Gear: Callaway Paradym, Paradym X, Paradym Triple Diamond fairway woods
Price: $499.99 with Aldila Ascent PL Blue shaft, Project X HZRDUS Silver shaft, Project X HZRDUS Black shaft or Mitsubishi Kai’Li White shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips.
Specs: Carbon fiber crown with forged carbon composite pieces in the sole, C300 maraging steel cup face and adjustable hosel.
Available: Feb. 24
Who It’s For: Golfers who want an easy-to-hit fairway wood that delivers more distance.
The Skinny: Adding carbon fiber to the sole and creating a face using artificial intelligence helped Callaway increase ball speed, especially on thin-struck shots, while also boosting forgiveness.
The Deep Dive: Last season’s Rogue ST family of fairway woods was popular among tour players and weekend golfers, so bringing a new, better offering in 2023 was no small task for Callaway’s R&D team. However, by including some of the technologies found in the 2023 Paradym drivers in these new fairway woods, the company thinks it’s done the job.
The clubs share several technologies but have differences, too.
Forged Carbon
Fairway woods traditionally have been made using stainless steel because the material is durable and strong, but Callaway has used carbon fiber in the crown of many recent fairway woods to reduce weight on the top of the club and lower the center of gravity. The new Paradym and Paradym X fairway woods also have carbon fiber in the sole.
Forged carbon is made by chopping up pieces of carbon fiber, heating them and forging them into the desired shape. This manufacturing method allows designers to create forms that would not otherwise be possible using carbon fiber, and in the Paradym and Paradym X fairway woods, using it creates more discretionary weight.
The Paradym’s sole contains the most forged carbon, while the Paradym X has forged carbon in the toe section and stainless steel in the heel to create a draw bias. The Paradym Triple Diamond does not have any forged composite in the sole.
Jailbreak A.I. and Tungsten Speed Cartridge
While the Paradym drivers have a new, Y-shaped internal Jailbreak bar behind the center of the hitting area to stiffen the chassis at impact, the Paradym fairway woods rely on a different Jailbreak system to do the same job.
While the adjustable hosel system in the heel area creates extra stiffness, Callaway has added a triangular-shaped piece of stainless steel inside the heel that connects the bottom of the head, the toe section and the crown. Referred to as Batwing, it helps redirect energy created at impact that otherwise would be wasted in the deformation of the head, sending that energy back into the ball for more distance.
To lower the center of gravity more, Callaway added a 23-gram tungsten bar to the sole of the Paradym fairway woods directly behind the leading edge. Referred to as a Tungsten Speed Cartridge, it helps normalize spin across a more significant portion of the hitting area and shift the center of gravity forward, which increases ball speed.
A.I. designed hitting area and forged cup face
As they did with the Paradym drivers, Callaway’s designers used supercomputers and artificial intelligence to create the face plates in the Paradym fairway woods. Forged using C300 stainless steel, the face has a series of ridges, valleys and swales on the inner-facing side that help deliver more distance. However, engineers also instructed the system to emphasize improving the performance of shots hit low in the face, where most mis-hits occur.
The A.I.-designed face insert has been attached to a cup face that wraps under the leading edge, around the toe and over the topline of the club. This helps broaden the ideal hitting area.
Paradym
Callaway said the standard Paradym fairway wood will fit the broadest range of players and is offering it in lofts of 15 degrees (3), 16.5 degrees (3HL), 18 degrees (5), 21 degrees (7), 24 degrees (9) and 27 degrees (11), and as a 20-degree Heavenwood fitted with a 4-wood-length shaft.
This model has the most forged carbon in the sole and has no draw or fade bias.
Paradym X
Available in lofts of 15 (3), 16.5 (3HL), 18 (5) and 21 (7) degrees, the Paradym X is the largest of the three fairway woods and was designed for golfers who struggle with a slice. While there is a forged carbon piece in the toe side of the sole, the heel area is made using stainless steel, so it weighs more and creates a draw bias. Unlike the other Paradym fairway woods, the X version has a bonded hosel instead of an adjustable hosel.
Paradym Triple Diamond
Offered in lofts of 13.5 (3+), 15 (3) and 18 (5) degrees, the Paradym Triple Diamond has the smallest head of the three new offerings and is for accomplished and fast-swinging players who want a lower trajectory and less spin from their fairway woods. Adding a 5-gram weight screw behind the Tungsten Speed Cartridge shifts the center of gravity forward, which helps the club create more ball speed and less spin.
