Equipment

2024 Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons — GolfWRX Launch Report

Published

2 years ago

Jan 3, 2024

What you need to know: At the core of Callaway’s new Ai Paradym Smoke irons is the Ai Smart Face. With the Ai Smart Face, these irons are designed to promote exceptional distance, tight dispersion into the green, and optimal launch in a modern construction. The new shape consists of longer blade lengths, thinner toplines, and optimized sole widths in a bid to create a forgiving, yet streamlined look at address. In addition, an all-new Dynamic Sole Design features a pre-worn leading edge with variable bounce that cuts through the turf with efficiency.

2024 Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons: What’s new, key technology

AI Smart Face: The all-new Ai Smart Face optimizes iron performance using swing data from thousands of real golfers. This set of swing dynamics, or Swing Code, consists of swing speed, club delivery, and face orientation just prior to impact. The result is a face that is designed to promote maximum distance with tight dispersion into the green.
New design with Classic Back construction: The Ai Smoke irons feature a modern shape consisting of longer blade lengths, thinner toplines, and optimized sole widths to create a forgiving, yet streamlined look at address. The Ai Smoke HL and Max Fast irons are designed in a deep cavity back construction. This proven design is combined with precision tungsten weighting to produce a low, deep CG for a high apex. An all-new shape consists of longer blade lengths and optimal sole and topline widths to create a confident, yet clean look at address. The Max Fast irons feature more loft and lightweight components, including a 40-gram shaft, to ensure an easy, high launch.
Dynamic Sole Design: The all-new Dynamic Sole Design features a pre-worn leading edge with variable bounce that bids to cut through the turf with extreme efficiency. This dynamic design promotes crisp contact on all shots and is engineered to provide exceptional forgiveness.

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Additional model details

Ai Smoke: Best suited for golfers with average to high swing speeds looking to maximize distance and improve dispersion.

Ai Smoke HL: Designed for higher launch and more spin for players that need those added benefits.

Max Fast: Built to optimize swing speed and increase launch.

What Callaway says

Brian Williams, vice president of research & development…

“It starts with the work we did on Swing Codes specific to irons, and they’re very different. You don’t see quite the exaggeration that you see on woods around path and face angle. What you do see is wide variations in speed, and we saw that players with speed and players with slower speeds had fundamentally different outcomes. Especially when we look at stronger lofted modern spec packages, players with speed can generate plenty of launch and spin with those spec packages, but players that are slower with launch conditions.

“So we started with players with speed, and we talked about using AI to harness that power with a modern hollow body construction. It allows us to harness that power and speed, and to really work on dispersion control. As we’re adding distance, we’re working to control that downrange dispersion result that helps this to be a longer and more accurate golf club.”

Pricing, specs, availability

Lofts

Standard shafts: True Temper Elevate (steel), Project X Cypher 2.0, Mitsubishi Eldio, Tensei (graphite)

Grips: Lamkin Crossline, Winn Dri-Tac 2.0

Pricing: $999.99 steel, $1,099 graphite

Pre-sale/at retail: 1/12, 2/9

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”