Callaway Paradym Drivers - 2023 Forum Review

[azstu324]

24 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

So I just did some quick searching around, it appears that TaylorMade also does not include a wrench, and it looks like Tour Edge may not include one either. Cobra specifically states they are included. There may be others, however 5 minutes of surfing around shows that Callaway is not the only OEM to not include a wrench as standard.

For the record, I have three different wrenches, so I get why some OEMs may no longer be shipping them as standard. 

Maybe we should initiate the Wrench Share program? 

 

- Reach (out to the OEM)

- Wrench

- Return

 

Maybe an ulterior motives is to keep guys like me from constantly messing with $hit.  

[StrokerAce]

3 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Maybe we should initiate the Wrench Share program? 

 

- Reach (out to the OEM)

- Wrench

- Return

 

Maybe an ulterior motives is to keep guys like me from constantly messing with $hit.  

...when I had my first fitting many years ago I got a Titleist hybrid and the fitter wouldn't give me the wrench because he didn't want me to mess with anything.

FWIW if you have a screwdriver that allows you to swap bits you can get a bit that will work in a club for pretty cheap at your local home store. 

[Javs]

48 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

So I just did some quick searching around, it appears that TaylorMade also does not include a wrench, and it looks like Tour Edge may not include one either. Cobra specifically states they are included. There may be others, however 5 minutes of surfing around shows that Callaway is not the only OEM to not include a wrench as standard.

For the record, I have three different wrenches, so I get why some OEMs may no longer be shipping them as standard. 

Well first drive today was a tight draw of 305. So, they can keep the wrench!!   

[azstu324]

10 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

FWIW if you have a screwdriver that allows you to swap bits you can get a bit that will work in a club for pretty cheap at your local home store. 

This definitely works.. from experience

The OEM's would highly advise against this though being that the purposes of the torx wrench is to prevent over torquing (not to be confused with over twerking ) 

[cksurfdude]

alright alright alright .. phase 1 of the scoring part of the review - aka Unboxing and First Impressions - has been added to my review post on the first page...

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/59432-testers-announced-2023-mgs-forum-test-callaway-paradym-drivers/?do=findComment&comment=928571

..more to follow about actual testing and performance after the weekend .. in PINEHURST NORTH CAROLINA!!! 

[cksurfdude]

7 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

I'm quoting @StrokerAce post since he got some ^^good close-up pics^^ of the driver face .. showing the interesting and unique texture that Callaway has milled into the center section of the face.

This is their product description:
"Paradym is our first driver to utilize Callaway’s speed-enhancing face cup technology. We’ve paired the face cup with a powerful, forged titanium face."

..no further explanation of what the milling pattern .. or the four little inset dots .. are supposed to do.....

[Invader Zim 315]

9 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

I'm quoting @StrokerAce post since he got some ^^good close-up pics^^ of the driver face .. showing the interesting and unique texture that Callaway has milled into the center section of the face.

This is their product description:
"Paradym is our first driver to utilize Callaway’s speed-enhancing face cup technology. We’ve paired the face cup with a powerful, forged titanium face."

..no further explanation of what the milling pattern .. or the four little inset dots .. are supposed to do.....

The four dots have been so unbelievably intriguing to me.  

That being said, I love the face.  Is it possible for a driver face to look premium? Because to me it just does somehow someway.

[Invader Zim 315]

16 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

alright alright alright .. phase 1 of the scoring part of the review - aka Unboxing and First Impressions - has been added to my review post on the first page...

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/59432-testers-announced-2023-mgs-forum-test-callaway-paradym-drivers/?do=findComment&comment=928571

..more to follow about actual testing and performance after the weekend .. in PINEHURST NORTH CAROLINA!!! 

Very excited to see how this weekend goes for all of you guys, looks like it'll be an absolute blast.  And need you to represent the testers of this great forum (dare I say the best there is) well!

[azstu324]

Unboxing review is up!

 

[azstu324]

2 hours ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

The four dots have been so unbelievably intriguing to me.  

That being said, I love the face.  Is it possible for a driver face to look premium? Because to me it just does somehow someway.

Not sure about the pattern etched into the face.. but isn't it obvious enough about the dots? 

 

 

[Javs]

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!

[Javs]

On 5/23/2023 at 2:53 AM, azstu324 said:

Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond  – Official MGS Forum Review by AZstu324 (Stuart Marler)

Hello my name is Stuart and I'm a golfaholic. This will officially be my 5th MGS test since becoming a member in Jan 2018 and my levels of gratitude to MGS and the partner companies are through the roof each and every time. What an awesome and challenging experience! Since joining this forum, I've learned how to customize and build complete sets of golf clubs, including drivers, and woods. I have improved in handicap from around 18 down to around 7 (current). I've met so many awesome people, shared stories, trade secrets, and even swapped BBQ recipes. This place is my home as far as anything social media-related. Through various official and personal tests, as well as some pretty wild experimentation, I've been able to slowly dissect and focus on each individual aspect and see some pretty substantial improvements.

For those who may already know a little about me, I'm an analyst by profession. My brain is built for number crunching, risk processing and analysis, and problem solving. Is it any wonder why I'm so passionate about golf? I want to know how things work, how they're made, and what makes them do what they do. Sure, playing golf is difficult enough.. but then I had to add building and modifying my own equipment on top of a game that can already drive people to madness. My antics in golf pretty much synopsize my daily life. It can get exhausting  

Speaking of daily life, by profession I'm a finance Underwriter. Super boring stuff that nobody wants to hear anything about. I've been married for 13 years to a wonderful wife who understands my sickness and allows me to have this wicked mistress (golf). I have 2 kids. My daughter Kaylen who's 10 going on 25, and Logan who's 5 and knows that one day he wants to play golf with daddy and Grandpa. I started playing golf when I was about 14 years old. Was taught the basics by my father and grandfather. My dad's 72 and we try to spend as much time together playing golf as we're able. Life is short and don't skip any time that you're able to share with parents and other loved ones.. and if you can do that on a golf course, even better! 

For the past 30 years, I've lived in the Phoenix, AZ area. We live in what's called the "East Valley" in a suburb city called Chandler.

A few years back, before all of the COVID madness, we had an opportunity to live in Pacific Grove, CA for about a year (by Pebble Beach). After a career path change that brought us back to AZ, we had full intentions of moving back to PG and rooting ourselves in for the long haul, but like many who were impacted by the COVID outbreak, our plans fizzled out. We do still love to go back yearly and visit. While playing Pebble Beach hasn't been a possibility, I'll get in rounds at the PG Golf links (Poor man's Pebble) and Poppy Hill and be just as as happy. 

I love data crunching, but also love quantified results. We all know that numbers on paper don't mean anything if we can't take those results to the course when they matter the most. I'll be honest, when I found out I was chosen for the Triple Diamond I said "SWEET".. and "WTF?!" in the same sentence. Most of us know what the means in the world of golf equipment. It's a pretty serious statement that kind of tells the golf world 1 of 2 things. Either A) I can flex a serious boom stick and I'm here to F some $hit up".. or B) "Look at me.. I'm a complete buffoon that thinks I'm way better than I am and don't expect to see the full potential of this club". I'm kind of not really trying to be either of these characters.. BUT from what I've read, watched, and experienced with the fitting, it appears that the TD might actually be in the market for a new stereotype in 2023. THAT is TBD. 

OK, now to address the elephant in the room.. Some of you have already commented or asked IF I plan to test the Paradym TD using some form of OttoPhlex shaft. I actually went into the fitting with an open mind but also a wildcard up my sleeve for the fitter. We went through all of the varieties of S and XS shafts available. Launch #"s were decent as well as disbursement. Spin, however was just too low to make the TD work for me (1500 max). The fitter didn't have much else to say other than, well if you're stuck with the TD you may just have to live with the crazy low spin. I then requested one of the lightest options available, the Project X Cypher 50 5.0. I got complete crazy eyes and a very sarcastic "OK" from the fitter. As soon as we plugged it in, my spin went back to 2200 range, launch angles at 12-14* and disbursement was actually better. The fitter lost his marbles. 

Fitting Result

Paradym TD 10.5* turned down to 9.5*
Flat setting adapter

Project X Cypher 50 5.0 (Senior Flex)

45# playing length

For the comparison, I've got 2 other drivers that I are in similar categories. 

Cobra LTDX LS 10.5* lofted down to 9* / Garafalloy PLB 45g A flex @ 45"

PXG 0311 Gen 5 lofted down to 7.5* / UST Helium 4F2 48g A flex @ 45"

These 2 drivers have worked extremely well for me this year. I actually bought the Cobra LTDX LS thinking that maybe I could squeeze a little more ball speed out which I barely did but I also like the shape of the PGX a little better so it goes back and forth. Honestly I kind of love both equally and kind of like having 2 great performing drivers compete for the #1 spot. 

I do want to make things very clear that I'm not at all intending to make this a battle of the OttoPhlex shafts. The OP is just the shaft option that fits my swing and happens to work extremely well with a lower lofted, lower spinning head. The Paradym TD will definitely have its work cut out to earn top spot in my bag over 2 really great 2022 models. For the testing though, I am pretty lucky to have 3 very comparable drivers to work with. The question that I intend to find an answer for is "is newer really better?"

In the past, I've been able to crunch numbers and obtain data from launch Monitors at PGATSS. Very recently I've learned that they have started a pretty major renovation to their practice bays with a TBD completion date. I do still plan to integrate launch data into the test but may need to find another option for the time being. The real test will come on the golf course though. I want to see that I gain as much confidence off the tee with the Paradym TD and the distance and disbursement will have to exceed what I've had with the Cobra and PXG. I plan to have a weekly round where I compare side by side shots when possible. Some rounds will be played with 1 specific drive, and other rounds will include shots from all 3. 

As far as what I've read, watched, and witnessed personally, there is a performance factor that I'm really excited about with the Paradym TD. That is spin retention or prevention on off-center hits. from time to time I have suffered from the high-toe, low hook dead ball where spin is just obliterated, and the result is a low snap hook. Truthfully, since embarking on the OttoPhlex adventure, this situation has improved quite a bit but there are still instances where the left rough dead ball with no spin leaves me with less than desirable distance to the green. Additionally, there are also occasions where I'm getting just getting too quick and forgetting about the importance of tempo and I'll hit the low heel high spinner into the adjacent fairway. I'm really hopeful to see an improvement on these types of shots as many have shown in the reviews. 

In conclusion, my hopes for the Paradym TD are to edge out the Cobra and PXG in the spin control department, ball speed, and overall disbursement. OH.. and lets not forget about the looks. I'm really a lover of the matte carbon crown of the Cobra and PXG. I LOVE the shape of the PXG as well as the slightly taller face, but really love the sound of the Cobra. I know that 2023 has become the year of the glossy driver with many companies moving away from matte finishes. I'm not 100% sure that I'm sold on the dark teal gloss look of the Callaway. I've also heard that you need to get it out into the natural light for it to shine. It will be interesting to have the 3 side by side to compare the shapes, face height, and looks at address. 

One way or another this will be one helluva ride and I can't wait!

 

Cheers!

 

Stu

____________________________________________________________________

 

Unboxing the Beast

 

Shipping

I’m not sure how to rate this part. I don’t know why there was a 1 week delay in my shipment but there was. Not a major issue but definitely has raised some questions. It appears that my club came from the same location as the others so was my order missed? Or was there a shortage of some sort?

Moving on.. Let me start by saying what’s already been said..

The Box: By now we can see that shipping and protection (of the driver at least) isn’t a major priority for Callaway. Contractually, as testers, we’ve agreed not to reach out to Callaway directly.. loophole! @Javsis one of us (spies), BUT not one of us (testers) so he was awesome enough to reach out to Callaway inquiring about the minimally protected and slightly damaged box from his Paradym shipment.

Their response in a nutshell: in order to reduce excess waste, and help the planet, they’ve decided to minimize certain items like packing material and plastic adjustment wrenches. I’ll just leave it at that, and let y’all use your thinking caps about how they might have been able to better protect a $600 somewhat fragile item and maintain their commitment to the environment..

Luckily, no box damage noted and the club arrived as hoped for.

The driver

By in large, nothing new here. Being over a week late to the unboxing party, you’ve all seen what the others have posted and how stunningly beautiful this club is. In natural bright light, the navy turquoise crushed carbon pattern on the bottom is like no other driver, and is really a work of art paired with the flat black and brass accents. The classic carbon fiber crown tames down the party on the bottom and says “im here to do work!”. In dull or dim light, the crown actually looks like a sleek gloss black. Hopefully the dual personality aesthetics doesn’t manifest into how the driver performs.

I really like the rollover face on many of the drivers lately. My PXG 0311 has it and I love the look and confidence that it inspires. It’s nice knowing that the occasional pop fly high-face shot won’t leave permanent reminders of a bad day behind the wheel. Time will tell if I will or won’t miss having an alignment mark of some sort. As you can see, the 3-D doesn’t have one. So far visually and at my fitting, this doesn’t seem to be a concern.

The face has the same etched pattern as the others, but is more muted without any painted guide lines.. in conjuncture with the removed alignment chevron, it’s almost as if to say “this ain't no coloring book son, this is a canvas” In other words, no lines, get creative .. but no seatbelts, so don't F it up.

Getting the shaft.. (in the best way possible)

So as many of you are aware, I’ve undergone a major change in my driver chemistry, and driving performance over the last 7 or 8 months. This all came about when I had a major inspirational enlightenment of sorts, and going full “Alice in Wonderland” down a rabbit hole and landing on my head. My perception of the world of shaft fitting and conventional wisdom was shifted. Sounds religious right? It kind of was. Without going too deeply into the story, I more or less fit myself into the Project X Cypher 50 in 5.0 (Senior) flex. When I did the fitting, I didn’t really pay much attention to the aesthetics of the shaft. Paying attention to it now because I’m supposed to for this write up, the shaft looks killer! To those who don’t know the story, my driver SS is north of 112 mph. That plus Senior flex shouldn’t make sense.. but it absolutely does.

Let’s start with the carbon looking accent diamonds down the top that couldnt be more suiting for this particular model. Silver lettering on black, on black, on black couldn’t make me happier and I love how the shaft complements the TD head.

Overall is this my most favorite driver to look at? Not sure. There’s quite a bit to compete with out there and up until recently, the PXG 0311 has been checking all of the boxes. The TD certainly has a chance to win out visual category.

Lastly, and I know this is something that I’ll have to let soak in, is the profile. I’ll put it out there with no hesitation.. to my eye, TaylorMade set the benchmark for the perfect profile and has carried that through the most recent stealth. If PXG meant to clone the TaylorMade profile with the 0311, they did nothing wrong. IMO, profile consists of both head shape from address, as well as face height, and stance i.e. (open/square/closed).

The profile of the TD is great.. but not perfect (to me). It’s definitely something that I can get on with and not wish that I had something else. It’s a very traditional pear shape. If the stats do well, this can very easily be forgotten.

 

Odds and ends

 

Ordered to play at 45"

 

10.5° @9.5° flat set adapter

 

Spec sheet

 

Headcover

I know this could be a major talking point. Looks like we all pretty much agree that the Paradym headcovers was a miss.. but it's just a headcover and I'd be swapping it out anyway. 

Love the Skull head cover!

Edited June 9, 2023 by Javs

[azstu324]

12 minutes ago, Javs said:

Love the Skull head cover!

Oh yeah.. that's the pirate cow (as my 5 year old calls it) it's serious business

[Javs]

Just now, azstu324 said:

Oh yeah.. that's the pirate cow (as my 5 year old calls it) it's serious business

Where did you get it?

[azstu324]

2 minutes ago, Javs said:

Where did you get it?

My kids got it for me. I think Amazon? Not sure if it's still available though 

[Javs]

1 minute ago, azstu324 said:

My kids got it for me. I think Amazon? Not sure if it's still available though 

Cool!

[azstu324]

2 hours ago, 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!

You probably mentioned it but what PXG driver? 

[Javs]

5 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

You probably mentioned it but what PXG driver? 

I have both the 0811x Proto and the Gen 6. The Callaway Paradym TD out hits them both in distance and accuracy. At least, that is my personal experience. While the PXG drivers are long, I would have bigger misses with them.

[funkyjudge]

That’s very strong praise!

Of course, I have a Paradym X driver, and on solid hits it has given me some of the longest drives I’ve hit in at least 5 years (or more).  In my statewide travel league, I hit two drives last Thursday that reached places on the fairway much farther from the tee than I had ever hit (it was a home match, so I have played those holes probably 100+ times). My team captain was my partner, and he said that he had never seen any drive as long as I hit on hole #15.

[azstu324]

6 minutes ago, Javs said:

I have both the 0811x Proto and the Gen 6. The Callaway Paradym TD out hits them both in distance and accuracy. At least, that is my personal experience. While the PXG drivers are long, I would have bigger misses with them.

That's great news for me I've been playing the 0311 Gen 5 for the past year and have actually thought it's been quite forgiving. I was really close to buying a Gen 6 but backed off when we got picked for this test. 

I'm really hopeful that the TD will outshine the Gen5 in forgiveness and ball speed. 

[azstu324]

1 minute ago, funkyjudge said:

That’s very strong praise!

Of course, I have a Paradym X driver, and on solid hits it has given me some of the longest drives I’ve hit in at least 5 years (or more).  In my statewide travel league, I hit two drives last Thursday that reached places on the fairway much farther from the tee than I had ever hit (it was a home match, so I have played those holes probably 100+ times). My team captain was my partner, and he said that he had never seen any drive as long as I hit on hole #15.

It's funny, that's exactly how I judge whether or not a club is better than the previous. Play a course that you know extremely well, and see if you are able to do things you haven't done before. Seriously! 

[Javs]

2 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

That's great news for me I've been playing the 0311 Gen 5 for the past year and have actually thought it's been quite forgiving. I was really close to buying a Gen 6 but backed off when we got picked for this test. 

I'm really hopeful that the TD will outshine the Gen5 in forgiveness and ball speed. 

I’ll be very interested to hear about your results. One thing that will probably be different is the setup of our club. Mine is set at 8 degrees and 1 degree flat with a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 60 gram 6.0 Stiff cut down .25. I have 9 degrees in the PXG’s and they are a half inch longer.

[Javs]

8 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

That’s very strong praise!

Of course, I have a Paradym X driver, and on solid hits it has given me some of the longest drives I’ve hit in at least 5 years (or more).  In my statewide travel league, I hit two drives last Thursday that reached places on the fairway much farther from the tee than I had ever hit (it was a home match, so I have played those holes probably 100+ times). My team captain was my partner, and he said that he had never seen any drive as long as I hit on hole #15.

Interesting! Had a similar experience today. One of the par 4’s we play has a creek and waste area at between 270 to 285 from the tee box. So, I would only attempt to hit a driver over it when the wind was behind me. If the wind was in our face I would lay up and hit a longer club to the green. Today the wind was in our face and the Callaway driver flew 30 yards over the area and was only 35 yards from the green. It went on a rope and cut right through the wind. 

[azstu324]

18 minutes ago, Javs said:

I’ll be very interested to hear about your results. One thing that will probably be different is the setup of our club. Mine is set at 8 degrees and 1 degree flat with a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 60 gram 6.0 Stiff cut down .25. I have 9 degrees in the PXG’s and they are a half inch longer.

I'm definitely an odd one with my setup. My 0311 is cranked down to 7.5° with a Senior Flex 45g shaft AND 10g in the back and 7.5g in the toe so super fade bias setup.. and still hit baby draws. 

The Paradym will start out @ 9.5° flat and weight in the back. It seemed to launch and spin lower than the 0311 in the fitting so the rear weight and whippy shaft should hopefully yield some mid launching, 2400 RPM missiles. 

that's the plan anyhow. I'm itching to get this thing out into the wild! 

 

 

[StrokerAce]

first outing for the Par-a-dym last night (Th 6/8/23)....

First hole is a bit of a narrow par 4 w/a severe R to L slope. A good drive leaves you a short wedge into the green but you have to be accurate.
It was tracking good but hit the tree on the right and ricocheted all the way to the left. (forgiving?  )

 

Next hole is a par 5 requiring another accurate shot as the fwy tilts r to left a bit with rough on the right. You want to hug the right side but not get too far right. I was off by about 5 yards and felt like if I would have landed in the FW I could have gotten a few more yards of roll out of it.

 

One more chance to use the driver on the 9th hole of the day. FW slopes left to right and the green line is more of the flight of my ball. anything left will roll right and I ended up in the short rough but this was my best drive of the day.

 

This was our league play and there aren't a lot of driver options sometimes; planning to get out for 18 on a bigger course with more holes where I can use the driver.

So far I'm pleased; not impressed, not disappointed, just pleased. I really do like the sound. That drive on 18 (which was my best) you could barely hear the crack; felt very solid, like a wood bat.

Also - and I knew this was going to happen as I wrote about it in my unboxing/first impression, the tee scratches up the bottom of the club. Not a big deal and I cleaned it up but kind of annoying and bad design choice on the finish if you ask me.

[StrokerAce]

Just saw this on instagram 

check out the all black headcover 

I would like to make an exchange please 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtNiLsmplOd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[azstu324]

32 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

Just saw this on instagram 

check out the all black headcover 

I would like to make an exchange please 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtNiLsmplOd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I saw that too! Just $100 more but it looks SO nice! 

I'd even accept that head cover if they offered an exchange. 

[Javs]

3 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

I saw that too! Just $100 more but it looks SO nice! 

I'd even accept that head cover if they offered an exchange. 

I’ll give them 50 bucks, ha ha

Edited June 9, 2023 by Javs

[sirchunksalot]

40 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

Just saw this on instagram 

check out the all black headcover 

I would like to make an exchange please 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtNiLsmplOd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

1. That's just sexy.

2. Why didn't they initially offer that headcover? That's awesome!

I'm curious about the 4 holes on the face and why Callaway did that. I don't know a lick about club design but wonder if it's to give the face a little more flex. 

[azstu324]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

I'm curious about the 4 holes on the face and why Callaway did that. I don't know a lick about club design but wonder if it's to give the face a little more flex. 

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?