SHIFTING GEARS

Equipment Editor Dan Owen offers a deep dive into Callaway Golf’s new Paradym family of clubs and finds out what is driving the performance gains being experienced by tour players and club golfers alike

Paradym Drivers

The overriding concept behind Callaway’s Paradym family of three drivers is quite simple. Save as much weight as possible so it can be moved to where it is needed most. It is the same story every manufacturer tells you year after year, but the science behind what Callaway has done, however, is much more interesting. It’s club designers have not just shaved off a few grammes here and there, they’ve created a body of the driver that’s 44% lighter than the titanium it has replaced. That’s not Epic. It’s a Paradym shift, if you’ll pardon the intended pun.

Callaway calls it the 360° Carbon Chassis. Due to the properties of traditional carbon fibre, where layer upon layer of carbon is used to create lightweight parts, it is not always possible to create the intricate shapes that a club engineer would like to. Callaway created a new material, Forged Carbon Fibre, in collaboration with Lamborghini, when they created the Diablo driver back in 2010. They’ve revisited that material to create the sole of the Paradym drivers.

Carbon fibre particles are mixed with resin and then forged into the required shape. It’s lightweight and strong. The crown is a more traditional triaxial carbon fibre weave, and then the two have been bonded together without the need for a titanium body or frame. It’s a ground-breaking process that no other manufacturer can replicate.

We’ve heard Callaway designers term it as ‘uncaging’ the driver.

Callaway has refined existing technologies too. The new A.I. designed face is specific to each loft and model. But now the Jailbreak system is designed with A.I. to complement the face design. The new A.I. Designed Jailbreak system provides stability in the head design by connecting the crown and the sole, helping create faster ball speeds across the face, while being 33% lighter than previous versions.

Paradym

The Standard Paradym driver provides a refined shape with high MOI and adjustable perimeter weighting. Engineered for players of all skill levels, this club promotes high launch and low spin characteristics along with a neutral ball flight to deliver the best combination of distance, forgiveness and adjustability. The 460cc head features 15g sliding weight which enables players to experience an average of 12 yards of shot shape correction. . There isn’t a loss in MOI like previous drivers incorporating a weight track, where compromises must be made to accommodate the extra weight.

Loft options: 9°, 10.5°, 12° RRP: £599

Paradym X

The Paradym X driver is built for a high launch with high MOI, along with a generously stretched profile at address. This model is best suited for golfers seeking extreme forgiveness and a slight draw bias from their driver. A 5g rear weight is positioned to increase launch and lower spin for maximum carry distance.

Loft options: 9°, 10.5°, 12° RRP: £599

Triple Diamond

The Paradym Triple Diamond model boasts a compact, 450cc head shape designed for better players who want to work the ball. It’s the lowest spinning and lowest launching Paradym model with a neutral ball flight. A 14g back weight can be positioned in the front of the 460cc head for lower spin and maximum workability.

Loft options: 8°, 9°, 10.5° RRP: £599

HUGE & IMMEDIATE TOUR SUCCESS

The Paradym driver has enjoyed instant and widespread success on the global tours in 2023, with players using a model having secured nine wins from just 14 events.

Callaway staff player Jon Rahm has had the Paradym driver in the bag since the new year and has already achieved three wins in only five starts on the PGA Tour – The Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express and Genesis Invitational – all of which has catapulted the Spaniard back to No.1 in the world ranking.

Rahm has been playing a Paradym Triple Diamond driver, as well as Paradym Triple Diamond fairway woods. In off-season testing Rahm found an extra 4mph of ball speed with the Paradym TD over his previous Rogue driver and wasted no time in putting it straight into his bag for the new season.

Callaway had 25 drivers in play at the Genesis Invitational, 20 were being used by non-contracted players. 82% of Callaway staff tour pros currently have the Paradym in play.

There was another big win for the Paradym driver at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when Justin Rose, who does not currently have an equipment deal in place, used one to win his first event in four years. Speaking about the Paradym driver, Rose told his Instagram followers that “It’s been a nice addition to the bag this year – I’ve been driving the ball nice and straight.”

There was also a double-win weekend at the end of February when Chris Kirk won his first event in eight years at the Honda Classic, while Marcel Siem won his fifth title at the Hero Indian Open, just two weeks after playing his 500th DP World Tour event. Both players has a Paradym Triple Diamond driver in the bag for their life-changing wins.

Another highlight was the DP World Tour’s Singapore Classic where Paradym drivers were in the bags of the first, second and third-placed golfers, while Si Woo Kim also won on the PGA Tour using the Paradym Triple Diamond driver at the Sony Open.

Paradym Fairway Woods

The Paradym fairway woods also feature a forged carbon sole. What is new is the Jailbreak with Batwing Technology. The adjustable hosel creates stiffness in the heel of the club, the batwing design stiffens the toe side, creating a new form of jailbreak requiring the fixed hosel of the Rogue ST fairway woods.

A forged face cup features a A.I face optimisation. With the fairway woods, it’s designed to increase ball speed low in the face, as that’s the most common miss.

An adjustable hosel traditionally puts weight in a bad location for clubhead design, as it raises it high, but because of the Paradym’s forged carbon sole, this can be counteracted, so the club can perform to its maximum potential. From a fitting point of view this leads to a much more versatile product, and it’s easier to fine tune a club for your game.

A Tungsten speed cartridge is put as low and close to the face as possible – this moves the centre of gravity towards the face. It improves ball speeds, especially on hits low in the face, it lowers spin, and it provides more spin robustness, or consistency, across the face.

PARADYM

The Standard fairway model features progressive shaping in the head, and it’s the model that fits the widest range of player types, especially those who want a high launching fairway wood with a neutral ball flight.

Lofts: 3 (15°), 3HL (16.5°), 5 (18°), Hvn (20°), 7 (21°), 9 (24°), 11 (27°) RRP: £379

PARADYM X

The X model will fit players looking for the most forgiving shape with a high launch and a slight draw bias. A forged carbon toe patch redistributes weight to the heel to make this fairway easy to turn over to encourage a draw. It is built with a more upright lie angle and a neutral face at address. An adjustable 3W gives the golfer the ability to even further dial in launch.

Lofts: 3 (15°), 3HL (16.5°), 5 (18°), 7 (21°) RRP: £379

Paradym Triple Diamond

The TD model offers the most compact head with a deeper face. It is best suited for stronger players who are looking for a penetrating flight with lower spin. The Triaxial Carbon crown creates a low and forward CG, while an adjustable hosel allows trajectory to be further dialed in. Because it’s a smaller head there is no need to use carbon in the sole, and the screw makes it even lower spin.

Lofts: 3+ (13.5°), 3 (15°), 5 (18°) RRP: £379

Paradym Hybrids

Callaway has had more success with iron-shaped hybrids of late, with high toes and iron-like faces. But a substantial portion of golfers prefers a more wood-like hybrid. So there was another shift with the Paradym family, creating a new versatile family of hybrids.

Much of the technology is the same as the fairway woods. The Jailbreak with Batwing Technology, and the Tungsten Speed Cartridge, and the adjustable hosel have been brought across. What is new is the Cutwave sole. By removing some material, the club can get through poor lies better a more traditional solid-soled design. It’s designed to get downlow behind the ball.

The Paradym features a smaller head, and they’ve removed the top groove for an alignment look preferred by better players. The Paradym X is a larger head shape with more forgiveness. With the adjustable hosel, Callaway can offer a hybrid all the way up to 32 degrees.

Lofts: Standard/X: 18°, 21°, 24°, 27°, 30° (X only). RRP: £279

Callaway’s Man on Tour

We chat to Callaway Golf’s Director of Tour Relations Peter Harrison about the reaction to the Paradym driver on tour and about his favourite players down the years

Of all the many Callaway tour professionals you’ve dealt with over the past 29 years, who comes to mind first?

Seve Ballesteros is always high up on that list – he was a great guy, when I got to know him, He was a down-to-earth family man with a great sense of humour. Just a top, top guy.

Who has been the biggest tinkerer of their equipment?

Alvaro Quiros by a mile, I remember him saying he never wanted to be one of those players who hung around the tour truck, but ended up being that pro. His tinkering was very difficult to manage and he worked on his own shaft vibration.

Obviously you played a big part in Colin Montgomerie’s success in capturing the eight European Order of Merits. What was he like to worth with?

Paradym Irons

The Paradym irons are designed for distance but also offer an exceptionally high level of feel. Callaway’s Paradym Shift Construction combines a forged 455 face with the all-new Speed Frame, providing the best of both worlds.

Offered in two designs, the Paradym Irons are aimed at those looking for a players’ distance iron with a refined shape and premium forging. A pre-worn leading edge is designed to cut through the turf more efficiently for even more forgiveness.

Th e Paradym X Irons are designed for golfers who are looking for an iron that’s incredibly long with premium forged feel. It features a thicker topline than the standard irons and a forgiving sole, with a pre-worn leading edge.

RRP: £1,199/£1,299 (4-PW, st/gr)

A.I. Designed Forged 455 Face

A.I. face technology is applied to a high-strength forged face, which is optimised for more speed, higher launch, and increased spin consistency.

PARADYM IRONS ARE AIMED AT THOSE LOOKING FOR A PLAYERS’ DISTANCE IRON WITH A REFINED SHAPE AND PREMIUM FORGING.

Forged Face Cup and Hollow Body

The Hollow Body design features Speed Frame construction for added stiffness and support for the high strength forged Face Cup. This unique construction istabilises the thinner face for incredibly fast ball speeds.

Forged Face and Urethane Microspheres

A forged face and Urethane Microspheres deliver the ultra soft feel and a premium sound.

Improved Launch via Dual Tungsten Weighting

Up to 67g of tungsten weights (79g in the X) are placed precisely to enhance launch conditions and improve speed on miss-hits. This increase in forgiveness is the difference between hitting the green and coming up short.

For more details on all Callaway Golf equipment, or to find your nearest fitting facility, visit eu.callawaygolf.com

Monty was great to work with, although he never practied much. I remember giving him the latest set of irons and he took a couple of swishes with a 6-iron and off he went.

How excited are you with the new Paradym range?

Paradym is incredible. We’ve been talking about it with my team, genuinely we feel it’s the best driver we’ve had for a long, long time, it’s so easy to fit. Stick the right shaft in for the player and it’s ready to go if you have the right loft. It’s been that easy. Paradym has been tremendously well accepted by the players so far.

What players are you seeing the biggest gains with Paradym? Gains is just the ease of hit. It’s an easy driver to use, the dispersion rate is incredible. It’s much tighter down range and the gain in ball speed, which is very difficult to do now with the restrictions imposed by the R&A and USGA, are incredible. It’s by far and away our most forgiving driver.

Are you seeing gains with the Paradym fairway woods?

Yes, in fact the 3-wood is one of the most difficult clubs to fit these days, as they go so far and the tour pros don’t want them to go that far, so you have to throttle back or find something that gives it a little more spin to take a little bit distance off. Once they find one it’s in the bag for a long time, but the Paradym fairways have gone straight in the bag for most of our tour players.

What are you hearing regarding the new Chrome Soft golf ball?

The Chomre Soft has to be the most consistent ball in play today and the tolerances we work with makes us industry leaders. You can tell that by the amount of wins it has had. We have non-contract players put it in play, which says everything about the ball.

What new signings are you excited about for the 2023 season?

The Højgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, are very exciting signings. They are undoubtedly both superstars of the future and already proving they are born winners, and their victories in the recent years are just the beginning of their potential.

ODYSSEY TRI-HOT 5K MALLET PUTTER

£429, CALLAWAYGOLF.COM

Odyssey has added two mallet designs to its Tri-Hot 5K range in the shape of the Rossie and 7. Both putters feature tungsten weights behind the face to increase the MOI to over 5,000, while moving the centre of gravity forward for improved roll. A White Hot insert gives the feel that golfers love, while a new lighter weight and stiffer Stroke Lab shaft helps improve distance control and consistency.

Srixon Zx5 Mkii Irons

£167/£184 (ST/GR), EU.DUNLOPSPORTS.COM

The ZX5 MKII irons feature MainFrame technology, which translates as a variable thickness pattern of grooves, channels and cavities carefully milled into the back of the face to maximise flex at impact. It boosts ball speed and repositions mass away from the face and into the toe and sole for a lower centre of gravity. It has a classic look at address, but the combination of the high-strength steel face provides superfast ball speeds, tungsten helps provide forgiveness, while a forged steel body helps with feel and adjustability.

Titleist Pro V1 Balls

£50, TITLEIST.CO.UK

The Pro V1 family of balls have been updated for 2023. Taking inspiration from the Pro V1 Left Dash, a popular model on Tour, the latest generation of the top-selling ball feature a gradient core that goes from soft in the centre to firmer at the edge. This design maximises driver distance without sacrificing feel and spin on iron shots into the green. The Pro V1 is the softer feeling, lower-spinning model designed for more distance. The Pro V1x is firmer