What a day for new clubs! First, we had the 2021 Callaway Epic MAX, LS, and Speed drivers show up on the conforming club list, and as you would expect the fairway woods have followed with matching Epic Max and Epic Speed fairways also arriving.

The one thing to note when checking out the conforming club list is that any club that could potentially go into play on any professional tour has to go through the testing process, no matter how small the variation is between versions. This is why when going through the list you will see multiple versions listed, and even some in various lofts—many of these models could also be what is known as “tour only” parts to cater to specific golfers’ needs at the highest level.

With PGA Tour players gearing up for 2021, including the newest Callaway staff player Jon Rahm, it should come as no surprise to see these new clubs showing up on the list this week, and we can probably expect to see an official announcement soon along with a retail launch date.

Callaway Epic Max

At first look, the Callaway Epic Max fairway wood shares some of the familiar design cues as the 2020 Marvrik Sub Zero, but when we take a closer look, there appear to be some serious changes to the internals that are hinted at on the sole of the club.

The most obvious is the addition of “Velocity blades,” which sounds like an updated version of Callaway’s Jailbreak, and it has most likely been tuned to work better in smaller fairway wood heads.

We’re not sure if there is more to this tech story or not, but here is what we know for sure.

• The continued use of a fixed hosel
• AI is being used to tune the performance of the clubhead
• The dual weight design will allow for a “high” and “lower” spin configuration

Epic Speed

This is where it gets interesting because generally a “Speed” club has been stripped of extra necessities in favor of reducing weight, but the new Epic Speed still shows an adjustable weight, and it’s placed forward in the head.

This could mean that Callaway won’t officially be offering any kind of “Sub Zero” option in the fairway wood line in 2021 and let the new Speed version be the lowest-spinning consumer option. With modern golf balls and lower lofts, it makes sense since a majority of golfers need spin in their fairway woods to increase carry. (See: Why your Traditional 3 wood might be extinct)

Conclusion

When it comes to metal woods Callaway has been rolling for quite some time. With the success of the 2020 Mavrik and 2019 Epic Flash lines, Callaway is sticking to the plan of producing fast forgiving fairway woods for golfers of all abilities and maximizing forgiveness by eliminating the adjustable hosel.

To see what other golfers are saying check out the GolfWRX forums.