Created with accomplished golfers in mind, the Apex UW blends hybrid versatility and fairway wood ball speed into one club.
Gear: Callaway Apex UW utility wood Price: $299.99 each with Project X Smoke RDX graphite shaft and Lamkin UTX grip (at callawaygolf.com) Specs: Stainless steel head with forged C300 maraging-steel face. 17-, 19- and 21-degree versions Available: Oct. 7
Equipment makers are clever, designing new clubs all the time to solve problems that golfers face on the course.
Hybrids hit the scene in a big way in the early 2000s, allowing recreational golfers to replace their hard-to-hit long irons with clubs that are more forgiving and versatile. Eventually, elite golfers on the PGA, LPGA and other professional tours starting adding hybrids, too.
Over the last two seasons, several well-known players have added high-lofted fairway woods to their bags because companies can now deliver more ball speed, and clubs such as a 7-wood can create shots that stop more quickly on firm greens.
With the new Apex UW, Callaway is offering accomplished players a club that fits into the gap between hybrids and fairway woods, trying to offer better players the best of both worlds in a new utility wood.
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Callaway’s newest hybrid is packed with driver-style materials and features to maximize distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Epic Super Hybrid Price: $399.99 with Steelfiber FC Hybrid shaft and Lamkin UTx grip Specs: Carbon-fiber crown, titanium chassis and face with internal tungsten weights and stainless steel support bars. 16-, 18-, 21-, 24- and 27-degree options Available: Sept. 9, 2021
Imagine a golf equipment maker crammed several driver technologies and features into a club that could not only be hit off the tee, but also off the turf instead of a long iron. That’s precisely what Callaway has done to develop the new Epic Super Hybrid. From titanium and carbon fiber to internal tungsten weights, chassis-stiffening bars and an adjustable hosel, it’s all here.
Callaway’s newest max game-improvement hybrids are loaded with distance-enhancing features and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Big Bertha B-21 hybrid Price: $249.99 each with Callaway RCH graphite shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Soft 360 grip Specs: Stainless steel body with carbon-fiber crown, internal tungsten weights and cup-face design. 3-hybrid through 8-hybrid available. Available: Sept. 10
High-handicap golfers have no business carrying a 3-iron and probably would be better off without a 4-iron. Hybrids, with their wider soles, larger faces and more-forgiving nature, are a better alternative.
But some golfers still struggle to hit their hybrids consistently, so Callaway designed a new super-game-improvement hybrid, the Big Bertha B-21, specifically to meet the needs of players who struggle with distance and consistency.
Callaway designers used what they learned in creating last season’s Super Hybrid to create the Big Bertha B-21, then added more game-improvement features. The Big Bertha B-21 has a triaxial carbon-fiber crown that saves weight and a pair of Jailbreak bars positioned inside the head and directly behind the hitting area. The bars connect the sole to the crown and stiffen the chassis at impact to help direct energy back to the ball instead of deforming the head.
Callaway gave the Big Bertha B-21 a cup-face design and internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To lower the center of gravity and pull it back away from the face, Callaway added 70 grams of tungsten in the form of two internal weights to the Big Bertha B-21. The weights are positioned in the heel and toe areas, boosting stability on off-center hits and encouraging a higher ball launch.
To boost distance, Callaway used artificial intelligence to create unique cup faces for each of the six Big Bertha B-21 hybrids. The edges of the faces are attached behind the leading edge, the topline and the toe to create a trampoline effect across a larger area.
The Big Bertha B-21 has a lot of offset to help golfers square the face more easily. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To help many recreational golfers hit straighter shots, the Big Bertha B-21 hybrids have significant offset, as do the Big Bertha B-21 irons. Callaway expects many high-handicap golfers to create combo sets of Big Bertha B-21 hybrids and irons, so having a lot of offset in both clubs makes the transition between them more comfortable.
Callaway designed its newest hybrids using artificial intelligence to create clubs that produce more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Max, Mavrik Pro hybrids Price: $249 each with Project X Catalyst or KBS Tour Hybrid shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Specs: Carpenter steel cup face with internal stiffening bars. Available in 18, 20, 23 and 26 degrees (Standard); 19, 21, 24, 27, 30 and 33 degrees (Max); 18, 20, 23 and 26 degrees (Pro) Available: Feb. 6
Many golfers opt for hybrid clubs instead of long irons because hybrids are more forgiving, produce more distance and typically hit the ball higher. For golfers who want more of each of those traits, Callaway is offering the first hybrid club designed with a hitting area created with the help of supercomputers and artificial intelligence: the Mavrik, Mavrik Max and Mavrik Pro.
Callaway Mavrik Max hybrid (Callaway Golf)
Every Mavrik hybrid has a Carpenter steel cup face that helps broaden the sweet spot, but the hitting area is also thicker in some places and thinner in others to more efficiently turn clubhead speed into ball speed.
Historically, the thicker areas are in the center and the thinnest portions are around the edges, but in the Mavrik hybrids that is not always the case. The computer created and theoretically tested thousands of faces, then revealed to Callaway’s engineers which performed best. As a result, the faces are unique not only to each type of Mavrik hybrid but also to each loft. For example, the hitting area in the 3H Mavrik is different than the 5H Mavrik.
All three Mavrik hybrids have Jailbreak bars that connect the sole of the club to the crown. They stiffen the front of the head at impact so more energy is transferred into the shot instead of being wasted in the deformation of the head.
The standard Mavrik hybrid has a square-toe design. (Callaway Golf)
The standard Mavrik hybrid is a mid-sized club with a square-toe shape and an iron-style design that appeals to a large number of players.
The Mavrik Max hybrids are slightly larger with a center of gravity that is lower and farther back, so golfers can expect them to create a higher launch and be more forgiving.
The face of the Callaway Mavrik Pro hybrid is more rounded. (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Pro is not necessarily designed with more accomplished golfers in mind. Callaway said it will appeal to a lot of golfers, but its shape is inspired by some hybrids and fairway wood that members of the company’s tour staff liked over the years. It has a smaller head size, lower profile and a more-rounded look, along with a flatter lie angle to encourage an anti-left ball flight that better players tend to favor.
