On 2004-05-18, MIchael Stankewicz rated this Ashton X-1 3 Wood a 5...(3657)
Purchase: I purchased this from Ashton Golf. It is also available at several distributors including MyOstrich Golf.
Pros: Test conditions: This head was tested more that any 3 wood to date. The weather has been holding steady at around 80° - 85°. This is a great time of the year to test in Louisiana. The weather has been very wet lately. When the testing started it was dry. This helped getting a better picture of how this head will perform.
Ashton X-1 3 wood - hand picked at 14° and .3 closed shafted with a SK Fiber Lite Revolution I at 43” and a Golf Pride Tour Wrap cord grip.
Fairway woods and irons receive far more tests than Drivers. I will give you the highlights.
Looks & Setup: If a club doesn't setup square at address it makes it very difficult to hit repeating shots. The X-1 is square in the setup. The club sets up square in the instep of the foot. The measurements of the club were spot on accurate. The loft was right on the nose at 14° and measured in at .34 closed. Cliff said this was the closest he could find to the specs I was looking for 14° and square. The weighting of the club is quite different from every other 3 wood I have tested to date. Just feeling this in your hands you know you are holding something different. The cup face technology puts some extra mass on the face, and is counter balanced in several places in the heel. I can usually tell where most of the weight points are at by the floating test we do. The Ashton tipped the platform over. That had never happened before. I put the X-1 on a device that measures weight distribution, the lab guys were amazed and so was I. We bet a lunch on the results. Cliff confirmed all the weight points and the lab guys bought me a nice lunch!
The specs came in at 157cc, weight 208.6, the face height was 31mm exactly all well within specs. My club’s total weight is 329.6g. The material used in this club makes a fine finished product. The highly polished face and sole seem to resist scuffing even when hit off range mats. The deep black and silver along with the design lines give it an air of sophistication. The AG alignment mark is understated and blends into the head. The paint is exceptional quality, sky marks clean off with no chipping.
Workability: The Ashton X-1 performed brilliantly in all the tests.
Teebox:
On a short par 4 this club will easily find the fairway if one can stay out of its way. The weighting of this club is so exceptional it practically swings itself. Many testers noted the solid feel at impact and the lack of any shock in the hands, also noted was the pureness of the sound and feel. The ball can be worked with ease in either direction. I feel off the tee the club plays like the old persimmon clubs of a bygone era. I still hit persimmon woods from time to time and this club is very close.
Fairways:
This is where the wood meets the road with my testing. I try to test as many scenarios as possible with a fairway wood. In Louisiana we are blessed/cursed with a variety of courses from thick rough to hardpan like cement. A 3 wood better be versatile or it will find itself up for sale in a heartbeat. Here are the highlights!
Fairway - Rough Mound:
On a local course, #16 has a long mound of rough 225-245 yards from a narrow front, inverted pear shaped green. The mound is about 20 yards long. It is a great place to hit uphill/downhill/sidehill shots out of thick rough. The Ashton X-1 was up to the task. The soleplate is cut on three levels, this allows minimal contact with the ground the highly polished surface allows it to glide through the grass for clean hits. I was surprised by the count on clean hits. On shots from all four angles and from fluffy, in the grass somewhat buried and plugged lies the X-1 got the ball out. I did this test in dry conditions and soaked, flooded conditions with equally impressive results.
Fairway – Tight grass:
This test was a gimme for the X-1. The ball comes off the fairway with ease. One thing you must remember with this club. Stay out of its way! Off center hit are fine with this clubhead, there was not much of a penalty compared to other 3 woods tested recently. The distance lost between the teebox and tight grass was minimal. I will be able to use this club vice my 9° lay up driver for long fairway shots.
Fairway – Hardpan:
Most golfers don’t have to deal with this ground condition. This is a treat to play off of if you get a precise hit. The polished bottom and shape helped the clubhead slide across the hardpan. Some 3 woods I’ve recently tested hit and bounce, even when I tried to deflect the head on the hardpan with the X-1 it still produced a good shot. The flat square setup also aided the club off this lie.
Fairway - bunkers:
Whether it was wet sand or sugar sand mattered not to the Ashton. I hit shots on 3 different courses with 3 types of sand, wet – dirt like – sugar. The Ashton X-1 handled them all. The ball popped right out and was very predictable. I have tested some clubs that dug in the sand or deflected. The only shot that was so-so was a plugged lie (fried egg). It seemed the flat bottom didn’t want to dig it out. I had to come in steeper to get it out consistently.
Fairway Summary : This is a very versatile club for many conditions. I enjoyed testing this club and became a part of me after I got used to it. I had more confidence that my 3 wood I currently carry.
Trajectory & Ball Flight: Using the Adams Tight Lies 2 13° (old reliable) as a guide, I hit a series of balls with each of them. The trajectory was higher than the Adams and on line. The testers and I hit what seemed like endless balls with both clubs. The X-1 flat out performed much better. We even broke out the Adams Ovation we just finished testing. The X-1 blows it away. The club produces a boring flight. Extremely solid!!! It feels like a hammer that knocks nails in with one blow. It never ballooned a single ball. The trajectory was relatively flat and will carry forever. It reminded me more of what I would expect from a driver rather than a fairway wood, just a higher ball flight. I found myself comparing it to my Callaway Biggest Big Bertha a lot. I would love to put this club head to head with the Callaway Warbird.
Feel & Forgiveness: Feel is a personal thing. What I feel is good others may not! I will keep this objective as possible. If you are looking for a clubhead that feels solid, I mean real solid, not just the hype, you just found it. This is one clubhead that will be a go to club in a hurry. The hardest thing to do is to stay out of its way. It begs to be hit hard; I belted a few just to see what it had in it. A center hit was every bit as good as my lay up driver. A good tight swing is all you need. The testers who hit it off center were not penalized. The X-1 performed above average on off center hits and the paint didn’t chip.
Just off the green: This is a new category for the testing of fairway woods for me. I have no past data to compare too. The club produced a good carry and rolled out to the hole farther than I expected. I tried the same thing with my Adams, it rolled out a shorter distance but the flight was the same. I’m still working on test cases and scenarios with this test.
Conclusion: I’ve been using a Tight Lies 2 since they came out. I could never find a better 3 wood, until now. I am giving my beloved Tight Lies to one of my kids I teach. I hope it brings him or her some good rounds like it has me. It was the only golf club my wife ever bought me. I guess that’s why I tested the X-1 with such close scrutiny. It passed all the tests with flying colors.
Cons: The worst thing about this club is the headcover. The top part is great and the nylon support hose it terrible. The little plastic 3 is annoying I know if I use it to take the cover off it will rip. I also didn’t like the fact that it was $5.00 more for the cover. If I get a quality head, I expect a cover of equal quality to show it off, first impressions. It is also generic as X-1 is not embroidered on the headcover.
Quality:
Review Summary: Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any sponsors. I hope all members can benefit from this expensive search. Like I said before, and quote Dr. Michael Austin, my mentor, "I don't care if it's a piece of petrified dog crap on a stick. If it gets the ball where I want it to go, I don't care who makes it."
NEWS
FORUMS
EQUIPMENT
COURSES
PRO SHOP
DIRECTORY
CONTACT US
GIVEAWAYS
ADVERTISING
