Callaway Golf is bringing back a legend and it's better than ever before. The new X Forged irons promise to be Callaway's best feeling and softest irons in history.
And along side these irons Callaway has also designed the new X Forged Max irons giving golfers easier to hit players distance performance in that legendary X Forged shape and feel.
The return of X Forged is going to excite purists for a variety of reasons I'll get into more below. X Forged has been in the Callaway lineup for a long time and has developed a cult classic following for both its performance and feel. And the new X Forged (and X Forged Max) irons went through multiple phases of design and engineering that take X Forged to even greater heights.
The inspiration for the new X Forged and X Forged Max irons was to create the softest and best feeling iron to date in the Callaway lineup. So Callaway sourced 1020 material for this a one-piece forged iron design with the goal of creating irons sacrifice nothing in performance, feel, and aesthetics.
Callaway took more than year to review the market and looked at some of the most classic, timeless forged iron aesthetics before deciding on this X Forged shape. And the ultimate shape drew a lot of inspiration from the craftsmanship of the Japanese market.
Tri Sole Design
As mentioned above there were multiple phases when Callaway was engineering and designing the new Forged X irons and the first phase included machined prototypes that were brought out on the Japanese Tour. And the first big design element involved creating turf interaction that would meet the demands of Japanese turf conditions as well as those in North America and Europe.
In Japan the grass tees the ball up a bit more than most conditions we see here in the US. But there's also a very hardpan ground underneath. So X Forged needed to cut through the turf quickly, smoothly, and not get stuck in the ground.
Testing revealed the need for a quicker sole and relief on the leading edge and this testing is what originated the Callaway Tri Sole design. We've seen Tri Sole design on other Callaway irons but it was the research and engineering of X Forged the last multiple years that brought it into existence.
Shaping and Design
The new Callaway X Forged is noticeably a Japanese inspired shape. X Forged has a higher toe, narrower sole and blade length, with crisper, harder looking edges that are more in line with the most classic Japanese forged irons.
Center Mass Feel and Performance
In addition to selecting the best 1020 carbon steel material Callaway also put more mass in the back center of the X Forged, aligning this mass with the impact position. And the result is the softest and strongest impact feel ever in a Callaway iron.
Elite ball strikers and players who gravitate to Tour preferred shapes will love the X Forged irons. But what about players who want to get into this kind of single piece forged iron and pure feel category but need some extra forgiveness? Well that's where X Forged Max comes in. And X Forged Max is going to be an easier to hit version of the new X Forged.
Differences Between X Forged and X Forged Max
You're getting that same one-piece pure 1020 carbon steel feel with the X Forged Max as you do with the X Forged. The most notable difference between these two models is with the cavity construction. And that's going to allow players to create combo sets but also meet the requirements of different player needs.
An X Forged Players Distance Construction
X Forged Max is basically a players distance X Forged iron. You'll see the heel and toe pockets stand out in the X Forged Max. These were put in to manipulate the center of gravity and moment of inertia.
Removing mass from these pockets allowed Callaway to then move more mass low to achieve easier and higher launch with X Forged Max. Callaway however still kept mass behind the target impact location to maintain the X Forged feel integrity.
Slightly Larger Shape
The shape of X Forged Max is based off the X Forged so the two look very similar. X Forged Max has a slightly longer blade length and wider sole giving you a larger hitting area and more forgiveness. If X Forged is a compact shape, I'd call X Forged Max a mid-compact shape.
Callaway kept the same Tri Sole in X Forged Max as in the X Forged so you're going to get the exact same turf interaction and precision control. The X Forged Max wider sole also lowers CG and along with the weight saving mentioned above this makes it even more forgiving.
Choosing Between X Forged and X Forged Max
The new X Forged and X Forged Max irons are both going to give you exceptional feel, workability and feedback, and precision control.
Deciding between the two will really boil down to a choice between the Tour compact shape of X Forged on the one hand, and a slightly larger but still compact shape of X Forged Max with more forgiveness and easier launch on the other.
Whatever choice you make one thing is certain. When Callaway designed the new 2025 X Forged and X Forged Max irons they didn’t merely want these to be the best performing, best feeling, and best looking X Forged irons you’ve ever hit.
Callaway also wants these to be the best performing, best feeling, and best looking one-piece forged irons you’ve ever hit anywhere. Period.
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