Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fairway Wood Review

WATCH: We test and compare the best fairway woods on the market in 2024

After a particularly successful 2023 with the launch of the Paradym range, it was always going to take something special from Callaway to one-up itself and deliver something that will improve the golfer experience, but thanks to the new Paradym Ai Smoke, it looks as though this has been achieved. While Callaway has used A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) in the past with the likes of the Epic Flash, data collected from thousands of shots has allowed the brand to expand on its development within A.I. to produce groundbreaking products.

There was no doubt that the likes of the TaylorMade Stealth 2 and Ping G430 were considered some of the best fairway woods on the market last year, but since the launch of Paradym, there was a noticeable shift in focus within the fairway wood market from Callaway and thanks to the eye-catching visuals of the Paradym Ai Smoke, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this product in a lot of golfers bags come the new golfing season. 

The white and grey crushed carbon sole gives the product its ‘Smoke’ name, which is nicely highlighted in a bolt blue to really capture the attention of your playing partners. When in the sun, both the sole and the carbon crown come to life and look spectacular when this club is at address. While the footprint of the Max fairway wood hasn’t changed dramatically compared to its predecessor, the Paradym fairway wood, the change in color scheme alone should be noted and applauded as I feel this has really enhanced the aesthetics of this fairway wood.

The Paradym Ai Smoke Max fairway wood possesses the largest target audience out of the three new models within the new range. The head is a generous size, framing the ball nicely at address, while the shallow face will inspire confidence to those who struggle when hitting fairway woods from the deck. The classic Callaway ‘V’ alignment aid remains on the Ai Smoke Max model and despite preferring the performance of the lower launching Triple Diamond model, this little feature helped me set up to my target square, more often than not.

The Ai Smoke Max fairway was unbelievably forgiving when taken out for testing which I would imagine is largely due to the Ai Smart Face implemented within the entire Paradym Ai Smoke family. Data from thousands of golf shots has been taken and entered into Callaway's ‘super computer’ to create a face with multiple sweet spots for incredible consistency of ball flight and spin rates, regardless of strike location. A refined carbon chassis also sees a saving of 24g within the head, that has been redistributed to create optimum launch and rival the stability of the most forgiving fairway woods on the market. Callaway has also released the Max D fairway wood model which is even more forgiving than the max and features a slight draw-bias to it.

I swung well when testing the Ai Smoke Max fairway both on the course and inside using a Trackman 4 launch monitor at My Golf Matters studio, Berkshire and used my current ball of choice, the Titleist Pro V1 to gather my data. I loved straight away how soft, yet powerful this fairway felt through impact. My average carry with the Ai Smoke Max Fairway was 264 yards while producing an average launch of 11.6°. The ball flight was a high, towering baby draw, which felt extremely easy to control. The spin averaged just under 3000rpm which is a little high for my liking, but it did mean that the ball was landing into greens softly on par fives when I took this club out to test on the golf course. 

The additional forgiveness within this club made it extremely easy to play out of the first cut of rough with it and still had the ball launching in a good window. The better player may prefer to see a slightly deeper face as when playing off a tee, I caught a few slightly high on the face when pegging the ball up, resulting in shorter distances.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max fairway will be hard to beat as an all-rounder this season. The stunning looks, generous distance and increased forgiveness over its predecessor should make it a contender for any golfer looking to upgrade their fairway woods during the course of the year.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max fairway will be available to purchase at retail from the 26th of January and come with an RRP of $349/£379. The Max fairway is offered in multiple lofts from 15°-27° and will come equipped with a MCA Tensei AV Blue shaft as standard.