The original Callaway Steelhead Fairway Woods were one of the most popular club lines ever introduced, having sold well over 2 million units.  Everyone seems to know someone who kept the club in their bag for as long as it would function.  Now Callaway has taken the original and added some modern technology with the result being the new Steelhead XR Fairway Wood, available now for fitting at Ted & Dave Custom Golf.

As mentioned the Steelhead XR combines some old with some new.  The original Hawkeye cambered sole remains but has been updated to improve turf interaction.  Callaway has included its Hyper Speed Face Cup technology – notably also found in the Epic line – to improve ballspeed all across the face and especially on mishits.  The crown uses J-36 carbon fibre in order to save weight compared to steel and that weight is then redistributed around the perimeter of the face to improve forgiveness (the technique of using highly durable yet light materials to allow weight to be placed precisely where the designer wants it, rather than where the construction of the club requires is a trend we are noticing across the industry).  On the top line is Callaway’s Speed Step technology which improves the aerodynamics of the club to increase clubhead speed.  The hosel of the Steelhead XR is also slightly shorter (again, saving weight and moving it around) which makes for a nice compact look at address.

When we first tested this club, the thing that really stood out to us was the solid sound it created at impact (you can even hear it through the wind noise in our Instagram video).  It sounds just awesome and while that doesn’t show up on a launch monitor it does count for something.  We are also a fan of the Mitsubishi Tensei shaft that comes stock with the Steelhead and the wide array of available loft options (see spec chart below).

Callaway Steelhead XR Fairway Woods – $299 (Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 55/65 Graphite shaft)