Callaway MAVRIK Irons

[BigMac]

First round today with my Mavrik Standard irons. Love the feel, and the forgiveness helped me out a few times. I definitely hit them longer than my old irons but today was a bad day to work out distances because we were playing in wind, and the way our course is laid out it seems like the wind is always right in your face or right at your back. I did stick a 6-iron approach shot about 3 feet from the pin, so at least that's a good sign in the first round with them!

 

[Luchnia]

Played again with the Mavrik MAX irons yesterday - my iron game was off some, but no fault of the irons.

Not a great deal of difference in playing with my older Wilson irons and I am not sold that spending this much money on these irons was worth it (time will tell). What I do think is better is when you have a not-so-good strike (slightly off center) the MAX is way more forgiving and you have better chances of a half-way decent shot. I hit a few long iron shots yesterday that were off center and still made the distance which was nice.

One thing I am disappointed in and that is only playing with the clubs twice now and the finish is starting to look really bad. I think someone else in one of the threads stated something similar with their Mavrik MAX clubs. I need to get someone to take some pictures of these because I am thinking I should track this. My older Wilson clubs have held up much better in years of play than these in only playing a two rounds.

I am suspect the metal in these irons is not very good quality at all and I don't see them lasting like quality irons. They seem to be soft and may have missed part of the process for strengthening the metal. After I spend more time with them I will continue to update.

 

[VictorValiant]

Not a great deal of difference in playing with my older Wilson irons and I am not sold that spending this much money on these irons was worth it (time will tell).

They almost never are. There is no material difference between any of the clubs in the last several years. It's all about subjective feel. When I get new clubs, no matter how well they feel during demoing, whenever I finally shank a shot, I'm reminded that the clubs have little to do with it and it's all about the knucklehead (me) holding the grip.

 

[McLovin]

They almost never are. There is no material difference between any of the clubs in the last several years. It's all about subjective feel. When I get new clubs, no matter how well they feel during demoing, whenever I finally shank a shot, I'm reminded that the clubs have little to do with it and it's all about the knucklehead (me) holding the grip.

this is inaccurate on so many levels. irons have progressed significantly over the years in terms of helping average golfers retain ball speed on mishits, achieve better initial launch and maintain spin for increased distance with adequate peak height to stop on greens, packing huge amounts of forgiveness into smaller footprint heads, improve acoustics/feel, use of lighter weight materials for more optimal weight placement.

 

[VictorValiant]

this is inaccurate on so many levels. irons have progressed significantly over the years in terms of helping average golfers retain ball speed on mishits, achieve better initial launch and maintain spin for increased distance with adequate peak height to stop on greens, packing huge amounts of forgiveness into smaller footprint heads, improve acoustics/feel, use of lighter weight materials for more optimal weight placement.

I was being somewhat hyperbolic and was referring to the changes between Callaway's offerings (Steelhead, Rogue, Mavrik, etc.). I've noticed differences in my new Mavrik Pros and I love the different feel. My point was that my skill level did not change between my old set and my new. Diligent practice/instruction have been far more beneficial to me than my desired changes from obtaining new clubs.

 

[radiman]

Played again with the Mavrik MAX irons yesterday - my iron game was off some, but no fault of the irons.

Not a great deal of difference in playing with my older Wilson irons and I am not sold that spending this much money on these irons was worth it (time will tell). What I do think is better is when you have a not-so-good strike (slightly off center) the MAX is way more forgiving and you have better chances of a half-way decent shot. I hit a few long iron shots yesterday that were off center and still made the distance which was nice.

One thing I am disappointed in and that is only playing with the clubs twice now and the finish is starting to look really bad. I think someone else in one of the threads stated something similar with their Mavrik MAX clubs. I need to get someone to take some pictures of these because I am thinking I should track this. My older Wilson clubs have held up much better in years of play than these in only playing a two rounds.

I am suspect the metal in these irons is not very good quality at all and I don't see them lasting like quality irons. They seem to be soft and may have missed part of the process for strengthening the metal. After I spend more time with them I will continue to update.

Can you post some pics of the finish issues you're referring to? I don't have the MAX, but I've hit my pros indoors a good bit and haven't noticed any problems with my finish. Could wipe them down and they'd almost pass as new.

 

[VictorValiant]

Can you post some pics of the finish issues you're referring to? I don't have the MAX, but I've hit my pros indoors a good bit and haven't noticed any problems with my finish. Could wipe them down and they'd almost pass as new.

Same. My Pros have held up quite well and I've practiced with them a fair amount. I do recall that the Steelhead's chrome had some maintenance issues.

 

[Tee/Ski]

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Ok, I am sorry to bombard with a bunch of pictures first. I had to cleanse the pallet after the leaked pics were of pretty poor quality.

Here we are. The Mavrik Pro irons. A set that I never would have dreamt that I would end up with, lol. Now, not that I assumed it wasn’t a great iron. I have just always played a forged players CB. So, the internet golf snob within me ate a bit of crow once I saw these clubs in hand and saw how they performed. They are absolutely gorgeous. I mean, look at these things!

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They have so much built into such a great looking package. The topline is manageable. It’s not quite as thin as what I am used to, but it’s not a deal breaker for me by any means. The sole is just about the same size as my previous Apex Pros. The offset. Visually, they almost appear to have less offset than my Apex Pros. They just check all of the boxes visually for me.

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The Tech Story:

So, as you are all are aware by now. The same AI that has been optimizing faces for metal woods has been leveraged to optimize the faces of the Mavrik irons. Much like the woods, each club has a face design unique to itself. So, my Mavrik Pro 8 iron has a different face than my 7 iron, my 6 iron, and so on. But, what’s cool about that is that my Mavrik Pro 8 iron has a different face than the Standard Mavrik iron, which has a different face than the Mavrik Max iron. Each club is a completely unique design in and of itself.

Behind that uniquely designed face is a blend of tungsten and urethane microspheres. Giving the irons a very solid feel. They are a cast club don’t get me wrong. But, they do not feel like a cast club I have hit before.

Looks:

I don’t know if I really need to say anything about their looks other than drop these here.

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Performance:

These irons are ball speed monsters. Lol. In head to head testing, I have seen anywhere from 7-10 mph more ball speed between these and my Apex Pros. Equating to just over a full club longer in length. My first test was on a GC2. I am posting the numbers here, but want to make mention that the spin readings in a driver test shortly after this was reading way off. So, take these with a grain of salt.

Mavrik Pro 7 Iron
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Apex Pro (2016) 7 Iron
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It is kind of hard to tell on the screen shots. But, my Apex Pro was carrying roughly exactly what I expect to see in mid season. 185 vs the Mavrik Pro at 209. The spin was reading pretty low on this unit that day, so I do not trust those carry numbers 100%. Below are some Trackman readings that are probably a better representation.

This past weekend, I tested these two irons again on an actual Trackman and saw similar results. Still a club longer, and still a ball speed monster.

Mavrik Pro 7 Iron
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Apex Pro 7 Iron
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These results are a lot more palatable. The Mavrik 7 iron is essentially going to replace my 6 iron at that distance.


They produce a little bit less spin, but I am seeing similar decent angles between the two clubs. While playing at The Hideaway, I was not having any trouble holding greens with these clubs all the way up to the 5 iron (the longest club I hit out there). I am also noticing a significant drop in launch angle. These irons are putting me into a more ideal launch window. The spin numbers seem low. But, I attribute that to being indoor readings on mats. I don’t doubt that once I am hitting these off real turf that my spin should increase.

During the fitting process, we only hit 7 irons. It was frantic and at the end of the hour long full bag fitting, my fitter asked what set makeup I wanted. I just said 4-PW as I always get. That was a mistake. With the additional length, I will be dropping the 4 iron and adding a set GW. I will essentially just slide my distances one club over to start with. The beauty of this is, my new 5 iron is easier to hit than my old 4 iron, but goes the same distance. All I have to say about that is, there won’t be a safe par 5!

I won’t lie. Something about picking up a club + across the entire bag is a little scary. But, I am optimistic that I can turn that into an asset this season.

To end this post, all I can say is that I go down to my basement and stare at these clubs at least twice a day. Can you blame me?

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This post, which I just read, made me search out a Callaway demo day near me. I found one next saturday about an hour away. Thanks for the thoughts and I'm anxious to hit the Pro. I'm ready to move on from my Apex's.

 

[Luchnia]

Can you post some pics of the finish issues you're referring to? I don't have the MAX, but I've hit my pros indoors a good bit and haven't noticed any problems with my finish. Could wipe them down and they'd almost pass as new.

I will see if I can get some pics. I don't have a smart phone, but my buddy does. Maybe I can get him to take some next time out.

 

[radiman]

This post, which I just read, made me search out a Callaway demo day near me. I found one next saturday about an hour away. Thanks for the thoughts and I'm anxious to hit the Pro. I'm ready to move on from my Apex's.

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you liked it. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Tee/Ski]

I've been hitting these irons quite a bit lately as I make an effort to improve my swing. I just can't get over how good they feel out of the middle. I guess I've been chasing that super soft feeling for so long, but these slightly firmer clubs feel really powerful to me. And the AI faces have some serious pop.

I like to hear this. I live toward the toe and want to retain as much dispersion and distance as possible. I feel I'm penalized with both distance and direction with my Apex's.

 

[clarkgriswold]

I like to hear this. I live toward the toe and want to retain as much dispersion and distance as possible. I feel I'm penalized with both distance and direction with my Apex's.

Then you’ll like the standard for sure. I had some shots that I thought I flushed and I when I looked at the ball mark they were way out by the toe with very little distance penalty

 

[Reframmellator]

With a PGA Value + 50% trade-in deal going on at a local golf center, and looking potentially to move into graphite shafts, I tested my TM M4 against these graphite-shafted clubs: TM M6, Cobra Speedzone, and Mavrik MAX. I was able to use their TopTracer and the 7-irons quickly stratified. The TM 4 and TM6 were basically on top of each other in terms of average distance and consistency (dispersion.) The Speedzone was significantly shorter and poorer dispersion. Another example of a club I wanted to like but just couldn't. I did not find them easy to hit. The Mavrik MAX was about 10 yards longer on average, with about 20 relative percent better consistency. I may take a peek at the Ping G410s, but this was the first time I've compared clubs that one outperformed the others to such a degree.

 

[Luchnia]

With a PGA Value + 50% trade-in deal going on at a local golf center, and looking potentially to move into graphite shafts, I tested my TM M4 against these graphite-shafted clubs: TM M6, Cobra Speedzone, and Mavrik MAX. I was able to use their TopTracer and the 7-irons quickly stratified. The TM 4 and TM6 were basically on top of each other in terms of average distance and consistency (dispersion.) The Speedzone was significantly shorter and poorer dispersion. Another example of a club I wanted to like but just couldn't. I did not find them easy to hit. The Mavrik MAX was about 10 yards longer on average, with about 20 relative percent better consistency. I may take a peek at the Ping G410s, but this was the first time I've compared clubs that one outperformed the others to such a degree.

I am having to relearn my yardages because they are lofted different than my older clubs and the do travel well. I hate learning things over, but it should be worth it. BTW, I hit the G710 or 410 really well, but the MAX still was a bit better. Dispersion was really tight with the MAX and that was one of the main reasons I got them.

 

[BigMac]

I am having to relearn my yardages because they are lofted different than my older clubs and the do travel well. I hate learning things over, but it should be worth it. BTW, I hit the G710 or 410 really well, but the MAX still was a bit better. Dispersion was really tight with the MAX and that was one of the main reasons I got them.

I"m having to relearn all my yardages too (Mavrik Standard). I hit them longer than my old clubs, seems like 1/2 to 1 club up. I've only had them out for two rounds so far, so I'm still gathering data. They feel fantastic, though, and the forgiveness is great.

 

[JB]

Okay @McLovin talk to me about toe side forgiveness. I dont have a set, but hit a 7 iron today about a full inch towards the toe and it was as if I hit it dead center.

 

[radiman]

Okay @McLovin talk to me about toe side forgiveness. I dont have a set, but hit a 7 iron today about a full inch towards the toe and it was as if I hit it dead center.

The Mavrik Pro?

 

[93civiccpe]

Okay @McLovin talk to me about toe side forgiveness. I dont have a set, but hit a 7 iron today about a full inch towards the toe and it was as if I hit it dead center.

By any chance did you get any square off the hosel? If that performs like the center I'm buying!!

 

[Luchnia]

You can hit the MAXes off center quite a bit and they really will surprise you in distance and accuracy. That is what I really liked about these clubs and one of the main reasons I bought them. Not sure about the standard versions, but my understanding is they are not quite as forgiving.

 

[JB]

The Mavrik Pro?

Yes sir.

By any chance did you get any square off the hosel? If that performs like the center I'm buying!!

No I did not haha.

 

[radiman]

Yes sir.

Nice! There really is a good deal of forgiveness built into that small head shape.

 

[MattyD-MPLS]

By any chance did you get any square off the hosel? If that performs like the center I'm buying!!

Are we talking hosel adjacent? We definitely more lead bars in the hosel.

 

[McLovin]

Okay @McLovin talk to me about toe side forgiveness. I dont have a set, but hit a 7 iron today about a full inch towards the toe and it was as if I hit it dead center.

I've mentioned it a few times in here. It's kinda nuts. You can absolutely feel that you missed it toe-side, but you look up and it's not hooking; it's pretty much dead straight, maybe even a little fade-shape, and not a horrible loss in distance or spin.

Because I anticipated your question before you even asked it, I decided to test out the heel today, and the hosel too. Results not as good lol

 

[JezKeys]

I recently had an iron fitting here in Australia (Excuse the metric system for Trackman data!) I am a 14 handicapper and have been playing Ping G15's for 10 years. I wanted to be properly fit and make the jump from the chunky game improvement / offset head to something thinner with still some forgiveness and better turf interaction. I was expecting to be fit into a P790 / Callaway standard apex sort of head. We tested shafts first with the Apex pro head, ended up best suited with the KBS Tour-V 110 gram Stiff. Then tested multiple heads. We tried JPX 919 forged, titleist t100, Apex Pro, Mavrik Pro & Bridgestone JGR. After the indoor trackman session it was very close between the apex pro and mavrik pro. Fitter felt the apex was spinning a little too much and we saw that on the outdoor range as well. Needless to say I am now the owner of 6-AW in Mavrik Pro. These clubs are amazing, ball speed and launch is just wow. It's obviously a head that has the "training wheels" off, which I like as it's forced me to be a bit more deliberate with my strike as opposed to the G15's which were very forgiving. I noticed a lot of questions in this thread comparing apex pro v mavrik pro, in my hands pound for pound when you hit the middle I thought the Mavrik pro felt better. I've attached my trackman report, hopefully it works! ps swing was a bit off fitting day, closing face too much. weakened grip since and hitting straight / baby fades again. Happy to answer any Q's

 

[jonathanliewys]

I recently had an iron fitting here in Australia (Excuse the metric system for Trackman data!) I am a 14 handicapper and have been playing Ping G15's for 10 years. I wanted to be properly fit and make the jump from the chunky game improvement / offset head to something thinner with still some forgiveness and better turf interaction. I was expecting to be fit into a P790 / Callaway standard apex sort of head. We tested shafts first with the Apex pro head, ended up best suited with the KBS Tour-V 110 gram Stiff. Then tested multiple heads. We tried JPX 919 forged, titleist t100, Apex Pro, Mavrik Pro & Bridgestone JGR. After the indoor trackman session it was very close between the apex pro and mavrik pro. Fitter felt the apex was spinning a little too much and we saw that on the outdoor range as well. Needless to say I am now the owner of 6-AW in Mavrik Pro. These clubs are amazing, ball speed and launch is just wow. It's obviously a head that has the "training wheels" off, which I like as it's forced me to be a bit more deliberate with my strike as opposed to the G15's which were very forgiving. I noticed a lot of questions in this thread comparing apex pro v mavrik pro, in my hands pound for pound when you hit the middle I thought the Mavrik pro felt better. I've attached my trackman report, hopefully it works! ps swing was a bit off fitting day, closing face too much. weakened grip since and hitting straight / baby fades again. Happy to answer any Q's

1. Where down under did you fit?
2. W/o that one outlier to the right, your dispersion seems pretty good with the mavrik pro. Definitely right choice


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