2011 Callaway Razr X-Forged Irons Review

[swanry30]

How do yo get selected to review this stuff?

 

+1

I want to know also!!!!!

 

Well...first of all, do either of you like broccoli? Keep your room clean? Tell the truth? Help the elderly crossing streets?

 

and that is just the short list...

[ScottWS33]

Thanks for the review. Really informative. I'm so excited about these irons. I gave them a try a few weeks ago and loved them. Agreed on the fantastic feel. Not even the topline put me off; if anything I felt a bit more confident over the ball.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Agree performance/feel wins out over the top line.
That is just me being picky and used to a certain look in my irons. I should be able to get a few more rounds in this sun/mon and I'll post some more detailed thoughts

[CassinoNorth]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1300765279' post='3076537']
Interesting about the Px shafts, I may have to grab a demo 6 iron and compare them with the KBS Tours.

I have never really been a PX guy and when they asked my specs PX were my 3rd choice. The nature of the demo program being what it is I was very suprised that they built and sent me my first choice in the KBS Tours. I liked the fact that the KBS had the higher flight I desired and are also 5g lighter to help me gain back a little bit of the swing speed I have lost
[/quote]

The KBS' stiff and PX's 5.5 come out to weigh the same I believe. The PX's that come standard in the Cally's are flighted which is awesome. The longer irons are super easy to get in the air and the shorter irons are much easier to control and stick

[tcalloway1]

Nice write up but for me it was just lacking something. I'm not trying to be critical of your efforts by any means but to be honest, I'm far more interested in the Razr X Forged irons themselves and less interested in a comparison between them and your current irons. While the pictures were nice, and they feel "buttery", how was the sound at impact? How was turf interaction? You mentioned the thickness of the topline, but didn't comment on hardly any other aesthetic aspects or the irons. How about the grooves, and the fact that they are different from any others out there right now, did they perform up to standards/below standards?

I'm sure this is a long term review and that you'll be adding more thoughts to this thread. I guess I'm just excited, and looking for more information, as these are a contender for me this year.

[DTown3011]

[quote name='yedi015' timestamp='1300930063' post='3082562']
Dtown How did your range session go?
[/quote]


Really well, Obviously too early to tell but my initial thoughts are that the RAZR irons are better than my Titleist 710's for the following reasons:

-I like the look of the RAZR irons better, higher pointy toe, squared off shape instead of the rounder smaller look of the 710's.
-The SOLE of the RAZR irons ia unbelievable. Just takes perfect divots every time.
-The FEEL of the RAZR irons is better than the Titleist irons, softer and can really just feel the ball on the face compress.

I'm going skiing this weekend and will return to golf mode next week!

[mtex22]

I just picked up a set last night and I am excited about testing them out on the course this weekend. I like the looks of these a lot. The top-line is a little thick but if they perform like expected I will care less. Mine have Project X Flighted 5.5 and will post my finding after the weekend.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[quote name='tcalloway1' timestamp='1301053832' post='3086722']
Nice write up but for me it was just lacking something. I'm not trying to be critical of your efforts by any means but to be honest, I'm far more interested in the Razr X Forged irons themselves and less interested in a comparison between them and your current irons. While the pictures were nice, and they feel "buttery", how was the sound at impact? How was turf interaction? You mentioned the thickness of the topline, but didn't comment on hardly any other aesthetic aspects or the irons. How about the grooves, and the fact that they are different from any others out there right now, did they perform up to standards/below standards?

I'm sure this is a long term review and that you'll be adding more thoughts to this thread. I guess I'm just excited, and looking for more information, as these are a contender for me this year.
[/quote]

Appreciate the feedback,

As far as the looks go, that is a total subjective item and it is going to vary from one person to the next, that is why the pictures are there for people to make up their mind. Personally I dont really care what the back of an iron looks like as long as it performs like I want it to, to me the top line and toe are the most important. I have stated my piece on the top line already, but I will add that I do love the overall shape of the iron head and sole.

Yes I did compare them to my current set which has been in my bag for 3 years now, and it is a set I am very comfortable with and know the capabilities/limitations of them very well so it is only fair that is what I compare them to.
I recieved the set on Friday had to work Saturday. I had planned playing on Sunday and Monday, but Monday was rained out so yes these are my initial impressions and I appologize I was not able to go out and get a demo of every comprable current iron out and compare them to the Razr X Forged. Yes I will be adding to my post in greater detail as I get more playing time with them. I had a 4 day weekend planned from work based on the initial shipping estimate, unfortunatley the shipping was delayed so I was not able to get as much time in with them as I wanted for my initial review.

As far as the grooves go they are conforming grooves, but I am unaware of any other significant differances in groove technology. They play just like one would expect a conforming groove to play.

regarding turf Interaction I added to the other Razr Xforged post so I should add it here, I take a healthy sized divot with my mid/short irons and the sole grind on the Razr Xforged performed flawlessly, cut through the turf with ease making a very even and good divot, without providing any handjarring feedback that I was used to getting with the firm AZ turf.

Sound: I tend to compress the ball pretty hard with my irons and the sound is just about perfect to me just a good solid thwack, does not sound or feel clicky in the slightest way to me.

[MagShot91]

man this review was awesome im starting to like callaway 2011 set up from the driver to wedges. im also thinking bout getting the razr forged irons then maybe like u get 8-pw the razr blade

[Kmac]

So what is so hard to adjust to about a "chunky" top line? Seriously what does have to do with hitting the ball? Who cares what the top line looks like. Ive hit these and seen them numerous time and the top line wasnt that "chunky" and didnt bother me one bit. Cant you still swing the club the same way regardless of the top line? My guess since you are on this site and is youre a very serious golfer with very low digit hcp so you never miss the sweet spot. This must be why its so difficult to look down at a "chunky" top line???

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Kmac
I am not sure what kinda night you had or who shat in your cheerios this morning, maybe it is just because you are new here and so overwhelmed by the awesomeness that is Golfwrx that you skipped over the no less than 3 separate replies where I talked about the top line. Just in case you are tired from going on a posting marathon overnight I have taken the liberty to quote them here for you. For future reference it is a good idea to read an entire post before you complain about someones personal preference. Which btw that brings me to another point, but then again I have already stated that in my previous replies so I will just bold it out for you to read.

[quote][b]Looks are totally subjective to the player and I am sure not everyone will agree with my thoughts on that, but I learned to play golf on old school Nicklaus MacGregor blades.[/b] When I switched to playing players cb's I have always gone with something with a thinner topline.[/quote]


[quote]

but the perfomance feel far outweighs my gripe over the topline which can be fixed by going to the blades in 8-pw. [/quote]

[quote]

[b]As far as the looks go, that is a total subjective item and it is going to vary from one person to the next, that is why the pictures are there for people to make up their mind.[/b] [/quote]

BTW

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[quote name='MagShot91' timestamp='1301109019' post='3089202']
man this review was awesome im starting to like callaway 2011 set up from the driver to wedges. im also thinking bout getting the razr forged irons then maybe like u get 8-pw the razr blade
[/quote]


Thanks Magshot,
they are definatley worth checking out to see if they can earn a spot in your bag. I still am not sure if I will do the blades 8-pw sometimes it is just best to leave well enough alone, but us wrxers just have to tinker with our gear

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[size="3"]Well I thought I would get this thread back on track and update after playing my second round with the Razr X-Forged. Today was an interesting day I had a pretty good warm up and was hitting the ball solid. When I got to the first hole I blocked my drive a bit, but still had a clean shot to the green then I preceded to cold top a 7 iron, I mean I almost completely missed it, it was that bad. I shrugged it off then preceded to cold top a PW, thankfully I was able to get up and down for bogey. Then things turned around for the better. I still had some issues with the driver but was able to pull off a 75 with 3 birds and 28 putts. [/size]

[size="3"]The more I hit these irons the more I move past the topline and truly just enjoy playing with them. Today was the first time in a while it did not feel like a burden to play a 7000 yard course. I have picked up about ½ to ¾ of a club length in distance from my previous set. Factor that in with the higher launch and ball flight I am able to go after more pins and play a bit more of an aggressive style, like I was used to before the hip injury kicked in. [/size]

[size="3"]Feel: Continue to be blown away by how good these Irons feel, even on miss hits I still know where I missed it but I do not notice the harshness that I previously had. I have always been a huge fan of how the Mizuno irons felt, but these feel a touch softer with better feedback. The sole grind on the Razr X-Forged does a terrific job of cutting through turf and laying out a darn near perfect symmetrical divot. I had a wide variety of lies today, fairway, fairway bunkers, rough, bare dormant grass, and even dirt and the club performed very well in all conditions today. [/size]

[size="3"]Forgiveness: Todays round was more about putting and a few really good shots at the right time, as my swing was not working the way I wanted it to. The good news is I was able to get a feeling for how forgiving these Irons are. I was pleasantly surprised even though I definitely mishit a few irons today none of them got away from me enough to really cost me strokes. I noticed a slight loss of distance on slight toe hits maybe 5-7 yards carry. Even catching one a tad bit heavy did not severely cost me. This is really making me reconsider ordering blades in the 8-pw. I guess why make the game harder than it needs to be. Well struck shots are very consistent distance wise.[/size]

[size="3"] I have been hesitant to talk about the spin of the new conforming grooves because I think that is one category that is best backed up with some launch monitor numbers. They greens I played on today were very firm, even my MD groove 60* was having issues spinning. From what I could tell the short irons were pretty much a big first bounce and stop the 7-4 irons were releasing and rolling out anywhere from five to ten paces on the greens from the ball mark.

I am playing tomorrow with a plus cap, scratch player and Gateway Tour Player so lets hope these irons can hold up to a bit of pressure.[/size]

[DNice26]

Awesome follow up! Thanks! Please keep us posted through the honey moon.

[fore_life]

Hey Matt, great review, sorry its taken me so long to post my thoughts.

Having played many,many,many rounds with Matt, I'm pretty familiar with his ball flight tendencies/distances, and based upon the sole round we played together after he received the new irons, I was pretty impressed. As he mentioned, ball flight was much higher than before, and there was an increase of distance as well. He looked like he was having no problem controlling them, as most of his shots were right on the flag with a nice high, soft ball flight.

I hit a few shots on the range and was pretty impressed by the 6 iron, as the ball was so easy to hit high into the air, and the irons really do have a great feel to them. The top line is marginally chunky, but I think the minimal amount of offset makes it easy to get over the initial impression made by the thick top line. Like Matt said, it's totally subjective, but I could put the Razr X forged in the bag and after one or two sessions, I don't think I'd really even notice any more.


Looking forward to seeing how these things are working for you now that you've had some time to dial them in. It's a good thing we don't gamble, cuz I have a feeling these stick could be a set of moneymakers!

[shadowCLV]

I cannot say i agree with the feel of these sticks. I had 09 X forged and they are a better club hands down. The Razr felt thick to me in looks and feel. They felt more cast then ENDO forged. I do not believe these are Endo forged one bit! I ended up buying the better looking and performing Razr X Tours with a thinner top line and more forgiving head. Besides they are a little cheaper. I love X Protos but not the new Razr X forged. My 2 cents.. IMO

[DTown3011]

[quote name='shadowCLV' timestamp='1301423609' post='3099709']
I cannot say i agree with the feel of these sticks. I had 09 X forged and they are a better club hands down. The Razr felt thick to me in looks and feel. They felt more cast then ENDO forged. I do not believe these are Endo forged one bit! I ended up buying the better looking and performing Razr X Tours with a thinner top line and more forgiving head. Besides they are a little cheaper. I love X Protos but not the new Razr X forged. My 2 cents.. IMO
[/quote]


While you might prefer the 09 X-Forged looks at address better, the sole on the RAZR X-Forged is hands down the best sole on a Callaway iron ever. And cast? Really? These feel so buttery I can't believe you think these feel cast...

Might as well ask because I'm interested in them - how are you liking the RAZR X-Tour irons? I have heard really good things...

[mickeytbones]

Thank you for the review.
It is certainly a buyer's market. Sooo many good irons out there now: Nike Pro Combo, Mizuno MP 53/63, Titleist AP2, Ping Anser and S56, Cally Razr X Tour and Forged, and one that really intrigues me: Srixon Z-TX 2.

[MagShot91]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1301163445' post='3090613']
[quote name='MagShot91' timestamp='1301109019' post='3089202']
man this review was awesome im starting to like callaway 2011 set up from the driver to wedges. im also thinking bout getting the razr forged irons then maybe like u get 8-pw the razr blade
[/quote]


Thanks Magshot,
they are definatley worth checking out to see if they can earn a spot in your bag. I still am not sure if I will do the blades 8-pw sometimes it is just best to leave well enough alone, but us wrxers just have to tinker with our gear
[/quote]


yea im hoping they get a spot in my bag they look and feel soild, but unlike most wrx these probably will stay in my bag for a couple years. being only 19 i dont have to much money rigth now.

[radiman]

[quote name='DNice26' timestamp='1300924191' post='3082254']
Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I could go with an all Cally bag this year and be quite happy......
[/quote]


I went that way last year. I was using the Xtour irons, went with some MP32's but back to Callaway with the X Forged 09. I picked up an FT Tour last year and Diablo Edge Tour fairways. I was using X tour wedges but this off season replaced them with some JAWS. I've always liked their drivers, but find myself pulled to them for everything else now. I have never been dissapointed in any of their clubs. Everyone seems to be all out Taylormade fans these days. They are good, don't get me wrong, but I have never hit a driver of theirs that I felt like I just had to buy. To be honest I have never really tried the irons. But as far as Callaway goes, their clubs are top notch and when you throw their customer service into the mix, it's a no brainer. I've never been one to fill my bag with one OEM, but I have never been more happy with my all Callaway bag.

As far as the top line goes on the RAZR forged. I am not put off with a little thickness. Like previously stated, it seems to give a little added confidence. When I address the ball I mainly focus on the ball. If it were some sort of shovel that would be a different story all together. My X forged irons are not old enough to consider replacing, but if they were, I'm sure I'd go with these. They seem a bit softer than what I have, but not much. BTW totally jealous of the fact that you got these babies for free. Congratulations! What a sweet deal. I'm just waiting for Callaway to follow suit and send a bunch of us to their headquarters.

[maverick]

Thank you for your review. I reviewed the Callaway RAZR X which have too much offset for me. I should have tried the tour version or the forged. My mistake. FYI, the elevation in Scottsdale is about 1200 ft, about half what you stated. I lived in the valley for 25 years. ;-)

I would add a big thank you to Callaway and Golfwrx for putting together these reviews.

[Raven Logics]

[quote name='shadowCLV' timestamp='1301423609' post='3099709']
I cannot say i agree with the feel of these sticks. I had 09 X forged and they are a better club hands down. The Razr felt thick to me in looks and feel. They felt more cast then ENDO forged. I do not believe these are Endo forged one bit! I ended up buying the better looking and performing Razr X Tours with a thinner top line and more forgiving head.[/quote]

I've hit both on the range a couple of times and found the opposite - the Raxr X Forged just seemed easier to hit and much softer than the Tour. I find the cast Razrs to be a little harsh on mishits, and as a mid-HC was suprised to get on well with the forged version.

[CassinoNorth]

Alright here's my thoughts after a 9 hole round and a range session.

Callaway Razr X Forged (4-PW) with Project X 6.0 flighted shafts


First up range session about 40* and overcast. No real wind.

Got these special ordered from Cally and drove right over to the range to get some real ball flight tests. It was cold so I was expecting a bit more of a hard feel from these than I was used to in the store but I was dead wrong. Even with basically frozen range balls and sub 50* temps these felt like absolute clouds on a stick. Well struck balls hopped off the club face like no other and off center shots to the toe or heel let you know well enough what you did. Misses tend to be a club short. Nothing drastic like a blade. The shafts seem to produce a higher ball flight than I ever got with the DG S300's I had in my last set and alot more control than I was used to. I did notice though on thin shots, these shafts felt like hitting a baseball off the end of the bat. Ouch.

Looks wise, they're gorgeous in the bag. I love the graphics. Curious to see if I could take the badge out but after doing this to my VR splits which lowered the swing weight a whole point, I'm gonna pass. Top line is a bit chunky, sure. But I only find that on the PW, 9 and 8. The rest are confidence inspiring and in the case of the 4 iron absolutely perfect blend to hide the small cavity back.


From there I had to get these out on the course for some real situational shooting. Same weather as before but with a bit of a drizzle. Decided to take these to my local executive course which has 9 par 3's and plenty of short 4's that don't require a driver off the tee. Perfect for testing your new irons. I was using the Bridgestone e6 for this round.

When the ground was soft with my VR Splits I struggled big time. I'm a bit of a digger and my Achilles heel is 100% fat shots. Lose quite a bit of distance that way. The leading sole on these are so far much better than the Nikes with this. My divots were much shallower than before and the ground was quite wet. Learned quick the off center hits were a club short as I went 10 yards short on the first hole, a 175 yard par 3 which I went with a 7 iron for. Figured it was a practice round so from there on in I was only there to get a accustomed to my clubs and nothing more. Didn't care too much about scoring. I was finally hitting consistent pin high approach shots with makeable putts. They just feel more accurate than other irons and the tour CC grooves give you plenty of spin. Even with a non premium ball I was sticking 7 irons within a foot of the ball mark. I found the same results as one_putt_blunder did with the ball flight. Often they look like a 1 club higher ball flight. A 4 iron for me was landing 215 pretty soft. I've never been so excited to go after par 5's in 2 now with these irons. Confidence inspiring stuff.


My conclusion? These are the digger's players clubs. I wouldn't recommend these (shafts in particular) to a sweeper necessarily but for a digger, these are quite the sticks. Callaway has a real winner with these through and through.

[franman]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1300941475' post='3083198']
Agree I never pictured myself playing cally irons, then again I never thought I would have an almost all adams bag before this. Just goes to show you can miss out on some good gear if you always go by your pre conceived notions
[/quote]

Amen to that!

[DTown3011]

My short irons and wedges shipped yesterday, my set should be complete on Thursday!

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Thanks for the replies and updates everyone, I have been pretty busy with work and moving into a new place this last week and havent been able to post much more than a couple quick blurbs from my phone. Sorry about the elevation that was just a total shot in the dark that I missed. I looked it up and where I played was in fact 1200 feet above sea level.

The 3rd round with the irons got off to a good start shooting a 38 on the front 9 including a bogey and a stupid double from a bad sand shot/3 putt. back nine kinda fell apart with a 43 as the hips started acting up, I guess its too much to ask to play 2 days in a row now. For those interested the Gateway player shot a smooth 69 after getting off to a pretty slow start. Pretty impressive stuff to watch. One interesting note about the Gateway tour player was he was currently playing the previous version of the X Forged with PX 6.5's he hit a couple shots with mine and felt that they were softer than his, very similar ball flight and distance for him, overall he was pretty impressed.

Cassino thanks for posting your thoughts, great thoughts keep us posted as you go

Dtown curious to hear your update as well now that you have the short irons.

Mark let me know when you can play again and we will try and finally make it out to Vista Verde

[AirMail]

Great reviews! I'm liking these to upgrade from my beloved X-22's.....go Callaway!

[shadowCLV]

So far so good. Very easy to hit and you can still work the ball all directions. AS for the Razr X Forged, maybe they are soft but not as soft as my 09 X Forged. Maybe my Iomic grips had something to do with it as well. Big difference in feel with them. I am surprised at the people who say KBS Tour's launch too high for them?? I had Rifle PX 6.5 in my 09 X Forged and I hit these new Razr X Tours with KBS X lower!! They are very stout shafts and very accurate but probably about 5 yards short of the PX for distance.



[quote name='DTown3011' timestamp='1301425375' post='3099813']
[quote name='shadowCLV' timestamp='1301423609' post='3099709']
I cannot say i agree with the feel of these sticks. I had 09 X forged and they are a better club hands down. The Razr felt thick to me in looks and feel. They felt more cast then ENDO forged. I do not believe these are Endo forged one bit! I ended up buying the better looking and performing Razr X Tours with a thinner top line and more forgiving head. Besides they are a little cheaper. I love X Protos but not the new Razr X forged. My 2 cents.. IMO
[/quote]


While you might prefer the 09 X-Forged looks at address better, the sole on the RAZR X-Forged is hands down the best sole on a Callaway iron ever. And cast? Really? These feel so buttery I can't believe you think these feel cast...

Might as well ask because I'm interested in them - how are you liking the RAZR X-Tour irons? I have heard really good things...
[/quote]

[Jimmy Mac]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1300768612' post='3076687']
I honestly couldnt tell you all the specifics I was asked if I would be interested and gave the obvious response of heck yes. Im not saying I am a saint by any means, but aside from some sarcasm and a few dustups I do my best to contribute in a positive manner so I am sure that helped I was hesitant to put that up in the thread but I noticed the cat was already out of the bag with some of the driver and other reviews. Plus imo I didnt want it to seem like I was giving the clubs praise for the wrong reasons while hiding the truth. I was definatley one of the lucky ones as there are so many great members on here.
[/quote]

Great review.

And I think opening with your disclosure about the nature of how you got the clubs is pure class.

Obviously, when someone scores $800 worth of free sticks, there's gonna be a little bias. But it's a lot easier as a reader to trust the review of someone who is upfront and honest about these things. Nice work, I hope they keep a steady flow of products moving your way. I know I'll certainly be giving Callaway a closer look after reading this.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Thanks Jimmy Mac. I would have been very honest had I not liked them. I think the part that speaks volumes about my thoughts is the fact that they earned their spot in my bag. I could have very easily sold them and been able to pick up any set I wanted, but instead they will be in my bag.