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Callaway Paradym Driver Review Will there be a shift?

The new Callaway Paradym driver has just dropped in Japan, and there is a ton of hype around this series of clubs, Just in the last few weeks it has dominated the men's tour, with all tournaments this year so far being won by a player using Paradym (Jon Rahm twice, and the other being Tom Kim) and other staffers rocking the club also placed high on the leaderboards. Like all new drivers in the market, it's boasting more distance and forgiveness, but have they actually achieved that? We managed to get our hands on the available models for testing, and this is what we found...

Look and Feel

My first impression when it came out of the box is that this is a premium club, the blue on the carbon body has a navy coloring that I have seen on some of the other Japanese brands, like Yonex or PRGR, and the Paradym logo even has a line going through it like XXIO sometimes uses.  

The design is striking without being flashy, there are 3 sections to the head- a titanium face offering a very large and modern groove pattern, a carbon fiber body with a nice gloss finish, and more titanium in the back with an adjustable sliding weight for draw/ fade bias, and it looks like there is a lot of technology happening with this combo (more on that later). I really liked the look when I set the club down at address, it feels like a large modern club and with the adjustable lie and loft, you feel confident that you can get a good strike, hitting up on the ball. the carbon has a gloss finish and looks superb between the titanium sections. 

You can feel the weight is dispersed at different points in the head, and when you give it a swoosh it feels fast. 

 

Technology

The first one of the new features is the "Triaxial Carbon Crown," which is a lightweight and strong material that allows for optimal weight distribution and a lower center of gravity, resulting in a higher launch angle and increased forgiveness. The driver also has a "T2C Triaxial Carbon Sole," which helps to increase stability and reduce twisting on off-center hits.

The Paradym driver has a "Speed Step" design on the crown, which is a unique feature that helps to reduce air resistance and increase clubhead speed. Additionally, the driver has a "SureFit CG" adjustable weight system, which allows golfers to fine-tune the club to their individual swing and playing style.

The "Jailbreak" technology is also present and Callaway says that when combined with the triaxial carbon crown, the two work together to deliver exceptional distance and a higher launch angle, resulting in longer and straighter drives.

The "SureFit CG" weight system also allows golfers to customize the club for that draw or fade bias, customizing it to their individual swing, which hopefully will result in improved accuracy and consistency.

It comes as does the Stealth in 5 models; the Paradym, presumably for the higher handicappers which has the sliding weight, the X for the mid players, the Max fast for the headbangers, and the triple diamond for lower handicappers, and of course, a ladies version too.

Performance

Straight out of the gate the feel of the strike was solid, and the sound was also good, maybe not as good as the stealth but it did zing when caught in the middle.

The head speed was fast, the lightweight crown with its aerodynamic and CG profile doing its job. In terms of distance, there was a reasonable 10-yard gain when compared with the Rogue, but not on all shots. The most impressive thing was it had a surprisingly tight dispersion, showing that it is forgiving even with low-on-the-face or off-center shots going reasonably straight. 

In terms of ball flight and trajectory, the spin rate on all models was similar, and the sliding 15-gram weight did its job, with draw and fade shot shapes both easily achievable. 

Verdict

To sum it all up, the Paradigm is a great club. It is Callaway's best driver to date, and it is certainly keeping up with the Jones's. And I think this will do well in Japan, despite the hefty price tag I suspect that once released, most of the Callaway die-hards (lefties) will move to it.  

Online orders are available on the Callaway homepage.

Pricing: Paradigm, X, and Max Fast: ¥87,120 and the triple diamond: ¥96,800 (including tax) 

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