Equipment
Introducing the “New Callaway”
Callaway is not the same company as it was last year.
We’ve been covering the PGA Merchandise Show for more than eight years, and we have never seen Callaway have the buzz it had this year. Was it the new X Hot woods and irons? Was it the new Versa Putter line? Or was it the 40-foot tall “Social Wall” that showcased all the social media praise surrounding the new recent launches?
The answer is all of it.
That’s why we gave Callaway a “Best in Show” award this year. The company has always had one of the deepest engineering teams in golf, but their their recent product lines haven’t been up to par with the other brands. This year, the team came to play with the big boys, armed with drivers, fairway woods, irons and putters that have golfers talking again.
With CEO Chip Brewer at the helm, Callaway has become infected with the passion and creativity that they’ll need if the hope to take back the market share they lost to the other major Original Equipment Manufacturers.
The Social Wall
Let’s try to put Callaway’s 2013 PGA Merchandise Show booth perspective — Callaway went on the net and pulled comments and reviews from average Joes who have been talking about the company’s new products and image. Then its staff took all those comments and created a banner that spanned from ceiling to floor and was as wide as its huge booth. Who does that?
Can you imagine the team it took to gather all those quotes? The fact that Callaway has received so much early release buzz from everyone is a testament to the great strides the company is making to turn around its image. On another note, we’re so pleased that all the great communities the quotes were gathered from actually exist, and proud to say most of the comments were from GolfWRX.
Behind the social wall, there were sitting areas so golfers could take in the new Callaway, as well as hitting bays that allowed visitors to test the new product on launch monitors to validate performance. Really cool stuff. Click here to see all the photos in the gallery.
Versa Putter Line
In addition to the Social Wall, we felt the new Versa putter line alone had merit enough to Best in Show. The technology is simple — alternating black and white paint sections that are perpendicular to the line of the putt to help golfers to line up better. The buzz has been huge, especially on the PGA Tour, where non-Callaway staffer Charles Howell III has already used a Versa to claim a T3 finish at the Sony Open.
Click here to see all the photos in the gallery, and check out the video below with Odysset Principal Designer Austie Rollinson about the new Versa putter line:
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Callaway X-Hot Woods and Irons
Callaway’s new woods and irons are long and hot, and they look modern and sexy. The feel of the clubs made us say, “Wow,” and the distances the clubs were flying let us know that there was some serious engineering involved.That’s why there’s so much buzz about Callaway’s new 2013 Razr Fit Xtreme driver, X Hot fairway woods, hybrids and irons.
The show marked the first time most golfers were able to hit the “new Callaway,” and very few left disappointed.
Click here to see many more photos in the Callaway Gallery
and the irons…
Dr. Alan Hocknell, vice president of R&D for Callaway, talks about Callaway’s drivers for 2013 — the RAZR Fit Xtreme, X Hot and X Hot Pro — with Zak Kozuchowski of GolfWRX in the video below.
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Click here to see many more photos in the Callaway Gallery
Here you can watch a video about all the new irons — the X-Forged and the X Hot line. Luke Williams, senior director of woods and irons for Callaway, discusses the differences between Callaway’s three new iron offerings for 2013 with Zak Kozuchowski.
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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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Andrew Cooper
Jan 29, 2013 at 5:56 am
Callaway’s 2013 product range is stunningly good. For a combination of looks, feel, forgiveness and performance I think Callaway are hard to beat right now.
Aaron
Jan 29, 2013 at 1:31 am
Love my Razr Fits, but those Razr Hots are dead ugly.
Brian
Jan 28, 2013 at 5:44 pm
whats difference between Razx Tourwith custom shaft DG Light and Hot irons??
Thankyou