Callaway has come out with its newest driver, the XR, with an emphasis on one aspect: speed. This driver is designed to create nothing but speed. In my head, this sounded like the perfect fit for me since I like to play fast and swing fast.
Having just reviewed the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815, I was excited to get my hands on yet another Callaway driver to see how this speed could affect my game off the tee.
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Technology:
From Callaway –
- Speed From Speed Step Crown – To reduce drag and maximize speed through the swing, we’ve put in a Speed Step Crown and combined it with an optimized aerodynamic head shape. Everything about this driver is optimized for aero efficiency, which is critical to add speed with less drag.
- Speed From R•MOTO Face Technology –This is how we increase ball speeds across the face – by reducing 10% of face weight to make it thinner. R•MOTO leads to more energy efficient energy transfer all over the face, allows us to put the CG 17% lower where most golfers want it, and delivers higher MOI.
Looks:
Callaway emphasizes speed, speed, and more speed with its XR driver and that theme shows even in the looks of the club. The bright red, white, and blue colors on the sole of the club remind me of racing stripes on a car, and even the blue headcover with the boxing glove look seems like one of those jumpsuits that Nascar drivers wear. The pop of racing colors contrasts well with the dark, sleek all-black color from grip to clubhead.
Standing over the ball at address, the simple, darker look of the club makes for a nice contrast to the little white golf ball. If you’ve read any of my reviews, you also know of my affinity for matte black club heads and the XR is no exception. With no glare from the California sun to contend with, it just helps me pull the trigger on my drives. Lastly, the Callaway logo and the double-ridged Speed Step Crown make for an easy alignment aid on the top of the club.
The club face brings back the “X-marks-the-spot” concept, which I mentioned from my previous review of the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver. Once again, it provides a great, visible tool in terms of feedback to see where on the face I struck the ball. No better feeling than seeing it right in the middle of that X.
Feel:
The Callaway XR driver actually felt pretty light while swinging the club. This didn’t surprise me since it didn’t have a gravity core or weights like the Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver. All I had to do was find the right loft/lie combination and let it rip.
In terms of sound, the XR driver had a much higher pitch at impact in comparison to the Big Bertha 815 Alpha. Whereas the 815 Alpha sounded more like a wooden bat, the XR was much more like the sound of a metal bat.
Performance:
With Callaway’s emphasis on speed with the XR driver, I was expecting nothing but distance with this club. Safe to say, it did not disappoint.
The speed all seems to start with the club face, where the R Moto technology once again really shined. Just like with the Big Bertha Alpha 815, the ball just flies off the face at impact. Callaway has really figured out how to make a hot club face in my books.
In terms of the actual distance, the XR lived up to my expectations. With the ball flying off the club face, I was consistently getting that extra yardage that I always covet. I averaged about 5-10 yards farther than my normal drives through the 3 review rounds that I played this club. I even outdrove one friend who’s literally always hitting it longer off the tee. It was only one drive but I gotta give credit where credit is due. It was a just a flush shot with the XR driver.
With all this distance, the forgiveness of this club cannot be understated. I can always appreciate a driver where my mishits are actually rolling out and giving me a decent chance on my second shot. My toe mishits weren’t going quite as far as with the Alpha 815 but it wasn’t much far behind.
Overall:
With so many new drivers coming out with an emphasis on speed, Callaway has definitely entered the game with its XR driver. It provides a combination of distance and forgiveness that any player, whether pro or amateur, needs to try in 2015.
