Odyssey gave the Stroke Lab Black putters a darker PVD finish and a new, firmer-feeling microhinge insert.
Gear: Odyssey Stroke Lab Black putters Price: $299.99 each Specs: Seven models with Microhinge face inserts and shafts that combine graphite and steel. Available: Jan. 30
Odyssey introduced the Stroke Lab putters in early 2019, and Francesco Molinari and Phil Mickelson promptly won PGA Tour events using them, then Xander Schauffele finished tied for second at the Masters with a Stroke Lab.
For 2020, Odyssey is extending the Stroke Lab putter family with the introduction of Stroke Lab Black putters inspired by feedback from elite golfers and tour players.
Each Stroke Lab Black putter comes standard with a Stroke Lab shaft made with graphite in the upper and middle sections and steel in the tip section. Odyssey said this design helps remove about 40 grams of weight from the middle of the putter, where it does not provide any performance benefits. Engineers split that saved weight between the head and the top portion of the handle, and Odyseey research showed the design resulted in golfers producing a more consistent stroke.
Unlike the original Stroke Lab putters that featured silver tones and darker accents, the Stroke Lab Black putters have a black PVD finish complimented by black paint.
Like the other Stroke Lab Black putters, the One has a new Microhinge Star face insert. (Odyssey Golf)
Another subtle change Odyssey made for the Stroke Lab Black putters was the addition of a new face insert. While many golfers liked the White Hot Microhinge insert, some thought it was too soft and muted. After testing several prototype inserts, Odyssey opted for a firmer hitting surface that has Microhinges but no grooves. It’s called the Microhinge Star insert, and it makes a slightly louder, higher-pitched sound, like a click, that many players found pleasing.
At the same time, the Microhinges still bend back at impact, then spring forward to reduce skidding and encourage the ball to start rolling more quickly.
Odyssey One Black R Line Arrow putter (Odyssey Golf)
The Stroke Lab Black family is comprised of five mallets, including the Bird of Prey, Ten and the Seven, which features fang-like extensions in the heel and toe area. The R Line Arrow is a rounded, high-MOI mallet, while the Rossie is a rounded mid-size mallet. Odyssey also offers a heel-toe-weighted blade, the One, and the Double Wide, which is an enlarged blade-style putter.
Using artificial intelligence, Callaway improved the Mavrik driver’s face, enhanced aerodynamics and increased forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero, Mavrik Max drivers Price: $499 with Project X Even Flow Riptide, Aldila Rogue White or UST Mamiya Helium shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align grip Specs: FS2S forged titanium face with carbon-fiber crown, adjustable hosel and moveable weights Available: Jan. 23
In 2019, Callaway released the Epic Flash and Epic Flash Sub Zero drivers, clubs that featured hitting areas created by supercomputers that tested more than 15,000 face designs using artificial intelligence.
After investing in greater computing power, Callaway has tried to solve a thorny problem: How can they make a driver more forgiving and, at the same time, more aerodynamic? Their answer is designed into the new Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max drivers.
Each Callaway Mavrik driver’s face is designed to provide more distance along with more forgiveness. (Callaway Golf)
Callaway said the key to unlocking performance in the Mavrik drivers was making a face that delivers more ball speed and enhances forgiveness by protecting ball speed and spin rates on mis-hits more effectively. To achieve that, each Mavrik driver model’s face is slightly different, with thicker and thinner areas created by AI. And there is a different face for each loft of each driver. For example, not only is the Mavrik driver’s face different than the Mavrik Sub Zero face, the 9-degree Mavrik’s face is subtly different than the 10.5-degree Mavrik’s face.
Callaway said that by fine-tuning each face this way, the Mavrik drivers produce more ball speed on well-struck shots and improve performance on mis-hits to provide the stability that golfers typically associate with clubs that feature high moment of inertia.
The Mavrik sole sweeps up more than last season’s Epic Flash for better aerodynamics. (Callaway Golf)
With increased stability coming from the face instead of a low-and-back center of gravity, engineers were free to make the body of the Mavrik drivers more aerodynamic. Compared to last season’s Epic Flash, the sole now rises up more and the carbon-fiber crown is higher, so the club creates less drag on the downswing and allows golfers to swing it faster with the same amount of effort. Callaway said the Mavrik creates 68 percent less drag than the Rogue driver it replaces.
Callaway also wanted to push the limits of characteristic time tolerances to make the drivers as springy as possible, but it wanted to ensure the faces stay within the USGA and R&A’s limits throughout their lifespan. To do that, it opted to make the faces from an exotic material, FS2S titanium, that is lighter, stronger and more resilient.
To enhance the sound of the Mavrik drivers, designers turned again to AI. After studying thousands of combinations of internal rib structures, the computer revealed to Callaway the optimal combination. Inside the head, there is a rib in the toe and others near each weight port that make the sound of impact deeper.
The three Mavrik drivers feature carbon-fiber crowns, Jailbreak bars that stiffen the front of the body at impact and adjustable hosels that allow the stated loft to be increased or decreased by as many as 2 degrees. However, each model is designed for a different group of players.
Callaway Mavrik driver (Callaway Golf)
The standard Mavrik should fit the greatest number of players, and it has a slight draw bias. The 460-cubic-centimeter head has a single 5-gram weight screw in the back of the sole, which also has the most prominent rise, making it the most aerodynamic. It is available in 9-degree, 10.5-degree and 12-degree versions.
Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero driver (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Sub Zero has a 450cc head and two weight ports. When the 14-gram weight is in the front and the 2-gram weight is in the back, it creates less spin and a lower launch angle. When the heavier weight is in the back, it creates more spin and a higher launch. It is available in 9-degree and 10.5-degree heads.
Callaway Mavrik Max driver (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Max, a 460cc club, has two weight ports, with one in the heel. When the 14-gram weight is placed there, it creates a large draw bias, but when that weight is in the back, it plays like a traditional high-MOI club with a low and deep center of gravity. The Mavrik Max is available in 9-degree, 10.5-degree and 12-degree versions.
Callaway used artificial intelligence to create a new family of fairway woods designed to help golfers get more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero, Mavrik Max fairway woods Price: $299 with Project X Even Flow Riptide, Aldila Rogue White or UST Mamiya Helium shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align grip Specs: Forged C300 maraging steel face cup with carbon-fiber crown and moveable weights. Available: Jan. 23
Callaway’s newest fairway woods, the Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max, were designed to help golfers get more distance by utilizing face designs created using artificial intelligence.
Put simply, Callaway made a major investment in access to supercomputing and set about tasking the machines to study thousands of fairway wood faces. Parameters were set so the computer would try to identify the face patterns that produced the most ball speed on well-struck shots as well as patterns that protected ball speed on common misses.
The face of each Callaway Mavrik fairway wood is different by club type and by loft. (Callaway Golf)
The most interesting thing about the faces the computer designed is they not only differ between the standard, Sub Zero and Max models, they also differ by loft within each model because the analysis showed, for example, that golfers tend to mis-hit 3-woods differently than 5-woods.
While none of the Mavrik fairway woods has an adjustable hosel, each has a carbon-fiber crown that saves a significant amount of weight. Each also has Jailbreak bars in the front of the club that connect the sole to the crown. The bars stiffen the front of the head at impact so energy can be transferred into the shot more efficiently instead of being lost in the deformation of the head.
Callaway said the face in each Mavrik fairway wood has a characteristic time (a measure of springiness) that is akin to a driver, so it should be able to transfer energy created at impact into the ball like a driver.
Callaway Mavrik fairway wood (Callaway Golf)
The standard Mavrik fairway wood is the most aerodynamic and likely will fit the broadest number of players. It is offered as a 3+, 3-wood, 4-wood, 5-wood and 7-wood.
Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero fairway wood (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Sub Zero fairway woods are slightly smaller than the standard Mavrik and come standard with a pair of moveable weights (14-grams and 2-grams). Positioning the heavier weight in the front reduces spin and encourages a lower launch, while adding it to the back adds spin and should produce a higher shot. The Sub Zero is offered as a 3+, 3-wood, 4-wood and 5-wood.
Callaway Mavrik Max fairway wood (Callaway Max)
Finally, for golfers who battle a slice or who want even more stability, Callaway will offer the Mavrik Max fairway woods. The largest of the three offerings, it has two weight ports like the Sub Zero, but one port is in the heel. Adding the 14-gram weight to that spot should encourage a draw. The face of the Max was designed with a wider radius, so it is especially forgiving on mis-hits in the low-heel and low-toe areas. The Mavrik Max is offered as a 3+, 3-wood, 5-wood, Heavenwood, 7-wood, 9-wood and 11-wood.
Using a supercomputer to design each face, along with tungsten weights and urethane inserts, Callaway is delivering more distance and feel.
Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Max, Mavrik Pro irons Price: $799 (Standard, Max)/$899 (Pro) with True Temper Elevate or KBS Max steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Soft grips; $899 (Standard, Max) with Project X Catalyst graphite shafts. Specs: Cast stainless steel with cup face design, internal tungsten bar and urethane microspheres Available: Feb. 6
A year ago Callaway released the Epic Flash driver family and touted that the faces in those clubs were designed by supercomputers that utilized artificial intelligence. Simulating how more than 15,000 prototypes would perform, the system revealed things to Callaway’s design team that would have taken years to develop.
For 2020, Callaway has used the same method to create a new iron family: the Mavrik, Mavrik Max and the Mavrik Pro.
Callaway instructed the computer to consider ball speed, launch angle and spin as it simulated prototype faces for the new irons. Not only did it come up with different face patterns for each of the three club types, it suggested unique faces for each club in all three sets too. Callaway said the suggested designs for the long irons produce more speed and distance while the short iron designs help golfers control spin and trajectory more effectively.
Each iron also has a unique tungsten weight that helps Callaway tune the center of gravity to benefit players most. Extra tungsten in the long irons helps produce higher shots, while smaller pieces of tungsten in the heads of the short irons help golfers keep approach shots down.
Tungsten is not easily welded to stainless steel, so Callaway encases each of the tungsten pieces in a urethane liquid infused with millions of tiny glass bubbles. After being injected into place, the urethane solidifies. The company refers to the material as Urethane Microspheres, and it not only holds the tungsten weight in place, it dampens vibrations and enhances feel at impact without decreasing ball speed.
All these technologies – the computer-designed cup face, tungsten weight and urethane material – work together to broaden the ideal hitting area and protect ball speed on mis-hits.
The standard Mavrik is the longest-hitting of the three new irons. It’s a game-improvement club that has a moderately thick topline and sole width with some offset. The lofts are stronger than those designed into many game-improvement irons (the 5-iron is 21 degrees and the pitching wedge is 41 degrees) because the tungsten weight helps get the ball up in the air. As a result, shots go farther and hit their apex farther downrange.
Callaway Mavrik Max iron (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Max is a super-game-improvement iron for higher-handicap golfers who struggle with consistency. The lofts are not as strong as the standard Mavrik’s (the 5-iron is 23 degrees and the pitching wedge is 43 degrees), but the heads are larger to make them more forgiving.
Callaway Mavrik Pro (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Pro irons are the most compact of the three. They have the thinnest toplines and soles, and only moderate offset. The iron lofts are 0.5 degrees weaker than the Mavrik Max, but the pitching wedge and gap wedge lofts are the same as on the Max.
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.
Two new Callaway drivers were added to the USGA and R&A’s conforming driver lists last week and Xander Schauffele is using one already.
Last week a pair of new Callaway clubs appeared for the first time on the United States Golf Association and R&A’s conforming driver lists. The company did not provide details about the Mavrik and Mavrik Sub Zero, but once those drivers were added to the lists, they became available for use in competition and it appears that Xander Schauffele put one into play on Thursday at Royal Melbourne Golf Club during the open matches at the Presidents Cup.
As you can see in this close-up photo of the driver Schauffele used in his opening-round match with Patrick Cantlay against Sungjae Im and Adam Hadwin, the bottom of the club clearly says Mavrik.
Xander Schauffele’s Callaway driver at Presidents Cup. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
With a weight visible in both the back and behind the leading edge, it appears that Schauffele is using the Sub Zero version of the Mavrik driver.
Historically, Sub Zero versions of Callaway drivers spin less than standard versions and produce a lower ball flight.
See a complete list of the Callaway clubs that the Swede used to win Tiger Woods’ event in the Bahamas.
A complete list of the clubs that Henrik Stenson used to win the 2019 Hero World Challenge:
DRIVER:Callaway Epic Flash (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 65 AV X shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS:Callaway Epic Flash (13.5 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Yellow shaft, Rogue Sub Zero, (18 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei Black 80 TX shaft
IRONS: Callaway Legacy Black (3-9), with Nippon Modus Tour 120 shafts
WEDGES:Callaway MD3 (46 degrees), JAWS MD5 (52, 58 degrees), with Nippon Modus Tour 120 shafts
The USGA just added two Callaway drivers to its conforming driver head list. What do we know about the Mavrik and Mavrik Sub Zero?
Two yet-to-be-released Callaway drivers, the Mavrik and the Mavrik Sub Zero, have been added to the U.S. Golf Association’s list of conforming driver heads.
While Callaway has not made any official announcement about the clubs, every manufacturer must send test samples of new equipment to the USGA and the R&A to ensure the clubs conform to the Rules of Golf. If a club or ball does not appear on the appropriate list, it is not legal for use in official rounds or competition.
The conforming driver head list is updated every Monday, but clubs don’t simply show up on a Monday after tests are completed. USGA officials have said they work with manufacturers and add conforming driver heads to the list on dates requested by brands, so we can assume Callaway wanted the Mavrik and Mavrik Sub Zero added today. It’s interesting because the Presidents Cup is just a week away, and Callaway staff players such as Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman and Adam Hadwin can add a Mavrik or Mavrik Sub Zero to their bags for that event.
There are many things the black-and-white USGA photos do not show, but some features are visible, and history has taught us a few things about Callaway drivers.
The Mavrik appears to be more similar to Callaway’s Rogue driver than the Epic Flash, with a single weight in the back section of the sole, an adjustable hosel mechanism and Jailbreak Technology. The Rogue driver has a carbon-fiber crown, but the USGA photo does not show the top of the Mavrik. The Rogue driver was released in January 2018, so it would make sense for the Mavrik to replace it after a two-year product cycle.
Callaway’s yet-to-be-released Mavrik Sub Zero driver (USGA)
The Mavrik Sub Zero appears to have the same technologies, with the addition of a second weight behind the Jailbreak bars and the leading edge. Historically, Sub Zero versions of Callaway drivers were designed to produce less spin and fly lower than standard drivers.
See all the gear that the American stars like Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are expected to play in December.
With Tiger Woods having announced his captain’s picks (including himself), we now know the 12 members of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will face the International squad Dec. 12-15 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. Below is a list of the U.S. players and the equipment they are expected to use.
Patrick Cantlay’s Titleist irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)
HYBRID:Titleist 816 H2 (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi CK Pro Blue 90 X shaft
IRONS:Titleist T100 (4-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 shafts
WEDGES:Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (54 degrees bent to 53, 56 degrees bent to 57, 60 degrees bent to 61), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts
