X Hot
The new standard in distance in the irons category
The Callaway X-Hot did rather well in our first Club Test of the year, so as you can imagine, we were rather taken by it.
The deep undercut design of the X-Hot iron allows Callaway to precisely position the centre of gravity and move the most compliant part of the face - the hottest part - lower, where most golfers make contact with the ball.
And for the first time ever, Callaway has incorporated Speed Frame Face Technology from its drivers into the X Hot Irons to optimise stiffness across the face for more ball speed and consistent distance on off-centre hits.
The thin face profile has the look of a player iron with the performance you’d expect from game improvement. The crown finish looks smart and although there’s not too much offset on show, there’s enough to help square the face up at impact.
From practice swing through to impact, everything about this iron feels great. Aided by Callaway’s Feel Management Technology, X Hot provides a crisp, dynamic feel and lovely feedback at impact.
The stock shaft offering of True Temper Speed Step 85 Lightweight - 10g lighter than Callaway has previous utilised in the past - also impresses.
Similar to the TaylorMade RocketBladez, the X-Hot carries lower than normal degrees of loft to help you achieve remarkable distance gains, particularly with the long irons. But the X-Hot isn’t all about distance, however, as the deep undercut channel - which has allowed Callaway engineers to lower the sweet spot - provides solid forgiveness on off-centre hits.
When striking the 6-iron (26-degree; cranked several degrees in comparison to a standard 6-iron), I achieved an eight-yard distance gain of 170 yards. While it felt every bit like a 5-iron, trajectory felt like a 6-iron. Plucking a 6-iron from the bag, knowing it’s basically a 5-iron, will aid terrific confidence.
Verdict
While not surprising to see the X-Hot is up their in the distance stakes with the likes of new TaylorMade RocketBladez, the ball was incredibly easy to launch and provided remarkable forgiveness. If you decide to purchase the X-Hot irons this year, make sure you spend a bit of time on the range to re-educate yourself to the new yardages. All-round, very impressive.
Click here for our Ten of the Best game improvement irons club test. Tried the X Hot? Let us know in the forum or tweet us on @Golfmagic.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
