HX Hot Bite

kamizzou91 · June 22, 2009

I noticed that retailers are selling the HX Hot Bites 2 dozen for $45. Has anyone had any experience with this ball? The majority of reviews I have seen have said that it performs decent but has awful durability. At the $22 price point durability wouldn't be a huge concern for me, I was just wondering how it compared a premium ball in greenside performance. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

don28 · June 22, 2009

I played them for a few months last year. They spin well, putt well, and drive well. The durability is an issue because even I, who doesn't produce spin in great quantity, could scuff them easily.

I tried the Bridgestone e5+ late last year when my local store was out of HX Hot Bites, and they perform the same way and are more durable. You may want to give them a chance if the price is right.

I don't have the link anymore, but if I recall correctly the Bridgestone e5+ was in the top five for spin, higher than the HX Hot Bite. The Hot Bite was in the top ten, I believe.

Hidalgo · June 23, 2009

I'm going to play 18 with them tomorrow. I'm a long-time ProV1x player, and looking for a less expensive alternative. Honestly, I don't think that the Hot Bite is going to be it, but the wife (God love her) bought me a dozen for Father's Day.

I'll post the results as soon as I get back from the club.

kamizzou91 · June 23, 2009

Sounds good, I will look forward to the review and appreciate it.

don, thanks for the info. Sounds like your experience is similar to what I have read as far as durability goes.

Freddy300 · June 24, 2009

I find lots of balls in the woods at the local muni so I have a few buckets of them. The Cally HX Hot is like the cheaper sister company Top Flite D2 Distance. The Bite and the other high end Cally end balls have this almost sticky or tacky cover. It seems like it is real soft cover almost like a thin cushioned vinyl.

The ProV's are not like that. I prefer the ProV1X to the higher end Cally balls. On a budget I like Wilson Zip or Fifty or maybe TX3 or the cheaper Staff 360 and also the D2 Feel.

Hidalgo · June 24, 2009

As promised....here's my take on the Hot Bite:

I played 17 holes with these balls today. It was pretty windy, so it was a great day to test them. Here are my observations......

They spin very little off the driver. My slight draws sometimes were straight balls. Not a bad thing, I suppose, as long as you allow for it.

Spin with the wedges is "moderate"....definitely NOT what Golf Digest described them as (didn't they say "tour ball caliber" spin?). Full lob wedge and sand wedge shots took a hop and then released 2-3 feet at times. I wasn't pleased.

Spin on full iron shots with mid irons (5-8) was very inadequate for my tastes. The ball would bounce and roll out 5-6 feet. Not to my liking there either.

I didn't experience the "cover shredding" that others have mentioned, although it did get marked up a little when struck with a wedge. But no more than the Pro V's usually do.

All in all, this ball has it's good points. It definitely flies straighter than the ProV when struck with a side-spinning blow. Draws and fades are less dramatic. It does well off the fairway with a hybrid or long iron also. Straight, long flight. Also the wind didn't seem to bother this ball as much as the Titleists.

This definitely is NOT my ball. But...if you can handle the run-out on short shots and mid irons, then it might have it's place in your bag. It definitely has ample distance. I could tell no difference in distances compared to the Titleist.

One side note: I played these balls for 17 holes. But I decided to play a ProV1x (2007) on the 18th hole. Tee shot was no big event, and the hybrid I hit down the fairway was OK also. But the gap wedge I hit into the green was LIKE HITTING A SPONGE after playing the Callaway all day. :friends:

Hope this helps someone make a decision if they are considering this ball.

DBL_E · June 24, 2009

I've played this ball and it's cover definitely got chewed up for me after 4-6 holes. I then put the balls aside for about a year and then picked them up for some chipping practice recently. They were only average amongst a fairly good set of balls - 330s, Prov1, E5+. I wanted to like them but came away feeling like their cover sounded odd.

kamizzou91 · June 24, 2009

Thanks for the reviews and insight. I think that I am going to steer clear of this ball, especially with the deals going on for premium balls right now (Taylor Made TP Red & Black and Nike One Tours).

krking20 · June 25, 2009

It plays well but shreds horribly - the Burner TP is much more durable. The TP balls at their current pricing are much better values in my opinion.

TheBUNKY · July 8, 2009

I bought two doz of these since the price drop to $22/per at my local Wal-Mart.

Played today. This is the first Callaway ball I've played new out of the box.

The sound and feel are different but fine. I like it, especially the sound off of irons.

A lot better short iron and wedge spin than similarly priced balls with the exception of the Gamer. Probably a toss up for me between the two.

I love how this ball plays off of the driver. Really long too. I was surprised how long actually.

These feel really soft off of my Cameron putter. I need to hit the practice green to get the feel down.

Durability is somewhat of an issue but nothing worse than any other ball I've played this year including 2007 and 2008 ProV1 models. Certainly did not shred horribly for me using my new X22 irons and Vokey Spin Milled wedges. Yes they did show signs of shredding or feathering, but nothing out of the ordinary for a Ionomer cover. Thinking about this, I should have snapped some pictures and posted with this reply to show the wear.

A great ball for the money right now. Certainly not the best ball out there for $22 per dozen but a ball that I will probably play for the rest of the year until a newer version is introduced. Everyone in this pricing category seems to be playing the Gamer now and I like to play a different ball than everyone else.

Slunkhead · July 9, 2009

I played these balls a few times last year. Pretty good ball, but I don't know where they get the name "Bite" from. I got very little spin on the green with these, and I can make most balls hop-and-stop. They aren't durable either though, that much is true.

However, these gotta be the LONGEST balls I ever played. I mean, crazy long, with little to no sidespin. Everything was straight down the middle 240ish (which for me is long). I normally swing about 80% and drive the ball 220s with a bit of a fade.

I know people seem to "amplify" their distance in situations like these, but these balls really were WAY long.