---
title: "Callaway X Forged review: the forged cavity back Ruoning Yin, Jeeno Thitikul and Minjee Lee use as scoring irons"
url: "https://ifrothgolf.com/read/callaway-x-forged-review"
type: "spotlight"
topic: "irons"
author: "Ben Marsden"
published: "2026-10-26T14:00"
publisher: "ifrothgolf"
---


# Callaway X Forged review: the forged cavity back Ruoning Yin, Jeeno Thitikul and Minjee Lee use as scoring irons

> Ruoning Yin's most recent published bag runs X Forged from the 7-iron down, under a hollow-body 5 and 6. Jeeno Thitikul and Minjee Lee also start it mid-set, with a different long iron above. That is the right way to buy it, too.

## In short

- **Verdict: 7.8/10.** A properly good forged scoring iron for the single-figure player who already strikes it well. Buy it as the 7-iron to the wedge under a more forgiving long iron, the way the tour does; skip it as a full set if your misses come off the toe.
- Pro: One-piece forged 1020 carbon steel in a compact, low-offset cavity back with a thin topline: a classic players' iron without the gimmicks
- Pro: Tour-proven in the role most buyers should give it: three LPGA winners in the bags we track use it from the middle of the set down, under a different long iron
- Con: Low forgiveness by Callaway's own rating, and Plugged In Golf found ball speed drops off quickly away from the centre

Ruoning Yin played the last 36 holes at Sheshan nine under, hit every fairway on Sunday and led the field in greens in regulation, 55 of 72. That closing 68 on 18 October won her the Buick LPGA Shanghai at 11 under, one ahead of Hye-Jin Choi: her seventh LPGA title, her second Shanghai title after 2024, and her second win of 2026 after the FM Championship in August. Her iron play was the story of the week. Which irons is a harder question than it should be, and the answer is the reason the [Callaway X Forged](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/callaway-x-forged) is worth a proper look.

Here is what is known. No bag check from Shanghai has been published. The most recent list of Yin's clubs is Callaway's own, posted on 31 August after the FM Championship: an Apex UT 4-iron, Apex Ti Fusion irons in the 5 and 6, and X-Forged irons from the 7-iron to the pitching wedge, with Opus SP wedges at 50, 54 and 58 degrees below them. So the X Forged is in her most recent published bag. I am not going to tell you she won Shanghai with it, because nobody has shown that, and Callaway's list does not say which generation of X Forged it means. When she won the 2023 KPMG Women's PGA, Golf Australia's winner's bag listed the earlier X Forged CB.

## What Callaway is selling

The X Forged that Callaway sells now is the 2025 model. Its US product page describes it as crafted for the Japanese market and now available in the US, and launch coverage at the time put it on US shelves on 25 July 2025, alongside a larger, stronger-lofted X Forged Max. The construction is deliberately simple: a single piece of forged 1020 carbon steel, a compact cavity back, minimal offset, a thin topline and a tri-level sole with bevelled leading and trailing edges. There is no hollow body, no face insert and no tungsten story. Callaway's own comparison chart rates it low launch, mid-to-high spin, high workability and low forgiveness.

The lofts are traditional. Callaway's spec table runs from a 23-degree 4-iron through a 33-degree 7-iron to a 46-degree pitching wedge, at 37 inches for the 7-iron. If you are coming from a modern game-improvement set with a 7-iron in the high 20s, the X Forged will fly shorter club for club. That is not a fault; it is the point of a scoring iron, but it does mean your gapping chart changes with it.

Plugged In Golf's review, the most thorough independent test I can find, called it exactly what it claims to be: an attractive, traditional forged cavity back. It liked the straight, sharp leading edge and the squarer toe, and found a low launch with mid-to-high spin, the flight that holds greens. It was equally clear about the cost. Ball speed falls away quickly when you miss the centre, more than a modern players' iron, though it is kinder than a true blade on thin strikes.

## Where the tour puts it

**6 of the 80 tour bags we track carry X Forged irons, and the split between the tours is the interesting part.** On the LPGA, three players use it as their scoring irons: Yin from the 7-iron, [Jeeno Thitikul](https://ifrothgolf.com/witb/jeeno-thitikul) from the 6-iron under X Forged Star long irons, and [Minjee Lee](https://ifrothgolf.com/witb/minjee-lee) from the 5-iron under a Srixon utility iron and a 7-wood. On the PGA Tour it is a long iron only: [Min Woo Lee](https://ifrothgolf.com/witb/min-woo-lee) plays it in the 4 and 5 above Callaway Forged Prototype blades, and Si Woo Kim has a single X Forged 4-iron above Apex MB blades. The sixth is Phil Mickelson's set, which is a 2013 Japan-only X Forged, not the iron on sale now.

How we counted: one per player, rows are not bags, and we left out the X Forged UT utility iron, which is a different club. These are the bags we maintain and re-verify against named sources, not a census, and sources do not always say which X Forged generation a player has.

Put those six together and they agree on the iron's role better than any marketing chart could. Nobody we track plays it from the 4-iron to the wedge. The LPGA winners carry it where they score and put a different club above it. Yin's version is the most deliberate: an Apex UT, a hollow-body Apex Ti Fusion pair, then forged cavity backs, so the forgiveness steps down as the loft goes up. The men use it the other way, as the more forgiving long iron above blades. Either way it sits in the middle of a ladder, never on its own.

Below the irons, Yin's [Callaway Opus SP](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/callaway-opus-sp) wedges finish the set, three of them in four-degree steps that carry on neatly from the 46-degree pitching wedge in Callaway's stock X Forged set.

## The money

Callaway's US store lists a seven-club set, 4-iron to pitching wedge, at about $1,600, or about $225 a club, and shows it in stock. That is a little more than the $1,500 Srixon asks for seven ZXi7 irons, a direct rival as a forged players' iron, and it is a little more than the X Forged launched at last year. It is not expensive for a forged players' iron. It is not a bargain either.

## Who should buy it

The single-figure player who strikes the middle irons well and wants a classic cavity back to score with. Buy the 7-iron down, or the 6-iron down if your 6 is a club you trust, and fill the top of the bag with something easier: a hollow-body iron, a utility, or a hybrid. Three LPGA winners have settled on a blended build like that, and it is the one I'd copy.

It is also a good fit for players who find the smallest blades intimidating. Plugged In Golf made the point that it suits someone who wants a players' iron but is uncomfortable looking down at the smallest heads, and that is the gap between this and a muscle back.

## Who should skip it

Anyone whose miss is a ball off the toe or low on the face. Low forgiveness is Callaway's rating, not mine, and it is the reason nobody we track carries it as a full set. If that describes you and you want a forged feel, Srixon's new [ZXi5 + ZXi7 combo](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/srixon-zxi5-zxi7-combo-2026) puts a more forgiving head in the 4 to 6 as standard, and we looked at [where its split falls](https://ifrothgolf.com/read/srixon-zxi5-zxi7-combo-set-2026) in the same week.

Left-handers should skip it for a simpler reason: every loft on Callaway's US spec table is listed right-handed only.

## The bottom line

The X Forged is a plain, well-made iron in a market that rarely makes them. It is forged, it is compact, it has one good idea in the sole, and it asks you to hit the middle. The tour has already shown how to own one: not as a full set, but as the scoring half of a set that gets easier at the top. Buy it that way and it is very good. Buy it as seven matched heads to fix a slice and it will tell you about every miss. Our [irons and wedges guide](https://ifrothgolf.com/guides/best-irons-wedges) has the more forgiving options.

## Verdict: 7.8/10

**Bottom line:** A properly good forged scoring iron for the single-figure player who already strikes it well. Buy it as the 7-iron to the wedge under a more forgiving long iron, the way the tour does; skip it as a full set if your misses come off the toe.

**Pros**
- One-piece forged 1020 carbon steel in a compact, low-offset cavity back with a thin topline: a classic players' iron without the gimmicks
- Tour-proven in the role most buyers should give it: three LPGA winners in the bags we track use it from the middle of the set down, under a different long iron
- The tri-level sole, with bevelled leading and trailing edges, is the one piece of design Callaway leads on, and independent reviewers rate its turf interaction

**Cons**
- Low forgiveness by Callaway's own rating, and Plugged In Golf found ball speed drops off quickly away from the centre
- Right-handed only in every loft on Callaway's US spec table
- Dearer than a seven-piece Srixon ZXi7 set, with traditional lofts that will look short next to a modern iron

## The takeaway

The Callaway X Forged is a one-piece forged 1020 carbon steel players' cavity back with a tri-level sole, low offset and traditional lofts (33-degree 7-iron), sold in the US since July 2025 and right-handed only. Callaway rates its forgiveness low, and Plugged In Golf found ball speed drops quickly off-centre. Ruoning Yin, who won the Buick LPGA Shanghai on 18 October 2026, plays X-Forged from the 7-iron down in her most recent published bag (Callaway's FM Championship list, 31 August); no Shanghai bag has been published. Of the 80 tour bags we track, 6 carry X Forged irons: three LPGA winners as scoring irons under easier long irons, two PGA Tour players as long irons above blades, and Mickelson's 2013 Japan model. Buy it as the scoring half of a blended set; skip it as a full set if you miss off the toe.

## FAQ

### Did Ruoning Yin win the 2026 Buick LPGA Shanghai with Callaway X Forged irons?

That has not been shown. No bag check from Shanghai has been published. Her most recent published bag is Callaway's list from her FM Championship win, posted on 31 August 2026, which has X-Forged irons from the 7-iron to the pitching wedge under Apex Ti Fusion irons in the 5 and 6 and an Apex UT 4-iron. Callaway's list does not say which generation of X Forged she uses.

### How many tour pros play Callaway X Forged irons?

In the 80 tour bags we maintain, 6 carry X Forged irons. Three LPGA players use them as scoring irons: Ruoning Yin (7-PW), Jeeno Thitikul (6-PW) and Minjee Lee (5-PW). Min Woo Lee (4-5) and Si Woo Kim (4-iron) carry them as long irons above blades, and Phil Mickelson plays a 2013 Japan-only X Forged. These are bags we re-verify against named sources, not a census.

### What are the Callaway X Forged iron specs?

Single-piece forged 1020 carbon steel, a compact cavity back with minimal offset and a thin topline, and a tri-level sole with bevelled leading and trailing edges. Lofts run 23 degrees (4-iron), 26 (5), 29 (6), 33 (7), 37 (8), 41 (9) and 46 (pitching wedge). Callaway lists every loft as right-handed only and rates the iron low launch, mid-to-high spin, high workability and low forgiveness.

### Who should not buy Callaway X Forged irons?

Golfers whose common miss is off the toe or low on the face, and anyone looking for distance. Callaway rates the X Forged's forgiveness as low, and independent testing found ball speed falls off quickly away from the centre. Left-handed golfers are also out, because Callaway's US spec table lists every loft as right-handed only. The X Forged Max is the larger, stronger-lofted sibling for players who want more help.

## Products mentioned

- [Callaway X-Forged](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/callaway-x-forged) · $1,600 approx — Callaway's one-piece forged players' cavity back, born in Japan and on US retail since July 2025.
  **Where to buy:** [Check price at Callaway](https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/irons/irons-2025-x-forged.html)

- [Callaway Opus SP](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/callaway-opus-sp) · $225 approx — The wedges under Ruoning Yin's irons in Callaway's list of her FM Championship bag: 50, 54 and 58 degrees.
  **Where to buy:** [Check price at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH5RSL6Y?tag=ifrothgolf-20&ascsubtag=md_callaway-opus-sp) (affiliate link) · also stocked by Callaway

- [Srixon ZXi5 + ZXi7 Combo Set (2026)](https://ifrothgolf.com/product/srixon-zxi5-zxi7-combo-2026) · $1,500 approx — The alternative if you want the forgiveness built into the set rather than bolted on above it.
  **Where to buy:** [Check price at Srixon](https://us.dunlopsports.com/srixon/clubs/irons/zxi5-%2B-zxi7-combo-set/zxi5-%2B-zxi7-combo-set/MZXI57CMBIRN27.html)

---

Source: [ifrothgolf](https://ifrothgolf.com) — independent golf-gear editorial.

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