Callaway MAVRIK Drivers

Ha ha, that's what I meant> So it is supposed to click? I only ask as when I removed them they didn't seem nearly as tight as the adaptor.
If you're using the Callaway wrench, the weights should click just like the adaptor. I periodically pull the wrench out and check everything just to be sure, give them all a twist until I hear the click.
 
Are you done with the exs pro?
I think I probably will be done with it. I'll do a little head to head with the Mavrik though and see how they compare.
 
I have the stock Riptide shaft back in the Max for tonights round.
 
Well, well, well. It looks like I'll be joining the Mavrik club here soon. I'm looking forward to giving some input and seeing what this bag boy can do!
Welcome to the club! Took you long enough ;)
 
I got roughly 13 holes in last night before the rain came rolling through. Not a very serious round by any stretch. Played with a friend I haven't seen in a while so golf was just the back drop. Hit some pretty good drives, which seems to be more and more common with this SZ Triple Diamond. I honestly don't think I can really pick apart any negatives vs the Mavrik standard head. It's probably less forgiving. But, it's not really showing. I feel like the triple D does a great job out on the toe, which is where I miss if I do. Trajectory stays pretty flat and I get a pretty decent push draw out of the shot when that happens typically.

My timing was a little off but I was never out of play with it. Just feel comfortable with this setup.
 
Playing tonight. I have been very happy with fhe Mavrik Max. Ive been playing with the heavy weight in the back i havent really experimented with the heavy weight in the heel i know that position is supposed to promote more of a draw flight. I dont slice but my miss is hanging it out to the right. Wondering what people have found when placing the heavy weight in the heel and how it effects ball flight. Gonna give it a shot. It is such a great driver .
 
This is honestly the first driver I can remember that I have no thoughts of changing. I do think that MAYBE the weight is a bit heavy in the shaft, but with the way I am hitting it, I am not changing anything.
 
Welcome to the club! Took you long enough ;)
Yep, I should have just gone that route right from the start. I'll have the Rogue 110, a KBS TD (thanks @rogt!) and Atmos Blue to test out with it. I'm pretty pumped!
 
Playing tonight. I have been very happy with fhe Mavrik Max. Ive been playing with the heavy weight in the back i havent really experimented with the heavy weight in the heel i know that position is supposed to promote more of a draw flight. I dont slice but my miss is hanging it out to the right. Wondering what people have found when placing the heavy weight in the heel and how it effects ball flight. Gonna give it a shot. It is such a great driver .
You won't notice any ball flight issues (height wise), you should see a straighter ball flight though. Might notice a slightly different sound, but nothing major.
 
Yep, I should have just gone that route right from the start. I'll have the Rogue 110, a KBS TD (thanks @rogt!) and Atmos Blue to test out with it. I'm pretty pumped!
Ooh, the KBS? That's one I wanted to try for a while. What head are you going with?
 
Yep, I should have just gone that route right from the start. I'll have the Rogue 110, a KBS TD (thanks @rogt!) and Atmos Blue to test out with it. I'm pretty pumped!
You Bet on the shaft. Also always listen to your elders, welcome home. #Callaway!
 
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Ooh, the KBS? That's one I wanted to try for a while. What head are you going with?
He’s putting it in a custom standard Mavrik
 
@radiman Kind of hard to believe but either my epic flash subzero was worn out or the triple diamond Maverick is just a bomb. I’m hitting to distances that I have not seen in awhile. Played in a four person that shot Firemans of that this weekend and the first hole please 305, it’s tree lined with some very mature trees, I just decided to go the straight line and hit up over all the trees figured, I hit the last one or second to last one in the line where I’m usually at and lo and behold we got up there and it was beside the green easy chip down for birdie.
 
@radiman Kind of hard to believe but either my epic flash subzero was worn out or the triple diamond Maverick is just a bomb. I’m hitting to distances that I have not seen in awhile. Played in a four person that shot Firemans of that this weekend and the first hole please 305, it’s tree lined with some very mature trees, I just decided to go the straight line and hit up over all the trees figured, I hit the last one or second to last one in the line where I’m usually at and lo and behold we got up there and it was beside the green easy chip down for birdie.
Could just be a better fit? I don't think it's ultra low spin. Probably spins a bit more than the EF SZ. I also think there's a bit of a stigma since it's a head designed for tour players. It's extremely playable. Even for us mere mortals :)
 
So I was able to check the swing weight of my Mav TripD and it was only just D1.

I slapped some lead tape on it for now (have a weight kit coming for it) and just got back from the range. I can def say I'm excited to get it on course after what I was seeing.

💎;):p
 
So I was able to check the swing weight of my Mav TripD and it was only just D1.

I slapped some lead tape on it for now (have a weight kit coming for it) and just got back from the range. I can def say I'm excited to get it on course after what I was seeing.

💎;):p

My standard Mav was a little light on SW for me so I just added lead tape over the weight. I keep saying I'm going to get the kit but it seems to be holding up pretty well so I'll probably leave it.
 
My standard Mav was a little light on SW for me so I just added lead tape over the weight. I keep saying I'm going to get the kit but it seems to be holding up pretty well so I'll probably leave it.
The kit comes from China....so it takes some time to get delivered.
 
Today's golf porn comes courtesy of Callaway and the color blue.

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I like it @KEV!!!
 
Hit it straight and enjoy weekend @KEV
 
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The Mavrik Driver

During my fitting at ECPC, my fitter, Nick, really honed in on the standard Mavrik after seeing me miss right with my irons more than I would like to admit :) What he told me was that the standard Mavrik has a slight draw bias to it. I was open minded and ready to try anything he wanted to put in my hands.

Draw bias the guy says. Huh? I look down at the club and the first thing I notice is that the face angle is far from closed as I would expect most draw biased drivers to be. If anything, it almost appears that it sits a bit more open than my Epic Flash SZ from last year. Anyhow, we pretty much stuck with the standard model as we tried a few shafts. The numbers with it were great. If anything, it was probably spinning a couple hundred RPM’s more than what I am used to seeing. But, the flight was good.

So, that’s how I came upon the driver. Now, I will try to break this down into what I see as the intangibles. Then, I will share what I have seen so far in terms of performance.


Looks:

I have always gravitated towards the smaller footprint drivers. I don’t like to see a lot of junk in the trunk. I played the Epic SZ, the Rogue SZ, and the Epic Flash SZ most recently. I could have played the standard OG Epic, but I felt the standard Rogue and Epic Flash drivers were too elongated for me. Just not a shape I wanted to see. So, I was a little apprehensive when the fitter recommended the standard Mavrik. But, I am glad he did. The shape isn’t quite as rounded and compact as the past SZ models that I have played. But, it is not elongated either. If I had to pick a comparison in terms of shape, I cannot think of a Callaway driver in recent memory that it reminds me of. From the side, you can see the noticeable aerodynamic design as the sole sweeps up to meet the crown. We’ll touch more on that later. Anyhow, it passed the looks test with flying colors.

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Sound/Feel:

Alright, here is the hot topic. The Epic Flash was not universally loved for its sound. I am not going to argue that. It wasn’t the most pleasant to me but I enjoyed the performance enough to overlook it. Here, we are entering what I would call probably the most subjective portion of a driver, or any club for that matter, review. What sounds and feels good to me does not necessarily mean that you are going to enjoy it. I got along fine with the Epic Flash, a lot of people didn’t. I could not stand the sound of the Ping G lineup, but it’s been a big seller for them and a lot of golfers love it.

I really enjoy the low tone, dull sound of a carbon driver. Ever since the FT Tour came out, I was hooked on it. Almost every Callaway driver that I hit from that point fell in that category. The Epic Flash did not. But, Callaway made a pivot here. They used their fancy super computer and created what they are calling Acoustic AI. There are fins designed within the head that aid in creating a more muted sound than the Epic Flash. It isn’t quite OG Epic dull. But, it is extremely pleasing.

When you connect with this driver, it feels like the ball sticks to the face for an extra milliseconds longer than normal and just absolutely launches. It is so hard to describe. I love it. And, if you give this club a fair chance, I would find it hard to believe that anyone could walk away and say that this club doesn’t feel great. Regardless if you are buying it or not.


Tech:

We are looking at some interesting technology at play here. First, they built off of the success of the Flash face and have designed a face for each model that is even further optimized, delivering great ball speed over a larger area of the club face. The cool thing here is that they optimized each model independently of one another. So, the standard, SZ, and Max models each have a different face. They have utilized a stronger titanium in the process as well. SS20, the Super Strength face for 2020.

Second, to improve the acoustics, they have implemented Acoustic AI. The engineers leveraged the super computer to come up with what appear to be seemingly random fins inside the head that give this driver it’s addicting sound.

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Third, at least in the standard model, they have implemented a pretty sleek aerodynamic sole shape. An aerodynamic design that makes the standard model the fastest out of the lineup. OEM’s have used aerodynamics in the past with some success. I recall the Cobra F9 being an interesting feel as you swing the club. That is the same feeling I get when swinging the Mavrik. You can feel that there is less drag as the club cuts through the air. How much more swing speed that equates to for myself, I am unsure of at this point.

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Otherwise, the Mavrik drivers all utilize the same Optiforce hosel that Callaway has used for the last so many years. So, if you have an old trusty driver shaft, you don’t have to worry. You can plug it into these heads with a few turns of the wrench.


Performance:

I suppose, it wouldn’t be much of a review if I didn’t share what I have been seeing in performance. Take this for what it’s worth so far as I have had an extremely limited time with this club in actual play. Minnesota winters are not conducive to early club testing.

From the first shot with this driver, I noticed that it is going to be a higher launching head than my old Epic Flash SZ. As long as the spin remains manageable, that’s fine by me. I wouldn’t call this driver low spin, but I really would never say that it’s a higher spinning club either. It seems to live in the realm of 2500-2700. Where I was probably 2300-2500 in my past SZ drivers.

My Epic Flash SZ was no slouch off the tee. So, I am not surprised to see that I am getting similar ball speeds as I did in the past. The only caveat is that I seem to be having less cringe worth drives. Lol. I don’t have the data yet to prove it. But, I have a feeling that this driver is much more forgiving than the SZ I was playing before. There have been a few shots off the toe that I look up and see that I have hardly lost any ball speed at all. That is what has me excited about this release.

I have been hitting the driver in an indoor only scenario since returning from the Grandaddy. I have made a couple attempts at retrieving LM data. But, it has not gone according to plan. It is still in the cards in the future and I will share comparison data on both the Mavrik and the Epic Flash SZ I am coming from.

These are the numbers I grabbed when my swing was most definitely showing it's winter rust.

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I am not too upset about the results. The smash was relatively high given the poor contact. If anything, it's a good example of what the driver can do for you when you're off :)

My Random Thoughts:

I understand that some people are going to try and make an apples to oranges comparison between the Mavrik and Epic Flash line. Just want to throw out the reminder that this line is not replacing the Epic Flash, rather complimenting it. I am providing my feedback between the two lineups as it is my most recent driver before this.

I honestly prefer the lack of a sliding weight. I have never felt that the sliding weights are a high enough percentage of the overall head weight to make a meaningful impact on ball flight. At least in my experience, I have not noticed it impact my game much at all. So, I am happy to save the weight of the sliding track and have it redistributed elsewhere to make a more forgiving club.

Seriously guys. This club sounds and feels fantastic. Plus, coming in right at $500 makes it a pretty attractive option vs other clubs on the market. But, get out there and try it for yourself. If you are content with what you have or find another club is a better fit, so be it. But, you owe it to yourself to at least give this club a look if you’re in the market.

Please, feel free to ask any questions. I will be here sharing what I know and trying to help complete the story on this line.

Here are some comparison pics I grabbed of my Epic Flash SZ and the new Mavrik.

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Excellent Review! I am in the market for a new driver and your thorough review definitely keeps the Mavrik at the top of my list!!
 
Nice, kit got here faster than I thought it would!

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