The New Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Review – Have They Improved?
Matt Fryer Golf test the new Callaway Paradym AI Smoke range of drivers. Have they improved from last year?
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Last year Callaway took the golf Market by storm with the release of Paradigm but what does 2024 hold for their driver release just before we get stuck into this new review of the Callaway lineup for 2024 make sure you subscribe to the channel it’s totally free to do click
The button down there so you don’t miss out on any tips to help you game and also some other driver reviews we’ve got coming out in the next few days let’s get stuck into this review so last year we saw the first edition of Paradigm come out and Callaway have decided to
Stick with the Paradigm line of drivers in the Paradigm AI smokes now for years what we saw from Callaway was that they would alternate between different releases we would see epic we would see Maverick we would see epic then we’d see mavic Rove and so on and so forth but
This year sees them stick with the Paradigm line and it makes sense because like I said earlier they blew the market away when it came to Paradigm but what does the parad Paradigm AI smoke have that the Paradigm didn’t so this year’s line of Paradigm sees four models as
Opposed to three models we have the max which I would say is probably the average everyday players driver we then have the Max D which is more of your high handicapper forgiving driver aimed at more game improvement and more draw biased shots we then have the triple diamond which is your tor proo
Higher Club swing speed better player driver lower spinning longer yardage we also have another one the max fast which we actually won’t see that much of out in the market which is a lightweight driver it’s got lighter components and it’s designed for that senior player who’s struggling with swing speed and
Really struggling to get any launch or any distance with the driver but the three drivers that I’m going to be focusing on in this video are the max the Max D and the triple diamond so has anything Chang changed with the Paradigm obviously the name has Paradigm AI smoke
Has been added on to it now but are they going to be the same drivers there are some technological differences in the heads and also there’s some visual differences in the heads as we look at them the gold color way and the real sort of blue turttly look on the old
Paradigms has changed that’s gone there are some shades of blue in there but I would call them more sort of sportier blue instead of a a more regal blue one of the that I heard a lot of the times about Paradigm were a club that looked
Like it was made for the Japanese the Asian market one of the models that we would see would really fit into those lines as well these ones look more like a driver that we would see on mass production over here from all the other big companies there’s a sort of grayish
Smokey look to feed in with the name and then also this blue when it comes to a little bit of the writing and some of the weights we’re not seeing now that the carbon is blue it’s very much gone back to that car Caron look the black
Look when we actually look down on the drivers technology wise I actually want to take these golf clubs out onto the golf course to get a little bit of a feel for them before I dive into the technology because for me we’ve stuck with the same name bar adding AI smoke
On them so has anything actually changed in these clubs before I read up on what’s going to happen with these drivers I want to see if I can gauge anything when I get out on the golf course so I headed down to forby ladies and also traffic Golf Center just to
Give them an initial hit and just see what I was getting from a sound what I was getting from a feel and what the flights were looking like with these drivers before we dive into some numbers later on in the Video we’ve had our initial hit there out on the golf courses and and there’s one driver that is really standing out to me I won’t tell you which one it is yet but there was one that was a definite change from last year’s model if we just start with the max model
Though as we start for me again this is the one that’s going to be the every golfers driver aimed at maybe a slightly lower handicapper a high handicapper a mid- handicapper this is the one that can fit everyone the 460cc footprint the slidable weight that we saw from the old
Paradigm is there in the back so you can have more draw and fade bias it’s got the weight up at the face we have the carbon base we have a carbon crown and like I say this is the one that is going to be for pretty much every golfer this
One to me when I was hitting it in terms of a sound and a feel and a look perspective it looks very much like last year’s model it sounded a little bit more pinkier sounded a little bit more tingy off the club face I would say this
Was the most high pitched of all the drivers and was the sort of loudest one as I was hitting it felt pretty decent and in terms of flightwise it felt like if I wasn’t quite striking it I got pretty decent numbers out of it it didn’t feel the longest of the drivers
It felt like pretty much what it was last year in terms of distance I wasn’t seeing loads of yardage gained from a toe a heel a center strike it didn’t seem like there was loads of drop off from that toe to heel to the center and overall like I said
Probably the driver I would see the majority of golfers aiming towards when we go into the Max draw one and one thing to note is that last year when I did the reviews I focused mainly on the triple diamond one I have since used the standard model but I’ve not really used
The the Max draw equivalent from last year that much but this one as you look at it it is evident that it is more aimed towards that draw bias the toe of the club sits very high in the air so it gives it that very upright feeling it
Doesn’t look really really offset behind the golf ball it looks pretty neutral and um it wasn’t sort of one that as you would put it down by the tow being up you would say oh that is the drawers driver it wasn’t wildly different to the max model one thing that did change
Between the two drivers of the Max and the Max D was that the profile of the driver the back of the driver really hugs the ground with the max D1 and gives you that sort of really forgiving look about the driver seems to feel like it’s a bigger driver head in terms again
Of the sound and the feel a little bit of a duller sound felt really nice this one as I was hitting it felt a little bit more of a thy driver not as tingy off the club face and then flightwise it was doing what it said on the package
The Max draw I was seeing some draws on this from other draw drivers that we see from other companies this has to be the one that when I’ve tested it was just getting that draw it was just going left there was some shots that started out on
Target and were drawing but there was quite a significant amount of draw and I could see this being a driver that if you really struggle with a slice could probably go a long way to actually correcting some of that slice it’s not going to turn you into hitting perfect
Little draws every time but I was seeing quite a lot of shape on it for me someone who you know used to be a drawer to hitting little Fades now it definitely had that bias towards it now when we get into the triple diamond driver this is slightly different to the
Other two drivers it’s a slightly smaller head so 450 CC’s gives it a more compact profile because it is aimed at the better player who likes that sort of small Sleek look about it we don’t want a head that is hugging the ground too much so you can see the back of the
Driver sits up off the ground a little bit more than it would do from the max to the maxd it doesn’t have the markings on top it doesn’t have that alignment and overall just looks a little bit more robust looks a little bit more sporty it looks a bit more sleek and you
Definitely feel that when you start to hit it and you hear the sound of it it’s got that real good solid thud to it it’s not too pingy not almost like a frying pan sound that we saw some drivers from years back it sounds real real solid
Like it’s really packing a punch and for me was by far the best feeling driver out of all three I would say that the Max D came in second and the max came in um third in terms of the feel in terms of flight this was the one that I was
Skeptical about the most because last year I focused mainly on this driver in my review it looks similar bar obviously the blue color they’ve got it looking a little bit squarer to slightly more open I think personally on my eye when I look at it but the flights last year you
Either nutted it and got a great driver or you didn’t quite catch it and you saw this thing dropping out of the air but on initial testing for me when I put it down behind the golf ball I loved the look of it I was confident and that
Followed on in to the driver flight I almost felt like this should have been the most forgiving one because I felt that I was getting the most out of this driver it was straight it was long on the off-centered hits I didn’t see this diving flight that I was expecting so
Maybe I held it a little bit more higher in in in the steam because I was expecting to see the Dives but even on a slightly toey shot or a slightly healed shot it was still staying up in the air and it didn’t seem drastically offline
Or too far back from the middled one which was where this one really impressed me so in terms of tech and also another important factor price what has differed in the new paradigm AI smoke well firstly let’s talk price and I’m happy to say that these drivers have
Actually come down in price compared to to last year’s model these drivers have come in at £599 RRP but I’m expecting to see these drivers and what we’ve heard is that they’re going to go into stores at around about £529 so last year we saw the drivers
Around the 649 Mark and we going into stores at 599 so we were at the top end of the 500 bracket last year as where now we’re heading back towards the bottom end of that 500 bracket which is great obviously things are getting more expensive and if the price is coming
Down but we’re still getting a good improved driver excellent in terms of what’s changed in the club head there actually are some differences because it is the first time that we are not seeing Jailbreak in a driver for many years now for the viewer that doesn’t know jailbreak is a technology that with
Callaway one of their big things is they bought a supercomputer an AI supercomputer a few years years back and they designed this sort of frame a bit like a wishbone that sat behind the club face to help transfer energy across the face on Miss centered strikes to help
You actually get a better performance on those Mis strikes but we’re not seeing it in this line of drivers Callaway have said though that it doesn’t mean that we won’t see it moving forwards it’s just not in these ones because they have a new AI smart face and what that means
With the help of the supercomputer and thousands and thousands of tests with real life golf swings not just tour players they’ve been able to create almost like hot spots across the face and when you see the actual back of the club face now it’s not what we saw where
We would almost see like a cylinder around the center and just getting wider there’s all different little spots around the face through thousands and thousands of golf swings to see where the golfer generally strikes the golf ball which means on these off-centered strikes now we’re seeing better ball
Speeds and we’re seeing actually down range that the driver is getting a little bit tighter we’re going to test that a little bit ourselves though when we get to the data we’ve also seen one of the things that was in Paradigm which was really raved about last year the
Whole carbon structure there being no titanium in part of the frame they’ve gone back a little bit on that again so they’ve added 15 gr of titanium into the structure which means again now that able to move weight around the perimeter of the golf club and make the golf clubs
More forgiving and I think that’s what we’re going to see from a lot of golf clubs in this driver season and remember to subscribe if you haven’t for those other reviews where forgiveness and dispersion is becoming more of the claim as opposed to loads and loads of
Distance I think we’ve all sort of got aware that we’re not going to be smashing it 399 yards now we’re actually looking for a club that we can still get distance and forgiveness with which is where moving this way around now is going to make these drivers a little bit
More forgiving the the shapes have changed ever so slightly they may not look that different from the other ones but for me I think that Paradigm Max D we see the toe being up we see the head being stretched a little bit more when we see the triple diamond it’s got that
Slightly fade by a shape and then also in the Paradigm we’re seeing a little bit of a change in shape and also keeping that weight plate in there that can be moved around to help again with this forgiveness story also in the max fast one we’re obviously seeing a
Lighter Drive ahead we’re seeing a lighter shaft and a lighter grip all in the aid to try and get that little bit more Club head speed for the player that really really needs it but when you go for a fitting you might see that driver introduced if you need it as where you
Probably won’t see many of those out on the High Street when you go to the stores so for me initial signs are pretty good with this driver we seeing a slightly different look and I thought last year I really liked the look of the Paradigm the blue and the gold as where
Now when I have the AI smoke in front of me and I see the slightly different color way even things like the head cover I think it suits a little bit more it fits in a little bit more with what we’ve seen in the past and I do think I
Have to say I like this one a little bit more than I did in terms of looks technology wise we are seeing some changes there from that jail break technology not being in the face and a little bit of that carbon structure changing so early signs and then what I
Saw out on the golf course were were actually pretty decent maxd doing what it said Triple Diamond being more forgiving and then the max performing pretty much how I would expect it to it’s all looking pretty decent but it’s time to test these clubs with a little
Bit of data to see how they will perform are they any better than last year are we seeing any standout changes let’s head to the studio hit some shots and find out how these drivers actually Perform so as we dive into the data it’s quite interesting there’s been a shock between two drivers and one’s really stood out to me if we look at the max firstly this one actually performed how I thought the maxd would be because it was the shortest 278 yards and it was
Also the highest spinning for me obviously we have to take into account my Mis strikes as a human but for me 278 yards of carry with a 2774 spin average I was expecting the Max D to be there now when we look at that one that one actually went a little
Bit further one yard further 279 yards of carry with 2,300 revs of spin so a slightly lower spinning driver again we have to account for strike but what one thing I was seeing as I did see out on the golf course with this one I was just seeing
It go left when I was hitting some shots I thought yeah that’s quite nice it was flighted it wasn’t a diving hook but it was getting out there it was going left and it was doing what it should do it was drawing as where the Paradigm AI
Smoke Max that had a little bit of a tighter dispersion down range it was a little bit more consistent if it was a toe if it was a heel if it was a good shot they all seemed to be together a little bit more in the grouping I wasn’t
Seeing as much shape on those ones it was set in neutral it was set at it 9° as all as were all the drivers and that’s what I was seeing with that one so a little bit more of a consistent in terms of Fairway finding but bear in
Mind I wouldn’t play the draw driver but it was doing what it should then when we come to this one the triple diamond this is the driver that has really really surprised me because like I said last year if was unruly I thought it was untameable you had to be absolutely
Nutting it to get the most out of it as where this one we see that it was the mid spin for me 2,458 and I hit this one pretty well there was obviously some mrikes in there but it carry numbers were Mega 2 90 yard carry now my club head speed
Did actually jump up a little bit with this one and I think it’s because I wasn’t trying to hit it any harder but as I looked down on this one I felt so comfortable with it and I felt so confident with it because I was seeing
Good flights out on the golf course I was seeing it probably being the straightest of all the drivers being the tightest of all dispersion of the drivers I just had the confidence to swing with it and I felt I was middling it more I saw more yardage I saw
Straight to shots and this is the one that has really blown me away now we have a couple of other driver reviews coming up later on in the week and into next week but this one I think could be the driver that is going in my bag for
This year because I really like last year’s one and I was GED I couldn’t put it in but it seems to be long and it seems to be forgiving and it seems to be the best looking thing I’ve seen as of yet so for me the Callaway Triple
Diamond Paradigm AI smoke is the winner in all this personally for me but overall three very good drivers as always I would say go and test them get a fitting to see which one you would fit in if you are struggling for that slice the maxd it’ be interesting to see how
People are going on with them out there as always remember to subscribe to the channel stay tuned for the videos that we’ve got coming later out on the other driver reviews and we’ll see you in another one very soon
44 Comments
Don't like the look of them tbh.
That’s a very thorough review. Thanks. I think I prefer the look of the navy and gold Paradym from 2023. But with RRP being nearly $1100 in Australia, I think I’ll stick with my Mavrik driver a bit longer.
Definitely prefer the look of the older model but those numbers are stunning. As a player that tends to sit on the bordeline of the Max/TripleDiamond (105mph Clubhead but not consistently centred) it will be interesting to see if the additional forgiveness added to the Triple Diamond model makes it more playable without having to sacrifice all the distance you do when going to the Max
What shaft did you have in those Matt?
Golf is getting way too expensive for me to enjoy anymore.
Currently using the Rogue and considering an upgrade this year. I’ll wait to see all new drivers released. These looks great and I thinks it’s their best design since the Epic. Very detailed review Matt. I look forward to more reviews in this silly season
Looks like the rogue !!
Nice review Matt.
Hate the name 'Smoke' though, maybe it will grow on me…
Day/video 24 lemme have your ER5 bruh
They look nice and would be cool to have a brand new driver but the price for me kills everything that's why I'm still hitting a cobra f6 from 2016 just bought it last year lol bc it was a cheaper deal
£600 for a golf club? 🤣🤣🤣 People are absolute mugs if they pay that. You can get a second hand SIM 2 for about £180 and it will do everything these can.
Not sure about the looks with this driver.
Good review Matt.
Great review of these new clubs. I would probably need the one you didn't review. Maybe you could involve someone with the slower swing speed in your review(s) so that this other option could be learned about as well.
I couldn't hit the last one but I'm definitely buying this one. It will definitely fix my swing. It has to it's new 😁
If drivers continue to add yards on to peoples drives then by 2028, the new golf ball rules wont really matter 😂
Sweet baby Jesus they look spectacular!
Best driver as in what? Most sales?
There are many seniors that watch your channel Matt,why not get one to try out the Max Fast,lets see if it performs as thet claim for one of us oldies.
Great review and love the look over last years! Can I ask what dimensions your sim studio is please?
Nice review. Also Rick Shiels came out with his review. You both did some different things with your reviews so I feel I learned the most by watching both. But I just bought a Rogue 2 years ago so probably not going to upgrade this year. Probably…..but we'll see!
You, Rick, and Pete all dropped reviews of the same drivers really close together. Y’all are well coordinated Haha!
$600 for a new paint job. Wonderful
Just not a callaway fan
The audacity of straight up telling the clients that they are selling smoke
How is it that Jailbreak was a necessary element….but now it’s not?
Matt, we saw you get a shaft fitting from Fujikura when you were in the US, but I don’t think we’ve actually seen you do a driver fitting. What about it?
at $700+, I think my Rogue is fine for now…time to look at 2nd hand drivers in about 90 days
ugly
The price of the original paradym was 529, not 649, so not sure where you got that price from. Indeed when I bought mine last year I got it for 500. The ai smoke is definitely more expensive and I have to be honest, I dont like the look of it either.
This a whole lot of gimmick and basically a whole lot of smoke. The famed jail break that was the staple of Callaway drivers that they hopped on for a year suddenly disappears and is not needed anymore? The bottom looks like cheap trash and the top looks nice But the price on the Canada Callaway website is identical to what it was last year at $799.99. Where did these guys think that people get money from? For just a driver… That’s insanity. If everyone made $1.5 million a year I guess it really wouldn’t matter what the cost was. But some of us just struggle to pay ridiculous green fees plus pay for the rest of the bag of clubs that we have to purchase. Not just a driver. I don’t believe this logic for one minute
Honestly cant wait to get this driver.. In 7 years, off the second hand rack, for £120..
Weirdly enough, I havent seen anyone with a Paradym at my course. Most Ping G430 or Titleist TSR.
570 quid!! Its not hard to split an idiot with his money.
I think you should show how it compares to your ping gamer
Hate the headcover and the name, but excited to try it
Most places on the internet are now advertising them at £499.
Draw flight creates lower spin right? So it should make sense the Max D spin is lower then the Max
Absolutely love this driver!
9:05 ping g430 sneaking into this review???
The cobra darkspeed driver lineup will be very interesting.
I'd like to see this up against a TSR. In your TSR video you had more distance, which is pretty typical of the PGA Pro's I've seen on YouTube. Be an interesting head to head.
Loved last years TD. Still in the bag and it was the longest of any driver I hit/played last year and I hit/played all the big brands (Stealth 2 P,us, G430LST and Max, Mizuno ST Z 230, Aerojet LST). Looking forward to testing the Smoke TD.