Equipment
Press Release: Callaway Announces Retail Availability Of The X Utility Prototype Irons
Callaway confirmed what we heard on GolfWRX last week, the X Utility Prototype Irons are coming to retail. Click here for in-depth photos. Press release below! Comments?
Callaway Announces Retail Availability Of The X Utility Prototype Irons
CARLSBAD, Calif., August 30, 2012 – Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) announced today that the X Utility Prototype irons, available only to Tour professionals up to this point, will be released commercially in the United States and available at select retailers as of December 1st. The announcement was made at the Company’s national sales meeting, taking place this week north of San Diego.Callaway’s X Utility Prototype Irons were designed by Roger Cleveland and introduced to the Company’s Tour staff prior to the 2012 U.S. Open. Their introduction sparked a wave of interest on the PGA Tour that extended beyond Callaway’s staff professionals and the clubs soon stood atop the list of utility irons in play at PGA Tour events. Designed to replace the 2-, 3- and 4-irons that many players have been gravitating away from over the last several years, the X Utility Prototype Irons found an immediate home in the bags of several of the world’s best players, including Phil Mickelson, Branden Grace and Ernie Els. Els employed all three X Utility Prototypes en route to capturing his fourth Major victory last month at The Open Championship, held at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
“Utility irons are not new to the game, but the X Utility Prototypes feature a state-of-the-art forged construction that delivers a combination of distance, speed, feel and control that has been lacking in this important area of a player’s bag for some time,” said Luke Williams, Callaway’s Global Director of Woods and Irons. “Many players have replaced their long irons with hybrids, which are easier to hit, but the X Utility Protoypes offer a level of precision that our Tour staff has been very pleased with, plus these clubs offer a tighter dispersion than hybrids on mis-hits. The amount of excitement that our X Utility Prototype Irons have generated on Tour and among the avid followers of golf equipment has been overwhelming and underscores our commitment to develop and introduce exciting new designs through work with the best players in the world.”
Available in three lofts (18, 21, 24 degrees), the Callaway X Utility Prototype Irons are made with a hollow forged construction of 1020 carbon steel, a tungsten sole to precisely dial-in the CG location, and a high-strength maraging steel face that promotes high ball speeds. Each iron features also features removable weights on the sole that range from two to eight grams in two-gram increments that allow players to make swingweight adjustments to fit individual needs surrounding specific length, shaft and grip options. Callaway’s X Utility Prototype Irons will feature a new product introduction retail price of $199/steel and $229 with graphite shafts.
“I didn’t expect the [PGA Tour] players to gravitate much towards the 24-degree version,” added Roger Cleveland, Callaway’s Chief Designer. “I thought that loft would more address the needs of the Champions Tour, LPGA and skilled amateur golfers, but the guys on the PGA Tour put them right into play. Ernie Els immediately adopted all three and asked, ‘Where is the rest of the set?'”
About Callaway Golf
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf apparel, footwear and accessories, under the Callaway Golf® and Odyssey® brands in more than 110 countries worldwide. For more information please visit www.callawaygolf.com or shop.callawaygolf.com.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Derick
Oct 14, 2012 at 1:50 am
these clubs will replace some hybrids in the bags thats for sure.. I can’t wait to get a set of these clubs. I had the opportunity to hit these clubs, and oh my god wow.. like they said, they hit with so much ball speed that any mishit will still land close unlike an hybrid will…. cant wait for these clubs…
Sean
Oct 7, 2012 at 9:19 am
Contact your favorite local Callaway retailer and place your order now! I had the opportunity to hit this club a few weeks ago and it’s awesome. There will not be very many of them in the marketplace so they may be tough to find. Got mine reserved will be using them for December golf trip hopefully!
KickinBirdie
Aug 31, 2012 at 7:01 am
Now number one on my Christmas wish list.
CJ
Aug 30, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Wow, wish the price point were a bit better with steel shaft. Just wow again!