Callaway Epic Speed and Epic Max Drivers and Fairway Woods

So I just received some unfortunate news from callaway....

Apparently the shaft I was fit into which was a Project X hzrdus smoke 70 gram stiff is on backorder until May...

Has anyone else experienced this?

The only reason I found out about this was because I called them asking for a tracking number.

Since I ordered the club from PGA TOUR Superstore, in order to help with the sting of the news, they are providing me with a tour van fitting experience free of charge.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

That is not good news, in ordered my custom LS head with the RDX black 70. I was hoping to get some sim time with the head prior to the season. Also have a couple of GD AD shafts that I am dying to hit
 
So, I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with the shape/size of the Epic Speed. It’s such a classic looking head. Only thing that concerns me is the fact that during the Q&A today it was mentioned that the speed is more draw biased than the Mavrik. The draw bias of the Mavrik was the only knock I had on it and the reason I switched to the Mavrik TD. Now they bring out an even better looking head that is more draw biased 😥

I am very interested to hear long term thoughts on it. And more specifically if anyone happens to put the flat adapter in this bad boy. Wonder how much draw bias can be taken out by flattening out the lie angle.

I suppose I can always fall back on the Max LS. It’s no slouch either.

Don't love hearing that about the draw bias either. Will have to see how it goes in a demo session.
 
These are the best looking callaway drivers I’ve ever seen!
 
That is not good news, in ordered my custom LS head with the RDX black 70. I was hoping to get some sim time with the head prior to the season. Also have a couple of GD AD shafts that I am dying to hit
I'm in the same boat. Haven't heard anything yet but ordered a speed driver and 3w with RDX black 70.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk
 
Epic Speed en route. Customs cleared
 
OK finally got the chance to hit these at the outdoor range today. Hit the Speed and the LS both in 10.5 with the Smoke Stiff. The biggest difference to me between the 2 was how high the Speed launched. That thing gets the ball up in the air and fast. Noticeably more so than the LST and more so than the Mavrik standard did IMO. I found the Speed to be a pretty neutral flight. I was worried about the draw bias but did not find it to be overly so, a touch at most. The LST on the other hand definitely seemed to promote a fade. I almost never hit a fade, and I'd say about half the balls I hit with the LST had a nice 5-10 yard fade. If you struggle with a hook, the LST is really worth a hard look. Honestly I could play either one happily but I would probably go with the Speed in a 9 degree and the LST in 10.5. Not sure what I'm going to do yet as I still love the Standard Mavirk too but I do think the Speed is a very slight improvement on it.
 
Last edited:
OK finally got the chance to hit these at the outdoor range today. Hit the Speed and the LS both in 10.5 with the Smoke Green Stiff. The biggest difference to me between the 2 was how high the Speed launched. That thing gets the ball up in the air and fast. Noticeably more so than the LST and more so than the Mavrik standard did IMO. I found the Speed to be a pretty neutral flight. I was worried about the draw bias but did not find it to be overly so, a touch at most. The LST on the other hand definitely seemed to promote a fade. I almost never hit a fade, and I'd say about half the balls I hit with the LST had a nice 5-10 yard fade. If you struggle with a hook, the LST is really worth a hard look. Honestly I could play either one happily but I would probably go with the Speed in a 9 degree and the LST in 10.5. Not sure what I'm going to do yet as I still love the Standard Mavirk too but I do think the Speed is a very slight improvement on it.
Did you adjust the sliding weight on the bottom of the LST. I am curious as to how effective that would be in neutralizing the fade bias. I normally dont hook ( unless its a swing that no club could fix). Currently play the Mavrik Max 9 degrees set to ten and well struck drives get a slight draw. Everything i read or hear about the LST Max sounds good. I think less spin would help. Im just worried that the fade bias could turn into a right miss for me. I have decided i will wait till the weather gets to the point where i can hit some demos outside at my own course on a hole im familiar with before i make a decision but i am following this thread with great interest.
 
Did you adjust the sliding weight on the bottom of the LST. I am curious as to how effective that would be in neutralizing the fade bias. I normally dont hook ( unless its a swing that no club could fix). Currently play the Mavrik Max 9 degrees set to ten and well struck drives get a slight draw. Everything i read or hear about the LST Max sounds good. I think less spin would help. Im just worried that the fade bias could turn into a right miss for me. I have decided i will wait till the weather gets to the point where i can hit some demos outside at my own course on a hole im familiar with before i make a decision but i am following this thread with great interest.

I only had the weight in the middle for the LST. After seeing that the Speed didn't seem to have as much draw bias as I feared, that one quickly took the lead in my mind as I prefer the shape of it. So I didn't really tinker around with the LST. Have no doubt it could easily turn those into a straight ball though if I wanted to play the LST.
 
Ok now that I am at my laptop, I can put some more thoughts down.

I had a fitting at Club Champion in Cleveland this afternoon. I went in for a full long game fitting, as I am pretty happy with my irons.

My current gamer is a GBB Epic 9, set at +2D with a Fujikura Pro Green 70 shaft in stiff.
My 3 wood is also a GBB Epic, same shaft as driver.

With my gamer, I averaged a 110.8 swing speed with 161.2 ball speed, smash factor 1.46. 15 degree launch, and 2700 spin. As you might have guessed, with this shaft, it was pretty wild with misses going both ways. We quickly got to the Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X in the Epic Max LS head which really brought down the dispersion. Spin was lower, smash factor went to 1.48 and 1.49, and even as I wore down and swung a little slower, the ballspeed was still there. Notably, the ball speed was better retained on misses. On the drives where the spin was a bit lower, the launch and ballspeed were still high enough to keep the ball in the air, and my fitter was not worried about it at all. We tested against a few other manufacturer's heads, but the Epic Max LS was the most consistent. The flight was predictable, with a nice draw. If I can count on hitting a draw every time, instead of the prayer I throw up every time with my gamer right now, it is going to be a great thing.

We went on to 3 wood, and tested a few options before we tried the Epic Speed. Compared to my current 3 wood, I gained 2.8 mph of clubhead speed, 9.1(!) mph of ball speed, and almost 20 yards of carry distance. The smash factors according to the trackman were 1.54 at best, and 1.51 at worst. It took only 4 swings, and we had the fairway for me. Hitting the ball felt like I was hitting a cloud, and it just went like a damn Space X rocket.

Ended up in a Mavrik pro 3 hybrid to fill out the top of the bag, that is for another thread.

I am very happy with my fitting experience at Club Champion. I now have to weigh the cost of these clubs, and whether I will buy from CC or from Callaway. The numbers in the end are coming much closer together than I expected before I sat down to really look at it.

Callaway has a freaking hit on their hands.


Did you set Max LS the same as your GBB EPIC? 9* head +2/D?
 
Did you set Max LS the same as your GBB EPIC? 9* head +2/D?
No. We went with a 10.5 degree head set at 11.5 and neutral. With this setting I was hitting a nice draw.
 
No. We went with a 10.5 degree head set at 11.5 and neutral. With this setting I was hitting a nice draw.


I'm a lefty and haven't had the chance to hit 10.5* ......Quick, silly question but you haven't gotten max LS on course yet?

With 10.5 GBB EPIC I'm seeing an amazingly high flight but noticing major amounts of spin.....need to find that 10.5 head:(
 
I'm a lefty and haven't had the chance to hit 10.5* ......Quick, silly question but you haven't gotten max LS on course yet?

With 10.5 GBB EPIC I'm seeing an amazingly high flight but noticing major amounts of spin.....need to find that 10.5 head:(
No I have not. I just ordered it and we have over 2 feet of snow on the ground.

The LS at 11.5 degrees and the proper shaft had lower spin than the GBB Epic 9 set at 11.
 
No I have not. I just ordered it and we have over 2 feet of snow on the ground.

The LS at 11.5 degrees and the proper shaft had lower spin than the GBB Epic 9 set at 11.


Now I just put my Epic Flash sub zero 9* head on same shaft lofted up +2/D.......solid but not as high of a launch.. ..I really believe the LS will be the unicorn! Keep me posted please
 
Last edited:
No I have not. I just ordered it and we have over 2 feet of snow on the ground.

The LS at 11.5 degrees and the proper shaft had lower spin than the GBB Epic 9 set at 11.
I had similar results when I hit the LS with the Ventus Blue. Although my SS is a little slower. The dispersion was also very tight and had the highest ball speed for me.
I ordered the LS with a Ling Q Purple as I already have the Ventus Blue. Also the 3 wood and Heavenwood.
 
I should not have picked up a Epic Max in the store today...now I really want an Epic Max. The other two are nice too, but the Epic Max just looks and sits right for my eye. Guess I will have to get fit for that it addition to either the Apex or Apex DCBs.
 
I finally got to see these in hands today.

I liked the view from the top better on the Speed but like the slider weight of the Max LS. Anyone try both?
 
I finally got to see these in hands today.

I liked the view from the top better on the Speed but like the slider weight of the Max LS. Anyone try both?
As designed, the Max LS was lower spin and less left of the starting line than the speed. They both looked pretty good to me.
 
As designed, the Max LS was lower spin and less left of the starting line than the speed. They both looked pretty good to me.
I could play either by the looks, for sure. The tech makes me want the Max LS.
 
Soooo... two weeks ago when I sat down to order a Custom Max, I chickened out for two reasons: (1) I love my Mavrik, and (2) the Speed looks SO good to my eye.

Today, I was finally able to test the Epic Max. Despite my preference for a smaller shape and deeper face, the Max looks really good. I plugged it into my Ventus Red, which has sat headless since last summer. I was pretty sore after a massage yesterday afternoon, so my swing wasn’t great, but I did get to fully test the forgiveness. I was pretty wowed by some drives that were struck on the far toe—better than expected carry. More centered strikes felt amazing and produced some nice high bombs (10.5 head played at -1/N).

Perhaps due to comfort level, I struck the Mav/Ventus Blue much better, so it wasn’t exactly a fair fight today. For whatever reason, I just feel like the Mavrik is easier to swing than the more elongated heads. So I am happy with my decision to wait, because now I HAVE to test the Speed next weekend.
 
Anyone else notice they dropped some “LD Spec” drivers on the site....

 
Anyone else notice they dropped some “LD Spec” drivers on the site....


Yes, during the Callaway Conversation they mentioned it.

And in another post, was it @JB? It was interesting about a longer driver giving tighter dispersion and distance - tighter dispersion was surprising.
 
I’d be so tempted to try the std Max head in an LD spec...
 
Yes, during the Callaway Conversation they mentioned it.

And in another post, was it @JB? It was interesting about a longer driver giving tighter dispersion and distance - tighter dispersion was surprising.
Not us yet, but we have a fun video coming up testing length.
 
Back
Top