Callaway Ai-Smoke Drivers: 2024 Forum Review

[GolfSpy_APH]

Coming off an impressive performance in the Best Driver of 2024 testing with MyGolfSpy, we had to get these drivers into the hands of our member testing community.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond took home second place in the overall standings, and the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke D managed third place, being awarded Best for Distance.

Callaway is no stranger to performing well in Most Wanted testing, but this year's performance is especially impressive, considering a total of 37 drivers were part of the testing, the most ever in Most Wanted history.

About the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Series:

The second generation of Paradym added a new Ai-optimized face, which Callaway calls micro deflections, aiding downrange accuracy. The Carbon Chassis is also 15% lighter than the original, helping Callaway redistribute weight into other areas, thus making the series more forgiving.

The Paradym Ai Smoke series is also the first in several generations not to include Jailbreak.

There are three core models in the Paradym Ai Smoke family: Max, Max D, and Triple Diamond.

Max is the standard model and offers the most adjustability with a sliding weight at the back and an adjustable hosel.

Max D is a draw bias driver with maximum forgiveness. It lacks movable weights but is adjustable through the Callaway Optifit hosel.

Triple Diamond is the low spinning option, featuring adjustable front and back weights for spin optimization. It also includes a smaller profile for those who prefer that in a driver head.

Please welcome and congratulate our testers!

@Berg Ryman - Ai Smoke Max

@TylorJudd - Ai Smoke Triple Diamond

@RickM71 - Ai Smoke Triple Diamond

@EasyPutter - Ai Smoke Max D

@JAYER38 - Ai Smoke Max D

[Berg Ryman]

AI SMOKE MAX... BECAUSE WE WANT ALL THE SMOKE

So, it's your boy back again with another driver based review.

For those who don't know, the name is Ryan. now senior family law attorney, although as I sit here all my cases are being moved to different jurists as my primary judge is making off to head back downstate to NYC to be closer to home. Can't begrudge her, but it's really jacked up my schedule something fierce. Beside this, I'm working on an journey of self-improvement, you can read about it here. I'm trying to recapture the joy and passion I had for golf when I was younger, as it is one of my happiest activities, but also the bringer of great stress when I don't want it. In all it's an interesting time of transition in both the personal and professional, so why not take a new driver into an area of the bag I thought I was set with two years on board?

Yeah, so as detailed here, I was fit at the end of 2022 for new woods, chief among them was a new driver to replace my Mizuno ST180, the first club I ever reviewed for this forum. I had been fit into a TSR2, 10 degree with a Fujikura NX Blue 50 gram stiff shaft. During the 2023 season I had a crisis of confidence. There were days I couldn't get the ball of the ground, launching it in the 5 or 6 degree range, total top balls and just no faith it would do anything. Ergo, when the opportunity to try something different came up, I said let's give it a shot.

Now, I'll be honest, outside of a period of time when due to working at Dick's Sporting Goods back when they staffed PGA guys who could got us deals through Callaway VIP, I was never a big Callaway woods guy, save for my first fitting, but that's a post for a different time... like say this weekend in the thread. I've always been intrigued by the tech the use and the way they seem to be on the forefront of the next breakthroughs, so I've very excited to see what comes of the AI Smoke.

But how will we measure success? Well, I think being honest here we should look at the differences between the two drivers from the Most Wanted 2024 test.

TSR2: 143 Ball Speed, launching at 13.23 with 2300 spin, Carry 237, total 253, straight shot percentage 49%

AI Smoke Max: 142 Ball Speed, launching at 13.75 with 2400 spin, Cary 237, Total 251, straight shot percentage 52%

So yeah, looking at them there isn't a lot of difference there, save for the straight shot percentage. Now, accuracy is always good so that may be the deciding factor here, as well as launch and consistency across the face. That's what the AI face is supposed to help with and I plan on putting a lot of spots through a lot of paces. So I'm not expecting it to be longer on a 1 to 1 basis, but I am expecting it to be more consistent across the course of a round with no real drop offs. I don't want to say this is a 'vibes' based test in a way, but I can tell you just from the fitting there is just more confidence standing over the AI Smoke than my TSR, and it isn't just because it's new and different.

How does it make the cut? Perform with more consistency, achieve a solid and repeatable launch and shot shape, and maybe creep a bit of distance, if possible. Do that and I'll be like everyone's second favorite Stanley after those big cups

Get ready folks, it's gonna be fun!

Edited April 26 by Berg Ryman

[TylorJudd]

Hi Everyone! I'd like to first thank everyone at MGS, and everyone at Callaway for making this test a possibility for the 5 of us. For those who don't know, My name is Tylor, and I'm here to golf. Currently living in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in Penticton, British Columbia where I am a member of Fairview Mountain Golf Course, a top 25 in Canada. I currently play off a 3.9 Index but that does go up a bit regarding the slope of the course. I live to golf, period. This sport is all consuming for me, while being both my church and sanctuary. I golfed a s junior memebr and played on the local tour here in the Okanagan, but stopped playing around 2009/2010. In 2022, I had a hard fight with depression and chose to attempt to take my own life, golf was one of, if not the one, biggest factor that allowed me to work through that difficult time of my life. I am a definite equipment junkie and have done a full bag swap over the last season since picking this back up in 2022. I am currently, and proudly gaming a Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond 10.5 with a Graphite Design Tour AD-MJ 6x. I am no slouch off the tee, and I can promise we are going to get a very close comparison to see how year-over-year data translates. 

Doing a preliminary fitting, at a hodge podge golf town where I basically fit myself, the Ai Smoke Triple Diamond is coming with a Mitsubishi Tensei Black 1K TX. There aren't many stock offerings in the X category, and this was the one that closely resembled anything I can work with. I also have a fitting booked with Callaway at my club for a custom shaft on the Ai Smoke. This will be able to give me some baseline numbers on both a GC Quad and Trackman. 

Current numbers on the Paradym TD I am gaming

- Swing Speed ~122mph (131 has been achieved)

- Ball Speed ~173mph (177 has been achieved)

- Adaptor is set to N/-1 Degree

- Golf Pride MCC Midsize

- 45" Playing Length

- Tipped 1Being a Callaway custom fitted player, I fully expect this Ai Smoke to be able to sit in my bag immediately, shaft dependent though. While having the Paradym for over 70 rounds now, and multiple range sessions, I am intimately aware of the original Paradym's "weak spots". Far toe is where this driver shows its ugliest side, as the low heel produces, in my opinion, a very nice manageable cut. So I certainly am interested to see where Ai, and the removal of the jail break technology, has improved these areas.

 

Pre- Fitting Update:

Callaway came down to my local club, and was doing fittings. I decided to book a shaft fitting for the Ai Smoke Triple Diamond and went through a few different variations.

We tried the Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue6x, Fujikura Ventus Blue+ 6x, Project X Denali Black 6x, Fujikura Ventus Black 6x, and the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green Small Batch 6.5 70g Hulk, in that respective order. The first 3 were disastrous, and I could produce anything significant. The Ventus Black started to change that, and the Hulk was not much difference. With the 9 degree turned up to 9.75, both shafts produced an average carry of 296.6 yards. I had tighter dispersion with the Ventus Black, marginally, but the HULK had the longest pokes with a 321 carry sprinkled in there. My AOA is generally too low, 7ish degrees, so I really have to focus on shoulder tilt, ball placement, and staying behind the ball. Average ball speed was 176mph, and swing speed at 123.2mph.

One thing I can say for certainty, the Ai Smoke is faster than the Paradym OG. It's lighter, and better balanced. Again, probably marginally, but having played the Paradym OG for so long and jumping to the Ai Smoke, the difference IS noticeable.

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 8.5/10

Alright so the driver was delivered, then stuck inside my cedar hedges for several days without me knowing about it. Luckily, no rain here and it was hot so everything was A-OK. Upon first opening the box, I was extremely disappointed with Callaway and their wrapping. The driver is wrapped in ONE piece of paper.... That's it. The head had its usual plastic on it that you'd see off the shelf, but that is the extent of it. I was a little stunned the driver wasn't damaged.

The headcover is a MASSIVE improvement over last years, the aesthetics are so much nicer, there is carbon print on the head cover, and the colour way is so nice. BUT, the headcover crinkles. Like it has crinkled plastic inside it. Not a huge killer for me, as I play with a Daphne's Unicorn headcover, but something of note for those of you who don't.

Now, for the head. I have been skeptical of the smoke carbon on the sole as I have seen many that are almost white. Callaway says each driver is unique like a snowflake so I get it, but you still hope it isn't yours. For me, it wasn't  it's a great looking driver, but I don't think it's better looking than last years. The blue carbon of last years with the gold weights was a banger of a colour scheme. The blue carbon had such a depth to it, that the Ai Smoke doesn't seem to possess. I am also a little bummed that the "Ai Smoke" logo is on the top of the head of the driver. They carried over the no alignment aid theme, but added the logo for some reason. That just seemed tacky and unwarranted. I do like the cobalt blue weights on the bottom with the black chrome sole. Really slick touch there.

Mine came with the Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 65 TX shaft. This shaft looks so damn good with this driver, it's uncanny. Just black and grey carbon everywhere. Also, huge props to Callaway for making this a stock shaft option. 

Edited May 17 by TylorJudd

[RickM71]

Callaway Ai-Smoke Triple Diamond Driver - Official MGS Forum Review by RickM71

I'm Rick and proof that new members get selected. I joined the forum in January and have around 50 posts.  I’m quietly competitive by nature, so I hope I do the forum proud with my review.  Huge thanks to the MGS team and Callaway for this opportunity.

I’m 52 years old and live in the north suburbs of Chicago.  I played competitive golf in high school, averaging 82 my senior year from the hardest course layouts the coaches could manufacture. In college, I started the tryout process for the team, but realized that my academics kept interfering with my focus on golf.  It just wasn’t meant to be.

Several years later, I developed a skin issue called “urticaria and angioedema”.  It is a medical way of saying I get hives and swelling.  Vibration and pressure bring it on for me.  By the back nine, my hands would start to swell and hurt.  As a result, for the past 30 years, I’ve played no more than one or two rounds a year, always with my dad. He’s a real golf fanatic, former club fitter, and equipment hoarder.  At 84, he has shot his age a few times.

Last summer, my 13 year old daughter showed an interest in golf.  After a few lessons, she asked about getting a net to hit in the backyard.  And down the rabbit hole I went.  I found out about launch monitors and then golf simulators.  I asked my wife if I could set one up in our basement.  I NEVER make impulse decisions, especially on big purchases. I’m sure she assumed I’d never pull the trigger.  She gave me permission, and within a week, the boxes from Carl’s Place arrived. She's been super supportive of my hobby and it gave us motivation to make our basement into a great entertainment space, which is almost complete.

My dad lent me one of his multiple sets of irons: 2018 Cobra Forged Tec with lite graphite shafts.  He suggested the vibration dampening may lessen my hand problems, along with wearing gloves on both hands.  Not only did it help, but I found that as I hit balls more frequently, the swelling problem has mostly gone away from affecting my hands. I've been hitting golf balls almost every day since I set up my sim. I plan to play a lot of real golf this summer.

My driver swing speed is around 105 and going up as I’m doing the Stack. My biggest miss is a nasty snap hook. The strongest part of my game is full swing short to mid irons. My worst part is partial wedges and lag putting. 

When I saw I was selected, my first reactions were surprise and excitement. When I saw I was selected to test the Triple Diamond, I had a long moment of terror. The fitting went much better than I expected and now I can’t wait to compare this to my current driver, a recently acquired Cobra LTDx.  I also realized the Triple Diamond has to be more forgiving than my high school gamer.  

Given I have a Foresight GC3, I plan to collect a lot of data with this driver. I will be hitting plenty of shots in my sim, but also plan to hit on our local driving range which has Trackman ball tracking. As for on course data, I had to find a good way to track my data, so I needed to order myself a Shot Scope V5 which will hopefully arrive soon.  Prepare for data overload!

Edited April 27 by RickM71

[EasyPutter]

It's gotta be Smoke and Mirrors on the Magic fairway flight!  

  

First up a big thank you to MyGolfSpy Forum for selecting me as tester and to Callaway for providing this Driver for testing.  My aim is to knock this review down the fairway so far that not even Bryson can resist a whistle and explicative utterance.  My driving distance however would not elicit such a reaction, and this writing exercise will have to suffice.

    

Driver has never been a strength of my game.  My swing speed apparently generated a ball speed of almost 100 mph and for many years my slice off the tee was analyzed to design Ginsu knives.  It was training pros of the PGA HOPE program who turned my slice into a straight with a fade preference drive.  Playing partners in team format play always made up for my distance off the tee.

Golf as a sport is my peaceful place.  A serenity away from life’s pressures and nothing is allowed to infringe on golf as my peaceful place.

My wife is MyGolfSpouse who encourages me to play, “as long as you are home on weekends” which was the original deal that still holds today, and an occasional weekend round is never dissuaded.  She talks up my game to whomever she is talking to, while supportive she’s obviously not a golfer herself.

We have two Corgis at home and two grown offspring now nearly out of the house ensuring I have plenty of solitude for time on course.  Gambling is not for me so money stays in my pocket and my chance of a hole in one ensures it will stay there too.

We live in Western NY, just east and south of Buffalo in the traditional snow belts south of the city where winter can dump 80 inches of snow in a week like it did this January.  Within a month usually it is all gone even in the depths of winter sometimes to be replaced by another snow.  Golf here is a half year for outdoor play and the growing options for indoor golf is a good thing.  I started golf in 2011 and have tried to increase annual play ever since.  Even playing as much as possible, I am still the optimist, friendly, positive duffer who looks at extra swings over par as good exercise - if score is important for someone then that is what a handicap is for and I do track mine using the SwingU app every round.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D product test

My intention is to test this driver to a degree of analysis that would be useful to a golfer like me, simply because I don’t believe it is possible to be any other kind of golfer and maintain authenticity.  To do that, I am going to leverage friends and resources that may not have been included in similar tests in the past.

 

I have a wealth of data for my current driver, the FirstStrike Rattlesnake driver.  It is part of a FirstStrike hybrid irons set gifted to me by a generous donor to the Western NY PGA Section HOPE program.  One PGA Teaching Pro in particular is responsible for making me a golfer who can hit a straight drive, and the Rattlesnake is the first driver I have had success with hitting a ball straight.  This will be my “before the Smoke” driver.

 

Callaway has always been a premier brand of golf equipment in my mind.  I have a golf umbrella, golf towel, tees, balls, and other items, but never a club until now.

 

I chose the options I did for the Max D from the results of a fitting I did at Dick’s Sporting Goods which was my first exposure to the Paradym driver and after the fitter made a few adjustments based on the simulator results, I feel confident that the club setup is correct for my swing.  I saw an instant increase in ball flight distance, ball flight consistency and ball flight direction. The fitting experience has me excited for the test.

And just like that, the driver arrived today at lunchtime on the doorstep so now I get to finalize my thoughts for a proper unboxing for the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D driver - I think it is going to be Smoke and Mirrors because I am expecting nothing less than Magic from this club.

To be the driver that commands its place in my bag, it will perform similarly or better at a remarkable distance greater than the current driver has been doing.  Which means, if it launches the ball farther than my 3 Hybrid, then the Rattlesnake will find its place in the spares bag.

Edited April 27 by EasyPutter

[JAYER38]

WHO WANTS THE SMOKE?!

 

THANK YOU!!  To the staff of MGS & Callaway for this opportunity to test such a sought-after product!

ALL ME:

So, I’m sure you’ll all love reading about me cause that why your all here right…. RIGHT!!

We will keep this short and sweet for the sake of the important info!

Name is Josh, 35 years young, born and raised in Virginia. Loving wife of 1 year who recently had our son Jasper. He turned 3 months but was 2 months early so SURPRISE to us! He is healthy and we love every second with him even when he screams at us for no reason ha-ha. We love to travel when I’m not racing so here are some pictures to look at to end the life story…

ITS JUST A GAME:

This game is a love hate relationship!!

So, at best I would say I am a weekend warrior golfer that LOVES to tinker and try new clubs. I will break out a beer on the first Tee box no problem at 8am as I’m there to have fun and enjoy the game with some friends (please do not confuse that with getting smashed and being a hooligan) but enjoy the picture where I got SMOKED by a tee shop from an adjacent hole   Now that I’ve said that I see myself as a 28 handicap (not official) with my best score being 92(just the other week). I struggled the most with staying consistent in my swing throughout the bag (contact & face angle). I swear some day I’m a beast off the Tee and others I could pay the ball to stay in plate. If I could ever get my full bag swing together PGA tour here, I come…

THE CURRENT HAMMER:

PING G425 MAX 12*

*We all know what this looked like. Basically in every beginners bag that wants to be a little serious about the game*

 

THE FITTING or circus show:

During the fitting I was having a very off day! Driving the ball 150 yards straight and 100 yards right. I felt so bad and beyond embarrassed! So many people were there and watching it was a complete sh!tshow! I even hit a car in the parking lot. (I did apologize, and all was good)

Fitter & I talked about this, and he made his decision based on what he saw and thought would help me along with looking at some data from my session with the BLP at home .

 

NOWWWW FOR THER MAIN EVENT…. TESTING PLANS & QUIETING THE PING

-Comparison to my current gamer *BLING BLING*

-Data! All the number for the scientist out there

-Improvements to my game!

I want this to answer the biggest question of them all… Will this improve my game and be worth the price tag! Let’s see if the club catches some attention in the bag from other golfers, looks good to the eye behind the ball, and if adjustments work as they say. All in all, I want more distance, Help me feel for the clubface, & Same, if not more repeatability!

Edited April 29 by JAYER38

[Glenmore5]

Well done to all of you...expecting big things and results...

[NotScratchYet]

Enjoy, and best of luck testers!

[Josh Parker]

Congrats guys!  

[Northern Monkey]

Congratulations guys 

[sirchunksalot]

Looks like we've got a great group of testers for this one. I hope y'all have some fun with it and congratulations on being chosen!

[bens197]

Love seeing my dude @Berg Ryman‘s name up there. 
 

Congrats everyone, hit some bombs!

[ParFore74x]

Great group! Congratulations testers!!

[EasyPutter]

Dreams do come true and thankful for the opportunity ‍

Edited May 2 by EasyPutter

[IndyBonzo]

Congratulations testers!  Pumped for this one. 

[ejgaudette]

Should be a fun test for everyone. Hope they work well for you!

[TappityTapTap]

Congrats everyone, interested in hearing if this club is as forgiving as they advertise 

[Josh Ross]

Congrats! Should be a good one!

[MattF]

Congratulations all.

[jbern]

Congratulations! Looks like a great group of testers! Hopefully this driver performs for you guys as good as it looks!

[Rob Person]

Congratulations!  Grip it and rip it crew!!!

[rkj427]

Congratulations to this great diverse group of testers.

Looking forward to the comments and reviews to see how this Callaway line-up may improve your "off the tee" game.

[Bad Golfer]

Congratulations Testers!

[Lefty11]

Congrats!  I can’t wait for your reviews. 

[ajnord]

Congrats!  

[Preeway]

Congrats, fellas. This should be a really fun test to follow along with. 

[Triple_Putt]

Congrats everyone! Look forward to your writings and photos!

[Cleezemartin]

Bombs away! 

[JAYER38]

What an opportunity! Hope everyone is as excited as I am 

[Mike10487]

Congratulations testers!!