Thank God for Trade-In Trade Up), the only back-ups I have left are my X-20 Tours, my FT-5 and my Hyper ERC.

[SwingMan]

Nice Clubs -- the new BB Fusions or FT.

Anyway, if people think they're expensive and you'd like some, callawaypreowned was trying to get rid of the Fusions last month reducing their prices. Don't know if it still applies -- and if you have old Cally clubs to trade, it's a good way to get rid of your extra Callaways.

I believe the difference is that this year's FT irons differ from the Fusions in terms of the FT is more of a player's cb -- less offset, slightly less heel to toe, etc.

Not something I wanted -- I thought the old Fusions were for guys who preferred gads of forgiveness (Ti Face lots of weight moved to the edges) but less offset and a medium sole. The FT seems to take these features and reduces the size of the club into more of a so-called player's iron.

[gdb99]

Looking at the pics, and Callaway's site, they do have less offset than the originals. And the topline is straighter, as opposed to a slight curve on my Fusions, which makes the toe look more square. They look good, but I'm keeping mine.....for now.

[liningrs]

I am a newcomer to GolfWRX and this is my first post.

Since 2003 I have been through almost every Iron known to man; Hogan Forged (because they look great!) Ping i5, Cleveland CG7, Callaway X16 and X18, Cobra FP and Taylormade RAC XD have been in my bag at one time or another. I have hit (at the range) virtually everything else on the market during that time as well, including Mizuno MX-25, Ping i10 and G10, Taylormade R7 and the Adams Hybrids.

After eliminating several of the above, I went to my local shop (which is next to a driving range) with the intention of hitting and buying either the Callaway BB Fusion or the X20 Irons. I was surprised to find that they had the new FT Iron in stock so I took a 6 Iron from each of the three sets to the range for a test drive.

I took the FT more out of curiosity than anything, since I had no intention of paying the $137 per club price tag. Truthfully, since I've seen great deals on the(old) BB Fusion I was really hoping that I would see little or no difference between them and the new (ungodly expensive) FT. As a fallback, I was sure that the X20 would hold its own against the two. One large bucket later, I bought the FT's (NS Pro 110GH Shafts) on the spot. Here's why:

1) The feel/feedback on the iron is terrific. I knew instantly where I missed but the information came without the harshness that I have found with the forged clubs that I've hit. Mishits with both the BB Fusion and the XP seemed much more muted/muffled.

2) They are long. My swing speed with a 6 Iron is about 75MPH and my shots (with range balls) were carrying between 160 and 165. This is an increase of full club over the TM RAC XDs with their "aggressive" lofts and a similar gain over the BB Fusion or Callaway X20. The FTs trajectory is very high (maybe not the best choice for those playing in windy areas) but they do not balloon. On less than perfect swings there was some loss in distance and height but the shots still flew straight and (relatively) long.

3) My standard ball flight is straight and workability is not a priority with me however, I was able to hit a high draw easily and a slight fade with more effort. I didn't try knockdowns but honestly I have a hard time with those anyway and I don't think the FTs were built with that in mind. I believe that the NS Pro 110GH Shafts are standard and they seem to be very well matched to the heads. It would be interesting to know how some of the Custom Shaft options changed the characteristics of the club.

4) Last but not least, they look great. Callaway has played some cosmetic tricks to make the topline look thinner than the old Fusions and the heads are more angular as well. They set up behind the ball nicely and the plastic insert (which I'm not crazy about) is hidden.

I know that everybody's swing is different - those of you who pure the ball more often than me (I'm a 8 handicap) will probably want to hit forged clubs. Higher handicappers will probably want more offset and forgiveness (the X20 is a great option) than these sticks offer. For me however, these FTs seem to be a perfect balance between GI and Players irons and will be in my bag for a long time.

[SwingMan]

It is really hard to believe the FT are longer than the original Fusions when fit correctly.

Same club, same technology. just a small evolution.

I find the original Fusions heavenly long, although that's not the point of irons.

[Zino]

I got mine at Golf Galaxy. They only had the graphite shaft FTs in stock, but I hit them and ordered the steel shafts anyway. They are such a great hitting club. They tell me that the order should be in by beginning of February. Look forward to getting them and going indoors to hit'em. Good Luck!

[Philfest]

I have a brand new (still wrapped in platic) set of the original Fusions built buy Callaway, with DGS-300's in the 3-PW.

I'm going to try to trade them for the new FT's when they come to Florida.

I'd be happy to sell them for $900 in the meantime?

[Goldenhawk]

[quote name='SwingMan' post='863045' date='Jan 14 2008, 09:17 AM']I believe the difference is that this year's FT irons differ from the Fusions in terms of the FT is more of a player's cb -- less offset, slightly less heel to toe, etc.

Not something I wanted -- I thought the old Fusions were for guys who preferred gads of forgiveness (Ti Face lots of weight moved to the edges) but less offset and a medium sole. The FT seems to take these features and reduces the size of the club into more of a so-called player's iron.[/quote]

For a player's club, the FT's are very forgiving. I think they're easier to hit than the regular X-20s.

Over a week with the FT's and i'm still loving them. The 7 iron in my X-20 Tour set goes about 145-150 yards. The 7 iron in the FT set goes an easy 150 yards.

Alas, my FT 3 iron arrives at the house tomorrow. Now hitting the 3 iron will be fun.

[kriswesdrew]

I've been looking at getting the original Fusions at a discounted price. But now I'm wondering if it's worth the extra money and even the extra time to wait for the new version. If I can find a "like new" set for half the price, are the new Fusions really worth it to you?

[sharkhark]

If you take the time to look up the fusions specs (which I own) and then the new ft irons you will see a very very small difference. The topline is thinner but its like mizuno saying the cavity on the new mp irons is 6% bigger...umm..so a minute measurement.
If I didn't own mine I would buy the ft as it is less offset and topline size, but it is so small that owning the current fusions I would not expend money for what in the end is going to have zero affect on my game. The current fusions are great and will continue that way. They are very forgiving and yet despite some reviews saying there is no feedback...thats crap...trust me when I hit it on the toe, or fat or thin, I can tell. Just not in as much pain as my mizunos did and yet the ball still travels close to good hit range.

Even the graphics in my eye look better, but with same colors and plastic insert it is just an evolution not a revolution so changing to the new irons would result in most friends not even noticing the diff in my bag. I would have to verbally tell them.

Ps to the guy above who said the ft is not bore thru, they are wrong. Its even on cally site. It is modified slightly from the original bore thru, but bore thru is bore thru. yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey

FT Irons
THE BEST TECHNOLOGY FOR YOUR GAME.
Shop.CallawayGolf.com
Our most technologically advanced irons with premium performance
The new FT Irons are the evolution of Fusion Technology, delivering the utmost in performance and playability in Callaway Golf irons for mid to low handicap players who demand the latest innovation with proven results.

New Head Shape
Designed to appeal to accomplished players, a thinner topline, higher toe and slightly less offset produce a more traditional look. Extreme Notch Weighting has been added to increase stability.

Tunite Cradle
The high density, proprietary alloy allows Callaway Golf engineers to move an astounding 80 percent of the clubhead’s total weight to the extreme perimeter, creating a higher moment of inertia (MOI) for outstanding forgiveness.

Lightweight Hot Titanium Face
Produces fast ball speeds and allows more weight to be moved to the perimeter for better forgiveness and an increased effective hitting area.


TPU SenSert
A cavity-back insert composed of a chemically engineered thermoplastic urethane that decreases vibration, creating an incredibly solid feel.

Modified Tru-Bore Design
An advanced version of the original Tru-Bore Design, the polycarbonate tip plug at the end of the shaft dampens vibration for enhanced feel and performance.