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In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the Callaway Paradym X driver.
While the original Paradym driver is engineered to deliver forgiveness with low spin, the Paradym X moves even further in the game-improvement direction. Built for maximum MOI and with an oversized profile, it’s designed to provide extreme forgiveness, high launch and a slight draw bias.
How does the Paradym X driver hold up when put to the test? How does it compare to the Paradym and Rogue ST MAX models? Who is it best suited for? Is it worth putting in the bag?
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 new Paradym X driver is generally praised by critics for its outstanding ball speed and forgiveness, along with a draw bias that helps mitigate the right miss. It earned a gold medal on the 2023 Golf Digest Hot List.
What People Like
- incredible forgiveness
- very confidence-inspiring at address
- effective draw bias for combating a slice
- better overall feel than the Rogue ST MAX
- premium aesthetics
- very easy to launch
What People Don’t Like
- high price tag
The Features
The Paradym X has mostly the same technologies as the Paradym driver, namely:
- 360° Carbon Chassis: consists of a Triaxial Carbon Crown and forged carbon sole, saving 43% more weight than a titanium chassis. The saved weight is redistributed to increase MOI (and thus forgiveness) and maximize distance.
- A.I. Jailbreak Speed Frame: 33% lighter than previous designs, it vertically and horizontally connects the crown and sole to produce more ball speed and torsional stability towards the heel and toe.
- A.I.-Designed Face: optimizes launch, spin and ball speeds, and also improves downrange dispersion for more accuracy.
- Face Cup: featured in a driver for the first time, it further boosts ball speeds at every impact point across the face.
- Forged Titanium Face: works with the Face Cup to increase COR and energy transfer to the ball beyond what you would get with a standard driver face insert.
The key differences with the Paradym X driver are:
- the perimeter sole weight in the back is fixed instead of adjustable. This allows Callaway engineers to optimize the internal weighting to increase MOI, launch and spin.
- the profile of the driver is stretched to inspire more confidence at address
Stock Info
The Paradym X driver is available in 9°, 10.5°, and 12° standard lofts at 460 CC.
Also available is the Paradym X driver for women, in 10.5° and 12° lofts. The women’s version has the same head technologies but the lofts, swingweights, lengths, shafts and grips are tailored to women to maximize their performance.
The Paradym X comes with an Optifit hosel that allows you to adjust loft and lie. The loft settings are -1, +1, 0 and +2 (a range of 3°). The lie settings are N (neutral) and D (draw), giving a total of 8 possible configurations.
The stock graphite shafts are the ALDILA ASCENT PL Blue 40 and Project X HZRDUS Gen 4 Silver 50 & 60. The stock grip is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360. Custom options are available.
If you’re interested, full information on the driver, shafts, grips and their specs can be found here.
Below are the specs of the Paradym X driver for men and women. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
The Paradym X driver generates just as much ball speed off the face as the Paradym, which is to say a lot. During my test, clubhead speed and smash factors were pretty much the same.
Where the Paradym X differs is in the launch and spin. Launch is higher, and I was getting about 200-250 more RPMs on average. Consequently, many folks will experience less rollout and total distance.
On the other hand, I reckon slower swingers will likely pick up a considerable amount of distance over their previous gamer since the Paradym X should help increase carry.
Forgiveness
In my review of the original Paradym, I rated the forgiveness a 10/10 which I rarely do. Remarkably, the Paradym X manages to take it to an even higher level.
This thing is uber forgiving both in terms of both ball speed retention and direction. It’s so good that I think it rivals even PING’s most forgiving models including the G430 MAX.
Of course, you need to sacrifice a bit of distance and increase the RPMs a little in order to achieve this level of forgiveness. But in any event, the Paradym X is going to help you stay in the fairway more than any other driver out there, especially if you’re in need of slice correction.
Playability/Trajectory
The trajectory of the Paradym X driver is, predictably, a little higher than the Paradym. On an absolute scale, I would consider it high.
In addition, there is somewhat of a draw bias to the ball flight — there’s certainly not as much right-to-left correction as a dedicated draw driver like the Cobra RADSPEED XD or PING G430 SFT, but there’s enough to take the edge off fades and slices.
Getting the ball airborne is very easy with the Paradym X, even with the 9-degree. Launch is high, but the descent angle is shallow enough to allow for a decent amount of rollout.
Workability is one area where I noticed the Paradym X is considerably worse than the other models in the Paradym line. Capable and skilled golfers should be able to flight the ball, but only to a limited extent. The lack of a moveable sole weight just adds to that.
The Look
The Paradym X driver, unsurprisingly, looks very similar to the original Paradrym. Things of note are:
- a milky dark teal colour theme
- a simple yet attractive sole design
- a three-part crown (titanium near the face, carbon fiber in the middle, titanium in the rear)
- a slightly altered tungsten cartridge (first introduced in the Rogue ST line)
- a modern, aspirational, premium aesthetic
As mentioned in the features section, with the Paradym X, you have a stretched profile — more elongation from front to back. This is typical for a game-improvement driver. Also, in place of the slideable weight track of the Paradym, Callaway has added a fixed 5g weight.
The Paradym X sits behind the ball beautifully at address, and with the stretched profile, you really get the feeling that you can go after it.
Aside from the driver itself, I should also mention that I love the headcover design; it’s really bold and stands out in the bag.
The Sound & Feel
On the average, I honestly couldn’t find a difference in sound & feel at impact between the Paradym X and Paradym.
They are virtually the same in my judgement and tend towards a mid-pitched, slightly muted “crack” as well as a “whoosh” with a nice balance of explosiveness, solidness and springiness.
That’s on the average, though. From shot to shot, I was surprised to find during my test that the sound of the Paradym X was less consistent across the face even though it’s supposed to be more forgiving. Feel consistency, on the other hand, was very good.
For this reason, mis-hit feedback is a little harsher than I would have liked, especially low on the face. But all in all, the Paradym X driver retains the unique Callaway feel and sound that we have come to know and appreciate.
Where To Buy This Driver Online
At this time, the best place to order a Paradym X driver with custom specifications (loft, length, shaft, grip, etc.) is this page on the Callaway store. If you’re interested in the women’s variant, go here.
If you want to save some money, you can find discounts on eBay.
Optionally look at what’s available on PGA TOUR Superstore, Global Golf or Amazon. The first two vendors may offer club trade-ins, performance guarantees, and/or financing plans to help you minimize the financial hit.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding the high performance bar set by Callaway’s Paradym line, not much about the Paradym X driver should surprise you. It’s basically a higher-launching, higher-MOI version of the Paradym with a slightly larger profile.
This makes the Paradym X suitable for higher handicaps seeking modern game-improvement performance. Its tremendous speed, forgiveness, premium looks, and sweet Callaway feel won’t leave you disappointed.
If you have the previous-generation Rogue ST MAX, it may be worth the upgrade depending on your budget. At the time of writing this, you can trade in a Rogue ST MAX through the Callaway website for $220 which can be put towards the Paradym X.
Are you interested in the Paradym X driver? Have you tried it yet? What have your results been? Let us know in the comments below.
Play four rounds now. I have hit more fairways then I have every hit before. My confidence behind is amazing. I feel I lost a little distance but my approach shots are better because I am not playing from the second cut or rough. All in all I am very impressed with its performance. I have played the tripl diamond and regular Paradym and this by far the easiest driver I have ever hit.