Callaway is Shifting Sand

Last year’s limited-edition, green camo-soled Paradym Ai Smoke Tactical drivers suggested Callaway had a Military-themed itch it needed to scratch, and Monday’s announcement of the Elyte Sandstorm driver appears to confirm it.

While the 2024 Paradym Ai Smoke Tactical was released the week after Memorial Day (Callaway made donations to Ohio veterans’ organizations together with the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament), the company introduced the desert camo version of the Elyte on Memorial Day itself, and posted a video on its website in which it fitted four veterans for drivers before presenting each with a new Elyte Sandstorm.

It was a fitting tribute and the four veterans looked genuinely excited. And, though your tastes might not quite align with the tan, brown, biscuit, caramel, or wheat coloring, and the camo might resemble a sandy version of Tetris or a desert-based Minecraft, we think it’s cool.

The standard Elyte Sandstorm will cost you $50 more than the standard Elyte, although there are no tech additions or updates and no discernible performance benefits. That may strike some as odd, but this is a limited-edition club, remember, and who knows what the symbolism might do for a golfer’s confidence, especially one with some connection to Desert Storm or subsequent military operations.

The Elyte was launched in January and differed significantly from the Paradym, Paradym Ai Smoke, Rogue and Mavrik drivers. It’s shaped differently, for starters, with a redesigned hosel area improving aerodynamics and helping you to increase your clubhead speed a little. 3D-Printing enabled Callaway engineers to produce and test prototypes rapidly, meaning they were able to identify the optimal design quickly and with greater precision.

The all-new, thermoforged, aerospace-grade, carbon crown lowers the Center of Gravity (CG), reduces spin, raises launch and, says Callaway, produces a molded material that is free of inconsistencies thanks to a forging process that’s a marked improvement on other methods.

The updated, AI-designed face (Ai 10x Face) features 10 times more control points (points on the face that Callaway can manipulate to fine-tune thickness and, thus, performance), which tighten dispersion patterns and help you maintain ball speed on off-center strikes.

Four models were released in January (standard Elyte, Elyte X, Elyte Max Fast and Elyte Triple Diamond,) and there are three Sandstorm models – Elyte Sandstorm, Elyte Sandstorm Triple Diamond (compact, low-spin, interchangeable front and back weights, aimed at better players), and Elyte Sandstorm Triple Diamond Max (similar to the Triple Diamond but a 460cc club that offers a little more spin, for a higher launch and trajectory and forgiveness).

$650 (Triple Diamond and Triple Diamond Max are $700)
Lofts – 9˚, and 10.5˚  (all three models)
Shaft – Mitsubishi Tensei Sandstorm AV Series
Right-hand only (10.5˚  standard model also available in left-hand)
Availability – pre-order on the Callaway website now; general retail begins on Friday (30th)
callawaygolf.com