Are Callaway X-18 Irons Still Good? Are They Forgiving for High Handicappers? 

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“When the Callaway X-18 irons came out, Callaway made the bold claim that they would appeal to golfers of all skill levels.” 

They went on to say that the Callaway X-18 irons feature an unrivaled combination of forgiveness features and a player’s performance profile that even professional golfers love. 

In our experience, when a company says that their clubs are for players of every skill level, they usually aren’t being truthful. So we were really eager to get our hands on the Callaway X-18 irons and see if they lived up to the loft hype.  

We especially wanted to see what, if anything, they still have to offer high handicappers. So we tested them for ourselves and recorded our findings in the following review.  

Are Callaway X-18 Irons Still Good? 

“The Callaway X-18 irons still fetch a relatively high price on the used golf clubs market which, for better or worse, is usually indicative of quality.” 

Right off the bat, the Callaway X-18 irons feature classic Callaway forgiveness features and some technologies that you don’t really see anymore.

For instance, the Short Straight Hollow Hosel (S2H2) design has been succeeded by more effective weight saving designs.  

But you still get Variable Face Thickness in the Callaway X-18 irons which helps them stay modern.

From our testing, we found that the Callaway X-18 irons hold up very well against more modern irons in terms of forgiveness and distance.   

The workability is a bit compromised by the size of the head and the lack of aggressive grooves in the short irons.

So very early on in our testing, we were already seeing that the Callaway X-18’s weren’t the jack of all trades irons that Callaway made them out to be.  

For high handicappers though, the Callaway X-18 are amazing. The soles in the long irons are nice and wide. The soles of the short irons also promote very smooth turf interaction.  

Our testers were able to achieve really good apex height with these irons. On both long and short approaches our shots were coming down with snow on them and landing dead on the green.  

Are the Callaway X-18’s Forgiving for High Handicappers? 

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“The Callaway X-18’s feature notch weighting which allows more weight to be placed in the perimeter of the club head.” 

A common feature by today’s standards but still an essential one – especially if you are having trouble with your impact positioning.

The variable face thickness also helps increase flex and ball speed when you miss the hitting zone.  

The Callaway X-18’s also have progressive offset that gets less pronounced as you get down to the short irons.

In the long irons, the offset made it much easier for our testers to square up and really rip the ball.  

The Callaway X-18’s produced great distance even for our high handicap testers. After three swings with the 3-iron, our testers were averaging 199.7 yards! We also noticed more consistent, straight shots as well.  

The face profile is a little shallow which concerned us at first; but as soon as we started swinging those concerns were allayed. The Callaway X-18’s are tremendously forgiving for high handicappers.  

Callaway X-18 Vs Callaway Epic Irons 

“The Epic irons actually have a deeper face profile than the Callaway X-18’s.” 

And while the Epic irons have a lightweight yet solid feel, they didn’t come near the Callaway X-18’s in terms of distance and forgiveness.

The Epic irons feature a hollow hosel and like the Callaway X-18’s they emphasize perimeter weighting. 

They also felt more stable on mis-hits. But distance was greatly compromised due to higher spin rates. With the Epic 3-iron, our testers were averaging just 188.6 yards after 3 swings.  

Callaway X-18 First Impressions 

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“The face profile made us think we were going to have trouble with these irons.” 

And while topping the ball still produces erratic flight, the lateral forgiveness more than made up for the relatively shallow face profile.

The Callaway X-18’s also have a very clean look both in the bag and behind the ball.  

You can feel the low CG pretty much right away. We were also impressed at the fact that you can very acutely control the launch of these irons.  

Callaway X-18 Selling Points 

  • Notch weighting 
  • Variable face thickness 
  • Progressive offset 
  • Wide soles 
  • Short straight hollow hosel 
  • Tru-Bore shaft design 
  • Low CG 
  • 360 undercut channel 

Callaway X-18 Key Technology 

“Much of the technology included in the Callaway X-18 design was meant to save weight.” 

Tru-Bore Shaft Design: Callaway actually extends the shaft tip all the way down through the club head to improve stability and control.  

Notch Weighting: The notch weighting system helps shift mass to the  perimeter of the club head.  

S2H2: The short, hollow hosel saves even more weight so it can be placed where players tend to mis-hit. 

Callaway X-18 Loft & Lie 

Club  Loft  Lie 
2 iron  18  59.20 
3 iron  21  59.90 
4 iron  23.50  60.60 
5 iron  26  61.30 
6 iron  29  62 
7 iron  33  62.50 
8 iron  37  63.50 
9 iron  41  64.50 

Who Should Buy the Callaway X-18 Irons? 

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“Despite the claims that Callaway makes about these irons being great for every kind of player, our testing revealed that they work best for mid and high handicappers.” 

There just isn’t enough spin and workability in the short irons to make the Callaway X-18’s viable for low handicappers. But the flipside to that is that they are amazing for high handicappers.   

They launch high enough to help you attack the pin from further out – they also play long enough to even allow you to attempt to land the green from your second shot.

But you can still control the launch when you need to keep the ball out of the wind or under trees.  

Distance: 97/100

Forgiveness: 96/100

Workability: 93/100

Overall Performance: 96/100

Value: 94/100

Overall Score: 95/100

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