WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke threesome of hybrids uses faces designed with the assistance of artificial intelligence algorithms that analyse how different golfers deliver the club to the ball. Based on thousands of swings, the variable thickness faces accentuate ball flight to optimise distance, dispersion and trajectory. The three heads offer distinct shapes, sizes, internal mass and overall weights to provide specific player benefits.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods: What you need to know
PRICE: $529.99 ($NZ629.99). Paradym Ai Smoke (18, 21, 24, 27 degrees, with eight-way adjustable hosel); Paradym Ai Smoke HL (18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33 degrees, with eight-way adjustable hosel); Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast (21, 24, 27, 30, 33 degrees, with fixed hosel). Available for pre-order on January 12, at retail on January 26.
Ai Smoke
3 COOL THINGS
1. Face design. Like so many past generations of Callaway hybrids, the face inserts on the Paradym Ai Smoke hybrids wrap around the toplines and leading edges so the weld lines stay off the face itself. While this creates more potential flexing all over the face, it’s the variable thicknesses of those faces and how they are distinctly shaped in fuller and thinner regions in different ways across all three models that maximises different kinds of golfers’ potential. Specifically, the face on the standard Ai Smoke is designed differently for players who hit down on the ball with a more iron-like swing than it is for players who make more of a sweeping motion when hitting their hybrids (like on the Ai Smoke Max Fast models). That means using the face’s pattern of thicknesses, called “topology”, to optimise launch and maximise speed within the shallow face designs of the HL and Max Fast hybrids.
Ai Smoke HL
Meanwhile, the standard Ai Smoke model, which is a bit larger than last year’s Paradym hybrids but not oversize like the HL and Max Fast heads, uses the face design to maximise ball speed for shots around the centre of its fuller overall area.
Ai Smoke
2. Sole power. Each of the models also uses a slightly tweaked sole design from last year’s Paradym models. Specifically, there’s more camber and more raised heel and toe regions to provide smoother turf interaction.
Ai Smoke Max Fast
The heads also find room for a tungsten weight that’s pushed forward in the sole to keep the centre of gravity low and in line with the centre of the face. That makes for both better launch and more efficient energy transfer.
3. Three’s company. The three designs here target optimising specific golfer groups with a combination of enhancing skills (Paradym Ai Smoke) and creating more opportunities for improved launch (Paradym Ai Smoke HL) and increased speed for moderate swingers (Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast).
The standard model is a little larger in profile with a slightly taller and larger face area. It’s designed for players with average to high swing speeds. Both the HL and Max Fast versions feature shallow face designs to promote more confidence in higher launch.
Ai Smoke
The HL is about 15 grams lighter than the standard model, while the Max Fast uses a 40-gram shaft for a much lighter swing weight. Both the standard and HL models utilise Callaway’s eight-way adjustable hosel that allows for two degrees of loft increase and one degree of loft decrease while independently adjusting lie angle from flat to standard to more upright.
Ai Smoke Max Fast
