The Green Fee I will occasionally scout the USGA list to see if any companies have anything coming up. This Monday gave us a couple new drivers from Callaway. One in particular looks VERY interesting and could be a release from Callaway down the line.
Callaway Mavrik MAX Speed
We have seen a Mavrik Max which is designed to help higher handicaps or folks who need a touch more launch and spin That means a lot of weight low and back. The new driver adds speed to the Max name. Lets compare the Max and Max Speed side by side and discuss the impact the changes could have on performance.
Carbon Fiber
The biggest change I see is the use of Carbon Fiber cavities on the sole of the club. To go from titanium or steel to carbon fiber is going to really change the weighting of the driver. This will substantially lower the weight. Depending on how they decide to place this weight is very important. On a surface level taking the weight from the middle moves the weight forward. Think back to the Nike drivers. The first Covert removed the sole and created a cavity. That driver had a lot of weight high and forward. This doesnt produce the most stability but it can really produce high launch and low spin drives. On the other hand if they use that weight savings and push the weight back it could produce a very forgiving and stable driver. They could also use that weight savings to simply make a lighter driver head. Callaway has been known to do this. They released the Epic Flash Star which was an extremely light weight driver. Which leads me to my next observation..
Bonded Hosel
The Epic Flash Star got rid of the bonded hosel because of the major weight savings. The hosel on golf clubs can be very heavy and constantly provide challenges for the engineers. When losing the adjustable hosel they save a ton of weight. That makes the club lighter and gives the engineers the opportunity to move that weight to different areas of the club. Also some folks just prefer the look of a bonded driver. The Max Speed gets rid of that pesky adjustment sleeve and allows the engineers to use that weight elsewhere
Single Weight
The next change I noticed was the changeable weight count from 2 down to 1. Not only did they remove one but the one they chose to remove is the one in the rear. They keep the one on the heel side of the driver. Most of the time when you see that its to help close the face and eliminate a slice.
What does it all mean?!?!?!?!
When looking at all of the pieces together it looks like if Callaway is going to release this driver it is going to be a light weight high launching driver. The weight savings through the use of carbon fiber and the bonded hosel led me to believe this but the weight in the heel was the final nail in the coffin. Seeing the weight taken from the back means that they have put enough weight back there to more than make up for that weight. Callaway has recently been doing mid-product cycle releases that focus on the slower swing speed. Not everything that gets USGA approval hits store shelves but it is one of the first steps.
