It’s getting close to showtime. Elyte is knocking on the door – ready to come in and take centerstage. Last week, I had the fun times of fitting or watching 42 players on the Callaway Professional Staff team get fit for the new Elyte driver. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Up until now, the only one to hit it was me. It was almost my word against… well, nobody’s. Until last week.

It’s always good, but how will this one stack up? The short answer is GREAT!! In 42 players, I didn’t see one that was shorter. I also didn’t see one where the dispersion wasn’t better. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how this is even possible.

I found a couple things, but first, consider that these players are all elite level players, and many have high swing speeds (in excess of 110mph). We worked with a lot of Stiff and Extra Stiff flex shafts, and a lot of lower lofted heads last week. Of note, this is what stood out to me:

• The Triple diamond driver is a ball speed monster, BUT, it’s harder to hit than last year’s TD. The misses were wider and more penalizing on distance. Despite the good looks, about half of the TD players from AI Smoke opted for the STD Elyte head.
• The STD Elyte head was much straighter for every player. Most players also picked up noticeable ball speed.
• The STD Elyte head with the weight moved towards the toe was much more effective at fighting a hook than changing to a Triple Diamond head. The triple Diamond head made the hook more pronounced in most cases.
• The Elyte X Driver head, while draw biased, turned a slight fade into a straight shot without moving the weight. Moving the weight to the heel is a slice killer.
• There is really no spin advantage in any of the heads. Changing lofts (up or down) has about the same desired effect on spin as we are used to – 300-400 RPM per degree change.
• Overall, launch angles were slightly higher than the Smoke Driver. This was more pronounced in the STD and X Heads.
• Apex Height stayed the same or increased slightly for most players in the STD or the X heads
• Many players were able to loft down and keep the apex the same. This left the spin lower and created more ball speed.
• Launch angle changes were consistent with older versions – about .3 degrees per degree and a half of loft change.
• Triple Diamond has historically been a spin killer that is fade biased while being a ball speed machine. This year, the only thing we saw was a Ball Speed machine – and it is very much so. We saw several players gain 5-6mph in ball speed vs. Smoke TD. For those who can control it, it was a massive upgrade.
• Ball speed gains happened for about 75% of the players (call it 30 out of 40). For those who didn’t gain ball speed, it seemed easier to hit it straighter.
• The Tensei Black 1K shaft with any head is an extremely good combination.
• Denali Charcoal is the new stock shaft. It plays rather soft. Don’t try to compare it to Denali Black – they are two very different animals. Denali Blue is a no upcharge shaft and fits in the middle of charcoal and black. This could be a very good option for 2025.

A couple of other notes. The Elyte Iron is an absolute rock star. Ball speeds are off the charts. The look and feel is exceptional. It will kill anything else out there. The Elyte X Iron is very good. Long, forgiving, and not too bad to look at. As game improvement irons go, this one will be a winner. The Elevate shaft from True Temper is retired. The new version is Vector. It’s slightly lighter, but the same basic flavor as Elevate.

I didn’t have a lot of FW Woods or hybrids to test, so not much data there.

In case anyone cares… I spent some time in the simulators with the new sticks last week too. On the driver… Smoke TD Max 9* is my current gamer. I tried the Elyte TD 9* and it was longer, but all over the place. Maybe some time with it and some adjustments will make this work for me. I hit the Elyte STD 9* and actually bumped it to 8*. Spin and launch were perfect. Ball speed was up about 3 MPH on average. I can’t wait to play golf with it!! The Elyte irons… I may play these. A cast iron? Really?? Yes!! The ball speed is sooo good. A good ball speed with my Apex AI 200 7 iron is 114 for me. I was north of 120 all day long with the Elyte. An easy, bunt it out there, 7 iron was 118. 4 MPH increase in ball speed is a full club longer. We shall see…

I enjoyed the week. I hope you enjoyed the recap and can plan your way to get ready to start selling this stuff. It’s on tour already. The pictures are being leaked online. Maybe that’s intentional. 😉 The buzz is real. Maybe the green accents will spark visions of Epic?? Either way, it looks to be another great year.