Equipment
Spotted: Akshay Bhatia’s Callaway X Forged Prototype irons (1 of 3 sets made)
GolfWRXers know Callaway has made some really amazing forged irons in its history, but few are as beautiful and rare as these X Forged prototypes that Akshay Bhatia has in his bag. At the Grant Thornton Invitational, we asked Akshay about the just-spotted irons, and he mentioned that he has two sets of the rare left-handed irons. Supporting this, in a recent social media post Callaway’s Johnny Wunder said that Akshay and Phil Mickelson were the only two players with the irons, so we believe Callaway has only produced three sets of these irons.
Visually, the irons have a very similar look to the X Forged irons that are on the Callaway Japan website and the X Forged Star irons that we have seen on the LPGA Tour. The main difference between the Japanese iron and these is the extensive milling on the back of the irons. The whole cavity features milling marks where the different step patterns are present and even the back “muscle” has vertical milling lines on it.
We can assume that these started life as forged blank heads and then are milled to the exact specs that Akshay likes. It is no secret that Bhatia is a big gearhead and loves to dive deep into the gear he uses out on tour, so he probably had some input on the final looks and specs of the irons. With all the different steps in the cavity, it is possible that Callaway engineers are using those to move the center of gravity to an optimal spot on each iron for precise launch conditions.
A pre-worn leading edge looks to be on the sole to help keep the leading edge down and provide some resistance to digging when the club gets into the turf. The trailing edge of the sole features heavy relief so that the club releases from the divot quickly and without excess drag.
We don’t have any official word from Callaway on the iron details or if they will come to retail or just be something tour only. But for now, we can just admire the photos and wish we had a set in our own bags!
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Peter
Dec 14, 2024 at 7:48 am
The only thing ‘prototype’ about these is they are left handed. That is a negative on callaway’s part not a positive. The milled version, standard version, black version, raw version has been in asia for a while now.
Mp
Dec 13, 2024 at 10:10 pm
Yeah that’s not why. It’s because they cannibalised their own sales by having more forgiving easier to hit irons within the same kind of range
Eric
Dec 13, 2024 at 11:01 am
They’ll come to retail in the fall limited to 150 sets. What Callaway doesn’t seem to realize is that the X-Forged would have sold so much better if they tidied up the PW and 9 iron. THAT was why nobody bought previous iterations.