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The Callaway XR 16 retails for $349,99 (MSRP) and it can be described as one of the best all-round drivers the company ever made and it's also one of the longest on the market.
The new XR 16 2016 is an incremental evolution of the 2015 XR driver and it's significantly improved in terms of design with drag reducing elements.
Callaway took their job very seriously in terms of aerodynamics and they collaborated with a Boeing for designing the driver's crown, in order to promote speed, thus to increase the distance.
The end result was a very fast driver indeed, but not only that. The Callaway XR 16 is also very forgiving, compared to the previous generation, thanks to its lower/deeper in the head center of gravity and the larger shape.
The collaboration with Boeing's experts led to a re-engineered Speed Step Crown, now called Trip Step crown, which is lighter and promotes ball speed even further. The Callaway XR 16 also comes with the latest gen R MOTO face technology, which is 19% thinner, while the body is even lighter than before, leading to increased ball speeds across the driver's face. Callaway even managed to improve the weight distribution in the club-head, in order to increase the moment of inertia (MOI)
As a logical consequence of all this fine-tuning, the Callaway XR 16 comes not only with a more aerodynamic head, but also a lighter one (five to fifteen grams lighter compared to its direct competitors), a feature that makes it easier to move around during your swings. Callaway achieved that by using a lighter Titanium alloy for weight-reduction, while keeping the strength. The same ultra-light 8-1-1 Titanium alloy (comes with more aluminum in its composition) is used for the head chassis and the lighter R-MOTO face, while the ribs on the club's face allow it to flex a little upon ball impact, for increasing the ball speed.
The sound and feel in the XR 16 are very nice and fulfilling, in good Callaway tradition, as the drivers sounds solid and has a very responsive face, boosting confidence and giving you that “I nailed it again” feeling round after round. The hosel comes with Callaway's Optifit technology for allowing you to fine tune your driver for optimum performance and, last but not least, I must notice the driver's exceptional forgiveness, which will definitely help you with achieving more speed and more distance.