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.”

Mavrik Sub Zero (left), MAVRIK Driver (center) and Mavrik Max (right)

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.

• See more photos and read the discussion in the forums

Cyclone shaping

Raised Skirt reduces drag

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.

Mavrik Sub Zero (left), MAVRIK Driver (center) and Mavrik Max (right)

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.

Xander Schauffele’s non-conforming driver tested at The Open- CT creep

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.

• See more photos and read the discussion in the forums

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.

Triple Diamond (left) vs. Standard Epic Flash

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.

The flatter sole profile of the MAVRIK Sub-Zero

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.

• See more photos and read the discussion in the forums

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.

• See more photos and read the discussion in the forums