Callaway X Forged 64 deg. wedge

[Stacey_E]

I’m dropping my 4 iron, which I only use on longish par 3s, for a 64*wedge. I’m a slightly closed face digger, and I never open the face on my 60 for shorter shots. Choking down the shaft results in a thin shot and a ¾ swing brings in the shank. Plus I like a 64 for short sided chips since I quit trying flop shots. I’m strongly considering the Callaway X Forged 64 and would like some input on this club.

First, has anyone tried any of the X Forged wedges who could compare them with my Vokey spin-mills in terms of feel, trajectory, look, spin etc? And second, has anyone tried the 64 model, and did it show a real distance difference from their 60? All of the 64s I’ve hit in the past carried about as far as a 60.

My current distances are :
46 PW-120
50 AW-105
55 SW-90
60 LW-75

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Magnus]

I picked on of these up a month ago, X-Forged 64* with the MD grooves. And I do also play Vokeys 50*, 54*, 58*...So, I can give you my conclusions. First, distance - for me, if I go full out on the 64 it can go about 60-65 yrds, but thats if I jump ion it. I get 125 out of my 50*, 100 out of my 54* and 75 from my 58*. But, like you said it is good for short sided up and downs, I feel this is more of the clubs intent. Second, the feel, it, to me, doesn't feel as good as the vokey. The head seems lighter, and although it comes off the face softer, I sometimes feel like I can't feel where clubhead is. Third, the lok is fine, I like the looks of the club, no issue there. And Lastly the spin. It is ridiculous with the MD grooves. Be prepared to throw the ball right to the hole, cause it will stop immediately on all shots from all lies. Clean lies and a fuller swing, I get 10+ feet of suck-back, so you definitely have to account for that.

So, in summary, distance - corresponds with the loft for me, feel - a bit light with the face a bit softer than the vokey, and spins ALOT with the MD grooves.

Overall I am happy with the club, and use it inside 40-50 yrds usually, and around the greens if I need it to stop quick. If I need some run out, I will use a choice of one of my other Vokeys.

One idea for you.....if you find that you are carrying your 64* as far as your 60*, you prob a re delofting it a bit too much (as a self described closed faced digger that you are) compared to your usual swing.

[Stacey_E]

Thanks for the advice Magnus. I picked up the 64 and hit a few range balls. Your advice on the club itself was spot on in every aspect. And you were right about de-lofting too much. I always had a tendency to put the 64 way far back in my stance. In the middle of my stance it looked like the ball would hit me in the nose!

I also found myself making the rookie mistake of not lining my grip on the leading edge (which seems a little more curved than my Spin Mill 60) and found myself fore-lefting it with a super-strong grip. I guess this problem is exacerbated by the extreme loft on the club. I found if I concentrated on the lowest scoring groove when setting my grip, everything came out alright. I did get the chrome, and it does glare, but not more than I can manage. I'll get back after the round today. In the yard I'm going 55-65 with a good tempo full swing, so the is a nice gap for me (about 15 yards) from my LW, and this was my main concern. Thanks again. I'll hit this back after I hole a few chips today.

[Righty to Lefty]

I added this club to my bag after switching from right handed to left handed only 2 months ago and I use this club for just about every shot inside 100 yards. Yes I can comfortably hit this club 100 yards sky high but that is because I have a 115 mph (driver) clubhead speed and deloft the club at impact. I used to have a very stong grip but I quickly realized that a neutral grip worked the best. You should always open the face on wedge shots if you want them to fly hight and land soft. And by opening the clubface I mean open the face, then take you grip like normal. It was hard for me to grasp this concept at first because I felt like i wanted to manipulate the clubhead but once you execute and then trust it it will be a savior. If you read golf digest they show a pic of Phil set up to a ball with his 64 and you can see that it is open about 30 degrees. I suspect this is what causes most people problems. 64 degree wedge shots should be played back in the stance and probably never anymore forward of center unless it is a flop shot (maybe 2 to 3 golf balls back of center). I thought that this club was going to be very difficult to hit consistently but this club gets more work than any club in my bag except for my putter. The I can play the ball high, medium, or low simply by a slight ball position change and how much i follow through. The spin is perfect me especially on the downhill chips. Every now and then they'll chew up the ball a bit but that is usually on a full shot from 80 plus yards. Great wedge and soon enough I think eveyone will be playing them once the stigma comes off them like they did for the 60 wedges. Oh and another note is I probaly hit this club 75 times per DAY while practicing

[bogeyhitter25]

I'd never give up my 4 Iron, but that's just me. Whatever is comfortable to you. And I'm sure that you can't go wrong with an X-Forged.