At least that’s what some of the PR speak will tell you. But it definitely checks out after testing.
The Ai Smoke Max Fast are for players with slower to moderate swing speeds, so that set I didn’t test, but they might really help an aging golfer who is losing swing speed and distance and hoping to get some of it back.
The Ai Smoke HL are for players with moderate to average swing speeds searching for a higher launch (that’s what the “HL” stands for) and more forgiveness. Like the Max Fast, these have deep cavity backs. I tested these, and I hit them well, but I hit them really high. That’s the point, yes, so I can assure you the High Launch is no joke. But for someone who already has a bit of a higher-launching ball flight, it seemed a little more than what was necessary for my game.
That leads us to the Ai Smoke, the game-improvement option for the player with an average-to-fast swing speed. A handy comparison chart on Callaway’s website will help you figure out which might be best for your game, but the description for the Ai Smoke says it is ideal for a player who “typically hits the ball high and is looking for more distance and tighter dispersion.” That’s me!
The results proved it, too. I eventually found a groove and was hitting shot after shot with crisp contact and an ideal ball flight. Misses weren’t penalized, either. We hit a few different irons and checked out the dispersion afterward and, despite an annoying shank here or there, it was tight. Game on.
I also liked the profile of the Ai Smoke — a modern hollow-body with a slightly longer blade length and thinner topline — which at address looks smaller than a typical game-improvement iron but bigger than a butter-knife blade. More importantly, it gave me the confidence I needed standing over the ball. The Smoke Ai was the clear winner for me.
“This is the aspirational profile in the lineup,” said Brian Williams, Callaway’s VP of R&D. “It has a thinner sole and topline for a clean hollow-body look that we’re seeing players gravitate towards these days.”
The Ai Smoke irons will be available for purchase on Feb. 9. You can pre-order them here or below.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Custom Irons
Putter: While it wasn’t an official fitting like what we went through with the Ai Smoke drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, we did poke our heads into the epic little putting lab inside the ECPC. There, the room was lined with putters. Dozens of them. Maybe 100. But they mostly consisted of the new Odyssey Ai-One and Ai-One Milled lines, which were unveiled in November.
What makes the Ai-One and Ai-One Milled lines stand out is that engineers leaned on Artificial Intelligence to increase the sweet spot and create an improved insert that minimizes ball-speed losses on off-center hits. The insert in the Ai-One putters is a grooved urethane layer with an aluminum backer, similar to what Odyssey fans might see in a White Hot model. Meanwhile, the Ai-One Milled insert is forged from titanium. Combined with a milled stainless steel head, it offers a more premium feel at impact.
While I toyed with a few, I took an immediate liking to the designs of the Ai-One #7 CH and the Ai-One #7 S, eventually determining that the slant shaft of the Ai-One was a better visual for me when standing over the ball. My putting stroke is an arc motion, and while I wish could tell you the science behind it all, the reality is these types of putters, with some degree of toe hang, are better for my game. I consider myself a good putter, so I’ll take the gear experts’ word for it.
As for important bonus points, I love the navy blue finish to these putters. It’s a slick, eye-catching design that looks luxurious but not too flashy. It’s without question the most esthetically pleasing putter I’ve ever owned.
The majority of the Ai-One and Ai-One Milled designs launched in November, although a couple won’t be available for purchase until February. You can check them out on Fairway Jockey here or below.
Odyssey Ai-One Putters
View Product
