Callaway XR 16 Pro Fairway Wood Review

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50 Words or Less

The Callaway XR 16 Pro fairway wood is going to be fast and long for a lot of people this season, but most importantly, easier to hit.

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Introduction

Callaway Golf worked closely alongside aeronautics giant, Boeing to create a new and improved version of their woods.  One of the results was the Callaway XR 16 Pro fairway wood with a compact footprint, a hotter face, and more forgiveness.  If you have a decent swing and you’re looking to hit your fairway woods a bit longer and keep them in play, then you may want to consider looking into the XR 16 Pro.

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Looks

Consistent with previous “pro” versions of Callaway fairway woods, the Callaway XR 16 Pro fairway wood has a compact head shape with minimal detail on the crown aside from a matte black finish and Callaway chevron alignment aid.  I feel like it may have a little deeper face toward the toe of the club compared to previous X Series Pro fairway woods, but I can’t say I’ve honestly gotten tools out and measured.  If you flip the club over, the sweet sparkle blue paint with the silver and red XR logo really jump out at you.  Once you examine the club a bit more, you quickly lock into the multiple channels in the sole of the club which will be discussed more later.

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Sound & Feel

One of the main goals for Callaway in collaborating with Boeing was to create a hotter and more forgiving fairway wood, even in the Pro model.  The Callaway XR 16 Pro has a new face cup, which was created alongside Boeing, and it makes a large difference.  The face is thinner so you get a little more of a metallic “crack” at impact and it definitely feels like the ball is jumping off of the face, even when you miss the center a bit toward the toe.  The only time everything gets a little more muted is when you catch the ball closer to the heel.  If you’ve hit any of the X-Series Pro fairway woods before, I would say the sound of the XR 16 Pro has a little more reverberation than previous generations and the feel has a just a little more spring, but still a very responsive and solid crack.

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Performance

Having already hit most of the XR 16 family at Club Champion, I was fully expecting satisfactory results from the Callaway XR 16 Pro fairway wood.  Getting good results came as no surprise to me, but I’ll be honest, what I actually got exceeded my expectations.  The numbers above speak for themselves pretty well.  260 carry and 270 yards is a great result for me, especially consistently on target.  I’ve only hit one other fairway wood in this range this year.  Of course, it’s always possible to muster the power to hit the one shot that goes a lot further and stays dead on the line, but consistently producing similar shots of higher quality was easy.  It was easy to get the ball in the air with some speed off the deck, and playing off the tee was an absolute breeze.  As far as previous “Pro” versions of Callaway fairways, I have never found one as easy to hit as the XR 16 Pro.

I mentioned the channels in the bottom of the club earlier.  Callaway worked closely with Boeing to take their woods to the next level by making hotter, thinner faces and more aerodynamic heads for greater club and ball speeds.  While the numbers don’t really indicate that much of a faster club for me, I can tell you that face does seem a bit hotter and it was really easy to get the ball going.  I think if I spent time fitting the XR 16 Pro fairway wood with the right shaft, I could see some crazy long numbers.

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Conclusion

What Callaway and Boeing did create was a tremendous fairway wood in the Callaway XR 16 Pro.  Maybe the aerodynamics and other design aspects are the key to greater speeds, but the biggest win for this fairway wood is definitely its forgiveness and consistency which was a primary goal in the collaboration.  An easier-to-hit club that makes good shots repeatable is a fine accomplishment for two leaders in their industries.

Bill Bush
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