Equipment
’13 Callaway Irons: In-hand photos, video and specs
Callaway’s X Hot and X Hot Pro irons were designed for two distinct categories of golfers, but they have one major similarity — they’re designed to fly a long way with consistent distance.
The X Hot is Callaway’s most forgiving iron in its 2013 lineup, featuring a deep cavity to improve distance and forgiveness. It’s a game-improvement iron, a category of irons that gets a bad rap for causing flyers — shots that are hit slightly above the center of the face and tend to fly unexpectedly far.
[youtube id=”OD5ltnU6GB4″ width=”620″ height=”360″]
That’s why Callaway removed the undercut that sits behind the top line of most cavity back irons. By reinforcing the top part of the face, engineers lowered the sweetspot to slightly below center (0.155 inches lower then than Callaway’s previous game-improvement model, the RAZR X), which is where most amateurs make contact with their irons. By doing this, Callaway engineers said they’ve removed the “high hot spot.”
“Golfers have a mortal fear of hitting the globe first, so they hit it thin,” said Dr. Alan Hocknell, vice president of R&D for Callaway. “That’s why these irons are very forgiving low on the face.”
X Hot 3 Iron
X Hot Pro 3 Iron
The X Hot Pro irons are designed for golfers who need forgiveness but don’t want to look at an oversize club. The Pro model has less off set, thinner soles, thinner top lines and 1-degree weaker lofts than the standard model. Like the standard version, engineers stiffened the upper part of the face to eliminate flyers and make the lower portion of the face more forgiving on mishits. The Pros also feature Callaway’s 20-degree close-spaced grooves, which Luke Williams, global director of woods and irons for Callaway, said increases backspin as much as 1000 rpms out of the rough.
“This is the first time that we’ve cast the groove that we’ve been forging,” Williams said. “It’s a harder, more expensive groove to make. But we wanted to put in in the (pro) line where players are more likely to notice.”
Both models are cast from 17-4 stainless and feature dual-material medallions in the iron cavities to improve sound and feel.
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
Availability: Jan. 25, 2013
Price:
- X Hot Irons: 3-PW or 4-AW — $699 (steel), $899 (graphite)
- X Hot Pro Irons: 3-PW or 4-AW — $799 (steel)
X Hot Shafts:
- Steel — True Temper Speed Step 85 Lightweight, Regular (93 grams) and Stiff (95 grams)
- Graphite — X Hot I-750, Light (68 grams), Regular (79 grams), Stiff (79 grams)
X Hot Pro Shaft:
- Type: Project X 95 Flighted Steel [5.0 (R), 5.5 (S) and 6.0 (X)]
- Weight: weight: 92.3 grams (R), 92.3 grams (S) and 97.3 grams (X)
Specs:
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
Click here for more in-depth photos and discussion in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
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. ...
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Art
May 14, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Does anyone know if the Callaway X hot are bore through?
Ed
Apr 30, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Had a fitting for irons by a leading Pro Fitter. I tried out the new TM Rocketbladez and the Callaway X-Hots. I hit my current 6 iron further and with closer ball dispersion than any of the TM 6 irons I tried out using a number of different shafts. The Callaway X-Hot went 10 yards further with the bog standard off-the-shelf shaft with equally close dispersion to my own iron. My current irons? – Callaway FT Fusions. And yet both these new 6 irons have the same loft as my old FT Fusion 5 iron!!!
FCM
Jan 13, 2013 at 5:48 pm
Hallelujah on everyone calling out the ridiculous lofts from Callaway and TM. Of course they will be longer than the other brands. Even the X Hot Pro iron’s have much stronger lofts than the other better player irons. Titleist and Ping are two of the big companies still making true honest products. None of the marketing BS needed to back up their products too.
Nick
Dec 20, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Golf Pro: “What makes your 2013 iron so good?”
TMaG Sales Rep: “With the addition of the speed pocket in the Rocketbladez, we were able increase the size of the sweet spot from a pea to a quarter.”
Callaway Sales Rep: “Forget about the sweet spot. We fixed the ‘high hot spot’ problem. You’ll never hit a flyer again!”
Joe Golfer
Dec 21, 2012 at 4:10 am
Exactly, Nick. They fixed the mythological “high hot spot”, that thing that exists on courses where unicorns roam.
FCM
Jan 13, 2013 at 5:48 pm
LMAO!! Great!!
Lee
Dec 20, 2012 at 4:34 am
Certainly nothing special and cheap looking but at least Calli are using decent shafts especially in the Pro model. The loft specs get more and more rediculous every year however having grown up with a 50 deg PW they are now in a position I like. 5-AW is pretty much what 3-PW used to be so with these clubs you don’t need the 3 & 4 irons and can balance the business end of the bag accordingly.
Joe Golfer
Dec 20, 2012 at 2:19 am
Repeating the other posts, Wow, those lofts really got strong. “Gotta keep up with the boys at TaylorMade”, said the
Callaway R&D team, “even if it makes for a cruddier club”. Now even the “Pro” model has superstrong lofts.
And that garbage about flyers is ridiculous. They talk about hitting the ball above the center of the face? Maybe off the tee on a par 3, but not off the turf. You’re not going to get spring effect from an older Callaway iron no matter how much you hit down on the ball, EVER. C’mon, Callaway, cut the crapola. New Callaway motto ought to be “We can’t make a better clubhead, so we’ll just hype it with a bunch of mularkey.”
Want to hit a flyer? Hit out of rough and have grass get between ball and grooves, so you don’t get spin on the ball. That’s a flyer.
On the GolfWRX homepage, there’s an article by Tom Wishon called “Wishon: The way golf clubs are being sold has harmed golf”. Everybody should read that article, as it explains why Callaway has just jumped the shark in terms of making a better club.
cg
Dec 18, 2012 at 12:40 pm
they look just like titleist aps
Dominic Chong
Dec 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Exactly.
I am looking into the AP1 right now.
cg
Dec 18, 2012 at 12:39 pm
just last year, we were told the slot behind the face helped us get it higher. I have never met a golfer who said that was bad…now we hate fliers? most people would love a flier so they can get to the green. I think the designers are laughing at the public as they go back and fourth with the ULTIMATE club design that will never be beaten..until next year.
forget a gap or a gap gap wedge..you need a gap gap gap wedge. Or else let us carry 16 clubs.
Jeff
Dec 17, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Wow, they got really aggressive with increasing the lofts. The pitching wedge is 44*. If you have a standard 52* gap wedge there will be an 8* difference. Are we approaching the point of needing a gap gap wedge?
Jay
Dec 17, 2012 at 8:14 pm
These are just ugly…
– not in the high tech new design type of ugly
– but in the cheap walmart type ugly
Please Callaway, you have to get a new design team.
No matter how the clubs perform, they are not going to sell well if they keep looking like this.
Don’t believe guys on this forum who say they don’t care about looks as long as they perform. That’s total BS.
luke keefner
Dec 17, 2012 at 5:28 pm
The Xhot 6 has a stronger loft than my Mizuno 5 iron