Callaway Paradym Drivers - 2023 Forum Review

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, azstu324 said:

I'd bet it has something to do with flex.

My thoughts: They can't make the entire face half as thick or they'd be non-conforming.. but by milling these "relief" holes halfway through, and in the right spots, that might add just enough give to make the face a little hotter.. or even a little more flexible in the misshit areas like upper/lower heel/toe

Anyone buying my story?

Totally plausible

[TylorJudd]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:09 PM, Javs said:

I must say I put my own shaft into the Callaway Paradym TD a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow Shaft 60 Gram, 6.0 Stiff cut down .25 and set 1 degree flat and at 8 degrees loft. Topped off with a Golf Pride MCC grip. This set up work amazing for me! I hit low boring tight draws all day. Every drive was between 278 and 323! Never missed a fairway today!!! I would hit my PXG driver long, but the misses were sometimes very bad. This new setup is a game changer!

I threw my hzrdus smoke black into mine as well with the MC4 and those shafts play really nicely with the TD. I put the 14g at the back for a little more height!

[Javs]

10 minutes ago, TylorJudd said:

I threw my hzrdus smoke black into mine as well with the MC4 and those shafts play really nicely with the TD. I put the 14g at the back for a little more height!

I love the Hzrdus smoke shafts. I especially like the counter balance. I also have the 14 gram weight at the back. I found with 8 degrees it still launches low with low spin and the weight at the back means a lot of forgiveness! Like I posted in my weekly rounds, I hit ever fairway with this club. Heck if only that can hold up! Even on miss hits it was ver acceptable. Really like this driver and the way I set it up!

[azstu324]

58 minutes ago, Javs said:

I love the Hzrdus smoke shafts. I especially like the counter balance. I also have the 14 gram weight at the back. I found with 8 degrees it still launches low with low spin and the weight at the back means a lot of forgiveness! Like I posted in my weekly rounds, I hit ever fairway with this club. Heck if only that can hold up! Even on miss hits it was ver acceptable. Really like this driver and the way I set it up!

I watched a James Robinson video a while back and he actually used a 10g in the back and a 6g in the front and found a good mix of stability and speed. I may have requested the same weights to try out but unfortunately didn't get them. I may still entertain that idea but want to see how things fair out when I play Sunday. 

[TylorJudd]

12 hours ago, Javs said:

I love the Hzrdus smoke shafts. I especially like the counter balance. I also have the 14 gram weight at the back. I found with 8 degrees it still launches low with low spin and the weight at the back means a lot of forgiveness! Like I posted in my weekly rounds, I hit ever fairway with this club. Heck if only that can hold up! Even on miss hits it was ver acceptable. Really like this driver and the way I set it up!

I actually went back to a 10.5 to help out. When set even to 9, the ball flight is too low and I lose too much

[Javs]

54 minutes ago, TylorJudd said:

I actually went back to a 10.5 to help out. When set even to 9, the ball flight is too low and I lose too much

Each of us will need to play around to find our own sweet spot.

[funkyjudge]

17 hours ago, Javs said:

I love the Hzrdus smoke shafts. I especially like the counter balance. I also have the 14 gram weight at the back. I found with 8 degrees it still launches low with low spin and the weight at the back means a lot of forgiveness! Like I posted in my weekly rounds, I hit ever fairway with this club. Heck if only that can hold up! Even on miss hits it was ver acceptable. Really like this driver and the way I set it up!

I am playing a Gen 4 HZRDUS Black 6.0 (67 grams) in my Paradym X driver. Even at 10.5* loft, I can keep the trajectory down when desired, but I am still able to get a nice mid-high ball flight when I want it.

Yesterday, I made a total of 6 birdies in my round, and most of those birdies began with stellar drives in the fairways thanks to the Paradym X driver, including one of 304 yards on a par-5 and a 275-yard drive on an uphill par-4 that left me only a PW to the green (14 feet birdie putt followed that approach shot).

Edited June 10, 2023 by funkyjudge

[Javs]

1 hour ago, funkyjudge said:

I am playing a Gen 4 HZRDUS Black 6.0 (67 grams) in my Paradym X driver. Even at 10.5* loft, I can keep the trajectory down when desired, but I am still able to get a nice mid-high ball flight when I want it.

Yesterday, I made a total of 6 birdies in my round, and most of those birdies began with stellar drives in the fairways thanks to the Paradym X driver, including one of 304 yards on a par-5 and a 275-yard drive on an uphill par-4 that left me only a PW to the green (14 feet birdie putt followed that approach shot).

Very nice! I must say most my birdies start with a stellar drive as well! There is the occasional recovery shot that comes out perfect. However, most my birdies come from hitting a par 5 in two or a big drive followed with a nice iron shot into a par 4. 

[funkyjudge]

26 minutes ago, Javs said:

Very nice! I must say most my birdies start with a stellar drive as well! There is the occasional recovery shot that comes out perfect. However, most my birdies come from hitting a par 5 in two or a big drive followed with a nice iron shot into a par 4. 

All of but one of yesterday’s birdies came after 7 iron or less into par-4s, and the approach shot that followed my 304-yard drive was a 155-160 yard 8-iron on a shortish par-5. My only birdie that didn’t follow a driver + short iron was on a par-5 where I hit 3-hybrid, 3-hybrid and a 40-yard chip shot.

[Javs]

17 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

All of but one of yesterday’s birdies came after 7 iron or less into par-4s, and the approach shot that followed my 304-yard drive was a 155-160 yard 8-iron on a shortish par-5. My only birdie that didn’t follow a driver + short iron was on a par-5 where I hit 3-hybrid, 3-hybrid and a 40-yard chip shot.

Very nice and big drives!!

Edited June 10, 2023 by Javs

[Invader Zim 315]

Hi all.  Unfortunately I had a family wedding this weekend so I wasn’t able to get out and play, but I did hit the simulator and get in 100 shots, some with my current driver and most with the Paradym. I’m optimistic about the results and will compile and post them, likely tomorrow.

In the next 3 weeks I have over 6 rounds of golf scheduled though and can’t wait to put this thing through some more paces on the course.

[azstu324]

23 minutes ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

Unfortunately I had a family wedding this weekend so I wasn’t able to get out and play

How are people getting married when you have golf to be playing? Preposterous!

[azstu324]

Getting the TD out for the first time today. Won't have time to hit the range so this will be a trial by fire for sure. Additionally, I'm not taking my gamer as a crutch so it's full commitment! 

Have a few first timers going out today.. new 3 wood AND putter so it will be an interesting outing  to say the least. 

No single brand loyalty here

[Invader Zim 315]

Hope the Pinehurst trip was as awesome as it looked @cksurfdude @GolfSpy BOS.

CK, that Paradym keep you out of the pine straw at all this past weekend?  

[cnosil]

9 minutes ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

Hope the Pinehurst trip was as awesome as it looked @cksurfdude @GolfSpy BOS.

CK, that Paradym keep you out of the pine straw at all this past weekend?  

Nothing kept you out of the pine straw,  but @cksurfdudewas hitting the Paradym pretty well.  He was hitting nice draws. 

[StrokerAce]

On 6/10/2023 at 6:48 PM, funkyjudge said:

All of but one of yesterday’s birdies came after 7 iron or less into par-4s, and the approach shot that followed my 304-yard drive was a 155-160 yard 8-iron on a shortish par-5. My only birdie that didn’t follow a driver + short iron was on a par-5 where I hit 3-hybrid, 3-hybrid and a 40-yard chip shot.

Looks like you're going to need an update to your handicap!

[funkyjudge]

Just now, StrokerAce said:

Looks like you're going to need an update to your handicap!

It has already dropped almost 2 full strokes since late April. I don’t know how much further it will drop.

When I was in my late 40s through mid-50s, I had a handicap index between 6.5 - 8.3, but it hasn’t been below 11 since I was about 63 or 64 years old. During my three bouts with cancer, plus a bone, spinal and blood infection that almost killed me 2-1/2 years ago, I have been as high as a mid-17 handicap.

[funkyjudge]

Just now, StrokerAce said:

Looks like you're going to need an update to your handicap!

It has already dropped almost 2 full strokes since late April. I don’t know how much further it will drop.

When I was in my late 40s through mid-50s, I had a handicap index between 6.5 - 8.3, but it hasn’t been below 11 since I was about 63 or 64 years old. During my three bouts with cancer, plus a bone, spinal and blood infection that almost killed me 2-1/2 years ago, I have been as high as a mid-17 handicap.

[azstu324]

Played yesterday. Johnson Ranch out in San Tan. I forgot how fun but challenging this course can be. Fairways are narrow-ish and there's a lot of desert on both sides. The safer play is to go three wood or iron on about half of the par fours but I committed using the paradigm on all four par fours just to see how comfortable I could get with it in tight spots. 

First hole was a slight push but laser straight. Through the front 9 nothing was dead straight, BUT nothing was over-shaped and out of play. In other words, no duck hooks or high slices. Mostly pushes and pulls but all straight, great distance, and nothing majorly out of play. I attribute this to getting to know the driver and maybe being a little overly anxious. I went out with the head set at flat -1° so more open than standard. This is usually how I like it though. 

On the back 9.. things are starting to come together. I slowed down my tempo and swung a little more deliberately. This is what the lighter, more flexy shaft promotes. Now I'm starting to see some mid launch, lower spinning bombs that are either dead straight or just a slight draw. The whole back 9, every drive was either on the fairway, or just barely off in light rough. 

I played with my buddy who has pretty good distance and hits fairly consistently. This was a good gauge for me as I was constantly out driving him by about 10-20 yds. EVEN when I didn't lace the fairway, I was out driving him with my pushes and pulls. So far that's an "as advertised" claim that I'm seeing to be very true. 

Feel and sound.. holy $#itballs Batman!! Off the face the ball just flies. It almost feels like you're hitting a bouncy ball off the tee. The sound is a very pleasing audible crack. It's definitely a sound signature that belongs to the Paradym TD and I love it! 

As for the shaft, I couldn't be happier with the choice. It feels SO good. Smoothe, stable, and very reactive to a smooth swing.. as it should be. This was one of those rounds where I went home replaying in my head, and craving the driver hits. From the swing, to the connection, to the results, everything seems to be tip top. 

Hopefully I can get to a LM this week to compare with my 0311. 

[cksurfdude]

Pinehurst weekend driver update:

First up was I made the decision when packing clubs to leave both the current driver and my backup of the last few years Mini Bertha at home.

Full commitment to hitting the X - on every Par 4 and Par 5.

The first round Saturday morning (Mid South) was by far my best in both driving off the tee and all around; so I'm optimistically hoping that was a precursor of more good stuff to come!

As @cnosil mentioned above...

2 hours ago, cnosil said:

Nothing kept you out of the pine straw,  but @cksurfdudewas hitting the Paradym pretty well.  He was hitting nice draws. 

..(thank you, sir!) and he also commented after one good drive, "You'd better not say anything negative about that driver!"

OK, so my scorecard notes on 14 driver shots...

• 10  (not middle fairway bombs but "out there" relative for me AND playable )
• 2 were out to the right
• 1 was low-left
• 1 was just chunked

So that's an approx 71% success rate ... and is a big improvement in my tee shot performance; with a lot of the credit going to the club in helping me get the ball into play.

Haven't edited my round in ShotScope yet so don't have distance #s yet.

[StrokerAce]

I played a par 71 course that was 6167 yards from the tees on Saturday 6/10/23
I used the driver probably twice as much as I normally would and on some holes I had no business using it but nevertheless I. AM. TESTING. THIS. THING. so let's get it on!

quick reference- these were the holes I used it on and the distance according to ShotScope:

1. first: 277
2. second: 300 (drive of the day!)
3. third: 280
4. fourth: 146 (lol - hit a tree and fell straight down)
5. sixth: 254
6. eighth: 280 (birdie!)
7. ninth: 258 (birdie!)
8. tenth: 276
9. eleventh: 280
10. twelfth: 232 (bad pull hook!)
11. sixteenth: 278
12. eighteenth: 269 (slice into the woods!)

The second hole was my shot of the day. I really had no business using my driver here.
This is the hole layout - as you can see there is about 28 yards (!!!!) left to right and I ended up pin high to the right.
 

And according to shotscope:

and on the course... (not me on the green... bottom of the pic is my tee shot)

This was a fun course to play. Here's the view from #8 (I hit this one 280 per shotscope)

 

Another one where I probably shouldn't have hit driver but it was the perfect shot. Skirted the trees and rolled to the end of the fairway. Flipped a wedge to 4 feet and made a

 

After my first full 18 hole round with the Paradym I must say that I'm quite impressed. The thing is a bomber. 
There isn't a driver on the planet that's going to fix a bad swing - of which I had a few - but it really flies when you hit it and my longest shot I didn't even feel like I had to swing very hard.

This is my driver after the round and before I've cleaned it. I use white wooden tees and I Do Not Like these white marks. Do Not Like Them At All.

 

I have league play again on Thursday and will be playing another 18 on Monday and hopefully will be able to get back to a Trackman range as well now that I've had a few goes with it.

Stay tuned!

 

[Invader Zim 315]

1 hour ago, azstu324 said:

BUT nothing was over-shaped and out of play. In other words, no duck hooks or high slices.

Exactly how I felt my first time out.  I was really impressed with the dispersion even on my worst mishits.

Great summary!

[Invader Zim 315]

23 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

I played a par 71 course that was 6167 yards from the tees on Saturday 6/10/23
I used the driver probably twice as much as I normally would and on some holes I had no business using it but nevertheless I. AM. TESTING. THIS. THING. so let's get it on!

quick reference- these were the holes I used it on and the distance according to ShotScope:

1. first: 277
2. second: 300 (drive of the day!)
3. third: 280
4. fourth: 146 (lol - hit a tree and fell straight down)
5. sixth: 254
6. eighth: 280 (birdie!)
7. ninth: 258 (birdie!)
8. tenth: 276
9. eleventh: 280
10. twelfth: 232 (bad pull hook!)
11. sixteenth: 278
12. eighteenth: 269 (slice into the woods!)

The second hole was my shot of the day. I really had no business using my driver here.
This is the hole layout - as you can see there is about 28 yards (!!!!) left to right and I ended up pin high to the right.
 

And according to shotscope:

and on the course... (not me on the green... bottom of the pic is my tee shot)

This was a fun course to play. Here's the view from #8 (I hit this one 280 per shotscope)

 

Another one where I probably shouldn't have hit driver but it was the perfect shot. Skirted the trees and rolled to the end of the fairway. Flipped a wedge to 4 feet and made a

 

After my first full 18 hole round with the Paradym I must say that I'm quite impressed. The thing is a bomber. 
There isn't a driver on the planet that's going to fix a bad swing - of which I had a few - but it really flies when you hit it and my longest shot I didn't even feel like I had to swing very hard.

This is my driver after the round and before I've cleaned it. I use white wooden tees and I Do Not Like these white marks. Do Not Like Them At All.

 

I have league play again on Thursday and will be playing another 18 on Monday and hopefully will be able to get back to a Trackman range as well now that I've had a few goes with it.

Stay tuned!

 

As fellow Callaway staffer Phil would say, it looks like you were hitting some High Bombs coupled with some Hellacious Seeds out there!

[Invader Zim 315]

Invader Zim - 06/12/2023 Simulator Update

Hey Y'all

As I mentioned the other day I wasn't able to get out and play this weekend.  Good news is I have a number of rounds coming up that I can’t wait to take this bad boy out.  I was, however, able to get a big simulator session in and wanted to report some of the results.

To conduct the test, I wanted to provide and take part in a head to head battle.  The 2023 Paradym vs the 2017 M1 (my gamer for the past 5 years). I broke it up into two sections, which I will call “The First 25” and “The Last 10”.  I was swinging really, really hard for this test, giving every shot pretty much all I had.  So all I hit was 70 shots total (35 with each).

The First 25

No secrets here, this section is about the first 25 shots I hit with both clubs. Here are the color codes:

Old Gamer (TaylorMade M1) – Shots are in GREEN

Callaway Paradym – Shots are in BLUE (since the club is blue, how about that?)

Test Parameters: 27 shots with each, taking out the two biggest outliers.

 

First up was the Old Gamer (after a ~10 minute warm up).  I’m used to this club and have enjoyed it for years.  Today it was true to form, with some BIG drives, but also some that just dipped out of the sky.  The dispersion on this batch was pretty wide.

Next, the Callaway.  I don’t honestly know if it’s the shaft or the head, but the ride just feels smoother.  It’s weird because with the stiffer shaft (Tensei White XFlex), I felt like I was swinging slower, when in fact I was going 4+ MPH faster. 

First 25 - Results

They kind of speak for themselves in this batch.  I gained 4+ MPH of clubhead speed, 6MPH of ball speed, and over 10 yards of distance with the Paradym.  If I'm being honest, it also kind of just sat more nicely by the ball.  All in all, I just still feel like I get more DISTANCE forgiveness with the Paradym.

I was skeptical about the difference in swing speed, though, so I went back in for round two.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Last 10

Again, the name is pretty simple - to conclude this test I took 10 more shots with each club.  I was pretty tired by this point but still committed to swinging hard.

This time around the color codes were:

Taylormade M1 – Shots are in YELLOW

Callaway Paradym – Shots are in Pink

I am sorry about the differences in color, I don’t honestly know why I didn’t keep it consistent

Test Parameters: 10 shots with each club taking every shot, no matter how bad

Last 10 - Results

As you can see, the numbers were much closer together this time around.  The Paradym was 1MPH faster this time and 6-7 yards longer across both carry and distance. If I was a consumer gaming a 2017 driver, I simply don’t think I could say 6-7 yards is worth $700.

BUT   ---   Look at the Magenta colored dispersion.  If I'm being honest, I did not hit all of these perfectly.  I almost missed the face on one low heel.  And yet, they were all 290-300 total in a very small space. I truly think this Paradym gives me that little bit more leeway to swing hard, not be afraid to miss it a bit, and still hit a fairway.  For me, personally, that extra bit of confidence when swinging hard is definitely worth it.  The two that I missed on the Old Gamer went way right.

 

Last Thoughts

I simply do not know if these numbers justify purchasing a new driver versus your 5 year old driver.  For me? Probably, because one of my biggest stated goals was hitting more fairways.  I think the Paradym helps me do that. Was it the clubhead? The shaft? Maybe it was my proper fitting?  I don't know 100%, but I'm optimistic about my results thus far. For now, all I can say is I can’t wait to get this thing on the course and swing it again, hard.

 

P.S.

I don't know exactly what it is, but sometimes when I touch the Paradym head to the ground, I feel and hear a little rattle.  It was noticable to the point I had to check the head and shake it a bit, but didn't notice anything further.  I'm not too worried, but it has been a touch unsettling as I've never once had that issue with my 5 year old driver.  Just something I'm going to keep an eye on.
 

[azstu324]

2 hours ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

I don't know exactly what it is, but sometimes when I touch the Paradym head to the ground, I feel and hear a little rattle.  It was noticable to the point I had to check the head and shake it a bit, but didn't notice anything further.  I'm not too worried, but it has been a touch unsettling as I've never once had that issue with my 5 year old driver.  Just something I'm going to keep an eye on.

So a couple of things come to mind. 

1. It might not be a rattle but the shaft twisting loose in small increments and clicking. Happens when the shaft, or epoxy aren't prepped properly. If you start to see the logo on the shaft move after every hit, this is your problem. 

2. The cogs in the shaft adapter are shifting and creating a click. I've read that this can be an issue with the multi piece cogs like Callaway or Titleist. 

3. Something did indeed come loose. Usually the rattle stop they spray inside would take care of this.. assuming they spray it in these. 

Hopefully you can get the noise sorted out. My OCD would not let me sleep at night. 

 

[Invader Zim 315]

8 hours ago, azstu324 said:

So a couple of things come to mind. 

1. It might not be a rattle but the shaft twisting loose in small increments and clicking. Happens when the shaft, or epoxy aren't prepped properly. If you start to see the logo on the shaft move after every hit, this is your problem. 

2. The cogs in the shaft adapter are shifting and creating a click. I've read that this can be an issue with the multi piece cogs like Callaway or Titleist. 

3. Something did indeed come loose. Usually the rattle stop they spray inside would take care of this.. assuming they spray it in these. 

Hopefully you can get the noise sorted out. My OCD would not let me sleep at night. 

 

Really interesting insight Stu, thank you. I agreed and thought it likely was number 2 last night and that the cog was a likely concern. 
 

After reading your post this morning I went and played with the head again and it definitely felt loose when I pushed it back and forth on the head.

I decided to take my (non Callaway) wrench and tighten just to see and it definitely turned at least 3/4 of a full rotation before even feeling the pressure of the click. I’m 95% sure the head wasn’t fully screwed in, and I assure you I haven’t played with it once.

It seems better now but we’ll have to see in the next week. Just really strange and interesting.

[azstu324]

51 minutes ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

Really interesting insight Stu, thank you. I agreed and thought it likely was number 2 last night and that the cog was a likely concern. 
 

After reading your post this morning I went and played with the head again and it definitely felt loose when I pushed it back and forth on the head.

I decided to take my (non Callaway) wrench and tighten just to see and it definitely turned at least 3/4 of a full rotation before even feeling the pressure of the click. I’m 95% sure the head wasn’t fully screwed in, and I assure you I haven’t played with it once.

It seems better now but we’ll have to see in the next week. Just really strange and interesting.

I'm glad to hear that's all that it was. At least we should hope so. Another thing you can do after everything's tightened down it's just hold the head in one hand and give a twist on the shaft with the other at the grip end. Hopefully no more pops or clicks

[StrokerAce]

So far, I see the tan and white cat as my Callaway Paradym and the other one as my Titleist TS3.

 

[cksurfdude]

13 hours ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

I don't know exactly what it is, but sometimes when I touch the Paradym head to the ground, I feel and hear a little rattle. 

 

11 hours ago, azstu324 said:

Hopefully you can get the noise sorted out. My OCD would not let me sleep at night. 

 

Yeah hopefully it was just a bit loose and now you're ok ..or you just hit the thing waaay too dammm hard in that Sim session!

My OCD has me taking the torque wrench to both the hosel and the rear weight, after the unboxing and before the first test session. 

 

@azstu324 - kinda related question if you happen to know: I've read somewhere that most but not all OEMs use the same torque setting (30 or 40 ft-lbs, I think it was?) but one or two others had a different setting..?

[Javs]

On 6/8/2023 at 10:25 AM, Javs said:

That is exactly what I thought. Have an opt out or in. Plus ship it in the same quality as the irons. However, I will say their customer service did make it right in the end. So, that counts also.

I received my wrench in the mail today. No charge for the wrench or shipping. They have redeemed themselves!