When shopping for golf irons, you are going to come across many different models.
Many players like to look for used irons to help save some money and take advantage of great clubs that somebody may have gotten rid of too soon.
The Callaway XR and XR Pro are several years old now, but they are still popular clubs that people find plenty of use for.
The most important thing with buying both used and new golf clubs is to make sure that you get something that will fit your needs specifically.
The technology between the Callaway XR and XR Pro is a bit different.
It makes sense to know the main differences before investing in these clubs.
The XR Pro and XR are not just irons, but they were made into an entire set of clubs.
Difference Between Callaway XR And XR Pro
There are several significant differences between the Callaway XR and the XR Pro.
The clubs were built for two different types of golfers, and they have technology that will stand out as being specifically built for two different players.
Depending on the type of iron that you are looking for and your individual skill level, the XR or XR Pro could be the better choice.
We have broken the two irons down into the different features so that you can see which would be the better fit for your skills.
1. Face Cup Technology
The Callaway XR and XR Pro both have the face cup technology.
This is one of the first sets of irons to have this technology as, at this point, it was really coming from the woods.
If you follow equipment closely, you will know that this happened again when Callaway started putting the flash face technology into the iron faces, most recently with the Apex.
The Face Cup technology continued in every release after the XR and XR Pro, so this is some impressive early Callaway technology to take advantage of.
The Face Cup technology leads to faster ball speeds, and these ball speeds apply even when the club face is not making ideal contact.
If you miss the center a bit, you can still get plenty of distance with either of these irons.
In addition, the XR and the XR Pro are going to have the Internal Standing Wave technology.
This has not been included in more recent releases of the irons, but it was known for helping golfers get the ball higher in the air with lots of ball speed.
If you happen to miss the center of the club face a bit and hit it lower on the face, this technology could help.
Of course, both the Callaway XR and XR Pro irons both feature this technology.
That means that the Face Cup alone will not help you decide which of these is best for you.
2. Game Improvement vs. Player’s Distance
The Callaway XR irons are game improvement irons, and the XR Pro would be considered more of a player’s distance iron.
The player’s distance irons are going to help golfers who still need their ball speed and a bit of help on their distance but want more feel and workability.
The game improvement irons are going to offer the best combination of both distance and forgiveness.
Most of the time, this means that the Callaway XR is going to be a better fit for the mid to high handicap golfer, and the XR Pro a better fit for the mid to lower.
Even though Callaway has many other iron choices on the market that are blade-type irons, not all golfers are interested in this kind of thing.
It’s essential to play with a golf iron that works for your game and does not inhibit you from shooting the scores that you want.
A lower handicap player who uses an extra forgiving club will have a hard time hitting shots that are dialed into a pin.
They likely won’t be able to see the ball draw or fade simply because the club is just too forgiving.
Alternatively, golfers with higher handicaps who start playing with something without a lot of forgiveness will struggle with their ability to keep the ball in the fairway and up in the air.
Unless you are putting the time in and have quite an impressive golf ability, it really doesn’t make sense to be using blade-style clubs that make the game harder.
3. Offset
The Callaway XR has more offset than the XR Pro.
Offset technology is specifically designed to help those who tend to slice the ball.
When you hit slices, you are going to have a hard time getting the distance and accuracy that you need from your irons.
The offset, however, is not popular or welcomed on golf clubs that are built for the lower handicap players.
Since you typically need to know how to hit a golf ball straight to play with the player’s iron, it makes more sense to have more of a straight face as opposed to offset.
If you like to look down and see a bit of offset to increase your confidence about a straight shot, the XR is the better choice.
4. Top-Down Look
The Callaway XR golf irons have a thicker and wider look than the Callaway XR Pro.
With the XR Pro, you get more of a thin top line look that makes it easier to feel as though you are going to work the ball and pull off certain types of shots.
Most lower handicap players enjoy a thinner top-down look and a club with a slightly thinner sole.
The sole on the XR is thick to help increase launch and get the golfers that draw bias feel that they may need.
In addition, with the XR, you may have an easier time getting them all out of the rough and up into the air.
The XR Pro is a bit more challenging to manage to hit shots out of the rough because of the thinner style that doesn’t cut through the turf quite as well.
5. Shaft
Shafts in golf clubs can be changed to work for your specific needs.
However, it is a good idea to pay attention to the type of shaft that you are getting in the XR and the XR Pro to make sure that they are a good match for your game.
Since the irons were built for two different players, you can imagine that the shaft choices are different as well.
The XR comes with a True Temper Speed Step 80 that weighs about 90 grams.
The idea behind this shaft is that it is easy to flex and easy to launch, helping players become more productive with the shots they take.
In addition, the softer tip allows the golfer to get a much higher launch and more carry than other golf shafts on the market.
Essentially, the shaft is a bit more forgiving than the stock option in the XR Pro.
The XR Pro comes with a KBS Tour V-90 Steel shaft.
The Tour V90 is going to have more of a mid-launch profile to help give players a more controlled ball flight as opposed to a very high, almost ballooning type of launch.
The KBS Tour golf shafts are some of the best on the market and have been for a very long time.
Golfers know that this is one of the more popular stock shaft options that they can get across a wide range of brands.
Of course, there are also flex options within each of these two types of shafts, but you can expect that the XR Pro will play a bit stiffer than the XR.
6. Feel
Feel is something that comes with time and practice.
When you learn to play better golf, you will have the ability to feel what you are doing with your shots when it is good and also when it is bad.
Most lower handicap players expect a more responsive feel in their irons.
This means that when they hit a bad shot, they essentially want to know that it was bad.
This allows the golfer to make changes in the swing and update the feedback so that they are getting the feel that they need.
Without this more responsive feel, it can be very difficult to tell what you need to do with your swing in order to get better results.
The XR Pro will have a better feel for the lower handicap player.
The feel of the traditional Callaway XR is soft, and it feels good when you hit it in the center, and it also doesn’t feel all that bad if you miss the center.
Some players find that if you miss the center of the clubface, you will be very surprised at how good the shot still felt.
For those who are tired of vibration and a hard impact, this is a positive thing.
The only downside is that it does not give you the information or responsiveness that you need to make adjustments in your swing.
Overall, the Callaway XR and XR Pro are both excellent feeling irons, so you just have to decide how much you need to learn from and adjust on each shot.
Then you can make a better decision about which club to play.
Difference Between Callaway XR And XR Pro Drivers?
In addition to the golf irons that we just discussed, the XR and XR Pro series were part of the drivers and wood and hybrids that Callaway put out that year as well.
The Callaway XR was built more for the mid to high handicap golfer looking for the most distance, forgiveness, and launch on their drives.
The Callaway XR Pro, on the other hand, is a bit more for a golfer who is looking to control their drives.
If you like to take advantage of a dogleg hole and try and position your golf ball perfectly, chances are the XR Pro is going to be the best golf driver for you.
Over time, it has shown that most lower handicappers are using XR Pro and the mid to high like the Callaway XR.
Overall, the Callaway XR series of golf clubs won a number of awards and are regarded as some of the best around.
If you can get your hands on a set of these irons, even though they are older, you may find that they are a good fit for your game.
Which Should I Play: Callaway XR Or Callaway XR Pro?
Now that you have a better understanding of the Callaway XR and Callaway XR Pro, it’s time to figure out which set is for you.
As you likely know, it can be hard to find these clubs because they have now been on the market for so many years, and they have always been quite popular.
However, if you find that they are a good fit for you, check sources like eBay or local used golf shops to find the set that you need.
For those who are looking for ultimate forgiveness, the Callaway XR is going to be the best choice.
With the Callaway XR, you get a lot of accuracy, even if you miss the center of the club face.
When you miss the center of the clubface, you will find that the club still helps the ball travel a good distance with plenty of ball speed.
When you switch to something like the XR Pro, the forgiveness is not going to be quite as good.
In addition, when it comes to higher launch, the XR will also be a better choice.
If you sometimes roll the ball along the ground or hit line drive type shots into a hole, you may find that the XR can help to fix this issue.
Mid to high handicap players will get the most benefit from using the Callaway XR golf clubs.
A lower handicap, advanced shot-making ability, and the desire to take your golf game to the next level are all important characteristics of the golfer who will benefit from the XR Pro.
Essentially, if you are a good golfer and you want feel and distance without playing with a blade type golf club, the XR Pro is going to be a smart choice to use.
Overall, these irons are both very good technology and laid the groundwork for the Mavrik and Apex series that are now on the market.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding as to if the Callaway XR or XR Pro would be the better choice for your game.
Most of the time, these irons are going to look quite different, and just a few swings with them will tell you how different they are going to perform as well.
In the end, it’s hard to say that one is better than the other as they are built for different types of players.
Most people would say that the Callaway XR is a better option because it fits a broader range of people.
The XR Pro is built more specifically for the better player.
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