Gear: Callaway Epic Super Hybrid
Price: $399.99 with Steelfiber FC Hybrid shaft and Lamkin UTx grip
Specs: Carbon-fiber crown, titanium chassis and face with internal tungsten weights and stainless steel support bars. 16-, 18-, 21-, 24- and 27-degree options
Available: Sept. 9, 2021
Imagine a golf equipment maker crammed several driver technologies and features into a club that could not only be hit off the tee, but also off the turf instead of a long iron. That’s precisely what Callaway has done to develop the new Epic Super Hybrid. From titanium and carbon fiber to internal tungsten weights, chassis-stiffening bars and an adjustable hosel, it’s all here.
The Jailbreak A.I. Velocity Blades connect the sole and crown to create vertical stiffness in the head. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Earlier this year Callaway debuted an updated version of its Jailbreak system in the Epic Speed driver family. Callaway has featured an internal pair of bars behind the hitting area called Jailbreak for a few seasons, and by connecting the sole and crown, they stiffen the frame at impact and help redirect more energy back into the shot.
Like the bars in the new drivers, the Epic Super Hybrid’s bars are spread farther apart and angled outward because Callaway’s research showed engineers this was a more efficient way to create vertical stiffness without slowing the face.
Making the body and face using titanium saved weight but kept the Epic Super Hybrid strong. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Equipment makers have used titanium in drivers because it is extremely light yet strong. While most fairway woods and hybrids are made using stainless steel because it is strong and less expensive, Callaway opted to go with titanium in the Epic Super Hybrid.
The choice created a significant amount of discretionary weight, yet allowed Callaway designers to give the Epic Super Hybrid a face that flexes efficiently, like a driver’s face, at impact to create more ball speed and distance.
Callaway’s Epic Super Hybrid has large tungsten weights in the back of the sole. (Courtesy of Callaway)
Callaway designers gave the Epic Super Hybrid a triaxial carbon-fiber crown that saves weight. Using the weight saved by making the club using titanium instead of steel, along with the weight saved by giving the Super Hybrid a carbon-fiber crown, engineers were able to add a pair of internal tungsten weights to the back of the head.
The metal-injection-molded weights vary by the loft of the club but average about 90 grams, and they drive the center of gravity down and back to encourage a higher launch. They also help boost the moment of inertia and make the head more stable on off-center hits.
The lower-lofted Super Hybrids are designed to replace fairway woods, while higher-lofted models have a more iron-style hybrid shape. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Callaway gave all the Epic Super Hybrids an eight-position adjustable hosel mechanism that allows players and club fitters to increase or decrease the loft, making it easier to create a club that hits to a specific distance.
The lower-lofted models that are designed to replace 4-woods and 5-woods (16 and 18 degrees) have rounded edges, a symmetrical-looking crown and topline, and more curvature in the toe and leading edge to give them a fairway wood appearance. They are large and confidence-inspiring.
The higher-lofted clubs (21, 24 and 27 degrees) that could replace irons have a more compact shape and are more angular in appearance.
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