Callaway Epic Max fairway woods review

Callaway’s Epic Max Fairway is designed to be as easy to hit as possible, so how did we find it? Let’s take a closer look…

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Callaway Epic Max fairway woods review: NCG Summary

The Callaway Epic Max Fairway is designed to give players as much forgiveness as possible. If you’re a player that struggles for consistency with the fairway metal, this could be the club for you.

The oversized shallow head inspires confidence behind the ball, and with high launch and high spin characteristics, this club is going to give you the best chance of getting the ball in the air every time.

PROS

• Looks really easy to hit
• Adjustable weights to optimise the launch
• Subtle draw bias
• Very forgiving on off-centre strikes

CONS

• Not the longest fairway wood on the market
• no adjustable hosel to change loft or face angle

Callaway Epic Max fairway woods review: First impressions

The Callaway Epic Max fairway wood may just be the most inviting club I’ve ever put behind a ball. I, like most golfers, pull the fairway wood tentatively out of my bag on the course hoping to hit a good shot, but never totally convinced it’s going to happen. This is not how I feel when I set up to the Callaway Epic Max, the shallow face and elongated head creates the feeling that you just won’t miss.

Callaway Epic Max fairway woods review: NCG verdict

I really liked the feeling off the face of the Callaway Epic Max fairway, with shots from both the toe and the heel of the club still feeling solid and producing solid results. The Epic Max features Jailbreak Blades behind the club face which allows the face to flex more efficiently on off-centre hits.

The Epic Max is a draw-biased club, but I didn’t find it overpowering like other clubs and in the address position behind the ball, you can’t really see that it is.

There are adjustable weight ports on the sole of the club, where you can move a heavier weight forwards for more distance, or back for more forgiveness and higher launch. I kept the weight at the back of the head to make it as easy to hit as possible and enjoyed the high flight it produced.

But if you wanted less spin and lower launch, you could simply move more weight in the front. These sole weights are a great way to adjust both launch and spin.

I hit the Callaway Epic Max fairway really well as you can see by the tight dispersion below. The only complaint I could possibly have is that it doesn’t go as far as my current 3-wood.

The ball speed was good with the AI-designed club face, but it launched so much higher than what would be optimal for maximum distance, and it was not getting much runout. This of course might be in part due to the weight settings I was hitting with.

I would have liked to have a seen Callaway’s adjustable hosel on this club as it would have given it more customisation, and probably taking a degree off would have given me the distance results I was looking for.

I hit the Callaway Epic Max with the Project X Hzrdus Smoke IM10 60 Graphite stiff shaft. I found that the mid-kick point really complimented the purpose of the club getting the ball in the air. This club definitely deserves consideration if you are looking for an easy-to-hit fairway wood.

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Callaway Epic Max fairway woods review: The details

Available: Now

RRP: £299

Lofts: 13.5°, 15° & 18°

Stock shafts:
Project X HZRDUS SMOKE IM10 60 Graphite – Regular & Stiff
Project X HZRDUS IM10 70 Graphite – Regular & Stiff
Project X Cypher 50 Graphite – Light

More information: Callaway website

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