On a regular basis, Callaway’s Retail Marketing Department sends out marketing Newsletters. This one caught my eye if only because it comes just days after my post covering Callaway’s Ball Speed Blitz in Scottsdale last month. This Newsletter is a great read, not to mention a sneak peek into the bag of 2019’s first PGA Tour Winner.
Xander Schauffele got his year off to the perfect start with his win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. And he shot an 11-under par 62 in the final round! Here’s a look at what was in his winning bag last week, including his new Epic Flash Sub Zero Driver and Apex Pro 19 Irons. The clubs will be available to pre-order on Friday, January 11th:
Epic Flash Sub Zero Driver (9°) – Graphite Design BB 7X Shaft
Rogue Sub Zero Fairway Wood (15°) – Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8X Shaft
Rogue Sub Zero Fairway Wood (18°) – Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8X Shaft
Callaway Apex Pro 19 Irons (4-PW) – True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shafts
Mack Daddy 4 Wedge (52°) – True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shaft
Odyssey O-Works Red #7 CH Putter
Epic Flash Sub Zero Driver
On Friday, Callaway officially announced their new Epic Flash Drivers, and at the TOC in Hawaii they officially debuted on Tour this week as well. Schauffele put in the new Epic Flash Sub Zero Driver model with a 9° head. His longest drive of the week was 405 yards!
The Epic Flash Sub Zero driver features Flash Face, and the advanced head shape and internal weighting create a rare combination of high MOI and low spin in a player’s driver, resulting in more forgiveness and longer distance.
Flash Face helps golfers get more ball speed for more distance. That’s faster and farther. How? Flash Face’s unique, internal mapping consists of dozens of subtle ripples flowing from heel to toe. Though the size, height and configuration of the ripples appears random, they in fact work together cohesively to elevate COR in the face’s center region.
That convention-defying accomplishment results in a significant ball speed boost for a noticeable distance increase when you make solid contact, helping make your longest drives go even further.
Flash Face’s sophisticated architecture was created by Artificial Intelligence – the first known instance of using A.I. in the golf equipment industry — and “Machine Learning,” a field of computer science that uses statistical techniques to give computer systems the ability to “learn” with data without being explicitly programmed.
A new driver face design typically takes five to seven virtual protot. Through Machine Learning our computers cycled through 15,000 face architecture iterations, learning from each one, before arriving at Flash Face.
The Epic Flash driver also incorporates Callaway’s revolutionary Jailbreak Technology that promotes fast, face-wide speed. Together, Flash Face and Jailbreak make the Epic Flash one of the most innovative and technologically advanced drivers in Callaway history.
Apex Pro 19 Irons
Schauffele also had the new Apex Pro 19 Irons in the bag at Kapalua. Schauffele is particularly fond of these irons – he played with the prototype version of the Apex Pro 19 Irons throughout the end of last season and used them in his WGC win during the fall series. Xander has told Callaway Tour Reps that the weighting through the turf feels great for him, regardless of the course conditions.
Chrome Soft X Golf Ball
Xander joined Callaway as staff pro at the beginning of 2018, and he said that one of the main reasons he came to Callaway was to play the Chrome Soft X golf ball. Xander particularly likes the feel of the golf ball and in testing he especially liked the performance and feel of the ball on pitch shots and iron shots.