Equipment
2020 Callaway Mavrik drivers: Faster means farther
Callaway is going Mavrik in 2020 with three MAVRIK Driver models: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max.
A maverick by definition is “an unorthodox or independent-minded person.” And in the world of club design, Callaway is certainly thinking independently.
The new 2020 Callaway Mavrik series of drivers were created by utilizing an unorthodox approach to designing better golf clubs: artificial intelligence. It must be working—you may remember that A.I. helped design the Epic Flash drivers won our Best Drivers of 2019 award.
Now, armed with a greater understanding of how machine learning can help engineers, Callaway is applying A.I. beyond the face and around the rest of the head to assist in building a better driver—this, you could say, is a…Mavrik approach (I’ll see myself out for the obvious pun. No “Top Gun” jokes to follow, I promise).
The one thing it doesn’t take a supercomputer to figure out is the only real way to make a golf ball travel farther is to impart greater force on it—simple physics. The only way to create greater force is through either mass or velocity/acceleration (energy = mass X acceleration, after all), and as Callaway said many years ago with the Big Bertha Alpha driver with Gravity Core “you can’t argue with physics.”
Artificial Intelligence—Real-world Results
For Callaway, the first step in proving A.I. could help build better clubs was by giving it the task of redesigning a driver club face’s variable face thickness pattern to increase ball speed: mission accomplished with Flash Face, found in the 2019 Epic Flash drivers.
With the new Mavrik driver, it was going to take a lot more than a face redesign to improve on the Epic Flash, so Callaway engineers went back to the drawing board to not just rethink the face but the rest of the club from the ground up to make it faster.
Cyclone shaping
It was a fine balancing act for Callaway engineers to create the new Mavrik driver since conventional thinking would lead most OEMs to simply reduce total mass of a club to allow golfers to swing it faster—a proven formula. The problem is, when you reduce mass, you reduce potential energy.
To increase the potential speed of the driver head, Callaway used A.I. to overcome the trade-offs of forgiveness, aerodynamics, and ball speed to build a new profile that is much more aerodynamically efficient and forgiving. Callaway calls it Cyclone Shaping.
Any time you discuss the development of any new product with an engineer, words like “balance” and “efficiency” come up a lot. In most industries, it’s a matter of cost vs performance or value, but in golf it’s a matter of balancing what’s possible under the rules without giving up either too much top-end performance or forgiveness and actually creating something to increase ball speed.
According to Callaway, the Cyclone Shaping as a standalone technology makes the new driver head 61 percent more efficient through the air, creating less drag and making the Mavrik 1 mph faster than the 2019 Epic Flash. All this while still maintaining a 460cc head volume. One mph of clubhead speed has the potential to add up to 3-4 yards total distance.
Each of the three driver models in the Mavrik line utilize the Cyclone Shaping to increase potential speed, but with three distinct models designed for different player profiles, there is more than just aerodynamics, that according to Callaway helps make this the “best driver Callaway has ever produced.”
Flash Face SS20
Time to go under the hood to explain how Callaway engineers, along with the help of A.I., managed to create more robust ball speed from a face already pushed to the limit.
After maximizing the aerodynamics of the head, the other key components had to evolve as well, including the face and how mass was distributed to maintain MOI in a slightly smaller footprint. To move more mass, the face had to be lighter, but there was one big problem: a thinner face created durability issues (along with CT creep, but we’ll get to that in a moment). The new Flash Face SS20 is six grams lighter than the previous iteration thanks to FS2S titanium face material.
NOTE: FS-2s is a proprietary titanium alloy developed by FS Precision Tech for high-stress applications in aerospace and mining, FS2s titanium is stronger and more fatigue resistant than conventional 6-4Ti.
The Hot Topic
Characteristic Time (CT) was a big topic of discussion this year on the PGA Tour, and at the Open Championship, when multiple OEMs had drivers test above the legal limit of CT, thus becoming non-conforming.
Callaway was one of the many companies caught in the crosshairs of this issue and the company decided to tackle it head-on. Knowing that drivers start as conforming can potentially become non-conforming after years and years of use/or by fewer “cycles/hits” at very high speed. Something had to change since amateur and professionals players alike rely on their equipment conforming to the rules and holding up swing after swing.
The new FS2S material allows Flash Face 2.0 to offer more robust ball speeds over a greater area of the face while also preventing CT creep over the use of the head.
There’s even more to the story: Not only is Flash Face SS20 lighter, faster and stronger, but with the aid of artificial intelligence, each model in the Mavrik family has a uniquely engineered variable face thickness pattern to maximize ball speed on off-center hits for the target player. This creates a driver family that, according to Callaway’s testing, has 13 percent more consistent downrange dispersion than the 2019 Epic Flash family of drivers.
The 3 Callaway Mavrik Driver Models
Callaway Mavrik Driver
Coming in at the legal limit of 460cc’s it is the head with the most dramatic Cyclone Shaping aerodynamics.
The flagship Mavrik is the-all encompassing technology package that will fit the greatest number of golfers. It offers a slight amount of draw bias that can be neutralized through the hosel settings and is considered the mid-spin option. There is no adjustable center of gravity, because Callaway wanted to maximize the discretionary weight around the perimeter of the head for the most all around performance. With FF20 and boosted MOI, this is the club that will find its way into the majority of golfers bags.
Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero Driver
Callaway is calling the Mavrik Sub Zero the ultimate combination of higher MOI and lower spin. The shaping of Mavrik Sub Zero is where things get interesting. The Epic Flash Sub Zero was a huge hit both at retail and on tour—but there is a small asterisk next to that fact. Their was one model that started as “tour only,” but based on the popularity and demand from fitters and players, eventually became a retail release—the Sub Zero Triple Diamond.
The Mavrik Sub Zero is 10cc’s less than the standard model at 450cc, and takes its shape more from the previous Triple Diamond SZ than the original standard model—it goes to show that Callaway takes consumer and tour player feedback seriously when it comes to product development and evolution.
It is completely neutral in its weighting and has a flatter lie angle compared to the standard Mavrik model for more workability. Compared to the standard model, the sole is flatter from front to back to lower CG and decrease spin.
Last but not least, the moveable weights in the bottom of the Sub Zero are 14g and 2g respectively (other weight options are available through custom order) and allow the golfer to fine-tune spin and trajectory alongside the patented Callaway dual cog adjustable adapter.
Callaway Mavrik Max Driver
In what has now become common nomenclature in golf club branding and design the Mavrik Max is the most forgiving, highest-MOI model in the Callaway Mavrik family.
Coming in at 460cc in a shallower more draw bias shape, the Max has the largest footprint from address and is the easiest to launch of the three models. Although not as aerodynamically efficient as the other two Mavrik models, it still has all the key features of the line including FS2o, Flash Face 2.0, and Jail Break. Like the Sub Zero, the Max has two weights (14g and 2g) that when moved between positions offer either a maximum MOI setting or maximum draw with the weight position in the heel.
Loft Specs and Availability
Lofts
Mavrik will come in three loft options of 9, 10.5, and 12-degree heads
Mavrik Sub Zero comes in the loft options of 9, and 10.5 degrees
The Mavrik Max will be available in 9, 10.5, and 12-degree lofts
Stock shafts
- Project X EvenFlow Riptide 50g and 60g in A-Flex, Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff
- Aldila Rogue White 130 MSI 60g and 70g, in Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff
- UST Helium 40g and 50g, in Women’s, A-Flex, Regular, and Stiff
Availability and Pricing
Pre-sale for the Callaway Mavrik drivers starts today, January 14th, with clubs being available at retail starting January 23rd.
Each driver in the Mavrik family is $499.99.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Moses
Jan 16, 2020 at 8:03 am
The Mavrik drivers are fantastic and will be in my bag in 2021 for $179.
The flood of top of the line equipment every year makes for great prices the following year for the latest and greatest.
Stuckenschneider
Jan 15, 2020 at 5:43 pm
It’s another Callaway driver that adds 20 yards and cost $500. Let’s see is this the fourth or fifth driver Callaway has introduced in the past 2 years? I believe they have introduced the Epic, Rogue, Epic Flash and now the Mavrik. Marketing is the name of the game.
Brandon
Jan 15, 2020 at 8:21 pm
Each of those drivers you listed was released a year apart. Just like most of the big OEM’s do.
Frank
Jan 14, 2020 at 8:26 pm
Not playing any Callaway drivers with their V alignment marks on crown. Callaway had it right with the XR Pro and X2 Hot Pro and DBD lines.
Sarsten Kolheim
Jan 14, 2020 at 4:07 pm
I tested these. I gained 1/2 a yard and increased my ball speed .7 mph. At this rate I’ll be crushing 347 yarders in 287 years and have spent $143,213 lining some guy in China’s pocket. Marketing works!!!!!!!!!
Earvin Johnson
Jan 14, 2020 at 2:10 pm
“Goose, I’m switching to guns!” Cue Kenny Loggins theme! “Highway to the danger zone@!”
scott
Jan 14, 2020 at 12:37 pm
I tested the sub zero version yesterday at Callaway. The numbers were (slightly) faster all around than my flash sub zero. However, they did seem to work out the sound/feel issues as the mavrik has a much more muted sound and better feel than the flash. Another quality offering in my opinion.
Jordan
Jan 14, 2020 at 10:34 am
Sean Toulon: Big Top Gun guy.
dat
Jan 14, 2020 at 9:28 am
No pricing available?
TBGC
Jan 15, 2020 at 7:11 pm
Did you actually read the article or just the headline?
Billie Smith
Jan 14, 2020 at 9:13 am
It’s no different than the Epic Flash. I’ve played the flash for 1 year and don’t see any difference between these products other than marketing that suckers will fall for.
At least it’s not that ugly green which is a total distraction. The Epic Flash green monster is a nice club but it’s ugly and sounds like crap.
CJ
Jan 15, 2020 at 4:06 pm
I get your obvious point. However, I’m guessing many like me did not buy a new driver last few years. For guys with epic no biggie.
Egbert Palmerino
Jan 15, 2020 at 7:16 pm
One might suppose you were in the sucker category yourself. After all, you do go out and buy the latest, greatest, newest toy being marketed on 2019. Pretty much exactly wht you are accusing the 2020 buyers of doing.
Math
Jan 14, 2020 at 8:36 am
Try this: e = 1/2 mv^2
Lar
Jan 14, 2020 at 7:33 am
By making them faster, does that mean they’ll be illegally hot faces that need testing all the time
lmao