Callaway X Fairway Wood Golf Club

Callaway has always had a reputation for making playable fairway woods for weekend warriors; this club definately continues that tradition.

When I started with this grand game/addiction called golf, I loved all the game improvement features of Callaway fairway woods. The offset and soft shafts corrected my slice. The S2H2 design helped me release the clubhead. The VFT (variable face thickness) helped off-center hits maintain respectable distance.

Then I got better and all those Callaway slice-compensating features started working against me. Once I learned to swing correctly I started hooking the heck out of them. I re-shafted to a stiffer tip shaft and that helped a little. At least my hooks stayed on the hole I was playing! The problem was that my new tip stiff shaft lowered my ball flight a great deal. I was now scared to death of trying to carry a hazard.

So the search for a new fairway wood began. I tried Ping. I tried Cobra. I tried Taylor Made. I sold the Ping. I sold the Cobra. I broke my Taylor Made over a tree trunk and lied to my wife - told her it was an accident. (Irish temper - whoops!)

Then Callaway comes out with this little gem and it piqued my interest. Much less offset, a Fujikura shaft, a sole design that really makes sense.....hmmmm maybe worth a try. No kidding folks, three balls on the range and SOLD! We have a WINNER!

(Sidebar here - I play a Fujikura Speeder shaft in my driver and it really is worth the price. I know 2 bills is steep but how can you put a price on confidence off the tee?)

Anyway, back to the X....
The torque and tip stiffness of the shaft is just right for a mid 90s to low 100s swing speed. I can hit a fade, I can hit a draw, I can hit it straight. Best of all, I can hit it high. The S2H2 and VFT features are still there which is nice 'cause I'll always mis-hit one now and again. And the sole- what an idea!!! The two-point contact thing is a stroke of genius. It really helps you to line up the shot. All you have to do is place the club behind the ball and it seats itself. Now simply grip the club and take your stance and you're lined up with the ball in the correct position. It's almost impossible to hit fat or thin with this sole design.

Just a word of warning to the high handicapper - this ain't no Big Bertha. If you tend to slice the ball you might want to consider something else. (The Steelhead 3's are very good at helping a slice and can be had for a song. Ditto the ERC.) But for those of you out there who left Callaway as your game improved, take a look at this club. If you can, demo one for a round so you can really feel the benefits of this X sole design on different lies.

Good luck and many happy putts for eagles!!

Golf manufacturers have been tinkering with the lofts of woods/metals of all sorts for at least a decade. Most of us have come to learn that a driver loft of 10.5-12.5 degrees is appropriate for all but the fastest swing speeds. Yet where does this put us with the rest of the longer clubs? With a 46 in driver and hybrid long irons that generally fall in the 21-25 degree range, how best do I cover the distance between the driver and the woods?

Clearly a 44-inch 3 wood is not an answer, plus in many cases the heads are so big that they are almost like trying to hit a vintage driver from off the deck. So I looked at woods formally numbered in the 4-5 range (I ignore the numbers and look at the length/loft). The Callaway X 18 degree 5 wood (most 4 woods are 17 degrees) proved to be a nice differentiation from my driver and it allows me to carry two hybrids and four wedges.

The X has a smaller head than the Big Bertha series, but it is very hit-able and just as long. I can hit it comfortably off the deck or use it off the tee in tighter holes with the sort of confidence I would not get from a 44-inch, 15 degree 3 wood. The X is far easier to hit than older generation fairway metals and performs roughly like a conventional 4 wood. Think in terms of the original 16-degree Tight Lies inverted utility wood and you are in the same ball park in terms of distance and hit-ability.

I short it gives me just what I needed between a driver and the hybrids. The is not a slice corrector, but if you don't need that then the X can be a great value these days.

After years of trading clubs for newer technology, I bought the Callaway VFT 3,5 and 7 woods. I loved their large titanium heads and the undeserved forgiveness they always brought me. They were easy to hit in the fairway, but not nearly so in the rough. When I read a review extolling the virtues of the Callaway X Fairway Woods, I decided to finally sell my old friends and try making some new friends. Two thumbs up to that decision.

The Callaway X Fairway Woods have decidedly smaller heads that allow them to cut through rough, unlike my old VFTs. Surprisingly, the X soles do help with set up. The heads give you a nice ping on center contact, but not as much "pow" as the VFTs. You can work the ball easily. They are darn good-looking clubs, too. The ball flight tends to be mid-trajectory as opposed to the high trajectory of my VFTs.

Unlike my VFTs, these X woods are NOT confidence builders. You must BYOG (bring your own game) with these bad boys. If you need forgiveness, leave the X woods in the rack. Unlike priests and most Callaways, you will find no forgiveness here. What you hit is what you get! Mis-hits sting and balls fly low to their final resting places which is usually not very far.

That said, there is a reason why the newest Golf Digest Club Review Issue still rates them as gold against the newest Callaway entry. They are that good and they are a bargain!

dafoxyman

"Beaten by skill, but NEVER by technology!"

Callaway makes golf easy. It would be nice if we all that robotic golf swing that test clubs? Before you take your stance in the fairway, try to remember that robot when you swing this club, there is no need for a hard swing, the club does all the work. Now, I would recommend that you use this club under ideal conditions, you will not get as much loft with that 15 degrees and it will not be the ideal club to hit if you are playing on a course that does not have soft fairways. If you are playing in the southern part of the USA, great, if play in the hot dry climate with hard fairways, you will be better off with a hybrid.

I like the head style. The small low profile look is perfect fit for a 3 wood. The only thing i disliked was the tour velvet golf pride grip. I am more of a tour wrap golf pride guy. other than that is a very solid club and i hit it very well. when i am faced with a tight fairway and little room to work with i know which club i am grabbing... my callaway 3 wood