We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Callaway Epic Speed and Epic Max Drivers and Fairway Woods

Go to article
SuperStroke
Muchmore18 said:
That’s a hell of a day!! I’ve thoroughly tested the forgiveness of the Speed 😅 but I’m not getting that kind of performance. Well done sir!!
Click to expand...
As long as I keep my tempo smooth it just works and getting good distance. As soon as I try to really go after one, that is when it gets wonky for me.
 
After my round on Thursday where I could not miss with the Max LS I was exited to play again on Friday. I am 50 years old and it has been a long time since I have played two days in a row. There was a pretty strong wind blowing and the sun was beating down on us with temps near 90 degrees. I used the umbrella on my Clic Gear push cart for the first time ever. The umbrella was like pushing a heavy load in that wind and by the back nine my legs were feeling the burn.

20210507_144419.jpg

This was my longest drive of the day on the 10th hole. I was damn near perfect with the Max LS on the front nine with 3 drives between 280-295 yards. I grabbed some beers at the turn to help me get through the back nine and I think that was my undoing. I play almost exclusively in the early morning so I rarely partake on the course. With the strong winds blowing and some liquid encouragement I started trying to hit a monster drive but instead I started hitting turds. I settled down and hit a couple more good drives towards the end of the round but I was gassed and was having trouble keeping my concentration.

The Epic Max LS is truly something special for me. I am using the Tensiei Pro orange shaft that launched pretty low in the Mavrik but it has a nice mid launch and I can hit a high ball with it when needed. Yesterday I had to hit over a tall tree on the right side and let the wind take it back left into the fairway. If I was still using the Mavrik I would not have attempted this shot. I would have been forced to hit a fade back into the wind and that is a low percentage shot for me. I would have used less than driver and even with a good tee shot I would have 200 or so into the pin. I hit it over that tree with just a bit too much draw on it and ended up on the left side of the fairway. Although it was not perfect just having that shot in my arsenal now lets me hit driver on more holes than ever before.
 
9/12 fairways with the max today. swing was decent on the range, but took a little while to get it going on the course. once i did, i hit really good drive after really good drive. i don't think the max is giving me as much distance, but hitting fairways is so freaking fun after the nightmare i had last year.
 
11/14 with the Speed today. The 3 misses where bad as I just didn't turn and sliced all 3.
Distance was consistent even into the 15-18mph winds and balls where ending up where I would normally see them on a calmer day with the SZ.
Really enjoying the Epic Speed forgiveness and the way it feels and sounds.
 
Round one goes to the Speed Triple Diamond by a significant margin. I was on the range, so I have no numbers. However, the ball flight was consistently a small draw or straight. I also love how it sits up. It looks so square. The Max LS was still missing slightly, both right and left. I am going to put the Speed in play for my tournament Monday morning. I will give more details after that round.
 
Tenputt said:
Round one goes to the Speed Triple Diamond by a significant margin. I was on the range, so I have no numbers. However, the ball flight was consistently a small draw or straight. I also love how it sits up. It looks so square. The Max LS was still missing slightly, both right and left. I am going to put the Speed in play for my tournament Monday morning. I will give more details after that round.
Click to expand...

a little more spin on the speed?
 
Tenputt said:
Round one goes to the Speed Triple Diamond by a significant margin. I was on the range, so I have no numbers. However, the ball flight was consistently a small draw or straight. I also love how it sits up. It looks so square. The Max LS was still missing slightly, both right and left. I am going to put the Speed in play for my tournament Monday morning. I will give more details after that round.
Click to expand...


ANOTHER SPEED head in play! Welcome 🤗😎
 
McLovin said:
a little more spin on the speed?
Click to expand...

I was hitting downwind with less than ideal range balls, so it would be difficult to say. However, I doubt that it had more spin because, as @Alez367 indicated, it is a Speed ♦️♦️♦️ LS head. It is advertised as being lower spin than Max LS, but not as low as the Sub Zero heads. The ball flight seemed perfect for my eye.
 
Tenputt said:
I was hitting downwind with less than ideal range balls, so it would be difficult to say. However, I doubt that it had more spin because, as @Alez367 indicated, it is a Speed ♦♦♦ LS head. It is advertised as being lower spin than Max LS, but not as low as the Sub Zero heads. The ball flight seemed perfect for my eye.
Click to expand...

just curious because i typically expect a lower spin head to be a wider dispersion pattern. glad it’s working out for you!
 
McLovin said:
just curious because i typically expect a lower spin head to be a wider dispersion pattern. glad it’s working out for you!
Click to expand...
I do not disagree with your assumption. My thought is that something about this head, presumably the weighting, is allowing me to square the face a touch better. It is not as though the Max LS wasn’t working. I just hope to eliminate one side as much as possible. It is too early to say. It may be in my head, given what I hope it will do. I will get it on a launch monitor soon. Monday will be a good test, given the extra pressure of tournament play.
 
Tenputt said:
I do not disagree with your assumption. My thought is that something about this head, presumably the weighting, is allowing me to square the face a touch better. It is not as though the Max LS wasn’t working. I just hope to eliminate one side as much as possible. It is too early to say. It may be in my head, given what I hope it will do. I will get it on a launch monitor soon. Monday will be a good test, given the extra pressure of tournament play.
Click to expand...

Bingo. I think shape and CG play a big role in performance.
 
LDUBFIREGOLFER said:
You think Speed 3d LS might just have more optimal launch conditions? I'm in retail Speed and launch is just amazingly consistent
Click to expand...

to me, retail fits a wide range of golfers. 3D and 3D LS seem to narrow the window a bit on playable but still with the right loft and shaft, it’s very much a playable driver for a lot of golfers.
 
Tenputt said:
I do not disagree with your assumption. My thought is that something about this head, presumably the weighting, is allowing me to square the face a touch better. It is not as though the Max LS wasn’t working. I just hope to eliminate one side as much as possible. It is too early to say. It may be in my head, given what I hope it will do. I will get it on a launch monitor soon. Monday will be a good test, given the extra pressure of tournament play.
Click to expand...

Adding to this , the carbon fiber toe plate is more/larger in Speed series compared to LS head.....so as @Tenputt and @Alez367 also stated a weighting issue......in a good way!
 
@Tenputt how different is the shape of the triple d bs the max ls? I have seen pics of the triple d heads and briefly owned the max LS but something about the shape didn’t suit my eye
 
MH said:
@Tenputt how different is the shape of the triple d bs the max ls? I have seen pics of the triple d heads and briefly owned the max LS but something about the shape didn’t suit my eye
Click to expand...
I will have to get some more photos and post. It is interesting that this comparison chart from Callaway indicates that the head that I have, the Speed LS, does not have the same shape as the standard Speed. To my eye, the Speed Triple Diamond LS almost looks like a blend of the Max LS and the standard Speed. The chart also indicates that Speed Triple Diamond LS is lower spinning than the Max LS.

D805ACC3-BC07-4CCB-A69F-4E6C77209905.jpeg
 
20210509_150551.jpg20210509_150343.jpg

I decided to have some driver fun last night and today. I never play my Max LS custom. It just didn't win out, and isn't my favorite shape, so sadly, it sits the bench. Thought about taking a softer shaft than usual out today with it, but then wanted to go old school with an OG Hzrdus Black, and when I pulled it out and remembered how I used to play it (heavy grip, more front head weight), I had to go experimental. So I pulled the grip off my Ventus Black and swapped it out to add 7g to the handle, and then taped up the Max LS head in a fun way to add 6g to it. It was a little light for that shaft anyway. Ended up at D3 and felt decent beating up my grass in the dark at 1:30 in the morning.

I don't think I had played those two together in their original setups, or at at least not much, but long story short - besides sound and look not my fav, I missed more both directions with the LS vs my other drivers with similar/favorite shafts. I did get more to the right generally with it though, which I liked, and the Ventus Black tends to keep me off the left side more too. So I kinda wondered if I would be losing them right paired like this. Set it to -.5* loft and .865* flat and figured wtf.

Could NOT stop turning it over. lol At least in the beginning. Just pummeling draws with it. Really caught me by surprise. I was actually swinging a little more freely after the first couple holes than I thought I'd be able to today, and my normal swing was consistenly producing mid-flight draws that ran. Put me in trouble left a couple times, and I only hit a little over half the fairways on the day I think. Really windy day and everything runs off there so 7 of 13 isn't too terrible. Only in trouble twice and was kind of digging the flight. Decided to roll with it an leaned into a couple beauties into the wind. By 14 I had a feel for it and could work it the other way if I wanted to. Was on for eagle on the 16th after a 325 cut to hold a right wind over a dogleg, and then bury a boring draw into a hurting left on 18. Really interesting in the end, and reminded me why I used to play heavy whites with real stiff mid and tip driver shafts (and why I still suggest it to people, but hadn't done it in a while). Everyone that wants a bit of CB just seems to go blue (Ventus, Hzrdus RDX, etc) to change balance point, but they steal from the middle and change the profiles usually. I like a big middle and tip but it's hard to add headweight without running into SW issues with a standard grip like that usually. And when I can add weight I don't love adding much at the back of the head. As a rotator, it's not ideal.

Anyway. Interesting fun, and I think I'll leave it like this for a bit. Want to try my Speed with a little more front weight on that shaft too. Might move the adjustable towards the toe in the LS next time. Thought hard about it during the round today, but don't change things once I'm out there.
 
Last edited:
i should be able to get my max on trackman soon. i’ll be curious to see what the numbers are. i really love what i’m seeing in play. so many fairways! i just wonder if it’s optimized or if i’m leaving anything on the table.
 
Took the driver out for the 1st time on Friday. Played the Blue Monster at Doral, Found a few fairway bunkers…hard not to on this course but the Max LS had me in FW bunkers I’m not really used to. This thing is long. Even on mishits it put me way down the hole. Still in honeymoon phase but really like the potential here. The MMT 60x was really smooth. Cant wait to put a tip on the AD XC and see what it does in the Max LS.

oh and it sounds good too…


View attachment trim.BB8F6E97-474A-45C2-8C46-884950871708.MOV

View attachment trim.102C6526-273C-4242-BAAF-42EBC6174A38.MOV
 
X.Man said:
Took the driver out for the 1st time on Friday. Played the Blue Monster at Doral, Found a few fairway bunkers…hard not to on this course but the Max LS had me in FW bunkers I’m not really used to. This thing is long. Even on mishits it put me way down the hole. Still in honeymoon phase but really like the potential here. The MMT 60x was really smooth. Cant wait to put a tip on the AD XC and see what it does in the Max LS.

oh and it sounds good too…


View attachment 9007117

View attachment 9007116
Click to expand...
Good looking swings.
 
I am struggling so bad with the Max LS right now. Its not the club though because I went from hitting it great to just not being able to get off the tee at all. Fwy woods are a struggle right now as well. I can’t get anything to cooperate as far as my tee game. Just frustrating because this is such a great club and I was hitting it so well and now it’s banana slices no farther than 200 yards. Maybe I’ll get my driving/tee game back to normal...if not, this is going to be a long season!
 
X.Man said:
Took the driver out for the 1st time on Friday. Played the Blue Monster at Doral, Found a few fairway bunkers…hard not to on this course but the Max LS had me in FW bunkers I’m not really used to. This thing is long. Even on mishits it put me way down the hole. Still in honeymoon phase but really like the potential here. The MMT 60x was really smooth. Cant wait to put a tip on the AD XC and see what it does in the Max LS.

oh and it sounds good too…


View attachment 9007117

View attachment 9007116
Click to expand...
I think my honeymoon phase is over lol
 
Went to the range today and struggled with Speed and Max until I stopped doing my "swing lesson" and just relaxed. I'm amazed at how freeing up your swing with loose arms can rip some drives. Instead of low and left or face wide open, I pounded a long series of high and mid flight straight drives. The only difference was probably just relaxing so the body and club could do its thing.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top