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Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood Review: Confidence boosting club

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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on the Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood.

Callaway have produced some quality fairway woods over recent years with the Paradym Ai Smoke fairways being a big hit. Now they have released an Elyte series where they have combined speed and forgiveness, hence the slogan ‘the future of performance is Elyte’.

This is the core model with an Elyte X and an Elyte Triple Diamond fairway wood also available. Find out how good this club is from our trip to La Cala Golf Resort in our Callaway Elyte Fairway wood review…

5 star review
NCG SUMMARY

If its a confidence inspiring and easy to swing fairway wood that your after then this is an ideal option. The versatility of the club is brilliant, being suitable to hit off a variety of different lies.

I know aesthetically, the Callaway Elyte series may divide people and not be appealing to all but for me I think it’s perfectly reasonable. The performance certainly makes up for any concerns over its looks and that’s really what we as golfers want.

PROS

  • Produces quick balls speeds and plenty of distance
  • Feels great
  • Pleasing sound
  • Versatile

CONS

  • Design may not be to everyone’s taste

Callaway Elyte fairway wood review: First Impressions

This is a fairway wood that holds a real shelf appeal. Callaway have certainly gone all out on the looks and I think it has paid off brilliantly.

The Elyte range boasts a familiar green colour that is in the flash series. Synonymous with Callaway metalwoods, the dashes of green adds some individuality to the club.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood review

I think Callaway fairway woods tend to be fairly shallow in their face profile, which I think eliminates the appeal of hitting them off a tee. But, this does mean they are very easy to hit off the fairway and is a bit more confidence inspiring when hitting out of the rough.

All in all, I have to say I am a fan of the look of the head. It acts well as a confidence inspiring head shape, in my opinion. Also, the matte black lines at the front of the club head is a nice touch.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood review

Callaway Elyte fairway wood review: NCG Verdict

The NCG team loved the Callaway Elyte driver and the fairway woods are equipped with a lot of the same tech. So, I was confident going into the testing that this would be a quality performing 3-wood.

Some of these technological advances include the carbon crown and the AI face which improves the forgiveness and increases the ball speeds across numerous face locations. It also has an interesting sole design for assistance with producing cleaner strikes out of different lies, including from the rough.

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From the first strike I saw a jump in ball speed from what I am typically accustomed to even on off-centred strikes. The first shot I hit wasn’t a clean strike by any stretch of the imagination and I still experienced an increase of 2mph ball speed which highlights the strong forgiveness of this Callaway fairway wood.

I did find that the ball was coming off the club face on a noticeably low trajectory. This follows the trend set by most golf club manufacturers as many are placing the centre of gravity low and forward in 3-wood builds. As a result a hotter and lower ball flight is promoted.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood review

For a lot of club golfers, I think this is a big positive. Most players will point to the deficiencies of the 3-wood as not being able to hit it far enough which this CG positioning works to resolve.

I certainly gained a bit of extra distance and was able to produced some solid total distances. One of my strikes I registered a yardage of 242 which I would be extremely happy to produce out on the course.

This was a great performing 3-wood for me, especially when I increased the loft on the head. Through this I was able to increase the spin, launch and peak height, whilst also producing a lovely ball flight that suited my eye.

There is plenty of adjustability available to golfers with this Callaway fairway wood as the loft, lie angle and weight can all be effected to suit different swing types.

Additionally, the acoustic of the Callaway Elyte is very desirable. It produces something of click and thud sound of the club face.

Overall, I think this is another fantastic fairway wood option from Callaway. Across the board I think the brand produce some of the best fairways on the market and I woulds say they are some of the most underrated.

It feels like an easy to club to hit and swing. You get great feedback off the face of the club and is top performing club.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Review: The Details

Available: Now

RRP: £349.00 / $349

Shafts: True Temper Project X Denali Charcoal and Mitsubishi Chemical Vanquish PL

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360

Lofts: 15°-27°

More information: Callaway UK / Callaway US

La Cala Resort

We were fortunate enough to head out to the La Cala Resort in Spain to conduct some of our equipment reviews. A picturesque resort that is located in the Sierra de Mijas, just 30 minutes from Málaga Airport and 20 minutes from Marbella.

The place offers outstanding views of the Andalusian countryside and the Mediterranean Sea as well as three magnificent golf courses. All three were designed by Cabell B. Robinson and it’s a popular choice for players seeking variety, challenge, and stunning scenery. For more information head to La Cala Resort’s website here.

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About the author

Callaway Epic Max driver review
Jack Backhouse

A member of the PGA for 13 years, Jack has lived golf for more than half his life. Inspired by Tiger Wood’s winning putt at the 2008 US Open, an obsession began with watching slow motion golf swings on the internet and reading What’s In The Bag articles in magazines.

Not destined for a life behind the desk in a pro shop, Jack has focussed more on coaching, working closely with regional teams in North Yorkshire and helping golfers of all levels on their journey to enjoying playing the game more. Jack has coached many junior golfers into the county teams, and once worked with a player at the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

After letting his game fall apart prior to COVID, Jack rediscovered his love for playing golf after joining Silloth Golf Club in 2020 and whipping round the windy, firm links course. Playing regularly with a half set of clubs he has a passion for shot making and developing skill, and claims to have the sharpest 30-100 yard game in the North of England (only because he doesn’t know anyone in the South), and now maintains a +1 handicap at a club much closer to home, Sand Moor GC.

Jack has always tinkered with his equipment, once building his own Frankenstein one length set of clubs after watching Bryson DeChambeau burst onto the scene after winning the US Amateur. He firmly believes in getting custom fit and is happy to debate anyone about blade irons being superior to any other iron category.

Jack loves: playing quickly, 2 ball golf, match play, heathland courses, pencil bags, foursomes, Tiger Wood’s swing 2005-2009.

Jack hates: buggies, unnecessary trees, giving shots, the 7 iron loft debate, graphite shaft lovers weird superiority complex.

What’s In Jack’s Bag:

Titleist TSR2 Driver

Titleist TSR2 Fairway wood

TaylorMade P7MB 3-P

Titleist SM10 wedges

TaylorMade TP Reserve Blade putter

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