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In this review, I’ll be looking at the Callaway MAVRIK MAX driver.
The MAX was designed for players who want a MAVRIK driver that is even easier to hit and more forgiving than the Standard version.
It has most of the features of the Standard MAVRIK, with the addition of two interchangeable weights that can increase MOI and introduce a draw bias.
So, how does the MAVRIK MAX hold up on the course? Should higher handicaps choose it over the other MAVRIK variants?
Here’s what I’m going to be covering in this review:
- Ratings
- Features & Technologies
- Performance
- Look, Sound & Feel
- Where To Buy This Driver Online
- Conclusion
Read on to find out everything 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?
As with the other variants of the MAVRIK driver, the MAX has earned a gold medal on the 2020 Golf Digest Hot List.
The driver has an excellent average customer rating of 4.8/5 (100% recommended) on the official Callaway website, 4.9/5 on Global Golf and 4.8/5 on CGPO.
Critics and professional reviewers also praise the MAX as a perfectly ideal driver for golfers who want a lot of forgiveness and an easy launch.
What People Like
- very easy to hit and get the ball up in the air
- solid feel
- even more forgiving than the MAVRIK Standard
- draw bias is a blessing for those who struggle with a slice
What People Don’t Like
- fast swingers may get too much spin
- many don’t like the colours of the driver
- many find the large footprint clunky and unappealing
What are the features?
The MAVRIK MAX has most of the same features as the MAVRIK Standard:
- Flash Face SS20: an A.I.-generated face that produces greater ball speeds over a larger area of the face — improved over the Flash Face of the Epic Flash.
- Jailbreak Technology: vertical bars behind the face that connect the crown and sole, placing more impact load on the face and increasing ball speeds.
- T2C Triaxial Carbon: a new, very light material used in the crown. It enables weight savings that are redistributed to increase MOI and forgiveness.
- FS2S Titanium: a type of titanium that is lighter than regular titanium. It’s used in the face and results in better overall performance.
The two key differences lie in the head shape and weighting.
First, the MAVRIK MAX doesn’t feature the new “Cyclone Aero” shape of the Standard version. This is easy to see by looking at a front-to-back view of both drivers.
Next, two interchangeable weights (2g and 14g) are positioned in the sole near the rear and heel. This allows you to adjust forgiveness and shot shape bias: place the 14g weight in the back for max forgiveness/stability, or place it in the heel for max draw bias (great for slicers and faders).
Stock Info
The MAVRIK MAX driver is available in 9°, 10.5°, and 12° standard lofts at 460 CC. Also available is the women’s MAVRIK MAX in 10.5° and 12° lofts.
As usual, you have the OptiFit hosel that allows you to adjust loft (over a range of 3°) and lie (neutral or draw).
The stock graphite shaft is the Project X EvenFlow Riptide (50/60). There are over 100 different grips to choose from.
Full information on the driver, available shafts, available grips and their specs can be found on the CGPO website.
Below are the specs of the MAVRIK MAX driver. Click or zoom to enlarge.
How does the driver perform?
Distance
It would probably be best if I used the MAVRIK Standard driver as a point of comparison in this section of the review.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that the MAVRIK MAX tends to be a touch shorter than the Standard; when you have a driver that’s meant for high MOI and forgiveness, you’re usually going to have more spin and consequently less carry and rollout.
However, golfers who traditionally struggle with a slice with likely gain a lot of distance. This is because draws tend to go farther than fades, and because you can add a draw bias to the MAX, your shots will take on more of a draw shape.
In general though, distance seems to be on par with the previous generation Rogue driver, which isn’t bad at all.
Forgiveness
The MAVRIK Standard is already very forgiving — the MAX is even more so. It’s pretty impressive.
Without the 14g weight in the rear, forgiveness is similar to the Standard. Having the weight in the rear adds a solid amount of stability to the driver, so that mis-hits don’t lose much distance and don’t go that far off line compared to sweet spot strikes.
I have tested many drivers with adjustable weighting; many are disappointing in that they either don’t work as intended or don’t make much of a different in ball flight. The interchangeable weight system on the MAX is real and makes a useful difference.
Even if you don’t bring your best stuff on a particular day, the MAVRIK MAX will help keep you in the fairway.
Playability/Trajectory
The MAVRIK MAX is extremely easy to hit. I was able to set up and groove in a solid ball flight within just a few minutes of starting my test session.
As expected, the ball flight seems to be a little higher than with the Standard, particularly when the weight is back.
If you find that you’re getting too much height and spin on your drives, I would first remove the 14g weight from the rear slot. If necessary, you can try reducing loft further by using the adjustable OptiFit hosel.
I did find it a little more difficult to shape shots with the MAX compared to the Standard, but this is typical for game-improvement drivers.
What about look, sound & feel?
The Look
The MAVRIK MAX has a shape that is similar to the Rogue or Epic Flash, with a sole that is much flatter than the Standard version.
The footprint is large — more elongated than the Standard with a slightly taller face, no doubt designed for an easier strike.
The MAX has a carbon fiber crown and sports the design and colour scheme that marks the MAVRIK line of drivers: black with orange and white accents. Also apparent are the two interchangeable weight slots near the heel and rear.
Performance aside, I find that I like this sole shape more than the “Cyclone Aero” shape of the Standard. Nonetheless, I imagine that users of the MAX won’t feel the need to complain much about the look, which is very solid.
The Sound & Feel
The first thing to note is that the MAVRIK MAX sounds very similar to the Standard version at impact: a solid “whack” with a bit of clickiness.
The feel is just as stable and solid, if not more so. Setting up over the ball and making a swing, I feel like it’s impossible not to hit a bomb in the center of the face. That’s what a game-improvement driver like the MAX is meant to do.
In this case, the feedback is minimal; all but the worst mis-hits sound and feel quite similar to sweet spot strikes. This means that in many cases it’ll be difficult to understand precisely where you make contact with the face, although it is possible with a keen feel and good ears.
It’s worth noting that many critics and professionals who tested the MAX absolutely love its sound & feel.
Where should you buy the MAVRIK MAX driver online?
The MAVRIK MAX driver 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, the #1 source for used Callaway equipment, has several of these drivers on offer with a 90-day buy-back policy, 12-month warranty, and free headcover included.
The stock MAVRIK MAX is the same price as the Standard. If you want to save more money, you can find discounts on eBay. Optionally look at what’s available on Global Golf.
Conclusion
The MAVRIK MAX driver is an excellent alternative to the MAVRIK Standard for higher handicappers. It has practically all of the benefits of the Standard, save the new head shape.
Using the adjustable weighting on the sole, you can extract more forgiveness or straighten out a slice if you’re struggling with one.
If you’re looking for a modern driver that’s super easy to pick up and start hitting good shots with, take a serious look at the MAX.
Are you interested in the MAVRIK MAX driver? Have you tried it yet? What have your results been like? Let us know in the comments below.
I am having problems with the hosel screw coming lose after every time (10- 15 shots) I use it. I tighten it at 2 to 3 clicks and it still gets loose.
Hi Patrick. I would contact Callaway about this, or the place you bought the driver from. They should be able to help you out. There may be something wrong with the configuration, but you should make sure it’s tight before every round.
Thanks for the great article. I just bought the Max Driver 9-11 loft…I am thinking about cutting it down 1 inch. I have done this in past and had good results. However the Callaway rep says just choke down. I do not like to choke down. i have the 50 mid kick point…..I do not see the huge issues with weight still being in mid…..i am no golf expert here…ha…Should i then change the swing weights on bottom of club to heavier to off-set? I currently play off a 16 handicap. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
Thanks for reading. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with cutting down shafts, but I do know that it will change the flex and reduce the swing weight. Before you think about cutting down, it might be a good idea to choke down (as a test) just to see how the driver might perform in that manner. Then, if you do cut down, see how the driver performs and adjust the weight as necessary; you can either change out the sole weights or add lead tape to the head. Beyond this, I can’t say what the best thing to do would be without more information. I hope this helps!
Need a bit of help bought callaway mavrik max preowned noticed that both weights are 14 grams, should I go ahead and buy a lighter weight ? I went to the range and I was still slicing a bit and if I should get another weight what is a good weight to buy go with the 14 gram that I already have thxs
Yeah, I would get a lighter weight. The MAVRIK MAX normally comes with a 2g and a 14g, so if I were to pick one, it would be a 2g. I suggest just buying a weight kit and seeing which one works best. A good place to get them is here.
Ty !!! Will do. I ordered a 2g and a 4g to try out thxs again for your help
I have the 14 g weight in the heel. Can I remove the 2 g from the rear ? What will this do to the club ?
Leaving weights out should be fine, but it will reduce the swing weight and change other properties of the driver. I suggest giving it a try and see how it performs for you.
I am interested in this club but with ball speeds from 85-95mph (sorry no club speed stat for some reason) I am wondering what shaft to pick and how the shafts differ. Any reference to how to pick the correct shaft and flex and brand?
Hi Marc. Are you sure that’s your ball speed and not your club speed, with a driver? If that’s the case, then you should use a shaft with a lot of flex (seniors, ladies, etc.) because it’s very low. In general, the higher your club head speed, the stiffer the shaft should be. A driver club head speed of 85-95 mph is usually suitable for a regular flex.
As for the brand, it’s difficult to say. Different shafts may have different properties and have a different feel, and different drivers will include different makes as the stock option (like the EvenFlow Riptide from True Temper for the MAVRIK MAX driver). Shafts can have a big impact on your success with a driver; what’s most important is that you use the appropriate flex for your swing and that you get good results with it.
the Mavrik i purchased (used) only has one weight… which driver is the one I now own ?
If you’re talking about the MAX, that’s okay. You can still play the driver with a weight missing, but it may have slightly altered feel and performance. You can get Callaway driver weights here (eBay) or here.
On one website I am being given 5 options for the shaft – one of which is ‘senior’ I am a 68 years old 22 handicapper! I take it that is me
Just purchased a pre owned call away Mavrik max driver. It has a plastic coating on the club. Is it to be removed this is not the packaging head wrap used for shipping. This material look as as if it includes the decals and color sections for the club head and face. If it does need to be removed any clues on how to safely remove it without creating any damage.
The plastic cover is quite normal and is meant to be removed. You should be able to tear it and peel it off with your fingers, but if not, just make a small slit with a knife or pair of scissors.
I was wondering if the Callaway maverik max have a slight offset to it like the Callaway b21 driver?
I’m not 100% sure (I haven’t measured it) but I don’t notice any. Draw drivers tend to have offset, and the MAVRIK MAX can produce a draw bias, but that comes from the interchangeable heel weight.