Callaway X-Tour

[AndrewMe]

I just picked these up off ebay.

 

I have played x 14 pro series with a dynalite/tt lite shaft since 2002... in those years i went several without playing much. So I had a softer shaft to give me some flexibility and distance since I wasnt playing much.

 

In the last 3 months or so I have been playing a lot again and I decided I really wanted a new set of irons. Something more workable and especially something I could change trajectory with a bit easier.

 

I demo'd an x forged 6 iron and was rather happy with it, but wow it was a LOT less forgiving than my old clubs! So based on that, I decided, without trying them, to buy a set of x tours... Physically they were pretty much right between my irons and the x forged.

 

I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER! :shout:

 

They feel fantastic. A great compromise between my x 14s and a true forged blade. No they are not as soft as they could be but they feel pure and communicate well. Im not great at moving the ball left/right, but they are good with trajectory.

 

In addition, despite the lofts being weaker across the board, I hit every iron farther. I have especially noticed a BIG difference in my5/6 irons. For instance, with my x14s, I could MAYBE get 195 out of a 5iron, best case scenario, typically 190 would be a better bet for the 95% consistent shot (tee shot). However, with the xtours I can easily carry my 5 iron 205 off the tee. That is a HUGE difference especially considering the loft change.

 

I think it is a combination of the shaft, but also the fact that the club sets up better and I make much better contact. My old irons must have had a lot more bounce or something because I just could never seem to get that real clean strike that I can with these.

 

I also had a tendency to hit the PW of my x14s on the toe for whatever reason. With these x tours, my contact is consistently on the center of the club face.

 

Overall, I am SO, so impressed with these irons.. the feel is a great improvement, they are much more playable and the look suits my eye perfectly.

[RNF]

Too much bounce for me. Too bad I really wanted to like them.

[shanx]

Played them most of the season. Kinda ho-hum about them. Hit some good shots, they were forgiving I guess. Never got a feel for where I hit the ball on the clubface with them, they don't feel like forged to me. The soles were kinda wobbly too, chips out of semi rough seemed to get "lost in the sole" and I often felt like I "skidded" into the ball.

 

Distance and trajectory were on par with other sets I have hit.

[grasmuss]

Just get a set of xtours off ebay for $239 from callaway pre-owned. First off, i have to say i'm impressed with callaway pre-owned- clubs were in way better shape than described, shipping was cheap, and the re-gripping was a nice touch. They do a great job.

I have the dgs s300 stiff shafts in the xtours. I had dynamic golds in my old set of titleist dci 990's. I hit the xtours when they first came out a couple of years ago, although at that time was not a good enough golfer to justify buying the clubs. I got a deal on the 990's at that time and played those the past three seasons (previous to those were a set of fat shafts). I liked my 990's, however, decided it was time to move to a forged club, and one with a little more forgiveness.

I had my heart set on the titleist 755's, but I couldn't convince the wife to give me a budget increase, so I went with the xtours. The first thing i noticed was the wider sole on the callaways. I am not really a digger, so a wide sole wasn't a necessity for me. That would be my only complaint with the xtours. As mentioned in previous posts, it is harder to get the shot you want from a tight lie. I noticed this when i went to chip around the greens for the first time. Other than chipping, iI don't think the increased sole size affected my shots as much as i thought it would. In fact, I hit the 990's back-to-back with the xtours and noticed the divots were about the same size and the feel of the shot was the same (in relation to the divot).

All I can say is, it feels great to be part of the forged club now. I immediately felt a difference between my 990's and the xtours...significantly softer. The xtours felt identical to my cleveland ta 588 chrome 51 degree wedge, maybe even a bit softer. As far as shot shaping...very identical to my 990's. 4-6 iron were definitely easier to get airborne than the 990's and provided better feedback. My only regret is that I never demo'd a set of Mizuno's before I purchased these (a friend just demo'd some mp60's, and he swears by them) to compare.

The top line of the club is definitely wider than the 990's, but it didn't bother me at all. In fact, I enjoyed seeing it in my 4 and 5 iron. I definitely do not want more offset than what the xtours have. If I miss a shot, it's a hook, so I don't need much offset in my club. After playing the 990's for so long, I got used to virtually no offset at all, so seeing the xtours was a change. I never experienced the ballooning that other people did, perhaps it's just my swing.

Overall, I am very happy with these clubs, and I think they'll stay in the bag for a while.

 

In case you wanted to know, I'm about an 8 or 9 handicap, 25 y/o and average 270-275 off the tee. I haven't had these clubs adjusted, but my length and lie were standard on my 990's (no adjustments were made even after taking them to a shop).

[Mtngolfer1]

I just got the X Tours last week, so my experience has been limited to some range sessions under the heaters.

So far I give these an A+ for performance, feel and forgiveness. My recent set of irons has been the Ping eye2+ these replaced a set of Ping I3+ Blades that ended up going missing afer a move. I planed on getting the I10s but the shop I was fitted at ended up not placing the order and closing it's doors as a result of a slow Christmas season. I saw this set of X Tous on this site under the lefty page and decided to pull the trigger on them. I could not be happier.

 

Performance: I don't work the ball alot typically a soft draw with some trajectory control on short irons and I leave it at that. These do just that for me a 3-5 yard draw making a normal swing and knock downs to the flags (remebr this is still range work). I have been working them on a fade and have seen a slight fade that is still almost a straight.ball flight The S300 shaft has worked well for me with good response and feel.

 

Feel: Excellent, Soft you know when you have pured it, feed back is good but not harsh on mishits.

 

Forgiveness: These perform well even on mishits, with little distance lost. I noticed about a 1/4 club on most toe misses. Feed back on misses is good you know you missed because that buttery feel is missing but it is not harsh rather more muted.

 

My time with the X Tours is has been limited but satisfying. I look forward to some time on the course follwing that I will update my review if I have any changes of opinion.

[Ex-Trumpet]

Just picked up a set new for $299. SWEET clubs! I was a little reluctant because they have R300 shafts, but I figured for $300 get 'em and reshaft 'em.

 

I normally play S300 or Rifle 6.0's. But, I was very pleasantly surprised! They don't feel like whips! In fact, they feel stiffer than my Pings with Z-Z65 Stiff's...anybody else find the R300 to play out a little stiffer than many other stiffs?

[ob1soccer]

I own a set of X-tours with S-300 shaft and was wondering if anybody else found that these clubs have too much bounce and are very easy to hit thin. I am used to taking a nice sized divot, but with these clubs it doenst seem to happen. knockdowns are almost impossible to hit because im sweeping the ball. anybody have the same issue- thanks

[bogeypro]

i'm an not liking the bounce on these clubs. I agree, it caused me to hit more balls lower on the face. I'm not sure if I am in love with these yet. I think I am hitting my MP32 better at the moment.

[golferboy73]

I absolutely love these irons. I've had them for almost two years now and I must say that they are the best I've ever hit. They have all the workability and feel of a blade with the forgiveness and distance of a cavity back.

[buckrogers71]

I have had them since about March, but only played w/ them a handful of times. The jury is still out of these as I just had them bent to match me (3* flat...yes I am a short guy) but the ones that I caught nicely seemed to go.

 

Just going to take a little bit of time

[Raven Logics]

I bought these clearance as a golfer who was chunking around 100 each time out (having taken several years break from the game). I knew my swing was bad, bad I couldn't work out what I was doing wrong. I wanted a club with feedback, workability (for the future) and also forgiveness. The salesman was honest with me - he didn't think I was good enough for this club, but we both agreed that I hit them better than some more forgiving clubs on the simulator. I really wanted the MX25s, but I found them to punish my hands too much on mis-hits. I was also against the chunky looking Callaways, but the X-Tours were not too bad.

 

For the first couple of weeks I was mis-hitting these clubs really badly, but they have helped me to learn to swing the club better. The feedback they offer has been great, whilst they give me confidence by not stinging my hands on mis-hits (unlike the MX25). After 3 weeks I was hitting mid 90s again. After 6 weeks I was hitting around 90, with a personal best of 89 on one round. I love the feel and feedback from these clubs, I can work the ball either way and can stop the ball even with the long irons. The thing I love most about these clubs is that they give me a level of confidence I never had before - I'm not accurate yet, but these clubs let me try things and that is helping me to get better at the game. My last round was a 78 - 11 shots off a PB set just two weeks before. I don't feel as if I will outgrow these irons anytime soon, and for the first time in my golfing life I don't wish that I had something else in the bag.

 

One thing I have learned about golf is that everything is down to personal preference. If you pick up these clubs and like the way they feel, they are not going to let you down.

[daMANiack]

Hi,

 

Even though the Callaway X-Tour irons are a 2005 model, how do you rate these irons against the Callaway X-20 Tour irons. I'd really like to hear from people that have owned both the X-Tour and X-20 Tour iron sets.

 

I currently have 2 sets of X-20 Tours, 1st set I purchased 2nd hand and the 2nd set I purchased new as I really love them.

 

I had a set of X-Tour irons and really loved them but sold them as I tended to hit the ball a little too low with the TT DG SL shafts.

 

What I miss with the X-Tour irons is the feel of a FORGED iron, the X-20 Tour are OK, but feel a little clunky sometimes.

 

If I do purchase the X-Tour iron set again, will the re-sale suffer as this model is getting older, even if I keep the clubs pristine, I always use headcovers so I get no club chatter. (I know heads are chromed soft steel heads)

 

Cheerz :lol: :drinks: ;)

[Dazza]

Picked up a 6-PW set with DG S300 shafts.

Just got back from the range, tried the new irons... All I can say is WOW!

Hit about 60 balls, and all but a few were straight & long. Only a few mis-hits (Due to me gripping the club too hard) & a few fades.

Am definately glad to be rid of my old set.

Strong southerly blowing today, so I also tried a few punch shots into the wind. Not a drama with these clubs! :D

Money well spent.

[Mr.I302]

I just went back to these, I picked up a set of with DGSL S-300 and I couldnt be happier. I dont know why I left them but I expect these to stay in the bag for awhile.

[Eec55]

i have a set of cally x tours i picked up on ebay. i mainly use em during the summer months when my swing is better. they are very solid and I like the look of them. the only problem i have is for a callaway club the head size is amazingly small. i really have to be swinging good to have em in the bag. for the most part i will use my x 18 pros. i can always depend on those. they might be the best irons ever produced!!

[LEFTY-8]

I have these irons and they are the best irons every made. The performance is great. I would recommend these clubs to anyone.

[srockafe]

Got these via BST here in 5-PW w/ Project X 6.0s and I like them quite a bit. I compared them to MP-60s and felt that the X-tours provide quite a bit more forgiveness than the 60s and seems to launch a little higher. Workability was slightly harder with the X-Tours than the MP-60s, but I didn't lose the ball near as far left when I cut it too much.

 

I also compared them to some Tommy Armour MBs and I prefer the feel of the TAs over both the 60s and X-tours. I'm consistently surprised by the Tommy Armours.