Callaway X Hot, X Hot Pro Driver Review
29 Mar 2013
by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Equipment Reviews
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As anyone that was at the
2013 PGA
Merchandise
Show will attest, it
would appear that Callaway is 'back'. But,
while the
company's
'social wall' is sure to
dominate the
post-show headlines, it's
the Callaway X Hot and X Hot Pro drivers that
deserve
top billing.
Out of the five new-for-2013 drivers I hit at
the PGA
Show Demo Day
(reviews on all coming soon!), the X Hot stood
out as
the fastest and most
explosive --- into the wind on the gigantic
range at
Orange County National,
no less. The company claims the driver is 'up
to 13
yards longer'.
Callaway has also released the RAZR Fit
Xtreme (
read review here), which
will
appeal to touring pros and
many high-level players. But the X Hot should
appeal
to a wider variety of
players thanks to its blend of forgiveness and
performance.
The latest offering from Callaway's line of
drivers is
available in two models:
the X Hot and X Hot Pro.
Built for speed and distance, the X Hot, which
was the
model I took for a test
drive, checks in at 46 inches. The 460cc head
and
speed-frame face is
comprised of an updated titanium design that
is
thinner around the perimeter
and thicker in the center, which optimizes the
sweet
spot and helps with mis-
hits. That's made possible through a new
titanium
casting technology available
to Callaway.
It's also one of the lightest drivers Callaway
has put
into the market, checking
in at roughly 300 grams.
The X Hot Pro is approximately 317 grams total
club
weight and features one
of the deepest faces of any driver in its class
for
2013.
All told, the X Hot Pro was designed with many
of the
same speed
characteristics as the company's RAZR Fit
Xtreme. The
center of gravity is
tweaked slightly, offering higher launch angles.
The key to the X Hot series is in its
adjustability. The
X Hot and X Hot Pro
feature a three-way adjustable 'opti-fit' hosel.
Like the
RAZR Fit Xtreme, the
lofts are designed for specific players based on
Callaway's data research.
Each loft setting moves club weighting to
achieve the
bias that will optimize
the impact 'most likely' to happen according to
Callaway's extensive research.
The progressive weighting technology offers
golfers
needing less loft a more
neutral bias while giving golfers requiring more
loft a
draw bias to guard
against the slices and fades that plague that
segment
of amateurs.
The X Hot comes stock with the Project X
Velocity
shaft, which is right in line
the driver's goal of remaining light and
extremely fast.
Other customization
options include shafts from Aldila, Fujikara,
Grafalloy,
Matrix, Mitsubishi, Oban
and UST.