This review will give you a full, honest review of the brand-new Callaway Paradym drivers. It’s the start of a brand new year, which means one thing, the beginning of driver release season. There are three in the lineup of Callaway Paradym drivers, and I’ll explain why they’re different in a moment.
There’s lots of technology but let’s first think a little bit. I didn’t expect this name, not even a little bit. Callaway drivers have been known to be Epic, Maverick, and Rogue for several years. Now they’ve gone in a different direction because they believe this driver has technology that has never been done before, and they’re the first to do it.
When we look at the drivers, I’ve got to admit; I wasn’t sold at first. When I first saw Paradym, I thought they were not jumping off the driver. The graphics and the design are still in my boat; however, after spending a bit more time with it, I’m falling in love with the looks.
Now it’s funny because these drivers look super-premium, exclusive, and Japanese-only launch. So I mean that many companies bring out a driver mainly aimed at the Asian market, which is pitched at a much higher price point. Because of the graphics or even the naming, this driver looks like that really expensive driver line.
Even the head cover would suggest that it is made of glossy leather. I’m not saying they’re not expensive. These will be retailed at 599 pounds, but probably in stores at around 529 pounds. For this review, I test them indoor GC Quad and out on the golf course to ensure an honest, in-depth, and independent review of these drivers.
Technology for Callaway Paradym Driver
Callaway believes they’ve done the golf industry’s first Carbon 360 degree chassis, which is the middle bit around the driver that is one solid piece, which has never been done before in carbon. A lot of manufacturers are using carbon these days because it’s lightweight. Using carbon, they can save weight and move it around the driver’s head. They’ve also enlisted the services of the supercomputer they bought several years ago, and they’ve asked how it can improve the face even more.
So there’s a new AI face for the drivers, which will offer more ball speed and forgiveness across the face, not just in the middle. And also, if you remember going back to Epic several years ago, they brought in Jailbreak technology. Two steel rods behind the head connected the top and bottom of the driver.
Using the AI computer, they’ve made it lighter and more robust to effectively transfer the energy from the driver into the ball to give you more distance. These are the claims from Callaway. I’ll tell you whether that’s the truth in this article, so please keep reading.
And finally, they’ve introduced a Face Cup technology and forged titanium face for higher energy transfer and ball speed. With all that being said, we’ve heard this every year from manufacturers to help a driver become more forgiving, faster, straighter, and help you hit the ball better. Let’s see if that’s the case in this review.
Features and Design for Callaway Paradym Driver
There are three drivers in the Paradym lineup. The first one is the standard version. It’s got one weight at the back, which can be moved from neutral to fade and to draw, and this is a 460cc-sized head, really aimed for most golfers.
The second one is the Paradym X, an exciting driver this year. Again, 460cc, but this will offer a higher launch and higher forgiveness levels. Paradym X got a sliding weight at the back. It’s got one five-gram weight at the back, and it’s slightly raw-biased. So again, I categorize that for mid to higher handicappers who want ultimate forgiveness.
Last but not least, the potential low-spin monster, the Paradym Triple Diamond. This driver is 450cc, with the head shapes smaller, with a 14-gram weight that you can move to the front to offer lower spin. Typically, the Triple Diamonds driver is best for your lower-handicapper elite player.
The Paradym standard is, for most golfers, middle-of-the-range handicaps, and the Paradym X would be for your higher handicap; who wants more forgiveness. Please keep reading because you might be surprised, and I was certainly shocked as to which of these drivers would best suit my game.
Performance Test for Callaway Paradym Driver
It’s time for the fun part, smacking the drivers and testing what they’re all about. So, I went straight into the golf course and started with the standard version, the Paradym standard. Behind the golf ball, it looks fantastic.
I really like the blue; again, that grew on me as I started hitting more shots. From the initial shots, it had a decent level of forgiveness. One thing I noticed, though, straight that the bat strikes from the bottom of the head sounded awful.
If you hit higher on the face, it sounded much more crunch, that satisfying noise. Next up was the Triple Diamond, the low-spin monster. I was excited to hit this 450 cc head, and as I put that club behind the ball and noticed something on the crown.
This driver had come straight from Callaway directly to me to review, and there was a chip in the toe. This isn’t the first time a company sent me a chipped driver. If you’re buying golf clubs, let’s say for this 529 pound, inspect them when you pick them up from the shop.
Straight from the Paradym Standard, Triple Diamond had a very different, crunchy noise on all shots around the head. I could tell it was going to be the least forgiving. With that low spin, I was hitting it long; when I caught it, I could tell by the flight that there was more to the right and left.
Finally, the Paradym X may not be suited to me and is a higher handicap or anti-slice driver. I was shocked and impressed at the same time. It looked like the best behind the golf ball, like this, almost like a maximum-sized driver head.
I currently use the Ping G425 Max, which has a similar footprint. I was very impressed with that driver. The hits I hit straight around the golf course were straightforward and looked pretty good. They were the first initial shots out on the golf course and so fast, so good.
However, all I was really looking for was sound and a feel. I had no data and didn’t know how far these golf shots were going, so I went for the actual test on a launch monitor with Pro V1 and collected some data. Now it’s essential to collect this data to see if these drivers are as forgiving and as long as Callaway claims will be.
So after hitting loads of shots with all three drivers, I started to dive into the fascinating data. When many brands bring out multiple drivers, I sometimes see little difference. However, in this Paradym lineup, I saw much more significant differences between the three drivers, and it was fascinating to find out.
I’m going to start with the Paradym Standard one first. This driver impressed me once I began to work out where the best strike was, which, for this driver, is slightly higher on the face. I started to hit this driver well, and it felt like it had a robust level of forgiveness. The mishits were less punishing and bad, and the performance was outstanding overall.
Typically, I carry the golf ball about 280 yards with a roughly 160 miles per hour ball speed with spin rates of around 2000 RPM. The standard version slightly picks those numbers. So the standard driver for me was carrying 286 yards with just under 2000 RPM spin, which is good, and the ball speed was close to, but not getting over, 160 miles per hour.
Overall, very impressed with the Paradym Standard driver. The following driver I wanted to test was the Paradigm X, the one with a slight draw biased. I’ll be honest; I didn’t think this driver would suit me. Let’s be honest. I don’t need any more assistance to draw the golf ball.
I was unbelievably surprised by this driver, like it was by far the most straightforward model to hit without question. But it was like ultimate forgiveness as it launched a bit higher and spun more, but I found the dispersion was so good.
Suppose I started it slightly down the left; it didn’t curve and just went straight left. If I pushed a tiny of it to the right, it stayed to the right. It’s not so much an anti-slice driver, and I’ll be honest with you, I wouldn’t even say it was that draw biased now because of a little bit of extra spin, a little bit of extra yard.
It encouraged me as far as only 275 yards still very happy with it, but I would never miss a fairway if I used that. Like it was impressive. So after thorough testing with all three drivers, the results are in; as you can see, there is one clear winner in the distance, the Triple Diamond, and the average carry distance was 298 yards, that’s 18 yards I want on average.
The Paradym Standard also did very well, averaging 286 yards of carry distance. Again, better than what I’d typically looked for, and even the Paradym X did well like the Paradigm X was carrying 275 yards on average.
If you want to dive into it a little bit more, and if you only went of distance, and let’s be honest, when you’re buying a driver, it’s very easy to only go on distance. It’s an ego thing. You’d be thinking, the Triple Diamond in the bag, and that’s the driver for you. However, the next step was going out on the golf course again; armed with this information, what would I see the next time I took these drivers out of the golf course?
The Triple Diamond is a very long driver, and I smashed it as hard as you can in a simulator. That Triple Diamond was a disaster. It went left; it went right; it went in the trees. There were a few shots I absolutely knotted down the middle of the fair, it went furthest, but overall, it’s like a caged animal for me. Distance, yes, it has definitely, but the direction has yet to get a clue where it will go.
And again, that’s a warning for everybody looking at the numbers on a screen, and they don’t always translate into accuracy on what you want to see on a golf course. I went to Paradym and Paradym X, and I got a totally different experience, like easy, controllable, measured, and solid flight.
My Verdict on Callaway Paradym Driver
Of the three drivers, Callaway Paradym Standard is definitely one I consider putting my bag in this year. It was perfect, forgiven enough, encouraged an extra bit of distance, which I sometimes look for, and it was excellent.
But again, I could happily put the Paradym X in the bag as well, one of the most forgiving drivers I’ve ever hit in my life. It goes farther than the Triple Diamond. If I smoked both of them, there might be a 25-yard gap between them, but the fairway is sometimes more critical than 25 yards further in trees, out of bounds, or in trouble.
So overall, they’re excellent but could be better. That would be the perfect driver if they could make the Triple Diamonds distance with the Paradym X’s forgiveness level. This is closer to the Paradym Standard, but if they did that, that would be my winning driver.
But it shows you don’t pigeonhole yourself into a category just because that’s what the manufacturer driver says. You should use and test them to get the actual data on how they perform in the real world. I like this range this year because all three drivers are very different. They have a broad category of golfers that would enjoy these drivers, but overall, they have a very good lineup from this year.
That’s all, and thanks for reading!