The Callaway Golf Paradym drivers had a dominating 2023. It won three majors, was Number 1 in worldwide victories, and the best selling driver of 2023. When I played the Paradym Triple Diamond I had some of my best driving days of the year with this beast in the bag.
So of course the Paradym was going to be in my PGAPappas 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. And the winner of this driver says it has "won a place in [my] bag" with "10-15 more yards" than his gamer and "far more forgiveness."
In his own words, here's what Christopher (@CFreddie on X) thinks about his new Callaway Paradym Driver.
To say I was ecstatic to get a notification in December that I won one Pete’s 12 Days Giveaways is the understatement of the year – especially one as great as the Callaway Paradym! I have heard incredible things about the club, so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on one to try out.
Fitting: First things first - I needed to try out different models and shaft options, so after calling around, I went with a local Edwin Watts, as they had all three models, and a pretty wide selection of stock & custom shafts.
Unfortunately, I didn't snap any pictures (I was too excited), but the results were pretty impressive. I started out with the Paradym X at 10.5*, which I've read is the most "forgiving" and probably the closest to my current gamer. Starting with two stock options (Hzrdus Silver & Ventus Blue Non-Velocore), I immediately noticed some positive trends in spin & dispersion, but nothing really different from my gamer with ONE exception - the X accentuated my draw, my natural shot shape, too much and nearly all of my shots were offline (without adjusting my aim direction). Knowing the X is draw-biased, this wasn't surprising, but it was interesting to see just how much it affected my "good" shots.
Moving on to the standard Paradym, my fitter made a couple distinct adjustments - first off, he put me in a 9* head, suggesting that it might help a bit more with spin & launch angle (most of my drivers in my gamer are pretty high as is) and he moved the heel weight to the "fade" position on the back of the club (note - the weight rail is only on the standard Paradym). In addition, my feedback on shaft feel was that both options felt a bit "muted", and I generally prefer a shaft with a bit more feel / snappiness. With this, he put me in the standard Ventus Blue (w/ Velocore) to try. Within 1-2 shots, I knew I was getting closer to ideal - spin & launch were much more favorable (low 2000s and launching at 12*) and I was achieving even better carry distance (averaging 10ish yards more than my gamer). In addition, my dispersion was MUCH better with the weight adjustment, hitting a very minimal baby draw each and every time.
However, before I packed it in, my fitter suggested trying out the "TR" version of the Ventus Blue, saying it would give a bit more "snappiness" in the middle of the shaft. After switching out, he was right (again) as the feel was more than ideal, without sacrificing any of the gains seen in the original VB.
All-in-all, my final build specs were as follows:
- Paradym at 9* (neutral collar)
- Ventus TR Blue 6S
- GP Tour Velvet Mid-Size (no wraps)
First Impressions / Unboxing: After a short wait (10 days), it has arrived!!!
Some initial thoughts:
- Sorry Callaway, but the headcover must go. Its just a bit too much for my liking, but that's an easy switch out
- While most drivers are adjustable, its a bit strange that Callaway doesn't include an adjustment tool (especially for a $$$ club).
- Regardless of these two knocks, the club is absolutely beautiful - Callaway knocked it out of the park with the colorway and design.
Look / Sound / Feel: As mentioned above, I absolutely love the look of this club, especially at address. Its not a muted as my gamer, but I'm really digging the colorway across the head.
After warming on the range, I was able to do a pretty thorough side by side comparison between the Paradym & gamer. First off - the sound between the drivers is quite noticeable. While my gamer has a noticeable ping, the Paradym is much more muted (albeit with a slight metallic pop). I'm not a big audible guy, so I don't have a preference, but it was interesting to hear these back to back.
Onto feel, which is where these drivers start to REALLY differentiate. My gamer came equipped with the Hzrdus RDX Smoke Blue, which I've always liked from a feel perspective - relatively crisp pop and sturdy enough for my mid-tempo swing. However, it was pretty obvious just how different the Ventus Blue was going to be within 3 balls - tip was very stiff, while the butt and mid-shaft are soft, contributing to a feel that was very pleasing overall*. All-in-all, its easy to see why the Blue carries a steep upcharge in comparison to the Hzrdus stock option (not a knock on the Hzrdus though).
* - while a clean shot feels INCREDIBLE on the Ventus Blue, you know very quickly on a miss-hit. Tempo is key.
The Numbers: Onto the numbers - I've never been the *best* driver of the golf ball, but I have found some success with my gamer. The biggest knock has been the flight - I've found that the most common ball flight is a high-draw, although I'd prefer a slightly lower launch.
Moving on to the Paradym - I immediately started seeing a lower launch angle, combined with slightly higher ball speed, equating to a good increase in carry / total distance. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get spin numbers on the range, but if this carries over from the fitting, I'd imagine I'm seeing a good drop in spin as well with the move to the Paradym / Ventus combo.
Takeaways: After a couple good range sessions & rounds on the course, the Paradym has won out its place in my bag. While I've had some great success with my gamer over the last year, the Paradym offers a bit more distance (based on some rough data points ~10-15 yards) with far more forgiveness (my miss has been reduced drastically, most likely driven by the weight shift in the back). I think what eventually won this out was the shaft selection - the Ventus TR just feels more premium in comparison to the Hzrdus Blue. Furthermore, it has forced me to focus on my swing tempo (the Ventus will tell you if your tempo is off pretty quickly), which has resulted in more consistent tee shots over time.
In closing, thanks so much to my man Pete for such an amazing gift during the 12 days of Christmas – you truly are a gem!
Fantastic review Christopher and thoroughly enjoyed reading it all. Pumped you've found a driver that gives you more distance and tighter dispersion. And your new Callaway Paradym driver sounds like it's going to turn the tee box into a blast zone for you this year!
Anytime any of you want to write a guest review just shoot me a DM or email and we'll get it done. Your guest reviews have all been fantastic and I know a lot of my readers absolutely love getting different perspectives from different people with different playing skills and goals. It's all about having fun and the guest reviews are as fun as it gets.
Cheers all!
No comments:
Post a Comment