This year is awesome for golfers, provided we’re getting out of quarantine any time soon, as Callaway announced three new Mavrik models: the “vanilla” Mavrik, the Sub Zero and the Mavrik Max. If you take a quick look at Webster's dictionary, the definition of a maverick (not mavrik) is an independent-minded person, as in the opposite of a “square” so to speak. So, it's pretty interesting that the new 2020 Callaway Mavrik drivers are built following the same philosophy, i.e. the company used a rather unorthodox method when it comes to designing their latest clubs.

And since it's the current year and Bill Gates is all over the TV advising on economics and virology, the new 2020 Mavrik drivers are designed using artificial intelligence, or AI in short. Regardless of what you’re thinking about AI, Hall 9000 and all that, in Callaway’s particular case, artificial intelligence seems to be working fine and dandy. Just remember the highly praised Epic Flash drivers from last year, which were given the Best Drivers of 2019 award. Yes, those too were designed by non-human intelligence or AI, what have you. We're only kidding a little bit here, but truth be told, machine learning technology really played a part in helping Callaway’s engineers to create better golf gear, and that could be the reason for which we can talk about a maverick approach on Callaway’s part when it comes to driver design. If you’re wondering about artificial intelligence and real-world results, well, the new drivers benefit from a completely new face design, which ended up in creating a better overall club via a revolutionary variable face thickness pattern, which is definitely aimed at boosting ball speed. It’s true that variable face thickness pattern rhymes perfectly with the Epic Flash drivers, which employed basically the exact same technology back in 2019, but that’s not the point.

The new Mavrik driver is more than a revamped Epic Flash, i.e. Callaway did a lot more than redesigning the face; or, to put it differently, the Mavrik is not just an incremental evolution of the Epic Flash, but a completely different kind of animal. We know, you can’t really argue with physics on the golf course and in life and general, as the only method to generate greater force is through either velocity or mass, since energy equals mass X acceleration. So, to achieve greater force for more speed and distance, Callaway’s Research and Development team went back to their “drawing boards”, provided such a thing even exists in the era of AI, and redesigned the driver from the ground up. Yeah, it’s a cool story, we know, but is there a happy ending?

Well, the answer is yes, sort of, as the new Mavrik driver uses something called Cyclone Shaping, as in it has a brand new profile which has been aerodynamically designed to be as forgiving and efficient as possible, via AI of course, which translates into increased potential speed of the head, even if the overall mass of the club was reduced. More precisely, by employing Cyclone Shaping technology, Callaway managed to achieve an astounding 61 percent increased efficiency, as in the new driver head is way more efficient through the air compared to the Epic Flash, and thus creates less drag and all that. Moreover, the Mavrik is one mile per hour faster, and we know, even if that doesn’t sound like much, every bit counts when you’re OCD about your golf stats. The cherry on top is this: all these performance improvements were made possible while keeping a 460 cc head volume, and if you’re not impressed yet, well, that’s all we got. By the way, one mile per hour of clubhead speed translates into 4 yards total distance.

Each of the 3 driver models is built using Cyclone Shaping tech to boost potential speed, but it's more than aerodynamics at play in 2020 to make these the best drivers ever produced by Callaway. And by that, we're referring to the new Flash Face SS20, which is also designed with a little bit of help from artificial intelligence. It seems like AI allowed Callaway's engineers to squeeze the last drop of performance from an already ultra-hot face, and yes, we're talking about ball speed here. Also, the mass was redistributed to keep the moment of inertia in a smaller footprint. This was made possible by the Flash Face SS20 which is 6 grams lighter compared to the previous generation due to a brand new FS2S titanium face material, which is more fatigue resistant and stronger than regular 6-4 Ti. By the way, FS2S is a proprietary alloy developed by FS Precision Tech, and it’s used in the aerospace industry.

The new titanium alloy makes the Flash Face 2.0 incredibly robust and elastic over a greater area, which translates into ludicrous ball speeds all across the face. Basically, the new Flash Face 2.0 is faster, lighter and stronger than ever before, due to AI mostly, and each model comes with a uniquely designed variable thickness pattern. If you’re asking what’s up with all this tech talk, we must learn that the new Mavrik driver features thirteen percent more consistent downrange dispersion compared to the Epic Flash, and you can take that to the bank.

Now, let’s see about the Callaway Mavrik Driver model, which comes at the legal limit of 460cc’s and features what can be described as the most dramatic aerodynamics via Cyclone Shaping technology, being the flagship of the bunch, being designed to fit the vast majority of players by encompassing the full tech-package in Callaway’s portfolio. This is the mid spin option and comes with a little bit of draw bias, which can be tuned-up as you please via hosel settings. The Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero Driver makes for the ultimate melange of lower spin and higher moment of inertia, standing at 450 ccs and being absolutely neutral in its weighting. You can fine-tune trajectory and spin via the 14g and 2g moveable weights, not to mention the company's proprietary dual-cog adjustable adapter. Finally, the Callaway Mavrik Max Driver is the most forgiving of the bunch and features the highest moment of inertia in the Mavrik line-up, standing at 460cc and featuring a more draw bias shape. The Max, as per its name, has the biggest footprint from address and obviously, it’s the easiest to launch, though it’s not as aerodynamically efficient as its brethren do to its sheer size. However, all the key tech features are included in the package, things like Flash Face 2.0, FS20, not to mention Jail Break technology. Just like the Sub Zero, the Mavrik Max comes with 2 weights which can be moved to achieve maximum draw or maximum moment of inertia settings.

Loft Specs and Availability

Lofts

Mavrik will come in three loft options of 9, 10.5, and 12-degree heads
Mavrik Sub Zero comes in the loft options of 9, and 10.5 degrees
The Mavrik Max will be available in 9, 10.5, and 12-degree lofts

Stock shafts

Project X EvenFlow Riptide 50g and 60g in A-Flex, Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff
Aldila Rogue White 130 MSI 60g and 70g, in Regular, Stiff, and X-Stiff
UST Helium 40g and 50g, in Women’s, A-Flex, Regular, and Stiff

As per pricing, each driver in the new Callaway Mavrik costs $499.99