AndySP

Hey everyone, I’m so excited to test this driving iron from Caley. I’ve been on the MyGolfSpy forum for a few years now and have gained so much from it. So, I’m honored to have been selected from among the responders to give my opinions and pay it forward. 
By way of background, I’m 35 years old and learned how to play golf with my dad starting around age 6 or 7. While I’m originally from Chicago and learned to play on the public courses on the north shore, I now live a play in north central New Jersey. I am now an attorney and live with my beautiful wife who is a college professor in microbiology and by far the smartest person I know. I have a 4 year old daughter and our hope is that the three of us will soon all play golf together one day. I also am a pretty active rock climber, and used to set routes and climb professionally. Because I don’t have any golf photos, here’s two pics of me bouldering in the gunks, New York:

My Golf Game:
I played golf on my high school team, and while I wasn’t very good compared to my peers I maintained low single digit handicap. Being only 5’4” and 120 lbs (at best), I had to (and still need to) swing outta my shoes to keep up. All that effort seems to have paid off and I have maintained decent speed for my size. (I have posted about my speed training in the Stack System discussion).
 
The Grint app tells me I play off 7-10.  While I don’t track shots with arcos or shot scope, it’s obvious that the strongest part of my game is off the tee and short irons. My putting is atrocious, but I manage to get around ok with decent GIR averages:

Even so, I don’t have a good second option off the tee and get myself into trouble on narrow holes and windy days.

Testing Plan:
There are only limited choices with the driving iron right now, but I chose the stiff shaft, and asked it to be cut down one inch and bent 2 degrees flat to match the specs on my irons, which I was happy to find out they would do. I am not sure if I will need to add some weight to the club head to re balance it, but as you can see further down, it is an art that I have become pretty familiar with.
My goal in testing this driving iron is to find out if it’s an option off the tee that doesn’t get me into as much trouble as my driver. I have a new-for-me Titleist TS2 3 hybrid that I’m struggling with. I would love to find a driving iron that flights low when it’s windy, and allows me to feel comfortable on narrow par 4s. If I can have a club that gets 220-240 yards out with less stress than my driver, it will definitely stay in the bag.  Long approaches are less important for me with this club, but it will also be a consideration. 
I also do appreciate how my clubs look. I don’t like lugging clubs around that I don’t enjoy hitting. I have tested the Taylormade UDI and DHY, as well as a PXG 0311 and a few others on a simulator. I gave up on the DHY because it flew too high, sounded hollow, and looked bulky. The sound and feel will be a deciding factor if the performance is borderline. I like a driving iron to sound more ironey than driverey. That said, the UDI was like a mini driver, but was a little too erratic to consider buying. If the Caley driving iron can keep up with the UDI, add some forgiveness, and sound solid, it will replace this fairway wood. 

Hopefully this intro will help you guys get a feel for who I am, and how I play golf. I can’t wait to get the club on the course for a proper test!

UNBOXING!
 
Well I think I’m the last person to get my delivery… I was beginning to worry y’ll would think I was skirting my duties. Alas. I couldn’t be happier to see this box when I opened the door:

A little beat up, but nothing to be too concerned about. Maybe not the most careful packaging, but it kept the club alive for its long journey from China to New Jersey. 

I asked for my driving iron to be 2 degrees flat, 1 inch short and for some extra head weight to try and balance it back out. Really happy to see the 2 flat sticker and it also seems to be just an inch bigger than my 5 iron, which is perfect. I’ll have to go to the range and check the swingweight to see about the balance point. Initially it’s hard to tell because of the lightweight shaft in it. 
One thing that I noticed right away is that they installed the shaft with the logo facing up. It’s a little off-putting, to be honest. I don’t know what to think about it…I can’t be alone in preferring graphics to be on the bottom. Guess I’ll have to learn to focus a little better, haha.   

Ok, even given all the, the club head really is stunning. It’s a great shape, has a nice minimalistic vibe and the finish is immaculate. 

I think the images kinda speak for themselves. I also took some pictures next to my 5 iron (new level 902) and 19* hybrid (titleist ts2) to help give some size perspective. 

I’m writing this after work so I won’t be able to test it out until the weekend. But I’m very excited to get going. I have my prgr monitor, and some time at the course to get my first feels. 
 
As a bonus, this couldn’t have come at a better time as I just cracked the crown of my g400lst on Sunday. I have a g430 coming, but it’s still a funny coincidence. Maybe the ping got scared because he knew why was arriving. I guess we’ll see. Very excited to add my thoughts to the mix.
Sad picture:

———————————————————————————————-
FINAL REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
 
First Impressions (20 out of 20)
Caley says the 01X “combines the forgiveness of a hybrid with the control of an iron.” As a headline, I’d say that’s a good place to start. As for how they get there, the 01x has a hollow body with an ultra thin face, injected with lightweight foam, an internal groove on the face to increase launch, and heel and toe tungsten weights to optimize cg. This tech is not new-new, but it’s tried and true. I’ve seen similar tech in the marketing for other OEM utility irons.  I’m confident that the tech is sufficient to put the 01x in the same ballpark as the big guys.
With regard to price, something that is pretty important for me, I tried to put this club into context in the table below. Initially the price was listed as $249, but as of yesterday, it’s listed at a more reasonable $119, putting it in the same category as the other popular DTCs and about $100 less than the major OEMs. Here’s a quick chart of what I found. The stock shaft listed is what I saw being sold at PGA Superstore. 

 
Aesthetics (8 out of 10) 

The driving iron has a classy and understated look in the bag even now after I put some lead tape on it to try and balance out the feel. (I obviously look like I have  some kind of addiction to lead tape, but I promise it’s really because I cut down my clubs 1” short, and because I’m no club builder, I use it to get the swingweights more manageable on the cheap.) I love the minimalist branding and traditional blade-y shaping. It really hides the fact that it’s a DI until you set it down behind the ball. I also own a Sub 70 699 pro DI which is slightly smaller than the Caley, though because of the design, the Caley looks  better in my opinion. 

At address, the over-size shape of the club is much more evident and provides much needed confidence required for 18* of loft. Seeing the back of the club bothered me at first, but not anymore. 

I’m only taking off points for the alignment of the shaft. For whatever reason it really bothers me that it’s installed logo up. It’s a busy design and because it’s the only club in my bag set up that way, it’s distracting. It also conflicts with the rest of the clubs own minimalistic branding by looking tacky at address. 
I also asked a few people about the look of club while playing. Everyone really liked the look and a few even thought it was a normal 3 iron until I compared it to my other irons.
Sound/feel—
The club has a tweener sound—something between a solid iron “thwack” and an empty hybrid ting a (thwing?). It sounds hollow out of the center, but more muted away from the sweet spot. I posted some video of the sound in this thread that gives some idea for the curious. 
In comparison to some other DI’s sound it’s in the middle. Some, like the Ping are very hollow and loud, where others, like the PXG (forgot the model) and the TM UDI, sounded very iron-like. The Caley has a bit of each. It’s closer to the solid sound of the UDI than the ping of the Ping. I like it and I think there will be very few people who won’t enjoy hitting it.
 
The Numbers (7 out of 10)
Accuracy – 
I struggled a lot here. My first two or three range sessions with the iron resulted in a whole lot of soft push fades and very few good shots. I could have put a  laundry basket out on the range about 30 yards right and 30 yards short of my target and caught quite a few. I fought hard to get the pattern back left, but could only replace it with a hook. It was honestly a bit discouraging. 
Around the fourth day I started getting a better feel for timing it up and was hitting a much stronger, straighter ball flight. My standard shot does not have much curve, and the DI eventually started behaving.  However even now more than a month in, I’m still mostly hitting push fades when I’m on the course. 
Distance—
I was getting a good distance out of the club when I hit it straight. Even though I had mine cut down 10, and adjusted the lie 2* flat, it is definitely 20-25 yards longer than my 4 iron, and just a few yards shorter on the carry to my 3 hybrid which is pretty impressive. I was getting somewhere between 220-240 depending on whether it was teed up and the lie. It’s a bomber that creeps up on the distance I get out of my 4 wood. 
Forgiveness—
It’s not the most forgiving club in itself, which shouldn’t be too surprising, it’s basically a big 2 iron. That said, compared to my other irons, including my Sub 70 22 Utility, I am getting much better results particularly with low and toe strikes. I looked up many times expecting to see a worm-burner, and amazingly saw some pretty manageable flights. I practice a lot with foot spray and saw some embarrassing low strikes turn out good. Maybe it’s the cavity in the face plus the tungsten? Either way, it was impressive. If that tech is the reason, then I applaud the designers, because it works great. In that respect, the club lives up to the marketing.
Sadly, left and right dispersion is hard to quantify given some of my struggles, so I don’t feel comfortable saying too much.
Control—
All that said, I secretly had only one special desire with the club— to hit mean low rockets to impress my instagram friends…I mean to stay under the wind. Perhaps surprisingly, it can get windy where I play in Jersey, so having a reliable lowball is very nice. I had no problem putting this a little back in the stance and keeping it low on the range. Addicting, but still a little scary on the course for me. I did hit one or two real beauties though.
 
On-Course (10 out of 20)
I used this club in three situations: (1) short par 4s where driver puts me into trouble,  (2) long 2nd shots into par 5s, and predictably, (3) punching out of the trees. Sadly, I do not have Arccos or Shott Scope to give y’all more legit data, (I’m too cheap), but I did keep notes. With regard to number (1), as I alluded to above, I did not have as much success as I hoped. I had difficulty tapping into the feel that I needed to straighten out the flight on course. Out of about 25 first attempts in the weeks I’ve tested this, I probably only hit 5 or 6 good ones off the tee, and many of them were on hole number 1 where I had just walked over from the range. I hit many good second attempts, but it was rare to hit the first one good. 
With regard to (2) I had even less success, for similar reasons. I hit so many balls 20 yards right and 20 yards short. It started to get to me a little and I think I lost a bit of confidence in it towards the end. That said, I do believe that part of my issues are fitting related, so I don’t feel comfortable taking off too many points. Right now I’m more comfortable off the tee with a stinger driver than the Utility, and with a firm 4 iron from 215-230 rather than risking a weak right one or a hook.
I did hit some great punch outs though, haha. Pretty casual to keep it low with only 18* of loft. Plus I don’t have to do any trickery with the setup. Probably the best punch out club I’ve ever hit, lol.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the 01x helped my scores much over hitting driver. I put myself into more trouble than I hoped, and often used it twice in a row (if you catch my drift). My game is heavily reliant on my tee to green game, so when I’m missing greens in regulation, I start to suffer a lot. I’m only a 7 or 8 handicap, but I average 55% GIR, so as you can imagine, I’m not so great at scrambling to save par or bogey from the trees. 
 
The Good, the bad, the in-between (14 out of 20)
Unquestionably, the club head is good. It it gorgeous, has a great feel off the face, makes a powerful sound at impact, and sends the ball on a towering trajectory. All the other parts, however, have given me some pause. As I noted above, I don’t like that the shaft is logo up, that there were only two options for flex, and that there were no options for weight like Sub70, Haywood and New Level.
One of the biggest disappointments was when some odd metal flakes came out of the grooves in the club while I was cleaning it early on. Here are some of the pictures I posed when I first uncovered them.

I only use a boars hair brush and dish soap to clean it, so I know it’s not me being reckless. I have never seen this before and it threw me off a little. I used a tee to get the bigger pieces out. I can’t say I noticed any difference before and after removing the material, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could have compromised the performance or compliance with the rules. 
 
Play it or Trade it? (13 out of 20)
While I’m not going to keep it in the bag as it it is currently set up, I’ve not lost all hope. I’ve seen enough good shots to believe it can work. I still think I am a good candidate for a driving iron and want to put on in my bag. This version was just not quite right for my swing.
It may be painfully obvious by now, but my hunch is that the shaft is too light, and too soft. The stock shaft is only 65g, which is a gram lighter than my driver’s shaft (ping tour 2.0 black x) and a lot lighter than the shafts in my irons (120g) and hybrid (90g).
I haven’t done a survey, but I think I have a pretty generic shaft weight setup. I also think that lot of people looking for Utility irons will use similar, if not heavier weights to me. I honestly think Caley made a mistake to use this shaft. UST makes a 90g version, which I think would fit more people in this category. If choosing the shaft online I think the options would have put me off and I would have reached to to get something different if I knew more about it at the time I did not know what “65 F3” meant. Because of this, I’m a little disappointed in the brand at least compared to my experiences buying from New Level and Sub70, where I had an easier time getting set up to my specs.
My guess is that it would be perfect for someone who is using graphite irons and has a little less speed than I do. I’m not a fitter, but I imagine that for the folks who swing driver under 100mph, but don’t like hybrids, and are playing 80-90g iron shafts will enjoy this club. Perhaps someone who loves their super-game- improvement G430s or Stealth irons, and wants to extend their reach without getting a hybrid or 5 wood would love it as it is. 
Right now I am looking to swap out the current shaft. I think something 30-40g heavier will fit me better. It’s interesting that Caley went with 65g but that other companies chose 80-95g as stock. I will update my experience in the thread after I make the change for anyone who remains interested. Also if anyone has any insight into what shaft I should look to replace it with, I’m all ears. 
 
Conclusion
The performance of this club for me has been like eating delicious ice cream with chopsticks. I got a good idea of what it had to offer, but I couldn’t dig in. When I got it all timed up, o could really see how forgiving it is on low strikes, how easy it is to flight up and down, and the impressive distance. Sadly, though, it was all a little fleeting. I’ve never felt particularly sensitive to shafts, but I think this club crossed that line. As a result, I’m confident that there are many people out there who will love it, I just think that there are also many like me who will need more customizations to make it work.
Lastly, I’m definitely left a little concerned about the club making and QC. The fact that I found pretty big pieces of metal come out of the grooves, and the odd shaft alignment give me pause when considering buying more product from Caley. Granted, I did not reach out to them, so I am not sure what their response would have been. My hope is that they would be as accommodating as I have seen the other DTC brands and offer either a replacement or a reassuring explanation. I have no reason to assume anything other than that. When I add up the final score it seems a little low, but I tried to be honest here. Obviously attaching numbers to qualitative findings is never perfect, but hopefully the explanations adequately describe how I got to here.
TLDR bullet points:
+ gorgeous club
+ great sound and feel
+ impressive height on thin shots
+ easy to manipulate trajectory
+ solid distance
- unconventional shaft weight
- shaft installed upside down
- excess metal found in grooves
- limited customization available
 
Final Score ( 72 out of 100)

It might be minor, but I wonder if his involvement in the Tiger virtual league thing is also adding the final straw. Might just want to focus on life a little. He has a little girl to take care of. The weakest link is likely the advisory board (for reasons noted by some of you guys above), so it was easy to bail.

Anyone have any luck with prescription Oakley golf prisms?

Anyone have any luck with a prescription pair of Oakley golf prism?

Let's get this thing back on track to the original question rather than the pro's/con's of loan forgiveness.  
I do think we are heading towards a situation where leisure activities take a hit and decline in participation due to not just loan payments starting up again, but the rise of interest rates and inflation in general.  Let's be honest, the pie is only so big and leisure activities that are expensive are going to be some of the first offenders that don't get to eat anymore.
Some things I'd suggest to lessen the burden would be practicing more to get your fix in like Rev mentioned.  Look into twilight rates and off peak tee times, walk instead of ride (if you aren't already), cut down on the food/beverage expenses when golfing.  A little farther out there for a solution would be looking into joining a club with a reasonable membership rate?  If you golf enough you could actually make it cheaper per round 🙂  
Don't get new clubs (I know, that's blasphemy!), make those shoes last another year, try a less expensive golf ball etc...
All I can say is best of luck balancing that budget and hopefully you can still carve out a piece for golf!  After all if you don't take care of your mental health you won't be good for anybody!

So I'll add my two cents here. Luckily, I qualify as an attorney working in public interest for the PSLF program and am almost halfway there, but it's undoubtedly difficult to fund projects and my wife and I are taking stock of potential things. Luckily with the new SAVE program and REPAYE before it, I've been able to make reasonable payments knowing that as long as I stick it out and work hard, I've got 67 months left until forgiveness. But that's going to be a long five and a half years for me and my wife, who are looking at buying a house, starting a family, etc. We've done okay for ourselves, but it's difficult with all potential payments going out in different spots.

Great questions from @AndySP, thanks for being willing to bring up such a topic.  Great points on both sides of the discussion.  We don't have to agree.  Let's leave the mudslinging for the guys not on the forum. 

I gotta believe I’m not the only one looking at my upcoming October payment and thinking that my golf budget is going to take significant hit. I’ve read that some housing experts expect some issues to last a few years, but I wonder about recreation as well. It’s always the first thing to go when my money is tight. Will courses have fewer millennials next year? Anyone else have any thoughts, concerns or reassuring wisdom?

@revkev yeah I was kind of reacting to other people. I know student loans are a hot topic, and I got a little close to the sun. I didn’t mean to sound terse when replying to you, my wife and I have often day-dreamed about moving to places that are a cheaper. I used to live in NYC and before that Chicago…so almost anywhere, haha. 
 
Thankfully, my wife is the smart one who was paid to go to school, so we only have to pay off my debts. I know a married couple whose combined med school debts approach half a million, and other friends who are struggling with $40k outstanding. But the struggle is relative and everyone deserves the benefit of curiosity before blame.
 
There is a lot of student debt, almost $2 trillion that is about to go live again. I just hope that the financial forecast in the coming years does not  negatively affect golf and the people who play it. I read some scary sounding predictions with mortgages and home values and it made me think about the 2008 crisis. For a lot of people golf is therapy, and in todays world, we all deserve a place to relax and have fun.

@revkev yeah I was kind of reacting to other people. I know student loans are a hot topic, and I got a little close to the sun. I didn’t mean to sound terse when replying to you, my wife and I have often day-dreamed about moving to places that are a cheaper. I used to live in NYC and before that Chicago…so almost anywhere, haha. 
 
Thankfully, my wife is the smart one who was paid to go to school, so we only have to pay off my debts. I know a married couple whose combined med school debts approach half a million, and other friends who are struggling with $40k outstanding. But the struggle is relative and everyone deserves the benefit of curiosity before blame.
 
There is a lot of student debt, almost $2 trillion that is about to go live again. I just hope that the financial forecast in the coming years does not  negatively affect golf and the people who play it. I read some scary sounding predictions with mortgages and home values and it made me think about the 2008 crisis. For a lot of people golf is therapy, and in todays world, we all deserve a place to relax and have fun.

Thanks guys! That’s a good plan. I will definitely take some time to practice my short game, and maybe I’ll even make some friends with the employees and get a deal…who knows. Maybe there will be other folks like me spending more time on the putting green, that would actually be pretty cool.

@revkev read my question how I intended it. I didn’t mean to make this about myself, but for what it’s worth, I’m not in any financial trouble or trying to complain about the cost of education. My wife, daughter and I happily live in a decent area and plan to stay here for a while. She is a professor of chemistry/biology and I am a deputy attorney for the state. We’re happy and can take care of ourselves.
I  am not saying that I won’t be able to pay anything back, or anything like that. I’m only thinking about the fact that golf requires disposable income, and the way payments are calculated, a lot of people like me will not be able to afford as much golf as was possible during the pause. So I wonder what effects that might have on golf, which really exploded for other folks in my generation during the pandemic. Will see see anything change, or am I and some economists overreacting? 
Well, I paid them and didn’t play golf…that’s kind of the point of my post. Like a lot of people around my age, the loan forgiveness program happened in the years when we were just starting to make “golf money.” My question is whether I am alone in this financial position, and what that means for luxuries, like golf. 

@AndySP - thanks for the greater detail.  I never interpreted your op as a complaint.  I had not thought of it before so I'm glad you raised the point.  I do wonder what impact this will have on the boom because a lot of young people did take up golf during the pandemic.  
I also have nothing against the Northeast, I grew up there, the reality is that it is expensive and I was trying to suggest an outside of the box answer.  With the careers that you and your wife have chosen you each need a lot of education and may have significant student loan debt.  You are also doing jobs that are very helpful to society.  I wish you both well on your careers.  I also have an advanced professional degree but was fortunate enough to have a good deal of it subsidized so my loan burden was not that great and as Chisag said the interest rates were favorable - under 2 percent as I recall it.  

Thanks guys! That’s a good plan. I will definitely take some time to practice my short game, and maybe I’ll even make some friends with the employees and get a deal…who knows. Maybe there will be other folks like me spending more time on the putting green, that would actually be pretty cool.

@revkev read my question how I intended it. I didn’t mean to make this about myself, but for what it’s worth, I’m not in any financial trouble or trying to complain about the cost of education. My wife, daughter and I happily live in a decent area and plan to stay here for a while. She is a professor of chemistry/biology and I am a deputy attorney for the state. We’re happy and can take care of ourselves.
I  am not saying that I won’t be able to pay anything back, or anything like that. I’m only thinking about the fact that golf requires disposable income, and the way payments are calculated, a lot of people like me will not be able to afford as much golf as was possible during the pause. So I wonder what effects that might have on golf, which really exploded for other folks in my generation during the pandemic. Will see see anything change, or am I and some economists overreacting? 
Well, I paid them and didn’t play golf…that’s kind of the point of my post. Like a lot of people around my age, the loan forgiveness program happened in the years when we were just starting to make “golf money.” My question is whether I am alone in this financial position, and what that means for luxuries, like golf. 

Thanks guys! That’s a good plan. I will definitely take some time to practice my short game, and maybe I’ll even make some friends with the employees and get a deal…who knows. Maybe there will be other folks like me spending more time on the putting green, that would actually be pretty cool.

@revkev read my question how I intended it. I didn’t mean to make this about myself, but for what it’s worth, I’m not in any financial trouble or trying to complain about the cost of education. My wife, daughter and I happily live in a decent area and plan to stay here for a while. She is a professor of chemistry/biology and I am a deputy attorney for the state. We’re happy and can take care of ourselves.
I  am not saying that I won’t be able to pay anything back, or anything like that. I’m only thinking about the fact that golf requires disposable income, and the way payments are calculated, a lot of people like me will not be able to afford as much golf as was possible during the pause. So I wonder what effects that might have on golf, which really exploded for other folks in my generation during the pandemic. Will see see anything change, or am I and some economists overreacting? 
Well, I paid them and didn’t play golf…that’s kind of the point of my post. Like a lot of people around my age, the loan forgiveness program happened in the years when we were just starting to make “golf money.” My question is whether I am alone in this financial position, and what that means for luxuries, like golf. 

I didn't read that he was saying he wasn't going to pay the loan back.  He's just wondering how he's going to manage both that and golf.  He's also wondering if this will have an impact on the golfing boom.  I think those are legitimate questions.  

... One of the most depressing things I hear from my fellow Boomers is "I had to pay for my college, so these kids should to". Without even getting into the fact that my student loan was a much lower percentage and my interest didn't start until I graduated or left college, the selfishness in that statement is just astounding. College has ceased to be about getting education and is a For Profit endeavor, as are the loans. Higher interest that starts the minute you take out the loan from the vultures. It sucks for the younger generation to start off in such a deep hole and almost zero chance of affording a home. In Phoenix even affording an apartment is difficult as the prices are insanely high. Hopefully something works in your favor and I wish you the best of luck moving forward. 

Andy, thanks for posting this.  When I first saw it I thought, well I feel bad but there is so much else to worry about that this one is low on the totem pole.  You articulated your concern in such a way that I was able to get it.  BTW I am a boomer who paid his student loans but am firmly in the camp that there needs to be some sort of relief.  Other countries make college affordable, my loans were at ridiculously low rates so much so that I was never in a rush to pay them off.  
 
To your concern where there is a will, there's a way.  Perhaps its playing less but making sure you get some short game practice in (that's free) to stay sharp.  I don't know your life circumstance but you live in a very expensive place.  If you have flexibility you might find a Midwestern State (other than Illinois) far more budget friendly.  One of the best things ever for my golf game was moving from Connecticut to Indiana for school - I actually had more disposable income working part time in Indiana, while attending Seminary, with my wife working full time.  Plus golf was far more affordable and once our son was 4 or 5 the courses were very family friendly, they never minded if I took him with me when I was playing so long as it was offpeak time.
 
At any rate, you have options, it will work out, just put that thinking cap that you earned through your education on.  And I hope we find some relief for those loans in the coming years.  

I gotta believe I’m not the only one looking at my upcoming October payment and thinking that my golf budget is going to take significant hit. I’ve read that some housing experts expect some issues to last a few years, but I wonder about recreation as well. It’s always the first thing to go when my money is tight. Will courses have fewer millennials next year? Anyone else have any thoughts, concerns or reassuring wisdom?

Hey everyone, I’m so excited to test this driving iron from Caley. I’ve been on the MyGolfSpy forum for a few years now and have gained so much from it. So, I’m honored to have been selected from among the responders to give my opinions and pay it forward. 
By way of background, I’m 35 years old and learned how to play golf with my dad starting around age 6 or 7. While I’m originally from Chicago and learned to play on the public courses on the north shore, I now live a play in north central New Jersey. I am now an attorney and live with my beautiful wife who is a college professor in microbiology and by far the smartest person I know. I have a 4 year old daughter and our hope is that the three of us will soon all play golf together one day. I also am a pretty active rock climber, and used to set routes and climb professionally. Because I don’t have any golf photos, here’s two pics of me bouldering in the gunks, New York:

My Golf Game:
I played golf on my high school team, and while I wasn’t very good compared to my peers I maintained low single digit handicap. Being only 5’4” and 120 lbs (at best), I had to (and still need to) swing outta my shoes to keep up. All that effort seems to have paid off and I have maintained decent speed for my size. (I have posted about my speed training in the Stack System discussion).
 
The Grint app tells me I play off 7-10.  While I don’t track shots with arcos or shot scope, it’s obvious that the strongest part of my game is off the tee and short irons. My putting is atrocious, but I manage to get around ok with decent GIR averages:

Even so, I don’t have a good second option off the tee and get myself into trouble on narrow holes and windy days.

Testing Plan:
There are only limited choices with the driving iron right now, but I chose the stiff shaft, and asked it to be cut down one inch and bent 2 degrees flat to match the specs on my irons, which I was happy to find out they would do. I am not sure if I will need to add some weight to the club head to re balance it, but as you can see further down, it is an art that I have become pretty familiar with.
My goal in testing this driving iron is to find out if it’s an option off the tee that doesn’t get me into as much trouble as my driver. I have a new-for-me Titleist TS2 3 hybrid that I’m struggling with. I would love to find a driving iron that flights low when it’s windy, and allows me to feel comfortable on narrow par 4s. If I can have a club that gets 220-240 yards out with less stress than my driver, it will definitely stay in the bag.  Long approaches are less important for me with this club, but it will also be a consideration. 
I also do appreciate how my clubs look. I don’t like lugging clubs around that I don’t enjoy hitting. I have tested the Taylormade UDI and DHY, as well as a PXG 0311 and a few others on a simulator. I gave up on the DHY because it flew too high, sounded hollow, and looked bulky. The sound and feel will be a deciding factor if the performance is borderline. I like a driving iron to sound more ironey than driverey. That said, the UDI was like a mini driver, but was a little too erratic to consider buying. If the Caley driving iron can keep up with the UDI, add some forgiveness, and sound solid, it will replace this fairway wood. 

Hopefully this intro will help you guys get a feel for who I am, and how I play golf. I can’t wait to get the club on the course for a proper test!

UNBOXING!
 
Well I think I’m the last person to get my delivery… I was beginning to worry y’ll would think I was skirting my duties. Alas. I couldn’t be happier to see this box when I opened the door:

A little beat up, but nothing to be too concerned about. Maybe not the most careful packaging, but it kept the club alive for its long journey from China to New Jersey. 

I asked for my driving iron to be 2 degrees flat, 1 inch short and for some extra head weight to try and balance it back out. Really happy to see the 2 flat sticker and it also seems to be just an inch bigger than my 5 iron, which is perfect. I’ll have to go to the range and check the swingweight to see about the balance point. Initially it’s hard to tell because of the lightweight shaft in it. 
One thing that I noticed right away is that they installed the shaft with the logo facing up. It’s a little off-putting, to be honest. I don’t know what to think about it…I can’t be alone in preferring graphics to be on the bottom. Guess I’ll have to learn to focus a little better, haha.   

Ok, even given all the, the club head really is stunning. It’s a great shape, has a nice minimalistic vibe and the finish is immaculate. 

I think the images kinda speak for themselves. I also took some pictures next to my 5 iron (new level 902) and 19* hybrid (titleist ts2) to help give some size perspective. 

I’m writing this after work so I won’t be able to test it out until the weekend. But I’m very excited to get going. I have my prgr monitor, and some time at the course to get my first feels. 
 
As a bonus, this couldn’t have come at a better time as I just cracked the crown of my g400lst on Sunday. I have a g430 coming, but it’s still a funny coincidence. Maybe the ping got scared because he knew why was arriving. I guess we’ll see. Very excited to add my thoughts to the mix.
Sad picture:

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FINAL REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
 
First Impressions (20 out of 20)
Caley says the 01X “combines the forgiveness of a hybrid with the control of an iron.” As a headline, I’d say that’s a good place to start. As for how they get there, the 01x has a hollow body with an ultra thin face, injected with lightweight foam, an internal groove on the face to increase launch, and heel and toe tungsten weights to optimize cg. This tech is not new-new, but it’s tried and true. I’ve seen similar tech in the marketing for other OEM utility irons.  I’m confident that the tech is sufficient to put the 01x in the same ballpark as the big guys.
With regard to price, something that is pretty important for me, I tried to put this club into context in the table below. Initially the price was listed as $249, but as of yesterday, it’s listed at a more reasonable $119, putting it in the same category as the other popular DTCs and about $100 less than the major OEMs. Here’s a quick chart of what I found. The stock shaft listed is what I saw being sold at PGA Superstore. 

 
Aesthetics (8 out of 10) 

The driving iron has a classy and understated look in the bag even now after I put some lead tape on it to try and balance out the feel. (I obviously look like I have  some kind of addiction to lead tape, but I promise it’s really because I cut down my clubs 1” short, and because I’m no club builder, I use it to get the swingweights more manageable on the cheap.) I love the minimalist branding and traditional blade-y shaping. It really hides the fact that it’s a DI until you set it down behind the ball. I also own a Sub 70 699 pro DI which is slightly smaller than the Caley, though because of the design, the Caley looks  better in my opinion. 

At address, the over-size shape of the club is much more evident and provides much needed confidence required for 18* of loft. Seeing the back of the club bothered me at first, but not anymore. 

I’m only taking off points for the alignment of the shaft. For whatever reason it really bothers me that it’s installed logo up. It’s a busy design and because it’s the only club in my bag set up that way, it’s distracting. It also conflicts with the rest of the clubs own minimalistic branding by looking tacky at address. 
I also asked a few people about the look of club while playing. Everyone really liked the look and a few even thought it was a normal 3 iron until I compared it to my other irons.
Sound/feel—
The club has a tweener sound—something between a solid iron “thwack” and an empty hybrid ting a (thwing?). It sounds hollow out of the center, but more muted away from the sweet spot. I posted some video of the sound in this thread that gives some idea for the curious. 
In comparison to some other DI’s sound it’s in the middle. Some, like the Ping are very hollow and loud, where others, like the PXG (forgot the model) and the TM UDI, sounded very iron-like. The Caley has a bit of each. It’s closer to the solid sound of the UDI than the ping of the Ping. I like it and I think there will be very few people who won’t enjoy hitting it.
 
The Numbers (7 out of 10)
Accuracy – 
I struggled a lot here. My first two or three range sessions with the iron resulted in a whole lot of soft push fades and very few good shots. I could have put a  laundry basket out on the range about 30 yards right and 30 yards short of my target and caught quite a few. I fought hard to get the pattern back left, but could only replace it with a hook. It was honestly a bit discouraging. 
Around the fourth day I started getting a better feel for timing it up and was hitting a much stronger, straighter ball flight. My standard shot does not have much curve, and the DI eventually started behaving.  However even now more than a month in, I’m still mostly hitting push fades when I’m on the course. 
Distance—
I was getting a good distance out of the club when I hit it straight. Even though I had mine cut down 10, and adjusted the lie 2* flat, it is definitely 20-25 yards longer than my 4 iron, and just a few yards shorter on the carry to my 3 hybrid which is pretty impressive. I was getting somewhere between 220-240 depending on whether it was teed up and the lie. It’s a bomber that creeps up on the distance I get out of my 4 wood. 
Forgiveness—
It’s not the most forgiving club in itself, which shouldn’t be too surprising, it’s basically a big 2 iron. That said, compared to my other irons, including my Sub 70 22 Utility, I am getting much better results particularly with low and toe strikes. I looked up many times expecting to see a worm-burner, and amazingly saw some pretty manageable flights. I practice a lot with foot spray and saw some embarrassing low strikes turn out good. Maybe it’s the cavity in the face plus the tungsten? Either way, it was impressive. If that tech is the reason, then I applaud the designers, because it works great. In that respect, the club lives up to the marketing.
Sadly, left and right dispersion is hard to quantify given some of my struggles, so I don’t feel comfortable saying too much.
Control—
All that said, I secretly had only one special desire with the club— to hit mean low rockets to impress my instagram friends…I mean to stay under the wind. Perhaps surprisingly, it can get windy where I play in Jersey, so having a reliable lowball is very nice. I had no problem putting this a little back in the stance and keeping it low on the range. Addicting, but still a little scary on the course for me. I did hit one or two real beauties though.
 
On-Course (10 out of 20)
I used this club in three situations: (1) short par 4s where driver puts me into trouble,  (2) long 2nd shots into par 5s, and predictably, (3) punching out of the trees. Sadly, I do not have Arccos or Shott Scope to give y’all more legit data, (I’m too cheap), but I did keep notes. With regard to number (1), as I alluded to above, I did not have as much success as I hoped. I had difficulty tapping into the feel that I needed to straighten out the flight on course. Out of about 25 first attempts in the weeks I’ve tested this, I probably only hit 5 or 6 good ones off the tee, and many of them were on hole number 1 where I had just walked over from the range. I hit many good second attempts, but it was rare to hit the first one good. 
With regard to (2) I had even less success, for similar reasons. I hit so many balls 20 yards right and 20 yards short. It started to get to me a little and I think I lost a bit of confidence in it towards the end. That said, I do believe that part of my issues are fitting related, so I don’t feel comfortable taking off too many points. Right now I’m more comfortable off the tee with a stinger driver than the Utility, and with a firm 4 iron from 215-230 rather than risking a weak right one or a hook.
I did hit some great punch outs though, haha. Pretty casual to keep it low with only 18* of loft. Plus I don’t have to do any trickery with the setup. Probably the best punch out club I’ve ever hit, lol.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the 01x helped my scores much over hitting driver. I put myself into more trouble than I hoped, and often used it twice in a row (if you catch my drift). My game is heavily reliant on my tee to green game, so when I’m missing greens in regulation, I start to suffer a lot. I’m only a 7 or 8 handicap, but I average 55% GIR, so as you can imagine, I’m not so great at scrambling to save par or bogey from the trees. 
 
The Good, the bad, the in-between (14 out of 20)
Unquestionably, the club head is good. It it gorgeous, has a great feel off the face, makes a powerful sound at impact, and sends the ball on a towering trajectory. All the other parts, however, have given me some pause. As I noted above, I don’t like that the shaft is logo up, that there were only two options for flex, and that there were no options for weight like Sub70, Haywood and New Level.
One of the biggest disappointments was when some odd metal flakes came out of the grooves in the club while I was cleaning it early on. Here are some of the pictures I posed when I first uncovered them.

I only use a boars hair brush and dish soap to clean it, so I know it’s not me being reckless. I have never seen this before and it threw me off a little. I used a tee to get the bigger pieces out. I can’t say I noticed any difference before and after removing the material, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could have compromised the performance or compliance with the rules. 
 
Play it or Trade it? (13 out of 20)
While I’m not going to keep it in the bag as it it is currently set up, I’ve not lost all hope. I’ve seen enough good shots to believe it can work. I still think I am a good candidate for a driving iron and want to put on in my bag. This version was just not quite right for my swing.
It may be painfully obvious by now, but my hunch is that the shaft is too light, and too soft. The stock shaft is only 65g, which is a gram lighter than my driver’s shaft (ping tour 2.0 black x) and a lot lighter than the shafts in my irons (120g) and hybrid (90g).
I haven’t done a survey, but I think I have a pretty generic shaft weight setup. I also think that lot of people looking for Utility irons will use similar, if not heavier weights to me. I honestly think Caley made a mistake to use this shaft. UST makes a 90g version, which I think would fit more people in this category. If choosing the shaft online I think the options would have put me off and I would have reached to to get something different if I knew more about it at the time I did not know what “65 F3” meant. Because of this, I’m a little disappointed in the brand at least compared to my experiences buying from New Level and Sub70, where I had an easier time getting set up to my specs.
My guess is that it would be perfect for someone who is using graphite irons and has a little less speed than I do. I’m not a fitter, but I imagine that for the folks who swing driver under 100mph, but don’t like hybrids, and are playing 80-90g iron shafts will enjoy this club. Perhaps someone who loves their super-game- improvement G430s or Stealth irons, and wants to extend their reach without getting a hybrid or 5 wood would love it as it is. 
Right now I am looking to swap out the current shaft. I think something 30-40g heavier will fit me better. It’s interesting that Caley went with 65g but that other companies chose 80-95g as stock. I will update my experience in the thread after I make the change for anyone who remains interested. Also if anyone has any insight into what shaft I should look to replace it with, I’m all ears. 
 
Conclusion
The performance of this club for me has been like eating delicious ice cream with chopsticks. I got a good idea of what it had to offer, but I couldn’t dig in. When I got it all timed up, o could really see how forgiving it is on low strikes, how easy it is to flight up and down, and the impressive distance. Sadly, though, it was all a little fleeting. I’ve never felt particularly sensitive to shafts, but I think this club crossed that line. As a result, I’m confident that there are many people out there who will love it, I just think that there are also many like me who will need more customizations to make it work.
Lastly, I’m definitely left a little concerned about the club making and QC. The fact that I found pretty big pieces of metal come out of the grooves, and the odd shaft alignment give me pause when considering buying more product from Caley. Granted, I did not reach out to them, so I am not sure what their response would have been. My hope is that they would be as accommodating as I have seen the other DTC brands and offer either a replacement or a reassuring explanation. I have no reason to assume anything other than that. When I add up the final score it seems a little low, but I tried to be honest here. Obviously attaching numbers to qualitative findings is never perfect, but hopefully the explanations adequately describe how I got to here.
TLDR bullet points:
+ gorgeous club
+ great sound and feel
+ impressive height on thin shots
+ easy to manipulate trajectory
+ solid distance
- unconventional shaft weight
- shaft installed upside down
- excess metal found in grooves
- limited customization available
 
Final Score ( 72 out of 100)

Played a short course today and used the DI on 4 holes (1 long par 3 and the 3 par 4s). SG from the round was a poor -1.32. Granted I brought my new swing feel to the course today, which didn't likely work well with it. I think it due time it will be fine. I will say, the snap hooks were gone with this new feel. Ball contact was just poor. (for reference my distance average was down 40 yards because I was mis-hitting.)

Third week update
The Caley 01CB irons are still in the bag, of course, and their performance never ceases to amaze me. I've played a few very good rounds with them lately and hit some of my most memorable shots of the past seasons!
The plan for the next 2 or 3 rounds is to put my Srixon Z785s back in the bag to see how it goes and verify if my memories about playing these irons are correct.
Since receiving the Caley 01CBs, I've played 8 rounds and a 9-hole so, for this week's update, let's look at some numbers!
Handicap
So far during the testing period, my handicap has dropped from 9.2 to 8.6 and is at the lowest that it has ever been! Let's see if I can successfully keep it around 8 or 9 until the end of the season.
Par Performance and Scoring Average
The arrival of the Caley 01CB irons coincided with a period where I was incorporating important changes to my swing. I indeed shallowed my swing drastically and started playing a draw instead of a cut. As a result, my driver game improved significantly as demonstrated by my lower scoring average on PAR 4s and 5s.
I am suprised that my PAR 3 scoring average slightly increased given that the irons perform remarkebly and that these holes are where I usually feel most confident. My guess is that the break-in period or one particular bad round had a significant impact on the statistics given the relatively small numbers of rounds.

The numbers also indicate that I improved my scoring performance since the start of testing the Caley 01CBs. Most importantly, the birdie rate has slightly increased while the double bogey or worse rate has decreased.
Once again, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact impact that the irons had to do with this while the improvement of my driving game (and associated drastic reduction in penalty strokes incurred off the tee) most definitely had a positive impact. All I can say is that the Caley 01CBs are everything that I expect from clubs that I would choose to buy on my own and play with. They definitely had a postitive impact on my overall performance.

Globally, I can say that my par performance and scoring average improved since testing the Caley 01CBs.
Distance
I mentioned a few times already that they are steadily 5-6 yds longer than my gamers. Well, the data from my Garmin Approach S60 watch does corroborate this observation and moreover, it seems to indicate that they are much longer than what I thought. They seem to be closer to 10-15 yds longer. Of course, shallowing my swing and playing a draw instead of a cut most definitely had a positive impact on distance.
I must admit that I am a bit surprised at the average distances with the Srixon Z785s as they are a bit shorter than what I play on the course, especially the 4 and 5 irons, but it is what it is I guess.
Once again, an improvement in this area of my game can be noted since starting testing the Caley 01CBs.

Path forward
As mentioned in the beginning of this post, I plan on playing a few rounds with the Srixon Z785s to close the loop with my comparison of both sets of forged cavity backs players' irons. Eventually, I will rent a Trackman to get some good data comparing numbers between both sets and finally tie the loop.
I think that the final review will follow my next update closely. Stay tuned folks!

As a rock climber, and someone who never wears a glove I can tell you that the best athletic tape is Leukotape, and it’s not really close. The adhesive is nuts, so one wrap is enough and it’s sturdy and durable.

however, I now mostly use this type of cohesive tape, that only sticks to itself. It’s benefit is that it’s kind of rubbery, so it still have good grip, and also you don’t remove the hair on your fingers every time you peel it off (but you might need scissors). It’s a bit harder to get tight enough, but it also breathes well.   

Those with the BOA system, do you find there are any areas where the lines are tighter on your foot that others?
The old laceless shoes from way back in the day (like, 1990's) had all sorts of tighter spots and looser spots on my foot which is why I'm very leery of the new versions out. So I'm curious to know if this is still an issue or not.

Played another 18 on Friday - best front 7 of my g-d life - birdie looks on nearly every hole, was +1 because of a terrible "I know how to read this 4 footer without actually reading it" and biffed it for bogey.  But unbelievably solid, and the irons are just point and shoot for me, which is pretty incredible. I'll say again the feeling through the turf is like nothing I've ever experienced, and if I'd have JUST gone by the hitting-off-mat experience, I'm not sure I would "buy" them (or literally any player's distance iron for that matter) as it's become my favorite thing about them. Without hitting off of grass, I don't know how I've ever made a decision about a club before (obvs. excepting driver/fw wood).  I also had to hit multiple shots into a SEVERE head-wind (rando wind storm popped up from holes 8 through 14, where 4 of the 6 played INTO wind), and hit an absolutely flushed 6 iron into a 145-yard green that landed just off the back edge - it was pretty cool to be able to flight it down and still feel in full control.
I also was able to hit the DI three times, and holy shit I SMOKED two of them, absolutely perfect, small fade, setting me up for good looks into the green.  The third I got a little lazy on and sliced it into a trap that led to a bit of a meltdown, but I in no way blame the club.  I do have to remind myself to go easy, as if I at all think of it like an iron, I tend to attack a bit too hard.  
Just spent a 1/2 hour cleaning the clubs after hitting them into my home net set-up, and man...they're just SO pretty 🙂
Very, very pleased so far.  Taking them out again Friday, and at this point, I can't imagine not bagging these at the end of the review period.  

I was able to get my data in the trackman app but no report. This is me taking the raw data and getting it into table form. The 4i and Di all had one shot ignored and the 7w had 4 ignored. These are the averages of the 5 ideal kinds of shots in each situation.
4i loft is 22*, Di from Caley site is 18*, 7w (callaway UW) is 21*. From my gapping session in June, these numbers are quite similar for the 4i and slightly lower for the 7w. I call this a fair comparison. The Caley was awesome in energy transfer with only two instances of the Smash being below 1.4. Outside of the left miss, which is more my swing and partially the light weight of the shaft, this club performed well, getting close to even what my 7w does. I should also note, most of the 7w were hook central, mainly with my face being too closed to path if you look at the numbers.