Callaway Elyte drivers: What you need to know

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Callaway Elyte drivers look to maximize distance by combining the most productive aspects of a forgiving, lower spin head design with an aerodynamically sleek shape—two design paradigms that typically work at cross purposes. The range includes models designed with smoother curves, distinct weights, varying adjustability, higher forgiveness and, most notably, face thickness patterns each targeting specific player types. Fueled by a new carbon composite matrix in the crown and sole, that range includes the forgiving and fast Elyte, the high-launching and maximum forgiveness Elyte X, the super-lightweight Elyte Max Fast and the compact, low-spinning tour model Elyte ◆◆◆.

PRICE: Elyte, Elyte X $600 (9, 10.5, 12 degrees); Elyte Max Fast, $600 (10.5, 12 degrees); Elyte ◆◆◆. $650 (8, 9, 10.5 degrees). All models with eight-way adjustable hosel. Available for pre-sale Jan. 17, at retail Jan. 24.

3 COOL THINGS

1. Fast talk. Here’s the persistent problem with making drivers that maximize forgiveness and low spin, which is basically the majority of the drivers that Callaway has designed for years: They are not always going to be the fastest clubs to move through the air. The reason is that drivers with the right aerodynamic profile often feature a smaller body where the back end is more raised off the ground, meaning the center of gravity is higher and the spin rate is higher and ultimately the distance potential is lower. Why? High spin and lower launch, where more of the ball’s energy is spent going up rather than out, is the opposite of what you want to do to optimize total distance. Combine that with aerodynamic heads offering lower moment of inertia (less stability on mishits), and you had a less than sellable combination, especially in this day and age of the ubiquitous launch monitor. But Callaway’s team took the approach with Elyte that such compromises did not have to be made. Easier said than done, of course.

“We always had kind of a trade-off,” said Evan Gibbs, director of research and development for woods. The key around that tradeoff was an expanded, multi-million dollar investment in 3D printing to redefine driver shapes that let the new models find more potential for faster speeds. The capability of 3D printing changed the development cycle, Gibbs said, basically allowing Callaway engineers to consider nearly 20 times as many head options as they might in the usual innovation cycle.

“This is ultimately what allowed us to land on this head shape that maximizes those three qualities of performance in terms of [club head] speed, low spin and forgiveness,” he said.

Among those subtle elements in the shaping that Callaway’s team could prove made a difference was how the heel area behind the hosel could be tucked under and hidden a bit more to reduce airflow separation and drag. Said Gibbs, “We've seen players even at that slow head speed, even at 70 miles an hour can gain a mile an hour of head speed.”

Of course, making aerodynamic shape changes while maintaining the low-spin forgiveness of previous models required another key component upgrade. Specifically, the Elyte drivers all make use of a new thermoforged aerospace carbon composite in the crown.

“It gives us low weight, gives us improved toughness and energy transfer, and it gives us more precision in our molding process,” Gibbs said.

2. Up front. Callaway’s team has been rethinking the variable thickness face design since the Epic Flash six years ago. The uniquely asymmetrical peaks and valleys across the back of the face, came about through the use of a complex artificial intelligence platform. It’s designed to create “micro-deflections” at impact that effect spin, speed, forgiveness and launch in ways that aren’t solely dependent on the size of the head, Gibbs said.

In recent years, that developmental process for the face has advanced to convert real-world golfer swing data into distinct thickness designs for the specific type of player who might use a certain head. Hence, Callaway’s four diverse driver models in its lineup. Collectively referred to as “Ai10X,” the faces on the Elyte lineup of drivers manipulate the design of 10 times as many points on the face as recent Callaway drivers. Gibbs said that where the Ai Smart Face designs of the past looked at 1,500 points on the face, these new designs optimize almost 25,000, making for a more intricate face thickness pattern that matches up with the typical player’s swing type and impact pattern. For instance, the Elyte is designed for players who swing slightly from out to in with a slightly open face, while the Elyte X fits best for swings that tend to hit down and cut across the ball with an open face.

3. Different strokes. The Elyte lineup also may be the most adjustable top to bottom in Callaway history. Each of the four models incorporates distinct versions of adjustable features. The standard Elyte head features three positions (draw, neutral and fade) that can house a 13-gram weight to control left or right ball flight. Using ports rather than a sliding track as in the past provides more distinct settings, Gibbs said.

“We really tried to simplify it and focus on three distinct shot shapes, and allowed us to do it in a much more mass-efficient way,” he said. “With less underlying structure underneath, it actually gave us more discretionary mass to move around, and that gave us 16 yards of total shot shape correction.”

Meanwhile, the Elyte X, which also uses a 13-gram weight, focuses on engendering more of an anti-slice effect so it features only a neutral and a heel-base draw port. The Elyte Max Fast features the same two adjustability options as the Elyte X (neutral and draw), the first time an ultralight Callaway driver has offered shot-shape adjustability.

The better-player, faster-swinger focused Elyte ◆◆◆ will target tweaking forgiveness, height and spin. Its sole offers front and rear weight ports, where the heavy weight positioned in the rear location offers more forgiveness and higher flight and moving it to the front yields lower flight and less spin.

“One of the things about the Triple Diamond, it's always been fast, it's always been low spin,” Gibbs said, noting this year’s version doesn’t have the right-bias that past models might have displayed. “There's been a big commitment to forgiveness in this model without making the head a lot bigger. We’ve gotten better modeling of the Triple Diamond user, and how we are able to use these micro-deflections to influence trajectory in a meaningful way to improve carry distance consistency and tightening that dispersion pattern, something PGA Tour players have stressed to us.”

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