Callaway Paradym VS AI Smoke triple diamond

[edutch22]

Recently fit into the New smoke td, didn't hit the Paradym at all or even last year? My question is it truly an upgrade with all the features or is it all "Smoke", would love to save the 2bills and spend it elsewhere if there's not much difference Thanks.

[phizzy30]

I'm the guy that buys a new driver every year.  With that being said, the AI smoke does look better overall compared to the Paradym however, it didn't wow me performance wise which is why I'm choosing to stay with the Paradym TD.  I saw very similar numbers across the board on GC Quad with both with maybe a hair better ball speed retention on heel strikes(AI smoke TD) which is of little concern because my usual mishit is actually toe side.  On the other hand, the head pro over at my cc loves his AI Smoke TD and raves about it every time I see him. 

Edited February 6 by phizzy30

[apprenti23]

The improvement won’t be told over Paradym in five shots into a screen. Over the course of a season and missed shots and fairways you’ll definitely see $100 worth of difference!

[Tee1up4]

I am a guy who loves new clubs. Having said that, I’m not even hitting the new ai smoke. Had paradym smoke triple diamond in the bag all last year and it will stay there this year. It’s just been so good, and my driving at times, historically, wasn’t great. The paradym TD has been a god send. My miss is toe side and it absorbs it so well. Just not worth risking a performance drop off for me. 

[tippethor]

This might come as a shock, but the Paradyme also has the same AI face technology and you are only paying for a longer name and smoke-marketing. But don`t tell your headpro who lives of selling this brand new and muuuch better driver to the members 😉

[apprenti23]

3 hours ago, tippethor said:

This might come as a shock, but the Paradyme also has the same AI face technology and you are only paying for a longer name and smoke-marketing. But don`t tell your headpro who lives of selling this brand new and muuuch better driver to the members 😉

Incorrect- Smoke has a lighter 360 carbon chassis, different perimeter weighting, and a different AI designed smart face. 

[jetro110]

I’ve personally found the toe miss more forgiving with the Ai-Smoke TD vs Paradym TD meaning I haven’t seen the low spin knuckleball show up. 

[tippethor]

1 hour ago, apprenti23 said:

Incorrect- Smoke has a lighter 360 carbon chassis, different perimeter weighting, and a different AI designed smart face. 

So if you weigh those two heads you will se a difference? Please add photos if you do. 

The reason behind i ask is there is just two ways you can swing a club faster, thats by lighter weight or longer shaft (assuming technic is the same). If Callaway have increased the aerodynamics of the head 2-3% then by all means, take my money 😆

The marketing campagnes these days are flat out lying to get sales, that is just enoying. 

Edited February 6 by tippethor

[txbadger]

24 minutes ago, tippethor said:

So if you weigh those two heads you will se a difference? Please add photos if you do. 

The reason behind i ask is there is just two ways you can swing a club faster, thats by lighter weight or longer shaft (assuming technic is the same). If Callaway have increased the aerodynamics of the head 2-3% then by all means, take my money 😆

The marketing campagnes these days are flat out lying to get sales, that is just enoying. 

Your statement about the faces being the same is provably wrong, but now you want to make it about total head weight?   By saving weight in some areas of the head the weight that was used there could be redistributed to other areas to promote potential forgiveness, reduce spin, etc....   For example between last year and the prior few years, Callaway was using their "jailbreak technology" behind the face.... well, with AI Smoke, that is gone.  The weight that was used there could be redistributed to other areas to promote potential forgiveness, reduce spin, etc....   

 

Is AI Smoke TD really that much better than Paradym TD?  Well that is up to each individual swing.   Unless you have hit them both then why make this about marketing nonsense?   If you have hit them both and found Paradym the better one, or at least no better than AI Smoke, then great.   Personally I found AI Smoke TD a little better on course where on the 5 holes I use driver, I recently took both my Paradym TD and the AI Smoke TD and hit tee shots with each, alternating which I used first.    All drives were pretty decent (not so much my short game this day),.. the Paradym TD "won" one hole (a bit straighter and 6 yards longer), but the other 4 were won by the Smoke by varying degrees (with one hole the Smoke centerish in the fairway and 12 yards longer.. Paradym back just off the first cut).   Is that enough to "prove" that Smoke is better?  meh... I dunno... but its an early indicator.   Maybe my Smoke swings were better.   I do like the look at address better of the Smoke and the sound it makes so maybe that affects my swing... no idea. 

 

 

 

[Malc]

Gotta laugh at the Smoke advert. 7 yards longer, yeah right.

[Radeon962]

I switched to a Smoke Max after playing Paradym TD for most of last year. 
 

TD was the longest driver I ever played on center hits but was not the most forgiving when compared to a Max type head.

 

Smoke Max may be a few yards behind TD head when you nuke one but the misses are much better with the Max. 
 

 

[ilikegolf26]

15 minutes ago, Radeon962 said:

I switched to a Smoke Max after playing Paradym TD for most of last year. 
 

TD was the longest driver I ever played on center hits but was not the most forgiving when compared to a Max type head.

 

Smoke Max may be a few yards behind TD head when you nuke one but the misses are much better with the Max. 
 

 

Interesting as I would be looking to get into the Smoke Max from Paradym TD. Did you stay with same loft?

[Radeon962]

1 hour ago, ilikegolf26 said:

Interesting as I would be looking to get into the Smoke Max from Paradym TD. Did you stay with same loft?

I did.  I did play the TD at +1 and have the Max at -1.

 

Probably could have went with a 9* and turned it up but 10.5 turned down seems to be working for me as I have the rear weight in between standard and draw to help me close the face quicker  

My last 3 swings with my Smoke Max.

 

 

[BirdieBob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFk_HOUDjg

[apprenti23]

10 hours ago, tippethor said:

So if you weigh those two heads you will se a difference? Please add photos if you do. 

The reason behind i ask is there is just two ways you can swing a club faster, thats by lighter weight or longer shaft (assuming technic is the same). If Callaway have increased the aerodynamics of the head 2-3% then by all means, take my money 😆

The marketing campagnes these days are flat out lying to get sales, that is just enoying. 

Lighter chassis- from Callaway website:

 

The 360° Carbon Chassis has been refined to promote increased weight distribution. By adding an internal titanium support structure, the Carbon Chassis is now 15% lighter*. This mass is redistributed into the head to improve launch conditions and add forgiveness. Each Forged Carbon sole features a unique color and carbon pattern, making every piece one-of-a-kind.

*15% lighter carbon chassis claim based on Paradym Ai Smoke Max driver vs. Paradym ’23 driver.

[gsrjc]

Built my own pseudo TD max with lead tape. Rear weight dropped to 7g and then added 3.5g each on back toe and heel.  Very forgiving. 
 

 

Edited February 7 by gsrjc

[Avidswampthing66]

12 hours ago, tippethor said:

technic

Wrong thread. See Leisure and Nightlife

[tippethor]

Still no evidence of this 15% weight decrease? 

Boy o boy, some people love them marketing juices 😆

 

You should always read the small print, they mention only the carbon chassis, not the head itself. That means its just moved around to a different position or else we would be talking about a reduction from 196g  to 167g and that my friend is what you would call a featherweight driver.

 

 

[apprenti23]

5 hours ago, tippethor said:

Still no evidence of this 15% weight decrease? 

Boy o boy, some people love them marketing juices 😆

 

You should always read the small print, they mention only the carbon chassis, not the head itself. That means its just moved around to a different position or else we would be talking about a reduction from 196g  to 167g and that my friend is what you would call a featherweight driver.

 

 

There’s no reason to make the head completely lighter. They made the chassis lighter to redistribute weight elsewhere. Keep reading what you want to read, but I’ll read the facts as to what changed (your original question).
 

F=MA

 

so a featherweight driver isn’t going to help you

 

 

[phizzy30]

Ended up ordering a mint AI smoke TD off ebay for a good deal, LOL. 

[bluedot]

23 hours ago, Malc said:

Gotta laugh at the Smoke advert. 7 yards longer, yeah right.

I don’t think Callaway is making a claim of “7 yds longer”; their marketing is based on gains on off-center strikes.  You can think what you want of Callaway or AI design, or marketing in general, but stick to what they are claiming, which is NOT overall distance gains.  
 

And I think this is true of all the OEMs now; they are marketing forgiveness rather than raw distance.
 

[semarlor]

I have hit all of the '24 releases side by side and saw my best ball speed numbers (center strike and misshits included) with the AI Smoke, by far. I am a Titleist guy to my core but I was really impressed with this year's driver. I liked the Paradym but didn't think it was any better than the other '23 releases and I honestly didn't think there would be a lot of improvements year over year....but this thing is the real deal. I do not like Callaway and I don't like their marketing, but it's hard to argue with the performance of this driver. 

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, phizzy30 said:

Ended up ordering a mint AI smoke TD off ebay for a good deal, LOL. 

Hey people gotta turn those yearly pro shop credits into cash somehow ya know.

[Jut]

1 hour ago, semarlor said:

I have hit all of the '24 releases side by side and saw my best ball speed numbers (center strike and misshits included) with the AI Smoke, by far. I am a Titleist guy to my core but I was really impressed with this year's driver. I liked the Paradym but didn't think it was any better than the other '23 releases and I honestly didn't think there would be a lot of improvements year over year....but this thing is the real deal. I do not like Callaway and I don't like their marketing, but it's hard to argue with the performance of this driver. 

 

Were you hitting the Max or Triple Diamond?

[semarlor]

6 minutes ago, Jut said:

 

Were you hitting the Max or Triple Diamond?

8° Triple Diamond, -1 loft, neutral lie 

[me05501]

I saw something on IG from the Golf Digest Club Test that suggested that this year's triple diamond head was most popular with testers with a handicap of 11-12+. This was interesting to me. 

 

I'm about a 10 and I'm currently in a Paradym TD 9* head.  

[ChrisATL]

Good question - I don't have the TD (just normal Paradym for me), but I didn't see a MASSIVE leap in performance with the AI (caveat - shaft was slightly different).  If you are able to do a true side by side, I'd do it, but I'm guessing you won't see a big leap in improvement. 

[Jut]

I played the Paradym TD for a while last year (and probably should’ve kept it).  I’m a bit strange in that I only swing it around 100 mph, but generate a significant amount of spin and launch.  I typically “fit” best in low spin heads, but could still use some forgiveness and don’t wanna have to work a ton with the stout low/low shafts.  I had the Kai’li White stiff in the Paradym TD.  Wonder if the Denali Black is similar?  

Edited February 7 by Jut

[phizzy30]

5 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Hey people gotta turn those yearly pro shop credits into cash somehow ya know.

True.  I'm gonna put up a review after I do more in depth testing on the course.  Ball speeds were similar compared to the OG off the sweet spot, but a little more forgiveness horizontally across the face on GC Quad is why I pulled the trigger.  Someone mentioned not seeing a huge drop off in spin off the toe as well which is where I miss so I'm hoping that translates out on the course.  Nothing like duck hooking one off the toe into the water or OB, sigh. 

[Malc]

3 hours ago, bluedot said:

I don’t think Callaway is making a claim of “7 yds longer”; their marketing is based on gains on off-center strikes.  You can think what you want of Callaway or AI design, or marketing in general, but stick to what they are claiming, which is NOT overall distance gains.  
 

And I think this is true of all the OEMs now; they are marketing forgiveness rather than raw distance.
 

Ad here in UK states 7 yards longer across the face. I've not hit one but for sure i'd call it BS.