Callaway Paradym Super Hybrid Review
Scott Kramer puts this powerful new hybrid offering from Callaway through its paces, but how will it fare under scrutiny?
They promise outstanding distance and deliver. Our mid- and low-handicap testers hit plenty of uphill shots into breezes, all on soft ground, and still achieved similar distance to competitor models in much more ideal conditions. And all with straight ball flight. A slightly softer-yet-solid feel and sound were purely stellar.
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Adjustable
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Solid impact feel and sound
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Nice-looking aesthetics
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Impressive distance
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Pricey for a hybrid
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Is there any shot in golf more daunting than a lengthy approach shot into a green? Like from 200 yards out or even longer? Many of us naturally turn to a bulky fairway wood or low-lofted long iron, and often fail. The odds of most golfers hitting the green from those distances with those clubs, well, frankly suck. True, there are some great hybrids in 2023 that will greatly improve your chances of sticking it on the dance floor. But the farther out you are, the less likely a hybrid can get the job done. So Callaway came up with a solution.
The Paradym Super Hybrid sits alongside the standard Paradym hybrid, but is built for driver-like power. The company actually took the same blueprint and materials for its Paradym driver and downsized it into this hybrid. This includes an all-titanium, A.I.-designed clubface that yields power and distance. The titanium body is also oversized and sports a triaxial carbon crown. Plus triple MIM weighting promotes extreme forgiveness and a piercing trajectory. Up to 91 grams of tungsten and steel speed cartridges in each clubhead help precisely position the center of gravity for a more penetrating launch. All of this adds up to noticeably longer shots with nice accuracy – all from a smaller hybrid clubhead that looks pretty easy to hit at address.
Callaway boldly markets this as a club made for golfers who want the power of a fairway wood and the versatility of a hybrid – claiming it’s designed specifically to be easier to hit than a fairway wood and give you the confidence to take on the most demanding shots. That also includes tee shots down a narrow fairway.
It’s offered in base lofts of 16, 18, 21, 24 and 27 degrees – the clubheads get smaller as the loft increases – but those are also adjustable from the lightweight OptiFit 3 hosel, helping you dial in the ball flight and launch that you want to see. The deep blue color we now associate with the Paradym range happens to look outstanding as you’re standing over the ball. Plus there’s a slightly squared-off look to the toe we find attractive.
Remember that if you do wind up adding one or more of these to your bag, you need to make sure you account for proper distance gapping between your driver or fairway woods and your longest iron. If these work for you as billed, you’ll need to make some adjustments.
If you plan on buying a Callaway hybrid, look at our handpicked Callaway coupon codes first.
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Scott Kramer is a freelance writer based in Southern California. He carries a 5.2 index, along with a hacker's short game. Yet the former Senior Editor of GOLF Magazine always tries to bring his "A" game to his writing.
Here's what's in Scott's golf bag: Driver: Callaway Epic Speed driver Fairway wood: Titleist TSi2 4-wood Hybrid: Titleist H1 hybrid Irons: Titleist AP1 irons Wedges: Vokey wedges Putter: An old Odyssey Versa putter that's been refurbished twice!
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