Callaway Razr X-Forged Pictures, Impressions, Reviews

[Puppetmaster]

Better late than never. Here are some comparison pictures to show the toplines and soles. X-Proto on the left, Razr Forged on the right.

 

Pitching wedge:

 

 

 

8-iron:

 

 

 

6-iron:

 

 

 

3-iron:

 

 

I'm temporarily using a combo set with Razr Forged 3-5 iron and X-Proto 6-PW until I can get the Razrs reshafted and swing weighted. I put a little bit of lead tape in the cavities for the time being just to test the effect of increasing the weights.

[Puppetmaster]

Here's another comment after some range time this weekend. With the added weight to the Razr Forged, I'm hitting the 3, 4, and 5-irons close to or as long as my X-Protos. This is from observing carry distance on the range, no LM data. It seems that the head/swing weight was the issue more so than the shaft flex. Basically, I've "fixed" most of the distance loss by increasing the head weights with lead tape, not by going to a stiffer or lower spinning shaft. Does that even make sense? Its rare to hear someone losing distance from clubs being too light.

[owtkast3]

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1308768937' post='3327556']
Here's another comment after some range time this weekend. With the added weight to the Razr Forged, I'm hitting the 3, 4, and 5-irons close to or as long as my X-Protos. This is from observing carry distance on the range, no LM data. It seems that the head/swing weight was the issue more so than the shaft flex. Basically, I've "fixed" most of the distance loss by increasing the head weights with lead tape, not by going to a stiffer or lower spinning shaft. Does that even make sense? Its rare to hear someone losing distance from clubs being too light.
[/quote]

Puppet, I just read this thread and needed to chime in on the yardage loss as it pertains to these irons. First off I have the Razr X forged with the PX 6.0 flighted shafts and have noticed that im a 1/2 club to a full club less than my previous set. I also noticed that I hit these much higher than my previous set which I attribute to the shafts. I believe this also contributes to the yardage loss as well. With that being said I love this club more than any other iron I have played or hit in the past. I can deal with the yardage loss at this time for the feel and consistency these bring. Your lead tape theory is interesting and I might give that a try before re-shafting. I was thinking of throwing a set of S400's in them but if I can accomplish the same goal with some lead tape then im all for that.

Just as a reference I usually hit a 9 iron 150 and now Im hitting the 8 150 with the 9 being 140 and the PW 130 and I have been hitting a choke down 9 on the 135 yard shot. All in all not a big deal but just something different to get used to doing. The soft feel and consistency more than makes up for it and the long irons 4,5 are so damn easy to hit it is sick. This is a great set of forged irons with a little help on the back end that cant be denied. I actually got rid of my mizuno mp63's for these and havent regretted it once.

If you come up with any other ideas on ballflight and yardage please share.

BTW I also realize these are a little weaker lofted than most brands now but I also had my irons (except my I10's) at these lofts so it is nothing new to me playing these lofts.

[mfbris]

Have had the Razr X Forged for a while now.
Went from X 20's to these.
Love the feel, not quite as forgiving as the X 20 obviously.
As far as distance go I have notice no distance loss.
My X20's had DG S300's and my Razr's have project X.

On thing you should look at is the loft of you old clubs compared to the new Razr X Forged.
Just because they both say 7 on the bottom of the club does not mean they are the same loft.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

I hope you get the distance issue figured out, Having quite a few rounds under my belt, I am hitting my Razr X Forged KBS Tour combo as long as I have ever hit any irons. I had some injury related distance loss with my Adams Idea Pro Forged with the Black Golds. Even though the razrs are a degree weaker I have overcome the distance loss and back to 125 yard pw 140 9 iron 150 8 iron etc vs 115 130 140 in the Adams. I was quite surprised in the changes between clubs in a good way. I have never been happier with my ball flight as well.

[owtkast3]

[quote name='mfbris' timestamp='1308864801' post='3330782']
Have had the Razr X Forged for a while now.
Went from X 20's to these.
Love the feel, not quite as forgiving as the X 20 obviously.
As far as distance go I have notice no distance loss.
My X20's had DG S300's and my Razr's have project X.

On thing you should look at is the loft of you old clubs compared to the new Razr X Forged.
Just because they both say 7 on the bottom of the club does not mean they are the same loft.
[/quote]


Maybe it is the different shaft? Btw I understand that just because it says 7 it doesnt mean it is the same loft as another 7. Had you kept reading my previous post you will see where I clearly state I understand the lofts are weaker than some other brands but they are the exact same as my previous sets.

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='owtkast3' timestamp='1308798368' post='3328809']
Puppet, I just read this thread and needed to chime in on the yardage loss as it pertains to these irons. First off I have the Razr X forged with the PX 6.0 flighted shafts and have noticed that im a 1/2 club to a full club less than my previous set. I also noticed that I hit these much higher than my previous set which I attribute to the shafts. I believe this also contributes to the yardage loss as well. With that being said I love this club more than any other iron I have played or hit in the past. I can deal with the yardage loss at this time for the feel and consistency these bring. Your lead tape theory is interesting and I might give that a try before re-shafting. I was thinking of throwing a set of S400's in them but if I can accomplish the same goal with some lead tape then im all for that.

Just as a reference I usually hit a 9 iron 150 and now Im hitting the 8 150 with the 9 being 140 and the PW 130 and I have been hitting a choke down 9 on the 135 yard shot. All in all not a big deal but just something different to get used to doing. The soft feel and consistency more than makes up for it and the long irons 4,5 are so damn easy to hit it is sick. This is a great set of forged irons with a little help on the back end that cant be denied. I actually got rid of my mizuno mp63's for these and havent regretted it once.

If you come up with any other ideas on ballflight and yardage please share.

BTW I also realize these are a little weaker lofted than most brands now but I also had my irons (except my I10's) at these lofts so it is nothing new to me playing these lofts.
[/quote]

Thanks for the feedback. I say just try a bit of lead tape first; it's a cheap experiment with endless possibilities, haha. I just kept adding weight until it felt close to my X-Protos. Basically I added two strips along the length of the cavity, and one small strip around the shaft under the grip. I had 3 strips in the cavity for a bit, but it was too head heavy, so I relocated some under the grip. I'm not a club fitter, so it was just my uneducated tinkering based on feel. I am however, a primarily feel based player and pretty sensitive to weight differences.

I definitely agree that the feel, as well as the directional and trajectory consistency in these clubs are just outstanding. If it were just a half club to a club of distance, I might be more inclined to accept it, but I kid you not, it really is 2 clubs. Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='mfbris' timestamp='1308864801' post='3330782']
Have had the Razr X Forged for a while now.
Went from X 20's to these.
Love the feel, not quite as forgiving as the X 20 obviously.
As far as distance go I have notice no distance loss.
My X20's had DG S300's and my Razr's have project X.

On thing you should look at is the loft of you old clubs compared to the new Razr X Forged.
Just because they both say 7 on the bottom of the club does not mean they are the same loft.
[/quote]

Thanks, that is definitely a legitimate point in most cases, but on paper, the lofts between my two sets (Razr Forged and X-Protos) are the same. I can have someone check, but I doubt the actual loft differences between the two sets are enough to account for a 2 club difference. With the hardstepped stiffs in the X-Protos, the only two factors are spin, because of the slightly weaker flex of the stiff straight in on the Razrs, and head/swing weight. However, I've demoed the KBS Stiff in other heads with similar lofts and hit them as far or further than the hardstepped stiffs. I also doubt that a single hard step has that much of an impact on spin, and it isn't like I'm hitting these to the moon, so I'm inclined to rule out that the shaft flex is an issue. Anyway, bottom line is that after adding weight to the heads, I'm back to where I was before in terms of distance, at least, much closer. That's pretty good empirical evidence to me, short of a Trackman session.

Speaking of LM data, I should be able to get on a Trackman with Mike Fix of High Launch Golf in a couple weeks and will test most of the irons in this thread, along with some demo Razr Forged 6-irons with C-Tapers of various flexes in them. Here's what I hope to be able to get data on:
[list=1][*]X-Proto + KBS S hardstepped[*]Razr Forged + KBS S[*]Razr Forged + KBS S, lead taped [*]Razr Forged + KBS C-Taper S, S+[*]2007 X-Forged + PX 6.5[*]2009 X-Forged + PX 6.0[/list]

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1308865317' post='3330805']
I hope you get the distance issue figured out, Having quite a few rounds under my belt, I am hitting my Razr X Forged KBS Tour combo as long as I have ever hit any irons. I had some injury related distance loss with my Adams Idea Pro Forged with the Black Golds. Even though the razrs are a degree weaker I have overcome the distance loss and back to 125 yard pw 140 9 iron 150 8 iron etc vs 115 130 140 in the Adams. I was quite surprised in the changes between clubs in a good way. I have never been happier with my ball flight as well.
[/quote]

I'll be there soon, pretty optimistic that it was just a fitting issue. These are undoubtedly some great irons, and I'm not just saying that because GolfWRX and Callaway gave them to me. Once I get the distance issue sorted out, even the chunky short irons may be forgiven, LOL.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

What chunky short irons lol, perfomance>looks. I continue to be flat out amazed at how great theses irons are, talk about point and shoot. I have forgiven the top lines now hahaha

[Puppetmaster]

What chunky short irons lol, perfomance>looks. I continue to be flat out amazed at how great theses irons are, talk about point and shoot. I have forgiven the top lines now hahaha

 

I wouldn't be a true WRXer if I didn't complain about chunky toplines at least a few times....

[One_Putt_Blunder]

What chunky short irons lol, perfomance>looks. I continue to be flat out amazed at how great theses irons are, talk about point and shoot. I have forgiven the top lines now hahaha

 

I wouldn't be a true WRXer if I didn't complain about chunky toplines at least a few times....

 

 

Whoops I thought you were making fun of my review thread where I complained about the chunkiness numerous times :cheesy:

[stopdog]

PuppetMaster looking forward to your review of RAZR X Forged with C Tapers. Still think your distance loss is due to high spin, will be interested to see if C Taper fixes that. I agree more weight to the head gives greater distance as long as you don't weigh it too much and reduce clubhead speed. I play my driver at the heaviest SW I can handle and always creates a more soild shot with less spin and more distance for me.Never tried it with irons though..

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='stopdog' timestamp='1308953249' post='3333502']
PuppetMaster looking forward to your review of RAZR X Forged with C Tapers. Still think your distance loss is due to high spin, will be interested to see if C Taper fixes that. I agree more weight to the head gives greater distance as long as you don't weigh it too much and reduce clubhead speed. I play my driver at the heaviest SW I can handle and always creates a more soild shot with less spin and more distance for me.Never tried it with irons though..
[/quote]

You're probably right - it must be a combination of both. I was hitting the 2007 X-Forged 6-iron last night with the PX 6.5 and was really enjoying the slightly flatter flight vs the KBS Tours. Can't wait to hit the LM.

From my range session last night, by [u]de[/u]scending apex height, all 6 irons:

Razr Forged + KBS Tour S (no lead tape)
X-Proto + KBS Tour S, hardstepped once
2007 X-Forged + PX 6.5

The Razr + KBS was considerably higher than the other two, never thought it was before, but this is all visual, not LM based. The 2007 + PX was the lowest. At this point, it looks like the Razrs are definitely getting either some satin PXs or C-Tapers.

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1308951590' post='3333451']Whoops I thought you were making fun of my review thread where I complained about the chunkiness numerous times
[/quote]

Haha, no, but you raise a good point. I need to care less about how it looks, but then how it looks does affect confidence. It's really just the 8-PW.

[MagShot91]

so you guys r losing ditance with the x forged kinda making me scared now that i could lose distance if i go with the razr x forged

[Puppetmaster]

[quote name='MagShot91' timestamp='1309326338' post='3344482']
so you guys r losing ditance with the x forged kinda making me scared now that i could lose distance if i go with the razr x forged
[/quote]

It is a fitting issue, nothing to do with the heads.

[The GreekGrind]

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1309348602' post='3344686']
[quote name='MagShot91' timestamp='1309326338' post='3344482']
so you guys r losing ditance with the x forged kinda making me scared now that i could lose distance if i go with the razr x forged
[/quote]

It is a fitting issue, nothing to do with the heads.
[/quote]
Or a swing change issue Ha, kidding. Super thread Puppet! And I bet once you get what you're working on in order, you'll have that ideal combo set.

[StarFleetGolfer]

I hit these as long as any club I've ever played. I have a set with PX and a combo with kbs.

[Puppetmaster]

I'm almost there. I've had 2 Trackman sessions in the past month; one with Mike Fix of High Launch and one with Paris Fisher of the Golf Fitting Studio at Westfields GC, and in a nutshell, the LM findings have been that the Razr Forged, FOR ME, do not work that well with KBS Tours or C-Tapers. Dispersion and distance are unimpressive, with the C-Tapers having a very slight edge in the distance department, but not significantly. Ball flight and spin were actually comparable between the two. The PX profile in the older X-Forged heads didn't work that well for me either. However, DG X100s yielded the best numbers for me (I was surprised), and the irons are with Paris now getting some DG treatment, and once those are done, my Protos will follow. I'll be picking up the irons this week and hopefully put them into play on Saturday.

[Puppetmaster]

Updated the second post with more thoughts.... still really liking these irons, especially after the reshaft. Swing weights are on the lighter side still D-0 or thereabouts because we didn't use any tip weights like the KBS had, but I'll probably bump them to D-2 at least.

[Puppetmaster]

[color=#1C2837][size=2]September 2011 Update:

Not exactly a review update, more of a specifications note. I recently asked Callaway for offset measurements and they were kind enough to email me spreadsheets with complete specs for the Razr X-Forged and the Razr Musclebacks, which are the same as the X-Protos. The Razr X-Forged actually have LESS offset in the 2 through 5 irons than the Razr MBs, but only in the range of .1 to .4 mm, hardly enough for most of us to notice. The 6-PW offsets are pretty much the same for both sets (unless you take it out to more than 2 decimal places, lol). Just thought that might be useful information for some of you out there. Bounce specs are identical, except for the MB PW, which has 1 deg more bounce than the X-Forged PW. Lies and lofts are identical. [/size][/color]

[Ltarin65]

Great Review, I am ready for a new set of stix and looking hard at the X-Proto's and the Razr X-Forged. I was wondering since you have played both sets is there a huge difference in forgiveness between the two?

[JB lefty]

I was thinking the same thing.

[Patrick sperduto]

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1299946669' post='3048948']
Initial driving range review 3/13/2011

I took the Razr X-Forged out to the range yesterday to break them in and to get comfortable with them before I start on any meaningful comparisons. I'm also still trying to shake off the winter rust in my swing. This was one range session about an hour and half and 120 balls to get acquainted with the clubs and was done off tight mats with Pinnacle range balls, for whatever that is worth.

Address/looks

These irons line up very nicely, IMO, and that applies throughout the set. The angular shape and straight leading edge make it very easy to line up square. The topline is slightly thicker than the other X-Forged generations and the X-Protos, as you might have seen in the pictures above. The long to middle irons actually look perfect to me now; slight offset, and just thick enough of a topline that tells me I have some help, but I do have to say that the short irons do look slightly on the clumsy side. As I posted before, they still are pretty short from heel to toe, but it is the high toe and packed grooves that make the higher lofted heads appear much larger than the middle and long irons.

Ball flight

I started with a couple partial PW shots and my first impression was that these were launching pretty low, but as I warmed up more, I was making better contact and it started to get higher. However, as I made my way through the set, I found that the Razr X-Forged launch and apex lower than what I was expecting of a cavity back with KBS Tours. In a good way, haha. I did bring the 2009 X-Forged 6-iron with me since it'd been a long time since I'd hit that, and pulled that out for a few balls and it confirmed my finding. The Razr X-Forged with KBS Tour Stiff launch and apex similar to my X-Protos with KBS Tour Stiff, hard stepped once, and lower than the 2007 X-Forged (with PX 6.5) and 2009 X-Forged (with PX 6.0). I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison because of the shaft differences, but wanted to document it anyway.

Feel

Initially I thought they were a little clicky, but then I realized that I was hitting everything just a tad off the heel. Once I found my way to the center of the face, the sensation was very pure and soft, almost comparable to the X-Protos and 2009 X-Forged, which I think still feel softer. The Razr X-Forged feel softer than the 2007 X-Forged, though. I need to do more testing on this in the coming weeks, and also off some real grass. The more balls I hit the more I appreciated the honest feedback that these heads provide. Off center hits were not harsh, but you could definitely tell from the sound and feel when shots were not on the sweet spot. Flushed contact felt… well, flush… while off center strikes had a noticeable click to them.

Playability/forgiveness

The consistency in the trajectory of the Razr X-Forged was very impressive, obviously a function of the shaft too. And speaking of consistency, these things had an extremely tight dispersion. The ball wanted to stay on target on practically all my good swings, even on slightly off center hits. This was one aspect that to me was outstanding in these irons. I naturally play a small draw, and most of my solid shots were just that or straight. I did hit some pulls and blocks, but curvature on those seemed slightly less compared to my X-Protos.

Now while these irons launch the ball nicely and have decent forgiveness in terms of direction on off center hits, the longer irons are not automatic by any means. Don't let the thicker topline fool you. You still need to put a good swing on these, but when you do, they are sweet. Same as mentioned before – mid launch with a penetrating trajectory, for my swing at least. I guess since we're talking about long irons, you might think that's pretty obvious, but what I'm trying to say is that relative to some more GI focused irons and even other players' CBs, like my old Maxfli Revolutions and TEE CNC Forged, these long irons aren't a walk in the park to hit. I am also wondering if these heads might have too much bounce for me in general, but need to try these out on the course or a grass range first. I've become more of a sweeper, but also more of a "progressive" digger with deep, long divots with the short irons and little to no divots with the long irons/hybrids. Maybe it's a ball position thing

Workability

I don't find these that easy to work the ball, but maybe it's just me. But I'm a 7 handicap who doesn't get to play a lot, so I'm gonna be honest and say I'm just looking to hit the ball solid with my stock swing, which is a high draw. These are pretty straight hitters though, so the fact that I find these easy to hit straight might imply that these take a little more effort to shape shots.

Distance & Spin

Update August 2011: I got my shaft and swing issues resolved (or at least on the right track) and the world is right again. I had initially suffered about a 2 club distance loss, hitting my 6 iron around 170-174 yards carry on the Trackman with spin around 5000 - 6800 rpms (I know, super high variance). Later in the season however, I got around 178-194 yards carry with spin between 5200-7100 rpms, and head speed 88-96 mph. These were both with KBS Tours in S. I have not obtained any Trackman data with the Dynamic Golds, but hopefully those will come soon. During the fitting, I used an MP-68 with X100 and got around 186-192 yards carry with spin around 5800-6400 rpms and 92-94 mph head speed.

Update September 2011: I hit the Razr Forged with X100 on the Trackman vs my X-Proto with KBS Tours (S flex, hardstepped once) - wasn't a good ballstriking session, but generally the X100s launched lower with more spin than the KBS Tour S hardstepped; X100s were mid 5000 rpms to low 6000s and KBS were actually low to mid 5000s, launch was about 1 deg higher with the KBS and apex was higher too. Head speed was 91 to 93 mph, distance was comparable in the 185 yard range, on average, with a slight edge to the KBS. Sorry for the approx stats, but the session was to get the swing weights done (D2 with midsize grips, vs the X-Protos which are D0 with midsize grips) so I didn't pay much attention to the numbers.

Course Review

Due to swing issues, my scores have been all over the place, but I'll tell you that turf interaction with these is good. Sharper lead edge, narrow sole, high bounce make these very friendly from [i]most[/i] turf conditions. The long irons have been the highlight, as I've been needing a little more help than what I was getting with the X-Protos. I'll usually use the 2-5 irons or 4-6 irons from the Razr set, depending on the course, and 6/7-PW from the X-Proto set. The last time I went out I had a good ball striking round with the full set of Razrs with Dynamic Golds, so that was a good sign, not that it was only because of the irons of course, but they probably helped. The short irons, despite looking on the larger side, play very nicely and with the Dynamic Golds, and are very consistent in terms of spin, distance, and trajectory on pure strikes. BUT I seem to be having some trouble with consistent contact of the short irons off firm, tight lies, and I'm guessing maybe it's because they have too much bounce for me? That's the theory at least. But I am working on getting better at compressing the ball so maybe things will improve.
[/quote]

[Patrick sperduto]

i currently hit 05 x tour, however i was looking to take the exact club with the same shaft for a test drive.
i am looking to lower my trajectory. im losing a lot of distance with my high ball flight.
i hit my driver on average about 280 i feel i should'nt be hitting my 6 iron only 165.
will these shafts help me???

[JB lefty]

[quote name='Ltarin65' timestamp='1320013148' post='3739469']
Great Review, I am ready for a new set of stix and looking hard at the X-Proto's and the Razr X-Forged. I was wondering since you have played both sets is there a huge difference in forgiveness between the two?
[/quote]

It a tough gig to pick between these two. What did you decide?

[Puppetmaster]

The Razr X-Forged is definitely more forgiving, but it's no game improvement iron. It's a compact head and you still need to have a pretty tight dispersion around the sweet spot to benefit from them. Even though they look thicker, the bounce specs are exactly the same, and I [u]think[/u] the Razrs have more trailing edge relief, but I'm no expert when it comes to grinds and stuff. By virtue of being a perimeter weighted cavity back, the Razr X-Forged is always going to be easier to hit straight and will have less distance loss than the X-Protos if you miss the sweet spot. That being said however, I think the X-Protos, for a blade, are relatively easy to hit compared to others in that class like say the Adams MB and MP68.

My ideal set, as I have now, is Razr X-Forged long irons and X-Proto mid to short irons. Both are great, you can't go wrong with either and if you're already at a level where you can hit the ball pretty solidly, it's very close between the two. Just pick one (or both) and go enjoy yourself.

[JB lefty]

I finally got off the fence and have ordered a set of razr forged with kbs shafts. I have been playing the razr tours and I really do not like the way they have strong lofted these irons. I have played DG X100,S300 and px 6.0 shafts. It will be interesting to see if the KBS shafts live up to all the hype they been getting. If the shafts are no good I am going to try a set of proto's with the px 6.0 flighted.

[gaffs]

Great Review Puppetmaster.

Im looking at getting these irons with an s300 shaft? Anyone got any thoughts on that combo?

Whats the ball flight and forgivness like with the Razr X Forged compares to say the Ping s56, Titleist CB/AP2?

Thanks