Callaway has brought to market a brand new family of drivers called Elyte. In this review, I am going to be taking a look at the model that sits at the most ‘playable’ or forgiving end of the range - the Elyte X. With the name offering a little nod to the company founder Ely Callaway, the Carlsbad-based manufacturer will be hoping that it can do the name justice and sit amongst the best golf drivers of 2025.
In terms of the broader tech story around the full Elyte range, I would refer you to my Elyte driver review which lays out a story of aerodynamics, and prototyping in more detail, however, the X model has some individual technical features that are worth outlining too.
Very much designed for players seeking maximum forgiveness and high launch, the X model features a neutral and draw setting which is determined by an adjustable 13-gram weight that sits in one of two ports in the rear section of the club head. Like the rest of the range, the Elyte X features a new ‘Thermoforged’ carbon crown that is designed to enable fast club head speeds and facilitate optimal launch and spin outputs.
In terms of the looks on offer here, I would split it into two sections. Shelf appeal, and playing position. Personally, while I have heard some mixed opinions on the shelf appeal, I actually quite like this particular model, especially the green accent color that harks back to a very successful previous Callaway franchise, Epic. The only part I would criticise from this angle would be the weight ports on the back. When in use, they are filled neatly with the smart adjustable weight, however, something looks very unfinished about the ports that are not in use to me. Fortunately, there is only one port out of use at any one time in the Elyte X model, whereas the standard Elyte will have two of these slightly unsightly empty ports.
The second part of the visual story - the playing position - is excellent. The dark matte carbon crown looks very strong and contrasts well with the banner strip along the leading edge and the familiar Callaway chevron is present. There has been an interesting decision from Callaway to produce a very different finish between the standard and X models (which are a matte kind of charcoal finish), and the Triple Diamond (which is a glossy black). I don’t particularly understand or like that call, but truth be told both of the finishes are extremely well executed either way.
Performance-wise, the Elyte X ticks all the boxes. Most of my testing was done at Saunton Golf Club with TaylorMade TP5 golf balls and a FullSwing KIT launch monitor with some follow-up testing on the Foresight Sports GCQuad launch monitor, and Callaway has delivered what it promised in terms of data. A pleasingly high launch with healthy levels of spin, and a reasonable distance output will suit anyone shopping in this category.
While there are two settings (neutral and draw) on the sole, I found the driver to have a pretty apparent draw bias even in its neutral setting which is only enhanced further when you switch the back weight into the draw port.
The feel is a touch more robust than some other competitors this year, but it is one I really like, firm but still lively, and it makes a nice mid-pitched sound as you strike it.
Maybe the standout feature for me however is the stability and forgiveness on offer here. This is about as user-friendly as it gets, and even the most severe of my mishits didn’t leak too much ball speed with dispersion remaining extremely tight. In fact, tight dispersion was a real feature of my testing here, the Elyte X was a real fairway finder for me which inspired a lot of confidence even on the tightest of holes.
The spin output would be a little too high for someone at my clubhead speed (around 118-120 mph) to seriously consider gaming the Elyte X, but the rest of the package on offer here would tick anyone’s boxes.
The Elyte X will be available in 9° and 10.5° lofts for right and left-handed players with a further 12° head available for the right-handers. The Elyte X will be retailing at an RRP of $599.99 with numerous custom options for shaft and grip.
Stock shafts include True Temper Project X Denali Charcoal, Mitsubishi Chemical Vanquish PL, and for women the Mitsubishi Chemical Eldio.
