Callaway X-18 irons (steel shaft)
Not everyone's cup of tea in terms of looks, but the new Callaway X-18 proved very responsive and forgiving.
It’s usually a bad idea to test clubs by taking them straight out of the packaging and on to the course, abandoning your trusty tools in favour of the latest examples of the clubmaker’s art. But Callaway’s new X-18 irons proved to be more forgiving than one of the Stepford Wives when I gazed down upon their rounded, bulging heads on a cold winter’s afternoon. The clubs, that is, not the wives! After a couple of initial ‘fat’ shots, I quickly became more comfortable with the unfamiliar deep clubhead with its excavated back. As a six handicapper with a self-taught swing, I didn't hold high expectations but six pars in the first nine holes revealed that the clubs adapted nicely to me, rather than the other way round. Maximised perimeter weighting means a thinner top line and thinner sole and smaller head, which makes the longer irons in the X-18 set ideal to cut through the rough when dealing with errant tee shots. The lie was probably a little too upright for me, however, forcing me to stand closer and taller than my portly frame normally allows, in order to prevent the heel of the club digging in and turning over the shot. But with the adjustment made, the clubs gave increased confidence as more and more shots were struck, with a penetrating flight. This was a most welcome sight into the cold wind, which pulls up so many approach shots short at this time of year. Easiest to hit were the mid to high irons 4-7, although the 9-iron felt particularly adaptable to both chip-and-run and knock-down shots around the greens. The regular flex True Temper Constant Weight Uniflex steel shaft seemed to suit by punchy-style swing. Some call it 'truncated' but that's not for me to say! I’m told the X-18 Pro Series irons are also available in a similar (2-irons to lob wedge) configuration but will feature True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shafts as standard (in R300, S300 and X100 flexes). Standard graphite shaft is the RCH Pro Series M-75I, which will comes in regular, stiff and X-stiff flexes. | |
Verdict | |
A good, balanced set of clubs that’s pretty easy to hit. The heads are smaller, according to Callaway, but they still appear to be a highly-polished but unattractive lump of metal at the end of the shaft. Nice feel, shame about the looks. | |
Golfmagic rating: 9/10 | |
