TaylorMade Vs Callaway – Gloves Are Off In the Battle For The Best Driver Of 2023

The TaylorMade Stealth 2 and the Callaway Paradym drivers are going head-to-head as two of the biggest releases of 2023.

TaylorMade Vs Callaway
(Image credit: Golf Monthly)

TaylorMade Vs Callaway – Gloves Are Off In the Battle For The Best Driver Of 2023

The battle of the 2023 drivers is well and truly underway following the launch of the Callaway Paradym and TaylorMade Stealth 2 drivers. These two brands certainly know how to grab attention and raise anticipation within the golfing world even before the clubs are available to put in the bag.

Since TaylorMade and Callaway announced launches of their new clubs on January 10th and January 4th respectively, the bout for the best golf driver of 2023 has been shaping up nicely - although Ping will have something to say about this having topped the driver count at the Farmers Insurance Open with its G430 LST model. While it is important to see how the two clubs perform against each other before drawing solid and sound conclusions, a little bit of friendly competition is never a bad thing. In 2022, it was certainly the Stealth which caught most attention, compared to the Rogue ST. Is this the case for 2023?

The answer, at this stage, is likely no. The TaylorMade Stealth 2 has been available for pre-order since January 13th but there were many golfers holding out before purchasing their driver for the 2023 season because they wanted to put Paradym through its paces which has been available for pre-order since January 20th (understandably so – it is always worth trying as many drivers as possible before investing). 

Also, Callaway certainly caught the attention of the golfing world with the acquisition of YouTube golf sensation Good Good. The ever-growing channel with over 1 million subscribers, comprising of ‘6 dudes’, announced they would be teaming up with Callaway (the video of the announcement has been viewed over half a million times). The video by Good Good was timely released just a day before Callaway launched Paradym, which can’t have hurt Callaway’s brand appeal.

Since Callaway and Good Good announced the partnership TaylorMade has responded. Former Good Good members Micah Morris ‘Tig’ and Grant Hovat have joined Team TaylorMade.

Prominent golf YouTubers Rick Shiels and Peter Finch both released separate videos reviewing Stealth 2 and Paradym. Both content creators have had more views on their video review of Paradym than Stealth 2. There were six days between releases which may somewhat account for the difference in views, however, in comments sections of the videos it appears there is more anticipation for the Callaway than the TaylorMade.

Our initial verdict is that Callaway looks to have stirred up the most amount of interest and many golfers were eagerly awaiting the pre-order date (January 20th) to get their hands on Paradym. Page views on our website reflect this and replies on our social medias back this up further.

Paradym certainly catches the eye with its marble forged carbon effect and 360 carbon chassis. Also, the name Paradym is itself a major talking point with it being new, and much like it did with Mavrik, it is a known word spelt unconventionally. Whereas TaylorMade may not have grabbed as much attention as they had in 2022 because the driver does look quite similar to its predecessor by adopting the same color scheme. Also, the brand has adopted the same nomenclature as it did with SIM into SIM2, which perhaps isn't quite as exciting.

Both drivers have received a warm welcome by each respective brand’s plethora of tour players. Team TaylorMade’s newest addition Nelly Korda and winner of the LPGA’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Brooke Henderson, have both put the Stealth 2 in the bag. Scottie Scheffler and Hero Cup GB&I Captain Tommy Fleetwood have also swapped out Stealth for Stealth 2. 

Many Callaway players have made the switch from Rogue ST to Paradym including Xander Schauffele and poster boy Jon Rahm. In fact, the first three winners on the PGA Tour this year (Jon Rahm twice and Si Woo Kim) were both playing Paradym Triple Diamond drivers. Conversely, the latest winner on the DP World Tour, Rory McIlroy, was playing last year's Stealth Plus driver although he did have the new Stealth 2 Plus fairway in the bag. 

Xander Schauffele playing a Callaway Rogue ST driver

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This year there is definitely more hype for Callaway’s Paradym mostly because of its ground-breaking 360 carbon chassis and its new and exciting visuals. TaylorMade, as they continue do every year, have still grabbed the interest of the golfing world with Stealth 2 because ‘fargiveness’ is what most golfers will be looking for with their big stick.

Both brands have undoubtably made excellent drivers and it will be very interesting to see throughout the year which of these two golfing goliaths will have made the better driver.

Check out our gudies on the best Callaway drivers, and best TaylorMade drivers to see how the entire Stealth 2 and Paradym range tested for us.

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James Hogg

James joins the Golf Monthly team as a freelance equipment writer. He has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and, most recently, an MA in Journalism from Kingston University, London, along with an NCTJ Diploma. James plays his golf in the North East of England where he enjoys playing links courses and fits golfers on a daily basis at a well-known UK retailer. While no other member of his family play golf or ever have, James developed a strong passion for the game in his teenage years and now plays off a 6.3 handicap index.

James' What's In The Bag?
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero, 9°
Fairway Wood: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero, 15°
Utility: Taylormade Stealth UDI, 3 (20°)
Irons: Ping i210, 4-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX Zipcore, 52° & 58°
Putter: Nike Method Core MC-3i
Ball: TaylorMade Tour Response