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Club Junkie Review: Callaway Paradym drivers! All 3 heads!

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Callaway just started off its 2023 golf season strong with the release of the new Paradym driver line up. There are three Paradym models to fit your swing and offer cutting edge technology to enhance distance, forgiveness, and control spin. I was fortunate enough to hit all three models, only on the range so far, and came away impressed with the entire line. For a more detailed review, please take a listen to the Club Junkie below or on any podcast platform. Just search GolfWRX Radio.

Paradym Driver

The “standard” Paradym driver is the bread and butter option that should fit a wide range of golfers. From tour professionals to high handicaps will be playing this head with the amount of adjustment available. I like the look from address and think the combination of gloss blue carbon fiber goes well with the matte black front of the head. The shape also looks less stretched from face to back compared to the Rogue ST and the transition from hosel to the topline is cleaner and smoother. The sound is also improved to my ear with a much more muted and lower pitched “crack” sound at impact. The feel is also very good and you can feel the ball compress off the face on center strikes and are gently reminded that you missed the center with slightly louder sound and vibration to the hands. Ball Speed on the Paradym is excellent on center strikes, as you would expect, but the driver can keep the speeds high even when out on the toe or low heel. Ball flight was very straight with neutral with gentle draws and the ball falling to the left on well struck shots. You have the ability to use the rear sliding weight to adjust the bias of the driver, but felt very neutral to me. The launch is mid/high and low spin. I average a launch angle of 12.3 degrees and a spin rate of 3,029RPM with the Project X HZRDUS Silver shaft and range golf balls. Dispersion was tight and I felt like the Paradym wanted to go as hard left when I gave it my dreaded hook swing.

Paradym Triple Diamond

This “players” head is definitely more compact at address, shorter from face to back, but still has enough of a footprint to give you confidence that you don’t have to play on tour to hit it. The sound was a smidge louder than the Paradym and with just a little more of a metallic sound to it. I still really liked how muted the Triple Diamond sounded and the feel was solid. Center strikes were met with a soft impact where you again could feel the ball compress off the face. Shots outside of the center were again met with minimal noise and vibration increases. The shocking thing about the Triple Diamond was how forgiving it was on those mishits. Ball speed stayed up and I averaged 145.2MPH ball speed and a 1.46 smash factor through my session. The other surprising thing with the Triple Diamond was how straight poor swings went and with the heavy weight in the rear the Triple Diamond is a very playable driver. This head launched the lowest for me at 11.1 degrees and spun the least at 2,929RPM with range golf balls. I did notice that moving the heavier weight (14g) forward would reduce the spin for me around 250RPM without really effecting my launch angle too much.

Paradym X

The X is the most forgiving head in the Paradym lineup and also has the largest footprint when you set it down. But even with the larger footprint, the shape is proportional and has a much cleaner look to it than last year. It is a bit more round and less triangular at the back for a look that I really like. It did launch the highest out of the 3 drivers for me at an average of 14.6 degrees but the spin still was low for me at 2,998 RPM. Shots with the X were high with a little draw on them. The X is very easy to turn over and provided more of a gentle draw than a big hook like some would think this driver might do. I am a player who naturally hits a draw and the Paradym X didn’t make it any stronger, if anything it took the right side of the course out of play.

Overall, I am very impressed with my initial testing of the Callaway Paradym drivers. Performance was very good and the biggest thing that stood out was the consistency of the spin number on off center hits. Hitting shots high, low, toe, or heel on the face never resulted in a spin number that was wildly high or low, everything stayed within a few hundred RPM of a center strike. I didn’t notice it at first, but after the range I was looking at the numbers and it really stood out. I think it is in your best interest to add the Paradym to your list of drivers to try this year!

I have been an employee at GolfWRX since 2016. In that time I have been helping create content on GolfWRX Radio, GolfWRX YouTube, as well as writing for the front page. Self-proclaimed gear junkie who loves all sorts of golf equipment as well as building golf clubs!

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Hal

    Oct 5, 2023 at 8:17 am

    Would like to see how they play with a person who hits a slice

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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