Equipment

Introducing the “New Callaway”

Published

13 years ago

Jan 28, 2013

GolfWRX

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

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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

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and the irons…

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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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Click here to see many more photos in the Callaway Gallery

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.”