50 Words or Less
The Callaway XR 16 fairway wood is a sneaky contender to be one of the best fairway woods of the year. Easy to elevate and long.
Introduction
Callaway has an entire media department at their disposal, so it’s tough to say that anything they do flies under the radar, but compared to the boasting some companies are doing about their fairway woods, the XR 16 seems like a shrinking violet. However, at PluggedInGolf, we don’t give stars or medals or awards for hype, we look at performance, and on the launch monitor, the XR 16 fairway wood screams.
Looks
Many fairway woods try to have that “better player appeal” by being tiny. The Callaway XR 16 fairway wood, by contrast, is big and proud of it. The footprint is substantial and the round, symmetrical shape does nothing to make it look smaller. Callaway has designed this club to look, and be, easy to hit, and they’ve succeeded.
Sound & Feel
Callaway states that the Forged Hyper Speed Face Cup has been redesigned for the XR 16 to be hotter and thinner, and the feel definitely supports that. Shots feel like they’re jumping off the face.
Performance
With a fairway wood, aerodynamics and speed are great, but for recreational players, distance is determined much more by forgiveness and ease of launch. The Callaway XR 16 fairway wood doesn’t make you choose between those four things – it gives you all of them.
Just like the XR 16 driver, the XR 16 FW feels very easy to swing. It’s well balanced and light with just enough feel for the head. Even on my first few swings, I was producing very solid club and ball speed.
The real joy in hitting the XR 16 fairway wood is how easy it is to hit high, straight shots. I was regularly launching shots between 13 and 14 degrees, a real rarity for me, and that was translating to increased carry and total distances. As a bonus, the XR 16 FW really likes going straight. There is some draw bias, but the vast majority of my good swings walked right down the center line.
Conclusion
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XR FW LM Data
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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Nice review, Matt. Wish I was close enough to a qualified fitter to properly test one of these with my swing.
As a golfer who is grudgingly holding off Father Time, I’ve tried the V Series, then the 2016 GBB fairways. My fitter looked at me and said, “You’d save a bunch of money if you’d just come to me and not buy great clubs and shafts that don’t fit you.” I surrendered. “Look,” he said, “the XR fairways are great – light and fast, easy to launch.” I looked at him with eyebrows raised. “This is not my first rodeo. That’s what they all say.” He says, “Here, try this XR 5 wood with the Fubuki 50 Regular Flex.” The fitter is right … again. Having eliminated my flip over the Spring, I get an easy to launch 3 and 5 wood — “I’m 40 again!” I tell him. I can hit a high 5 wood, high and piercing. And the 3 wood is mid and energetic. Who needs Viagra? It works. The difference between now and 20 years ago is that the 3 wood is now straight. XR fairways -great ofd deck and tee. Get fit.
i just purchased the xr with a x stiff shaft,i currently use a taylormade m3 which i dont like to much.I will update,when i hit the xr.
It’s a great fairwood and even better at used price, Bought a 4 wood and a 9 wood, after a year of playing the F8 Cobra. The 4 wood is a option from having a 3 wood. I hit it longer with a penetrating mid flight with a long roll out. The 9 wood is what most people who can’t hit a high hybrid or Iron , great for long shots into the green and stopping. If you’re having problems with fairway woods XR16 is something worth trying if you can find one. Look to the past to find some great clubs that are still out there.at a price that you can buy two and still go out for diner with the family. .