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Callaway MAVRIK Drivers

SuperStroke
Really good posts/reviews/home page write ups. I was wondering how Callaway could improve on the EF from a performance stand point. Looks like reworking the aerodynamics was the right call.

Question, comparing standard EF to Mavrik, is there any difference in launch and spin profile?
 
@JMB3 that side by side of the EF and Mav tells SUCH a great story. Love that picture.
 
chefkritter said:
Now that the "sound" has been addressed I can't wait to get one of these in hand and see the all the craziness is about. With the Epic Flash I hit 3 balls and put it away, I just couldnt do the sound. Add in the increased % on misses (where I typically hit is a miss) and I would take that bit of help any day of the week. Only wish was that they were priced similiarly lower like the irons but it's the world we live in.
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We need to get out soon and let you test
 
I do like the shape and am happy to hear the sound is more muted than the Flash. The sound of the Flash was not something I could ever tolerate in my bag. I’ll have a chance hit the Mavrik today as I’m headed to the indoor simulator at the club with a buddy.
 
It has been awhile since I’ve gotten along with a Callaway driver and it hasn’t been for want of trying; I had some mild success with the XR16 but with the introduction of the Triaxial Carbon Fiber materials into the drivers, we just didn’t click. For whatever reason, I’ve always fared with Ping drivers and felt more comfortable over the ball.

I’m happy to report that things have changed with the Callaway Mavrik Max.

We will be inundated over the course of the next few days with a ton of tech talk and I don’t want to delve into things with will be covered ad nauseam; however, there are a few points that I’d like to touch on before getting into the nitty gritty. The campaign behind the Mavrik lineup focuses on the term “unconventional thinking” and especially in the case of the Max, “unconventional forgiveness.” With Epic Flash and the introduction of computer learning and AI tech for club design, we saw some crazy things happen with the clubs last year. Well, the super computers have gotten smarter and more efficient, and we have reaped the benefits. With the new Steel SS20 Flash Face and stronger, more flexible titanium in the body, we get faster ball speeds and more forgiveness. Callaway claims that Mavrik is 13% more consistent down range than Epic Flash, 1.5mph faster than Rogue, and, oh yeah, the super computers went to work on the sound, as well. That’s right, Acoustic AI designed for frequency and amplitude. So, how does it sound? In a word, sublime. Solid, but not dull. Powerful, but not obnoxious. You will want to hit this thing over and over just to hear the sound and feel the feel. Now that I’ve gotten my tech highlights out of the way, let’s dig into some range and on course impressions.



I didn’t get any numbers from my fitting at the ECPC, but my fitter put me right into the Max head after hearing I’d previously gamed the G400Max. We experimented with the stock Riptide shaft, but then moved into the Fujikura Venuts line and he just said, “Ok this is good!”

On course at The Hideaway, I was not super comfortable over it, and as @Dnevs observed, I had some setup inconsistencies, leading to some bad swings. I will say, however, that when I connected, I was as long as anyone in our foursome, which was encouraging.

Generally, December is not a golfing month in Michigan, but due to some really mild weather, I was able to get the MavMax out on the course several times and some some immediate success. When I was able to setup properly and take lines i was familiar with, i was seeing MIDSUMMER DISTANCES in 40*, windy conditions, with not a ton of rollout. I am very encouraged by what I’ve seen thus far, especially considering that this is the first carbon Callaway driver that I’ve gotten along with.

I’m seeing a nice, high ball flight with my 9* Max and I’m positively hooked by the sound / feel; it makes you want to hit it again and again. Not my best but, but here’s a clip of the sound:




It also looks nice and clean at address, with a confidence inspiring shape. This is a very tidy package.

Now that all the other big boys have released (or announced) their 2020 offerings, I decided to put the Mav Max up against the competition last week at Carl’s, and considering the temperature, the condition of my swing, and not being able to tee the ball exactly how i like it, I’m extremely please with the numbers that I saw:



As we move towards spring, I’m sure the swing speed number will come up and with proper tee height, I think we will see my carry numbers rise steadily. I will be EXTREMELY pleased with these numbers and the forgiveness across the face that the Mav Max has demonstrated thus far. Towards the end of the session, I developed a couple gnarly blisters on my fingers (stretched out glove was the culprit, and I believe my swing suffered a bit, but at that point, the Mavrik Max had put up better, more consistent numbers than the competition.

There will be much more to come, as our reviews are just getting started, and I cannot wait to answer any and all questions to the best of my ability. LET’S GOOOOOOOO!5DA6B018-A91C-4D61-8C05-3FAEFFFAA297.jpegC0057EBF-D5AD-4EFB-9BB2-694A2B7679EB.jpeg2A625201-6570-4335-B711-CDABC6316FC2.jpeg5A4F1C94-3D70-43E0-B2DF-8A98796C03E3.jpeg16B39FAA-DFB9-4D16-AF55-A2C7901B3626.jpegA5DE331B-2109-4AFF-B812-4BAB3F3F2E97.jpeg
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So much phenomenal info being posted already...

James, great review. The Tech in this thing is solid, and I am happy to hear the sound is better. The few videos I have watched confirm that to me.

As for th Grandaddy guys... The Pics and Feedback this morning has already been astounding. Keep it up.

My wallet is already shaking a bit.
 
This should give a good representation of how much these new FF SS20 faces help retain ball speeds across the face. A.I. specifically designed for each

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Love all the positive reviews on the sound/feel from the YouTube crew. Crossfield just said he may be as excited about the Mavrik driver as any release.
 
I don't put stock into any of these YouTubers really.. But one thing I have seen, they all love the sound.

That has me excited.
 
Wow......I knew guys were itching to get this thread open but man there is some great stuff so far.

When I first seen shawty pics of the Mavrik before the embargo I was like ehhhhh not sure on that. Now that I see clear pics from the GD crew its actually pretty clean.
 
obedt said:
Really good posts/reviews/home page write ups. I was wondering how Callaway could improve on the EF from a performance stand point. Looks like reworking the aerodynamics was the right call.

Question, comparing standard EF to Mavrik, is there any difference in launch and spin profile?
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In my limited testing thus far, I'm seeing similar launch and spin profiles between the two standard models. But I am seeing noticeably faster ball speeds with the Mavrik as well as better spin retention across the face.
 
I am going to go back later and read all of the reviews from the Grandaddy crew, but just wanted to comment on James' review. I think that it is wild that they were able to reduce the drag by that large of a percentage. That is pretty impressive. And using the AI to work on the sound issues that seemed to hamper Flash was brilliant. They paid a bunch of money for that computer so get all ya can get out of it. I would really like to test out the Max line as well as the base line. I doubt I will be upgrading anytime soon, but ya never know. Great review @Jman !!!
 
I was fit into the Std. Mavrik during the 2019 Grandaddy. My fitting started with irons and wedges followed by hybrids, fairway woods and driver being last. I was getting tired by the time we got to the driver but my fitter knew my swing pretty well at that point and he put me in the standard model. I was fit into the Aldila Rogue White in my 3wood so that is where we started with the driver. We tried a couple different shafts but ended up with the Even Flow Riptide that is the stock shaft in the standard model. The 10.5 head paired with the Riptide produces a mid/high launch angle and more carry distance than I see with my old driver.

20200113_165206.jpg

The Flash Face SS20 will be the focus of my review. I came into the Grandaddy as a 16 handicap that likes to use the whole face not just the center. My miss is mainly toe side and high on the face. There is some crazy tech that has went into this release such as artificial intelligence being used to make the sound crisp and pleasing to the ear and the aerodynamic shape of the head that can increase your swing speed a couple MPH but the forgiveness of the face is huge for me and my tee game.

1.44 smash.jpg

1.45 smash.jpg

As you can see in the shots above these were not center strikes. The low smash factor of 1.44 and 1.45 tell me that I did not hit it right in the center of the face. The ball still carried 250 with total distance in the 280 range. These results are not just acceptable they are fantastic, the launch angle and spin are great and if I can be in the fairway or close to it 280 yards out on less than perfect shots I know my scores will drop.

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The name, color scheme and graphics are going to be loved by some and disliked by others and that is fine. I personally was not a fan of the Epic Flash green so I welcome the change. Before seeing the clubs in person I probably would not have liked going with orange but I think it looks great and Callaway has to choose something when they build a new line of clubs. The custom options are limitless so if you decide you want the performance of the Mavrik but orange is not your thing you can go that route.

This will be an ongoing review for me and I can say that I am genuinely excited to play this driver in 2020. I like the looks, I love the sound, I think the distance and dispersion of off center strikes will keep me in scoring position on holes that normally I would be chipping the ball back into the fairway.
 
obedt said:
Really good posts/reviews/home page write ups. I was wondering how Callaway could improve on the EF from a performance stand point. Looks like reworking the aerodynamics was the right call.

Question, comparing standard EF to Mavrik, is there any difference in launch and spin profile?
Click to expand...
I’m seeing a little higher launch and a hair more spin.
I am not a robot and these are January swings, but I am good with these numbers. Summer is going to be nuts.
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TexasHacker34 said:
I don't put stock into any of these YouTubers really.. But one thing I have seen, they all love the sound.

That has me excited.
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For me (and others) sound is feel. When we got a chance to talk about previous versions, OG Epic, Rogue and EF, with the engineers they understood what they were chasing with sound and feel. It's tough to accomplish and make it consistent for everyone to like. I was not a fan of the OG Epic or Rogue, they both felt dead to me and it was hard for me to get in a groove with them. Epic Flash fixed that for me, but the trade off was a louder sound at impact, which bothered many, but honestly I tuned it out once I saw my results.

When Callaway decided to take A.I. up to the next level across the Mavrik line, sound was something they wanted to try and address. A.I. was applied & came up with a design where the ribs go inside the head to optimize the sound. They nailed it imo. We have guys on this years Grandaddy team that didn't or couldn't play a Callaway driver for various reasons, and sound was a big part. Each one now has said the performance along with the sound has created something they can comfortably put in their bags. I suspect this will be the case with many others if they take the time to get fit. One thing I cannot stress enough, and something Callaway asked us to convey, is that a fitting, or a very least some sort of head to head comparison, is highly encouraged to make sure you are fit into the right head. Just because you play a certain driver now doesn't mean you will play that same "type" of driver with the Mavrik lineup.
 
tahoebum said:
I do like the shape and am happy to hear the sound is more muted than the Flash. The sound of the Flash was not something I could ever tolerate in my bag. I’ll have a chance hit the Mavrik today as I’m headed to the indoor simulator at the club with a buddy.
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Looking forward to your thoughts! This was also me earlier in 2019. I was looking for a new driver (before getting into the Grandaddy) and the Epic Flash, M6 and G410 were the finalists based on fitting numbers. Didn’t love the 2 tone M6, so that was out. And I went with the g410 because it sounded better than the EF.

Mavrik is a totally different sound and it’s a bit intoxicating. I love it
 
Mavrik TBD
 
Thanks Granddaddy alum and @Jman for the incredible write ups so far.


I have a question about the shape. Obviously the back weight is higher relative to older drivers with this head shape. This would raise the center of gravity a bit. This question is specifically for GD alum and those who are getting fit into this driver. Did they mention getting a higher lofted club to offset this than you might have previously been fit into? Sometimes Callaway just changes things like this on their own and a 10.5* driver is actually 11.25* or something like that to make up for it.
 
Solid reviews so far everyone! I'm still not sold on the color but if it works it works and who cares! Better photos than what we'd seen previously definitely help in the looks dept.
 
You guys have ABSOLUTELY KILLED the reviews!
 
Damn...I was hoping to avoid this release. Not because I hate Callaway, I just wasn't blown away by anything I'd seen so far and didn't love the color combo.

But these up close pics and the Grandaddy reviews have me calling my local store to see if they have them in yet.

Really good stuff guys.
 
Great write up James and I love seeing all of this feedback from the Granddaddy guys. After getting a chance to hit the Mavrik the forgiveness seemed to be improved over the Flash to my naked eye. Great work guys and I can't wait to see more feedback.
 
Man, @Jman with a wicked write up to kick it off and then the GD guys bringing some heat with amazing feedback and photos.
 
i love the color on the Mavrik...is it more orange or copper?
 
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Wow, the std Mavrik head looks pretty incredible......hmmm.......

These look more in tune with the EF Triple Diamond shape perhaps? If so.......me likey!
 
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