By Will Kent
New drivers are all the rage again at the moment with a seemingly never-ending supply of upgraded technology. Tighter dispersion, further carry, more ball speed… It’s the same every year, and if you’re like me you’ve become pretty sceptical over the marketing ploys of these major manufacturers.
With that said, there’s always the urge to test out new gear and as a regular golfer, I do often have to scratch the itch to see if things have actually moved on. The introduction of AI technology is also starting to startle some extra intrigue, too.
I wanted to test the latest Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke driver against an older Callaway model which I currently have in the bag, the Rogue ST Max. My decision to stick with the driver despite it being an older club is simply down to the fact I just enjoy using it. My level of golf as a mid-handicapper is at the standard that if it’s playable, enjoy it and leave it alone.
So, I took my trusty Rogue down to the immaculate Trump International Golf Club Dubai for a fitting with Stuart Smith and Nakul Paliwal from Precision Golf and Callaway Middle East. It was time to put the clubs to the test.
On my commute to this fitting session, I was considering what would have been a success. While I’d like to hit it further, it’s not my number one goal as I’d rather tighten my dispersion. More tee shots finishing in the fairway would have been a huge success.
My game suffers from mishits which sometimes lead to the occasional lost ball of the tee which can wreck a score. I’ll also say here that I haven’t been paid to write this, and this is a 100 percent honest review, but the difference between the two clubs was clearer than night and day.
After 10 shots following a warm up, I was averaging my usual 250-260 yards of carry with my 10.5 degree Rogue. My dispersion was pretty wide, both left and right, but the expected distance was there with an occasional long one. This was the norm, with around 104mph of clubhead speed. In truth, I was actually hitting it pretty well.
Step up the Paradym. The Callaway guys installed a stiff shaft – as opposed to my existing regular flex – on a 9-degree Max head. The set-up was completely different, but the two clubs felt similar in weight when in my hands. I’d have predicted a small improvement at this stage, but not what I saw.
My clubhead speed was up 4mph to 108mph, which was leading to between 10-20 yards further of carry. That alone was a major boost for me. However, the main improvement was the dispersion. It was around 50% tighter was this newer club and that is no exaggeration.
Admittedly, this was a small sample size If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend scheduling a fitting session with them to test this driver. You won’t be disappointed.with 10 shots each, but the improvement in performance was very impressive. I could envisage my handicap coming down very quickly with the use of the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max. That’s a bold statement to make, but it was clear I’d be hitting so many more fairways.
The club was very impressive, but the fitting itself was an important aspect of this whole test that isn’t to be understated. I was in the wrong shaft to begin with, while the professional guidance from Stuart and Nakul was invaluable. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend scheduling a fitting session with them to test this driver. You won’t be disappointed.
