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This is my full review of the Callaway Steelhead XR irons. Just like Callaway did with the Big Bertha lines and others, they’ve returned the Steelhead to the market, remade with modern performance and features.
Labelled “signature shape meets breakthrough performance”, Callaway claims that the Steelhead irons deliver the finest combination ever of speed, forgiveness, distance and control in a Callaway iron.
How does this actually hold up according to my testing and others’ testing? Do I recommend these?
Read on to find out what you need to know before putting them in your bag.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
Quick Verdict
Rating: 9.1/10 (Excellent)
Pros & Cons: See review box at bottom of review
Classification: Game-Improvement
Best suited for: Beginners or high-handicappers who want a forgiving iron with a mid-range price
Best Places To Buy Online
There used to be great availability at many stores, but this isn’t so much the case anymore because this is an older model.
At the time of writing, eBay is the best place to buy Steelhead XR irons (new and used) at very cheap prices.
Used Irons
If you’re looking to buy a used set, I highly recommend checking out this page on Callaway Golf Pre-Owned.
They have a fairly large selection with a 12-month warranty, 90-day buy-back policy, and condition guarantee.
Want a high-resolution look at the Steelhead XR irons? Click on the composite image at the top of the page and navigate the photos.
What are the reviews like?
The Steelhead XR iron has been received extremely well.
It currently has an average review score of about 4.8/5 on the CGPO website (132 reviews, 98% recommended) and a perfect 5 stars on Global Golf.
What People Like
- wonderful forgiveness
- nice high launch with long carry and great distance
- easy to hit even for those with slower swing speeds
- sharp look as is typical with Callaway clubs
What People Don’t Like
- tends to scuff easily
- many don’t like the feel at impact
- not the greatest mis-hit feedback
What are the features?
Face Cup Technology
The Steelhead XR irons feature Callaway’s next-generation 360 Face Cup technology.
This increases ball speed all across the face for an overall distance increase.
Steel-Infused Polyurethane Layer
Positioned behind the lower portion of the face is a bar of steel-infused soft urethane, which absorbs unwanted vibration for improved feel.
The integration of steel into the urethane adds weight, which lowers the center of gravity (CG) of the head, leading to higher launch and greater ball speeds when the ball impacts the lower portion of the face.
Hollow Bore-Thru Hosel Design
The hollow bore-thru hosel design saves significant weight that’s repositioned in strategic places in the head to create more forgiveness and an easier launch.
Progressive Center of Gravity Positioning
Easy launch and long carry in the long irons, easy launch and keen control in the middle irons, and lower launch and higher spin in the short irons are all the result of a strategically-positioned CG throughout the set.
Stock Info
The Steelhead XR irons come stock with the True Temper XP 95 Stepless shaft in steel or the Matrix F15 in graphite.
Several premium shafts are available at no upcharge, and they are:
- KBS Tour-V
- KBS Tour-V 90
- True Temper XP 95
- True Temper Speed Step 80
- MRC Fubuki AT 50/55/60
- UST Recoil 450/460
- UST Recoil 660/680
- MRC Bassara 50 (ladies)
Below are the specs of the irons. Shaft specs can be found on the Callaway website. Click to enlarge.
How do these irons perform?
Distance/Distance Control
The Steelhead XR irons are long — definitely one of the longest irons I’ve tested.
Carry distance in particular is superb, and this is big because the higher you can get the ball coming into the greens and the softer you can get it to land, the more control you have. The Steelhead XR irons are awesome in this regard.
During my testing I found distance to be predictable and repeatable, even on mis-hits. Mis-hits see minimal loss in ball speed.
Some people have reported distance gains of a whole club or more with minimal reduction in launch angle.
Forgiveness
As you might have expected, the Steelhead XR irons are extremely forgiving.
It’s definitely up there among the most forgiving irons I’ve ever tested. The sweet spot is slightly bigger than in last year’s XR iron, after all.
My mis-hits never strayed more than about 9 yards or so from my sweet-spot distance, and because of the offset, my bad swings that should have resulted in pretty ugly shapes didn’t end up too far off the green either way.
The downside of the superb forgiveness is reduced workability, meaning shot shaping isn’t the easiest thing with these irons, although it can still be managed to an extent.
Playability
These are no doubt one of the easiest irons for higher handicappers to play. They’re very friendly towards slower swingers, and they’re super easy out of trouble lies.
They have no problems handling fairway bunkers and light rough; even in heavier rough they’re relatively easy to get up in the air and fly straight.
What about look, sound and feel?
The Look
Starting with the function, the offset is standard for a Callaway game-improvement iron; not excessive but not negligible either. The top line is quite thick, as is the sole. The head from heel to toe is long.
Overall, the look is what you would expect for a game-improvement iron that inspires confidence at address.
In terms of aesthetics, the cavity badge design doesn’t stray too far from the usual Callaway look, but unlike a lot of their other offerings, the Steelhead XR keeps flashy bright colours to a minimum.
The “Steelhead” logo on the badge has a holographic sheen, which is a cool touch.
The Sound & Feel
One thing I found with the Steelhead XR irons is that they sound and feel pretty much the same over most of the face, save the extreme end of the toe or heel.
This doesn’t surprise me considering the fact that the face is hollow and the steel-infused polyurethane layer (touched on above) dampens the vibrations in the club.
Center strikes feel crisp and explosive, while severe mis-hits sound quite hollow and feel a bit jarring.
For the most part, unless you’re making absolutely horrendous contact with the ball, you’ll be satisfied by the sound and feel at impact.
Keep in mind though that there’s not much feedback, so it will be difficult to tell if you hit a good shot unless you look up at the ball flight.
Where should I buy these irons online?
Right now it’s very easy to find prices lower than the manufacturer-set price for the Steelhead XR irons because of the model’s age.
Currently, Steelhead XR irons can be purchased from several locations including eBay, Global Golf, and Callaway Golf Pre-Owned.
Checking out eBay is a must when looking online, as they usually have deals for both new and used sets that you just can’t beat! The links on this review will take you to all the relevant listings.
Summary & Conclusion
The Steelhead XR irons sure have come a long way since the Steelhead X16s of many years ago.
They are perfect for weekend warriors, mid-to-high handicappers and beginners looking for a top-quality iron that’s good-looking, long, forgiving out of a wide variety of lies, and that won’t break the bank.
With that said, they’re probably not ideal for skilled golfers who appreciate feel, feedback, workability and a slimmer profile.
Do take good care of these irons because the chrome finish scuffs easily.
Thanks for reading this review. Have you played the Callaway Steelhead XR irons, or not yet? Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts and experiences.
I went from Wilson Pi5’s with TruTemper Dynamic Gold R300 steel shafts that I had been playing, and enjoying for many years to the Callaway Steelhead XR irons with the KBS Tour 90 shafts because it offered a much thinner top line than many of the other game improvement irons that I looked at and matched my Pi5’s 5 iron in swing weight as measured by a professional fitter. I am looking forward to the added distance and increased forgiveness that they should offer over the Pi5’s which have a much smaller sweet spot. So many of the game improvement irons did not fit my eye with their extremely thick top lines and soles as well as much more head set back than I wanted in an iron. I tried the new Wilson D7 iron demos and could not get past their added club head thickness and sole thickness, resulting in a much heavier club.
So you haven’t put them to the test on the golf course yet. Definitely let us know how it goes with them. I also dislike thick top lines and soles, both for aesthetic reasons and because I tend to play worse with them.
So I just bought a set of steelhead xr’s 4-pw and I was lucky enough to hit them on a launch monitor this afternoon and WOW. Now I’m coming from an old set of cleveland Ta7 irons and they were great for starting out but nothing like these steelhead. Light,fast and forgiving and 20 yards farther per club and farther with the 4 and 5 irons. I hit these and the rocketbladez and there is no comparison if you are in the market please ignore the rocketbladez and go with the steelhead xr. I am amazed. Great product.
Awesome, thanks for sharing. Yeah, the RocketBladez are a fairly old model from 2012. It’s not always the case (some people have gamers that are decades old), but most people have a better chance of doing well with newer iron technologies.
Have been using the Steelhead’s for over four years. The forgiveness and distance is hard to beat. Got a bonus and decided to “upgrade”. Went to E Watts and hit the Pings, Cobra, etc. and nothing really had a better feel and distance than these 7 year old technology. I was disappointed as the money is burning a hole in my wallet, but I’m sticking to my good old Steelheads. I just regripped them with Golf Pride MCC knockoffs, and am scoring like I have not in a long time. Hoping some day to find a club as good as these, but that day has yet to come.
It happens!