Callaway MAVRIK Irons Review: Ultimate Irons For 2023
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Jake was a competitive golfer for over a decade dating back to the days of being the Captain of his high school golf team. He has played more than 200 courses across 32 different states in the US. Now semi-retired, Jake continues to golf 3-4 days a week with a current 2 handicap, gives golf lessons to his friends and family, and provides a wealth of knowledge to Golf Circuit from his competitive playing days. Jake combines practical expertise with technical knowledge to create golfing strategies and training techniques for both beginners and scratch golfers.
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Callaway is known for their amazing irons. Callaway unveiled their newest line of golf clubs: MAVRIK. We had to get our hands on the MAVRIK irons and see how the AI-designed club face works on the course.
Callaway MAVRIK Irons are renowned for having a greater propensity for high ball speeds than either the Pro or Max series of Callaway irons.
These clubs give the mid-handicap golfer high speed, consistent distance, and a high level of forgiveness.
Outwardly, they have a similar look to the MAX irons, but this is where the similarities end. Of all Callaway Irons, the MAVRIK are the longest.
Ever since they hit the market, consumers and critics alike have given these clubs a positive review.
But are they really worth the hype?
Introducing: Callaway MAVRIK Irons
Callaway MAVRIK Irons hit the market in January 2020, and have been raved about ever since.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the release date, partly due to the bold marketing claims that had been made up to that point.
Callaway proclaimed that every single iron had an AI-generated “Flash Face”.
What is a flash face?
And how did their AI know what the optimum Iron face was, with all the different possibilities of a golf swing?
Technology
To create such an optimized series of Irons, Callaway completed the task of teaching their AI about every single standard golf shot, all the way down from high-toe 8s to the low-heel 4s.
As a result of this, each MAVRIK Iron has an optimized “flash face”, based on the immense set of golfing data that the Callaway AI had analyzed.
All in all, that amounts to a total of 27 unique faces across the 3 MAVRIK Iron sets.
An unprecedented level of technicality has gone into the engineering of these facial profiles.
Callaway’s golf-obsessed supercomputer runs through thousands of potential iterations of a club’s facial architecture, and the AI learns from every single one.
After it has exhausted the possibilities of its many inputs, the computer then constructs what it believes to be the ‘perfect’ face. This is how Callaway first landed upon their now-famous “flash face”.
These faces have their thinnest point as the middle of the face, in direct contrast to both Callaway and their competitors’ earlier design initiatives.
In the past, rules concerning ball speed generated from the middle of the driver were more restrictive. Amendments to these laws have made this research and subsequent designs possible.
The AI was programmed by Callaway’s R&D team to discover exactly what face generated the highest possible legal ball speed, at a much faster rate than even the greatest human minds can calculate.
Once this technology had been introduced in drivers, Callway took the same principles and applied them to irons- with the MAVRIK series as the triumphant result.
Materials
Each iron face is imbued with a tungsten alloy, over which the patented Callaway urethane microspheres are installed.
This outstanding combination of materials results in low vibration when striking, meaning that the club has a very soft, solid feel to it.
These materials in the clubface contain tiny ripples that affect ball speed and trajectory; as you’ll recall from the section above, each clubface has its own architecture.
Each ripple in the iron serves the purpose of optimizing the club’s coefficient of restitution- a metric that increases an iron’s accuracy and strength.
Callaway MAVRIK Irons Price and Specs
In the price range of $400-1000, depending on where you buy (and whether you buy second hand), the MAVRIK Irons promise a lot for such reasonably priced equipment.
Does Callaway’s AI technology really yield better results out on the green? Off the bat, yes.
Even in the experimental stages, Callaway’s test players noted a sizable increase in the speed of their balls. On average there was a 3mph increase, which also reached a high point of 6mph.
The length of the irons is designed with the same purpose as the face: To increase ball speed for all golfers.
The longest of the set are calibrated near-exclusively for maximum speed and distance.
Meanwhile, the mid-length models are tuned for consistency of spin and speed, and the shortest for increased precision and accuracy. To top it off, they’re spin-optimized as well.
We’ve included a table below of the exact specs you can expect from the Callaway MAVRIK Irons range.
| Name | Loft | Length | Lie | Offset (mm) | Steel Swing Weight | Graphite Swing Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Iron | 18° | 38.875″ | 60.5° | 7.24 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| 5 Iron | 21° | 38.25″ | 61.25° | 6.93 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| 6 Iron | 24° | 37.625″ | 62° | 6.6 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| 7 Iron | 27° | 37″ | 62.5° | 6.3 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| 8 Iron | 31.5° | 36.5″ | 63° | 5.8 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| 9 Iron | 36° | 36″ | 63.5° | 5.3 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| Pitching Wedge | 41° | 35.75″ | 64° | 4.8 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| Approach Wedge | 46° | 35.5″ | 64° | 4.3 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| Gap Wedge | 51° | 35.25″ | 64° | 3.7 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
| Sand Wedge | 56° | 35″ | 64° | 3.2 | D3 Steel Swing Weight | D1 Graphite Swing Weight |
Callaway Mavrik Irons Review: Our Experience
Besides the definite increase in speed, how much can all this modern innovation really change the game of a seasoned player?
The standard MAVRIK is said to sit behind the ball very well. For a strong-lofted iron, we found it to be surprisingly playable, and can be picked up by many levels of golfer.
The strong loft of the MAVRIK is unique in that players can still enjoy the numerous benefits of high flight, even when hitting the lower trajectories that strong-lofted clubs are known for.
These long distances, when combined with the precision and stopping power of a strong-lofted club, makes the Callaway MAVRIK Iron a pretty impressive set of clubs.
I really don’t think that there is much of a tradeoff between the two attributes of ball trajectory and distance, which is a rare thing indeed.
While the trajectory given by these clubs is standard, the distance you achieve is unprecedented, which is what makes the irons unique.
In our test, we definitely noted a high level of forgiveness in these irons.
Even on your below-average hits, your ball speed is unlikely to drop more than a couple miles per hour. It’s only the absolute worst of dud-hits that these irons don’t forgive!
If you have high expectations regarding a club’s forgiveness, the Callaway MAVRIK Iron sets are your best bet.
For the more accurate hitter, the “flash face” technology should be fully utilized. Balls hit in the dead center will go the distance Callaway are advertising, and ball contact with other areas of the face should deliver more-than-adequate results too.
Looks
Starting with the face, the edges are marked by a thinner area than the center, which is circular and fairly thick in comparison. The look here is one of tapered slickness; a sensible, modest design.
The footprint of a Callaway MAVRIK Irons is much wider than the Pro series. The toe is higher, and the features are more noticeably square.
On the back of the face are two strips of the well-known Callaway signature orange. Again, this helps in keeping with the modesty of the overall design.
Sound and Feel
When we were using the Callaway MAVRIK Irons, smacking the ball with the center of the flash face created an incredible sound.
Center-contact produces a crisp smack, and the ball will whistle through the air, indicating its high velocity.
In other words, it sounds like what it is – very fast.
Like with many other clubs, hitting the ball with either toe or heel does not make nearly as satisfying a sound. This is a clear indication of where exactly the designers intended the club to strike the ball.
Performance
Ball Speed
We were able to produce ball speed upwards of 125.5mph with the MAVRIK irons, with various golfers publishing speed charts indicating an average ball speed of 100mph.
Backspin
A backspin of roughly 5000rpm can be expected by mid-handicap golfers when using this set of clubs. Although this is only important if you know how to get backspin on a golf ball.
Carry And Total Distance
The MAVRIK six-iron averaged 180 yards in our test. Every golfer is different, but maximum distance for each club is expected.
Forgiveness
Extremely high– even our egregious mishits would go the distance, largely due to flash face technology.
Trajectory
Low – following the standard for irons, the Callaway MAVRIK hits a low trajectory, but what makes a difference is that even at these low trajectories the ball still goes the distance.
Workability
Very high. Due to the club’s consistency, we were more likely to land your balls on the green, even if you have a mishit.
Consistency
The consistency of Callaway MAVRIK Irons is high, in terms of both ball speed and longer ball distance. Even mishits have a high chance of going far.
As you’ll see in this video, these clubs are designed for game-improvement- and their consistency reflects that.
They allow you to work on your precision and accuracy by delivering high levels of speed and distance. The rest is up to you!
Who Is the Callaway MAVRIK for?
The MAVRIK’s are for mid- and high-handicap players who want to improve their game, without spending a small fortune on game-improvement clubs.
The Final Verdict On Callaway MAVRIK Irons
Callaway MAVRIK Irons really live up to the hype.
Claims have been made about their whopping ball-speed and distance even at the low trajectories of typical irons, and these claims stand up.
Many golfers sing the praises of these irons, and with good reason.
The facts and figures do not lie, as these clubs really do send the ball out huge distances at a very high and consistent speed.
They are an extremely forgiving, game-improving, high-tech set of irons.If you are a mid- or high-handicap golfer, check out the Callaway MAVRIK Irons here, or else from your nearest golf supplies retailer!
