Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Drivers
- Moderator
- #2,752
Oooo tell me about this? What’s the difference for you in this head?
I flirted with Rogue ST for a bit bit been withe the Radspeed XB since 21. I have a round on Saturday to see how it really stacks up. I love the sound of the TD and I am able to go after it a bit.Hey....we're the same.
What driver did you game last year? How do you feel the
Nice! I think you may find this to be an upgrade from the Rogue ST. Looking forward to your thoughts after the round.
Did a little test today. As many know my 3w is my crutch.
I left it home today and snuck out for a quick solo nine. Really wanted to test out the 10.5 degree AI Smoke Max D driver without the poor club looking over its shoulder for a replacement.
This was the first time this year I got to use it the whole round with real tees in the turf.
The good:
5 of 6 fairways hit. I didn’t use the X5 so there’s no fancy graphics, but the fairways are tight. It’s an incredibly narrow course.
The sound: I’m coming from a Callaway Mavrik another great sounding club. But this just blows me away. My first driver was made of wood. And when you hit that nickel sized sweet spot it was amazing. This club has a sound that reminds me of those rare moments but the swing code specifically geared for this club gives a huge “sweet spot” in my swing path for more of those moments.
CRACK is addictive!!!
The bad:
Nothing is overcoming this “crowning” achievement. Hole 9 feeling super confident. Short carry over water on a long par four with a wide open fairway. A terrible sound on the top inside of the club later…
Miraculously it still managed to go 100 yards and popped left of the fairway. This club is so forgiving one can literally almost swing and miss and somehow have a usable shot. Just amazing.
I left it home today and snuck out for a quick solo nine. Really wanted to test out the 10.5 degree AI Smoke Max D driver without the poor club looking over its shoulder for a replacement.
This was the first time this year I got to use it the whole round with real tees in the turf.
The good:
5 of 6 fairways hit. I didn’t use the X5 so there’s no fancy graphics, but the fairways are tight. It’s an incredibly narrow course.
The sound: I’m coming from a Callaway Mavrik another great sounding club. But this just blows me away. My first driver was made of wood. And when you hit that nickel sized sweet spot it was amazing. This club has a sound that reminds me of those rare moments but the swing code specifically geared for this club gives a huge “sweet spot” in my swing path for more of those moments.
CRACK is addictive!!!
The bad:
Nothing is overcoming this “crowning” achievement. Hole 9 feeling super confident. Short carry over water on a long par four with a wide open fairway. A terrible sound on the top inside of the club later…
Miraculously it still managed to go 100 yards and popped left of the fairway. This club is so forgiving one can literally almost swing and miss and somehow have a usable shot. Just amazing.
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- Moderator
- #2,756
Sweet spot picture you put in was for the fairway
editing now lol I was just so darn excited.Sweet spot picture you put in was for the fairway
Also, I cleared the creek that’s usually my nemesis. (170 yards) today. Usually I lay up.
We’ve been so careful not to “claim this club adds yardage” I’m saying f**k it. I cleared the creek. It goes further.
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I would guess first and foremost its the head itself but first it just feels smoother , and for whatever reason the feedback from the head through the shaft just feels more “solid” which is hard to explain . It is a different feel. In the past i have had shafts i like but when changing drivers they no longer felt as good or performed as well. This is the first time for me a shaft that i liked actually feels better in a new head. I think years ago after a long time of just reading THP threads but not posting one of if not my first post was about how a Fujikura Speeder shaft did not feel or perform as well in a new head and i believe it was @Jman who responded talking about this happens a shaft may work in in one head but not another.
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2013
- Messages
- 75,955
- Reaction score
- 90,473
- Location
- Ponte Vedra, Florida
- Handicap
- 11.9
That is exciting! What ball flight and distance were you seeing?
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2013
- Messages
- 75,955
- Reaction score
- 90,473
- Location
- Ponte Vedra, Florida
- Handicap
- 11.9
First time out with it since the fitting?
- Moderator
- #2,761
I totally understand! I had a shaft that was perfect in my Rogue but wasn’t the best in my Paradym X. This just gave me the idea to give it a shot in the Smoke this weekend!
I can't wait to see this in person. I saw these heads at PGA SS and they check all the boxes. The Triple D is probably not in my skill set, but I can't wait to hear the sound.
I'm seeing a big improvement in gains and ball flight. My distance us definitely more I gained about 10 yards plus I also gained another 10 to 15 by swing adjustments. Altogether I am loving my smoke. After 3 rounds. Even my off center hits are better and fly straighter
A couple marks @Muchmore showed me way out on the toe of his driver after still piping one quite a ways down there is what pushed me over the edge on these. Unreal
What shaft is in the Ai Smoke, and what shaft did you have in the Paradym? I wonder if that has any effect on it, for me the Ai Smoke launches quite a bit higher than my Paradym X did (Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue in the Smoke, HZRDUS Silver in the Paradym X).
Still efforting, but it seems like they're all selling for more the last couple days. I blame the Masters. I will have one in the next few days though.
Nice to see you developing some confidence and seeing some very positive results with the Max D Driver. 5 of 6 fairways is great regardless of that 9th hole tee shot.
- Moderator
- #2,770
Big time from our guy Brains!!!
That's the attitude. I'm going to adopt that on my nemesis hole at my course. There's a water hazard in play requiring a carry that I probably am lucky enough to miss hitting into about 50% of the time.
That's some impressive stuff there
“
Do you normally “go for it” anyways? Or lay up?
I got to the point where I was hitting 9 iron off the tee and turning a really short par four into a par 5.
Yes. Love this!
Do you normally “go for it” anyways? Or lay up?
I got to the point where I was hitting 9 iron off the tee and turning a really short par four into a par 5.
Love to see this confidence for you my man. That's huge!
