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This is a comprehensive review of the Callaway MAVRIK fairway wood, a gold medal winner on the 2020 Golf Digest Hot List.
As with the drivers, the MAVRIK replaces the Rogue family of fairway woods. It features the new Flash Face SS20, an improvement on the original Flash Face featured in the Epic Flash, along with a few more of Callaway’s most cutting-edge technologies.
So, how does the MAVRIK fairway wood actually perform? Is it worthy replacement to the Rogue from a couple of seasons ago?
Read on to find out what you need to know to make an informed purchase.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
What are the reviews like?
The standard MAVRIK fairway wood has been rated positively overall by professional critics and consumers.
In particular, the MAVRIK is praised for its low spin, great launch, and long carry. With that said, some people have gotten poor performance out of it for whatever reason.
It currently has a 4.6/5 (89% recommended) rating on the official Callaway website and on Callaway Golf Pre-Owned.
What People Like
- even more carry than the Rogue
- easy to launch with low spin
- plenty of workability
- solid forgiveness
What People Don’t Like
- a bit pricey
- some people have trouble hitting it well
- the stock shaft options aren’t the greatest
What are the features?
The MAVRIK fairway wood builds on a lot of the same concepts as the Rogue from a couple seasons ago. Callaway claims that it’s their fastest fairway wood yet.
In addition to the Face Cup and Jailbreak technology, the MAVRIK uses artificial intelligence in what they call the Flash Face SS20, based off the technology first seen in the Epic Flash driver.
Let’s look at the main features in more detail:
Flash Face SS20
Uniquely designed for each loft, the Flash Face SS20 is built from A.I. and made using forged C300 maraging steel, which is extremely strong and durable. The end result is maximized ball speed and optimized performance.
The MAVRIK also features Callaway’s Face Cup, which allows the face to flex and produce even more ball speed.
Jailbreak & T2C Triaxial Carbon
Jailbreak Technology first made an appearance in the Rogue fairway wood. The MAVRIK carries this over and adds a new triaxial carbon fabric called T2C.
Jailbreak consists of titanium bars that vertically connect the crown and sole. This places more impact load on the face, thus increasing ball speeds.
T2C is a very light carbon triaxial fabric that allows for maximum weight savings. This weight is redistributed in the head to improve performance.
Sole Weight
The MAVRIK fairway wood features a fixed weight in the sole that moves the center of gravity (CG) low and back.
This has the effect of increasing the launch and flattening the trajectory, which is a recipe for big distance.
Progressive Leading Edge
The leading edge geometry is optimized for each model of the MAVRIK.
More specifically, the MAX model has a lower leading edge for improved performance when struck low on the face. The standard and Pro models have tighter leading edges for improved workability.
Stock Info
The standard MAVRIK fairway wood is available from 3W (LL) through 7W, over a loft range of 13.5° to 21°. Also available is the women’s MAVRIK fairway wood from 3W-7W and 15° to 21°.
The MAVRIK fairway wood does not include an OptiFit hosel. This is because there are many lofts and models already available, and it allows for weight savings that can be put to good use elsewhere.
The stock graphite shafts are the ALDILA ROGUE White 130 MSI 70, Project X EvenFlow Riptide 60/70, and the UST Mamiya Helium Black 4/5. There are at least 20 custom shaft options and over 100 different grips to choose from.
If you’re interested, full information on the fairway wood, shafts, grips and customization options can be found on the CGPO website.
Below are the specs of the MAVRIK fairway wood. Click to enlarge.
How does the fairway wood perform?
Distance
Callaway built the MAVRIK for distance. On that front, it delivers brilliantly. In fact, I’ve seen some people nearly achieve the ball speed numbers of their driver.
Combined with the high launch and reduced spin, this results in some monster carry and distance. Results with vary from golfer to golfer, but during my testing, I was getting some of the best distance numbers for a fairway wood that I’ve ever seen.
There’s an added benefit to this that not many people think about: you can switch to a higher-lofted wood and get even more height and stopping power with practically the same length. For a fairway wood, this is a game-changer.
Because of the technologies that Callaway has packed into the MAVRIK fairway wood, you also get great forgiveness so that the ball speed loss on your mis-hits is negligible.
Forgiveness
The standard MAVRIK isn’t the most forgiving FW model in the MAVRIK line, but the forgiveness is still very good.
What contributes to that? Among other things, a large hitting area, optimized leading edge, and generous amount of heel camber. This means that it’s quite easy to make solid contact and get the ball up in the air in a variety of different situations.
The back CG position increases the MOI, which in turn keeps mis-hits on a respectable line.
I would definitely rank the forgiveness as above average, even among the super GI offerings on the market.
Playability/Trajectory
The trajectory of the MAVRIK is a thing of beauty. The advertising claims a high and flat trajectory; indeed, I found during my test that it’s easy to launch the ball, and there are no issues with ballooning either. The spin isn’t ultra-low, but it’s low enough.
The standard model more or less has no bias, so the shape you see will depend on your natural swing pattern.
As expected, it’s between the MAX and Pro in terms of workability. There is a good allowance for shot-shaping if this is something you want to do.
Thanks in part to the optimized (progressive) leading edge, turf interaction is superb as well. You should have little trouble swinging through thicker rough.
What about look, sound & feel?
The Look
The first (perhaps obvious) thing to note is that the MAVRIK fairway wood has the practically the same aesthetic as the MAVRIK driver, with its sole design, logo placement and black/orange/white colour scheme.
The 3-wood has a 174 CC head, which is quite large relatively speaking, but it’s by no means the largest in the MAVRIK line.
It may appear that the ball sets up just a touch towards the heel of the club at address (although not as much as the Rogue did), but in fact, it’s in the center. If anything, mid handicaps would prefer this look.
The MAVRIK has a slightly more elongated shape than the Rogue, with a similar alignment aid but no Speed Step.
Overall, it’s a solid game-improvement profile that should inspire a good amount of confidence in higher handicaps.
The Sound & Feel
Sweet spot strikes with the MAVRIK fairway wood have a bit of a metallic sound to them (likely due to the Face Cup), but they feel solid and just rocket off the face.
One of the things I like most about the MAVRIK is that the feel is consistent across the face. Slight or moderate mis-hits feel nearly as solid and satisfying as center strikes.
There’s a little less feedback than I was anticipating, but it’s still fairly easy to tell whether you hit the ball solidly or not. In any case, the sound and feel are improved over the Rogue, which is great.
Where should you buy this fairway wood online?
The MAVRIK fairway wood is now more than a few seasons old, and you can no longer order it custom-made directly from the official Callaway website.
The best you can do now is look for it on Callaway Golf Pre-Owned and eBay. CGPO has a bunch of these fairway woods on offer with a 90-day buy-back policy, 12-month warranty, and free headcover included. Women’s MAVRIK woods can be purchased here.
The MAVRIK is on the expensive side. If you want to save some money, you can find discounts on eBay.
Alternatively, look at what’s available on Global Golf.
Conclusion
The MAVRIK fairway wood is a clear improvement and worthy successor to the Rogue. It falls in the game-improvement category and is great for mid or high handicappers who want incredible distance and trajectory with a side of great forgiveness and feel.
There is very little that can be criticized about it. It has a solid range of lofts and plenty of shafts and grips to choose from, although many people dislike the stock options.
Despite the fact that it seemingly becomes more difficult to top the performance of the latest equipment releases, Callaway manages to pull it off time and time again, and this instance is no different.
Have any thoughts or opinions about the MAVRIK fairway wood? Go ahead and leave a comment below.
