Equipment

Press Release: Callaway Announces Retail Availability Of The X Utility Prototype Irons

Published

14 years ago

Aug 30, 2012

GolfWRX

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

Tour proven and Open Championship winning clubs to be made available at select U.S. retailers on Dec. 1st

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.

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”