The X Tour was the Editor’s Choice in the Player’s Irons Category in Golf Digest’s 2006 Host List.

These clubs are Callaway’s premium forged models and are in the bags of players like Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam.

The X Tour is a two piece head that has a forged 1020 carbon steel body, with a welded-on face. The 360 degree undercut channel is designed to enlarge the sweet sopt and provide the kind of perimeter weighting that is not normall associated with tour level clubs. Like its game improvement cousin, the X-18, the X Tour also has an extreme notch weighting system to further improve the moment of intertia.

Better players prefer more classicially styled heads, and the X Tour delivers. No Volkswagens on a stick here. The X-Tour blade length is shorter from heel to toe, while the toe has been raised and squared. The top line is relatively thin, with a straight leading edge.

And, of course, the X Tour has the Callaway bore thorugh hosel, although it has been redesigned to move the center of gravity toward the heel and higher in the face.

Callaway X Tour Forged Irons (3-Pw) - RH Steel

Callaway’s X-18 Irons were the Editor’s Choice in the Game Improvement Irons Category in Golf Digest’s 2006 Hot List.

The irons feature a deep undercut channel with a cutaway notch that allows Callaway to move ever more weight to the club’s perimeter. The result, Callaway says, is that the X-18 offers “amazing stability, with a solid crisp feel” The stability is enhanced by Callaway’s trademark bore through hosel.

One nice thing about these clubs is that they have a more traditional size and shape, and a thinner top line, when compared to last year’s X-16s. While I like the way the X-16s played, I couldn’t get past the Volkswagen on a stick look. The X-18 seems to have addressed that, while apparently improving playability.

Callaway X-18 Irons (3-Pw) - RH Graphite

As a clubmaker, I’m fascinated by the different factors that go into the design of club. I’ve read Roger Maltby’s (of Golfworks) books on teh subject, and everything else I can get my hands on. The most interesting thing to me is the interaction of the various elements of the club.

The new TaylorMade Blog has a couple of interesting posts on the design of the R7 XD and R7 CGB clubs.

In the first, the blog discusses the necessity of having lower lofts on the clubs. It seems that in designing the clubs, they moved the weight far enough low and back that the standard lofts sent the ball up at too high an angle. So, to optimize the apex, they had to lower the lofts.

Nike’s Slingshot Irons roused a lot of critical acclaim when they were released in 2004. The sling backs moved a great deal of weight back from the face, making them very easy to hit.

But the knock against them was that they were too unconventional looking. Better players just didn’t like the way they looked at address. I’m one of those who like a good clean look at address.  Fat clubheads are a real turn-off for me.

So for its Slingshot Tour clubs, Nike got some input from their Tour players and modified the look. The slingshot back no longer is visible at address, and the offset is less. However, the club still achieves what Nike calls “Air CG” (interesting how everything is still “Air” with them—years after Air Jordan has retired), through the lightweight Custom Carpenter 455 face.

The Slingback achieves its effect by strategically moving the weight around. On the longer irons, the weights is concentrated low, back and in the heel. As the clubs get shorter, the weight moves forward, higher and toward the toe.

NIKE Slingshot Tour 3-PW w/ Steel Shaft

ESPN dot Com has an article on the pending death of the 1 iron. Apparently, it was used only 50 times on tour in 2005, and Joey Sindelar accounted for half of those. Worse, you apparently can’t find one from any of the major manufacturers.

The culprit: hybrids.

Still, there is a sort of romanticism associated with the “cleek.” Hogan at the 1950 Open at Merion; Nicklaus at the 1975 Masters; and countless other similar miracles.

I actually have a 1-iron, though I built it from components. I have it mainly for the novelty factor. But when I want to play mind games with an opponent, I put it in my bag in place of the three iron. Then, on I take it out on the first tee and swing it around warming up. Inevitably, my partner asks what I’ve got. The 1-iron never fails to impress.

I can hit it off the tee, too. Not nearly as far as my driver, but it goes straight.