Callaway Epic Super Hybrid

• Callaway Epic Super Hybrid targets mid to slow swing speed golfers.
• Technology includes titanium face/crown and Velocity Blades.
• $399.99

Callaway claims the new Epic Super Hybrid is “the most technologically advanced hybrid that Callaway has ever made.”

I’ve yet to hear a company admit to releasing a technologically inferior club so we’ll take that statement with a grain of salt. Or a shaker full.

That said, the Callaway Epic Super Hybrid does pose a long list of features and benefits, amounting to what it calls a “hybrid with the DNA and technology of a driver.”

CALLAWAY EPIC SUPER HYBRID

Typically, a fall release for Callaway is a time to take some risks with less traditional designs. This also means an opportunity to address a smaller segment of the market.

The first Callaway Super Hybrid focused on attributes that would likely be more attractive to the better player. This time around, its target is apparently mid to slow swing speed golfers that want a big-ass, distance-first hybrid.

TECH OVERVIEW

With the Epic Super Hybrid, Callaway uses the “sum of our best available technologies.” It starts with a titanium face and body with triaxial carbon crown. From there, add Callaway’s newest velocity blade structure and “mim’d” (metal injection molded) tungsten weighting and that’s almost everything. The proverbial icing on top is an Optifit 3 hosel to provide the same ball flight and launch adjustments as the previous Callaway Super Hybrid.

The primary purpose of using titanium and carbon is because these materials are strong and light. With less mass allocated to the face and crown, engineers can reallocate weight to areas where it can more directly alter performance.

With the Callaway Epic Super Hybrid, Callaway generated roughly 90 grams of discretionary weight. As with other flagship products, Callaway uses mim’d tungsten weights to pull a denser material toward the perimeter and heel/toe areas to boost forgiveness.

VELOCITY BLADES

Many of you likely remember the original Epic driver and lurid green Jailbreak technology bars. In 2017, we suggested this would become a foundational technology for Callaway in subsequent product launches. Four years later and the Jailbreak concept remains, albeit with a slight tweak in design. The newest velocity blade structure still uses two bars connecting the sole and crown, creating a vertical stiffening effect. The difference is that the blades are spread out and more angled toward the center of the face. The purpose is to move the blades away from the most flexible part of the face.

I get it if that sounds counterintuitive. The blades need to increase stiffness at the same time as promoting flexibility. But that’s precisely what Callaway asserts this latest version accomplishes.

BIG FOOTPRINT

The Callaway Epic Super Hybrid isn’t, by any measure, compact. In fact, some might assert it’s rather large. Even bulbous. The upside is that the larger footprint allows for a CG location further from the clubface. Along with the mim’d tungsten weights, the geometry supports a mid-high launch, high-MOI design.

With that, Callaway created two slightly different finished versions.

The lower lofts function as fairway wood replacements. As such, the 16-, 18- and 21-degree models have a cambered leading edge and relatively symmetrical crown. In addition, the toe is slightly angled, not square.

The higher lofts (24 and 27 degrees) look marginally more iron-like. The toe is more squared off with a flatter leading edge. The differences are subtle but purposeful.

Ultimately, performance is what matters. That said, my hunch is some will feel the size of the Epic Super Hybrid further blurs the line between fairway wood and hybrid. If golfers struggle to understand exactly where the Epic Super Hybrid fits in Callaway’s metalwood constellation, they might also grapple with whether it can offer enough benefit to justify the $399.99 price tag.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Callaway positions the Epic Super Hybrid as a driver in hybrid clothing. And, on some level, I can appreciate the dots that Callaway is hoping to get consumers to connect. A good bit of it makes sense. Callaway is leveraging materials and technologies gleaned from previous Epic driver releases. And the Epic franchise has claimed the top spot in two out of the last three Most Wanted driver tests. That’s the definition of class-leading performance.

With that, golfers shouldn’t expect the Epic Super Hybrid to generate the same performance as a driver. Absent any context, that sounds like an obvious statement. But manufacturers don’t exactly dissuade golfers from thinking that titanium is a faster material than maraging steel. This thinking holds up when discussing drivers.  But drivers have much larger faces and a volume that nearly always pushes up against the limit of 460 cc.

It’s difficult to predict how consumers will receive such a niche product. But if the Callaway Epic Super Hybrid can help you shoot lower scores, isn’t that all that should matter?

You tell us.

CALLAWAY EPIC SUPER HYBRID PRICING & AVAILABILITY

Product At Retail Date: Sept. 9
Pricing: $399.99
Lofts: 16°, 18°, 21°, 24°, 27°

The stock shaft is the Aerotech Steelfiber FC hybrid.

For more information, visit Callaway.com.