Callaway's X-22 Tour irons are the successor to the highly acclaimed X-20 model. The X-22 irons made the 2009 Golf Digest "Hot List" in the player's irons category, receiving the gold standard approval. The listing in the "player's irons" category shows the transformation of Callaway's approach, which in earlier years focused on game improvement clubs for lesser ball-strikers. With the X-22 Tour, it created irons that offer greater workability while maintaining the forgiveness associated with Callaway irons.
VFT Technology
The Callaway X-22 Tour irons feature Variable Face Thickness technology. According to Callaway's website, using varying face thickness allows engineers to "lower the center of gravity for optimum trajectory in each iron." The optimum trajectories that VFT creates are more height with longer irons and a lower flight for short irons. The technology also allows more forgiveness through perimeter weighting that effectively creates a larger sweet spot.
Undercut Channel
Callaway's 360-Degree Undercut Channel technology uses an empty space in the back of the iron to move the weight lower and farther back in the clubhead. Callaway says this "enlarges the hitting area and stabilizes the clubhead for more forgiveness." Combined with VFT technology, Callaway was able to create a very forgiving clubhead for the X-22 Tour.
Appearance
The X-22 Tour irons have a more "tour-proven" head design than the X-20 Tour. The design involves a slimmer top-line, a shorter blade length and a sleeker hosel. The less-bulky hosel serves a purpose in allowing the club to be custom fit easier, as well as being more appealing to the eye.
Shafts
The standard shafts for the X-22 Tour irons are the Project X flighted shaft. These shafts are slightly heavier than dynamic gold shafts and feature a step-less design. The Project X flighted shafts create a higher launch with the long irons and a lower, more controllable flight with the shorter irons. The flex options in Project X shafts use a numerical scale, with 5.0 equating to a regular flex and 6.0 a stiffer flex for stronger players.
Specifications
Callaway lofts typically are a little stronger than other manufacturers, and this is the case with the X-22 Tour. The 6-iron and pitching wedge are one degree stronger than those of Mizuno, 30 and 46 compared with 31 and 47, respectively. The X-22 Tour irons are available in right- and left-handed styles, have a D2 swing-weight and come standard with Lamkin crossline grips. A set of eight irons has a list price of $939 for graphite and $699 for steel as of October 2010.
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