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In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the Callaway Paradym X fairway wood.
The Paradym X is the game improvement member of the Paradym family. It has the most forgiving shape and produces the highest launch with a mild draw bias thanks to a carbon toe patch that redistributes weight.
How does the Paradym X fairway wood actually perform when push comes to shove? How does it compare to the standard Paradym model and the Rogue ST MAX? Who is it best suited for? Is it worth putting in the bag?
Read on to get the answers to these questions and learn 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 Paradym X fairway wood earned a gold medal on the 2023 Golf Digest Hot List and enjoys a fantastic 5/5 (100% recommended) average rating on the Callaway store.
Its performance has been rated very highly by consumers and critics: it’s best known for its exceptional forgiveness, feel, and easy launch.
What People Like
- does practically everything well
- attractive looks
- super easy to launch with a high ball flight
- more forgiving than the Rogue ST MAX
- fast off the face
- feel is second to none
What People Don’t Like
- pricey
- headcover is hit or miss
The Features
The Paradym X fairway wood has the same cutting-edge technologies as the standard Paradym, namely:
- Forged Carbon Sole: saves a significant amount of discretionary weight which is used to further optimize distance and MOI.
- Jailbreak A.I. Batwing Technology: two Jailbreak blades (designed by artificial intelligence) with a “batwing” shape are pushed to the perimeter of the clubhead, providing stiffness and stability and allowing the face to flex for unprecedented ball speeds.
- Tungsten Speed Cartridge: sits behind the face and consists of high-density tungsten that pushes the center of gravity (CG) low and forward for reduced spin and higher ball speed.
- A.I. Optimized Face: uniquely designs the face architecture for each loft and model in order to improve speed, spin and launch conditions across the entire face.
- C300 Face Cup: a wraparound cup face made of C300 maraging steel that enhances speed and spin consistency across the face.
The main differences that sets the Paradym X apart are:
- 25g of tungsten in the Speed Cartridge instead of 23g
- a higher (more upright) lie angle and neutral face at address
- a more stretched profile
- a carbon toe patch that adds a slight draw bias
- a different sole aesthetic
Stock Info
The Paradym X fairway wood is available in 3W, 3 HL, 5W and 7W at lofts 15°, 16.5°, 18° and 21° respectively.
Also available is the women’s Paradym X fairway wood. It’s basically the same as the men’s Paradym X, but the stock shaft, grip, swing weights, etc. are tailored to women to maximize their performance.
An included Optifit hosel in the 3W model 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 Project X HZRDUS Gen 4 Silver 50 & 60 and ALDILA ASCENT PL Blue 40 & 50. The stock grip is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360. Custom shafts are available.
If you’re interested, full information on the fairway wood, shafts, grips and their specs can be found here.
Below are the specs of the Paradym X fairway wood for men and women. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
Let’s cut right to the chase: the Paradym X is plenty long. Is it the longest fairway wood I’ve ever tested? No, but there’s plenty of speed there for the mid and high handicappers who are most likely to use this model.
Distance results are very similar to the standard Paradym, but because the Paradym X launches slightly higher, I was seeing a marginal drop in carry of 2-3 yards on average.
At the same time, the Paradym X appears to have an advantage in carry distance of a few yards over the previous generation Rogue ST MAX. You always want to improve on the previous model, so this is certainly a success on Callaway’s part.
Forgiveness
Predictably, forgiveness is the area where the Paradym X really shines. Dispersions are tight, and ball speed preservation across the face is excellent.
I do find that the Paradym X is more forgiving than the Paradym. It’s right up there as one of the most forgiving fairway woods I’ve tested in 2023.
Assuming a generous fairway width of around 50 yards, you can expect that all but your worst swings that put the most curve on the ball will stay in the short grass.
Playability/Trajectory
Typical trajectories produced by the Paradym are high with a modest draw bias. In my opinion, Callaway understates the draw bias of this club a little bit; it can really help take the edge off slices, even more so when the Optifit hosel is put into use.
One thing that strikes me with the Paradym X is how easy it is to get the ball airborne — not just with center contact, but also mis-hits towards the heel or toe or even low on the face. And because the spin is relatively low, there is little risk of ballooning shots and lost distance.
Turf interaction is great. You can shape shots to a limited extent, but naturally, the club is not as workable as the Paradym or Paradym Triple Diamond due to the altered head shape and built-in draw bias.
The Look
When it come to looks, there are a number of differences between the Paradym X and Paradym fairway woods. These were mostly covered in the Features section, but now let’s discuss them in more detail.
The one thing that immediately stands out are the aesthetics. On the sole, the Paradym X uses much less of the dark teal colour that characterizes Paradym clubs, instead opting for streaks of silver and a black region where the Speed Cartridge is.
This is part of an interesting trend where the Paradym has the most blue, the Paradym X has less, and the Paradym Triple Diamond has almost no blue on the sole at all. I’m not sure why Callaway made this design choice, but it probably has to do with making each model stand out in its own way.
Aside from this, the Paradym X basically looks like the Paradym with a slightly larger and more elongated footprint from front to back. This confidence-inspiring shape, with a neutral setup and upright lie angle, is what you would expect from the forgiving model in the line.
The Sound & Feel
The sound and feel of the Paradym X fairway wood is very similar to the standard Paradym: a nice mix of solidness, responsiveness and explosiveness along with a satisfying “crack” at impact that is somewhat low-pitched.
I hit both side-by-side and I personally couldn’t find any difference in feel between the two when struck in the center of the face.
While strikes in the sweet spot are the most crisp and explosive, mis-hits towards the heel and toe deliver a duller, slightly firmer experience.
This doesn’t belie the Paradym X’s status as a game-improvement club, though; sound & feel across the face are very consistent, and in fact, this fairway wood probably has a slight edge in consistency over the Paradym.
Where To Buy This Fairway Wood Online
Currently, the best place to order a Paradym X fairway wood with custom specifications (loft, length, shaft, grip, etc.) is this page on the Callaway store. The women’s variant can be purchased here.
If you want to save some money, you can find discounts on eBay.
Alternatively, look at what’s available on PGA TOUR Superstore or Amazon. The former offers club trade-ins, a performance guarantee, and financing plans to help you minimize the risk of purchase.
Final Thoughts
With an easy launch, confidence-inspiring shape, and the best forgiveness in Callaway’s Paradym line of fairway woods, there’s no doubt that the Paradym X is a suitable choice for mid and high handicappers, and even many low handicappers can have success with it.
This high-performing fairway wood sets a new bar in game improvement performance. It may be expensive, as many fairway woods are these days, but I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade from the Rogue ST MAX if you can get a decent trade-in value for it.
Have any thoughts or opinions about the Paradym X fairway wood? Go ahead and leave a comment below.
