New callaway driver “mavrik” (Pics added Page 8)

[Dan Drake]

My Mavrik head showed up yesterday and immediately went onto my AD BB and we went out to the PF. Now, there is a whole lot going on here to mention. For one, I didn't warm up at all. B, I'm wearing a dress shirt and tie. Three, I requested a 9° vs. my Epic Flash which was a 10.5°. And D, I have no launch monitor but I do know where and how I hit the driver on my PF (tree height, left to right distances, actual carry yardages, etc.).

The shape is better, to my eye, than the Rogue or Epic Flash. More pear-shaped to use common verbiage. Also, while on the practice tee, I couldn't even see the little orange highlights around the back edge of the crown, so there's no way I see them when I'm staring at the water all down the left side of hole number one on the golf course.

The sound is better. More muted, less metallic. It's not the "thwack" of a Louisville Slugger, but its closer than previous models were.

There is less spin. Again, full disclosure, I'm hitting a 9° (albeit turned "up" a degree) vs. a 10.5° (albeit turned "down" a degree) head. But, it would stand to reason that if you went and did a dead nuts comparison, you would see lower spin with the Mavrik vs. the Epic Flash.

Look, I'm fortunate that I'm on staff with Callaway. Naturally, I'm going to be pretty positive about a new club that they put out. But, I'm also not going to lie about anything, I have no reason to and certainly nothing to gain from it. If there was something about the club that I genuinely didn't like or thing was an improvement, I'd simply follow the old rule "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I also, as most of you know, track my strokes gained intently. If this club head, on the same shaft and playing the same courses as my Epic Flash did for the previous year, doesn't perform as well, the numbers will tell me pretty quickly. So, everything considered, I'm fired up about this driver paired with the new Chrome Soft X ball (real ball speed gainz, from what I hear!) this year, knowing what a scoring difference more yards off the tee can make for me!

[BirdieBob]

Yes, the sound of it on TV at Kapalua was still high pitched and not a sound I care for myself.

[moorebaseball]

I love hearing that the sound and shape have changed! This may be the first Callaway driver to make it into my bag! I look forward to putting this up against my TS3 and the SIM. May the best driver win!!!

[ladahl]

I got my 10.5* head SZ yesterday, and will be shafting it up with the ALPINA to compare against my Ping.

 

Talked to the local rep, and he's saying in his recet testing vs. the Flash: He's seeing significant disperation improvements downrange. Along wit minimal gains in distance. (this is fitting the client in the proper head/shaft, of course)

 

[lakecowboy]

If they combine the Rogue's dispersion w/ the EF's distance this thing is going to make it into a lot of bags this season.

[KParks]

Got a chance to hit this today and came away impressed. Note that I didn't have a great shaft fit so didn't get super detailed in the numbers -- the guys at the shop I was at just happened to be opening up the demo package while I was there and so just quickly setup a few of them to so we could give em a quick whirl.

Coming from a G400 Max the sound was nice to me. Definitely a bit on the higher pitch side side, but doesn't sound like the big garbage can that the Pings can. And perhaps most importantly, the graphic line going across the middle of the crown on the Epic Flash was gone! (the visual is still subtly there with how much of the carbon fiber you can see, just like the current one). The orange color also isn't nearly as bad (to me that means not super vibrant) in person as some of the pictures floating around have made it seem.

Performance wise what really impressed me was how anti-hook the driver was for me. As somebody that constantly fights that with my current gamer it was amazing. Would definitely need some time with it to get the flight straightened out since I was pushing things right (I'm no amazing golfer, low 100s SS, 13 index), but being able to just try and rip it and not lose it left was pretty great.

[JDSPGA]

It's going to. In fact just for the heck of it I took out the 9 degree Mavrik MAX head out today and gave it a smack set on 8 degrees. Really liked it and it went super straight. Didn't have time to trackman data. I'll get data comparing the 3 heads soon.

[noodle3872]

Which head and loft did you demo?

[KParks]

Standard Mavrik, 10.5 degree. Mostly cause I'm currently playing a 10.5 head. However, I'm launching a little high (both with my current head and with this) so will probably be looking at the 9 or lofting down the 10.5.

[noodle3872]

Do you recall your spin numbers?

[Morry]

This is very intriging

if spin up or same and anti-hook naturally without hot melt....I will be SOLD !

[Lemonde]

What are the chances of a 440 head? Or do I go and just pull the trigger on the original epic 440?

[mtex22]

I just confirmed with a source they are the real deal!

[Valtiel]

 

That and the Atmos Black Tour Spec on the Mizuno 190 drivers, but otherwise I agree. You virtually never get an actual $300-$400 shaft stock, there is always some sort of a "its the same materials but made overseas" compromise there. Which leads me to...This too has gotten complicated, as it is true EXCEPT for the TX flex shafts. True Temper is starting to do what Mitsubishi is doing by differentiating between the "average joe" shafts and the premium "tour" shafts within the same line by flex designation instead of having separate lines. The Smoke Green in either finish is one profile in the 6.0 and 6.5 versions and a very different profile in the 6.5TX. All of the Smoke Green shafts are "Small Batch" which makes this next bit confusing. The Smoke Yellow on the other hand is ONLY "Small Batch" in the TX flex, with all the other shafts not carrying that designation. So in one instance, "Small Batch" doesn't really mean anything, and in the other it is indicative of a completely different shaft profile. Its all just a convoluted, slightly deceptive transition away from the "made for" shafts of the past into seemingly attempting to recapture that illusion that you're really getting a premium aftermarket shaft with your driver.

To their credit, this change has been occurring on the back of increased manufacturing quality and materials in their "overseas" plants so the customer IS getting a better quality product, but it has also been increasingly deceptive as the lines between "made for" and "aftermarket" are increasingly blurred.

[QuigleyDU]

I just held it in my hand. Confirm legit.

[KParks]

Want to say was around 2100 to 2200 with about 15 degree launch. But like I said, wasn’t really fitting for ideal conditions at all. We were all just excited that we got a good look at them and a chance to hit them early.

[DrSchteeve]

Local PGA Superstore says they are getting demos on Thursday, January 16 during a scheduled meeting with their Callaway rep.

[noodle3872]

15° launch with 2100-2200 rpm @ 103 mph is pretty damn good!

[iNeedMoreGolf]

Yeah and the rogue was allready long and forgiving cant imagine if it made driving distance average go up any more.

[GSDriver]

Lately they have been, and if think OEMs pay MSRP for a shaft, they don't ;-)

[AtlantaGolf3]

nobody thinks a club manufacturer pays retail, MSRP or even just a slight discount.

shaft manufacturers want to protect their individual retail sales outside the bundled OTR clubs.

they are not going to sabotage themselves.

shaft manufacturers may outweigh the loss in retail sales if the quantity of said Shaft is purchased at a specific volume commitment or Contractual guarantee to be majority provider for shaft in OEMs future club lineups.

[sevenputts]

Face height and head shape of the Subzero Maverick looked identical to the triple diamond EF SZ.. to my eye..

[getitdaily]

But what If there were no losses. Let's assume aldila were to sell 10,000 shafts at $300 apiece.

How many shafts at $100 would they have to sell to an OEM to match that revenue?

I'm gonna guess (by logical assumption) that shaft manufacturers aren't eating away retail revenue without OEM revenue being higher.

[blakehall]

Got a few swings in with the SZ last night with my gamer shaft.

I didn't see any ball speed gains to really speak of.

It sounded better than my EFSZ, but I doubt I'll be upgrading based on what I've seen so far.

[noodle3872]

Assuming you were using the same loft as your EF SZ? Do you recall how the spin compared?

[blakehall]

Hard to say for sure (based on limited swings), but I'd be hard pressed (with my inconsistency) to see much of a difference.

I'll probably give it a few more swings next week (when I'm there for league).

If I was coming from anything other than an EF I'd probably be placing an order. It's just as good as what I have, but sounds better.

For me, right now and as a Packers fan, a bit of hot melt is a cheaper solution. :D

[KParks]

Rockbottom Golf has pricing @ $499. Also have more pics (including good crown shots). Looks like this is an early leak though (not listed in any search on their site yet).https://www.rockbottomgolf.com/golf-clubs/drivers/callaway-golf-mavrik-driver/

[razr]

 

[StillCantPutt]

Here’s in hand pics

[davo32683]

I spent a little time today with one on a CG2. 10.5* sub zero with rogue 130 60x. Have to say I was a bit surprised at how fast it was. Quite forgiving as well. I tend to think if you preferred the Rogue, you’ll like the Mavrik. I loved the Rogue, but haven’t cared for either Epic release, but found myself liking the Mavrik today. Not much else to report. Really just a quick few hits trying to get a gauge on feel and sound.