Callaway Elyte Driver Review

Callaway Elyte Driver Key Features:

• Enhanced swing speed via new aerodynamics of the head
• All new Thermoforged Carbon crown
• Ai10x face delivers superior ball speeds and launch conditions across the face
• 13g perimeter weighting

Callaway has hit the ground running in 2025 with the release of the new Elyte range.

The Elyte driver range, which takes its name from Callaway's founder Ely Callaway, is designed to improve ball speeds across the face and enhance your swing speed through improved aerodynamics (plus a lot more).

There’s a lot to unpack here, but in this review I’m going to focus on the core model in the Elyte family of drivers.

Player Level

The Callaway Elyte driver can truly be put in the bag by any golfer from the handicap range of +5 to 25 (or even higher). We will see this model in play on tour, due to the adjustability in play and the surprisingly low spin the head generates. That being said, a golfer with a slow swing speed can still be fit for this model due to the adjustability options available via the Movable Weight Tech, and hosel technology.

Callaway Elyte Driver Looks and feel

Callaway have returned to their green colour pallet for 2025, which we’ve seen consistently throughout the years with Callaway Epic. For 2025, I feel the Elyte lineup is a bit marmite.

We’ve certainly seen this on social media too.

The overall design of the Elyte isn’t quite my cup of tea. It almost feels like they’ve overthought how to make it look perfect and made some small errors along the way, that some golf purists like myself aren't too fond of.

The large E on the sole of the club, alongside the name on the crown detracts from the visual appeal.

That being said, the most important part of looks when reviewing a driver is how it looks at address, and I think 2025 is an improvement on 2024.

The matte crown looks slightly more elongated to my eye, although my colleague Johnny did disagree.

Either way, I had more confidence with the Elyte driver than the 2024 Callaway Ai Smoke.

Feel was what surprised me, as it wasn’t a category that Callaway seemed to be pushing in 2025.

I found the Elyte range in general to feel slightly softer but also more explosive across the face, which is a big plus. I would say that from my personal experience, there would only be one brand that I’d choose above Callaway in 2025 for feel alone, and that’s Titleist.

Callaway Elyte Driver Performance and Forgiveness

I was fortunate enough to test the Callaway Elyte driver in a variety of locations, from sunny Spain in November to the Foresight Headquarters in December. Our data testing was conducted with a Foresight GC3 and TaylorMade TP5x balls.

Now, it must be said that my personal history with Callaway drivers has been….bumpy.

I’ve initially loved them, but my on-course testing has always been rather traumatic. I always felt like they sat too far open, and due to my swing speed I’ve been pushed towards the Triple Diamond model. This year, I took a stand and due to the Ai10x face, I was able to use the core Elyte range.

Initial testing at the range in Spain was very promising. Mishits were retaining high 170 ball speed, but also going straight and not peeling off to the right. I used the movable weight technology to my advantage, and that did seem to limit the right-out-of-bounds-i’m-crying tee shot.

That was a range session though, and I’ve been through this before. So, I took it to the course to really stress this driver out.

The results on a warm November day in Spain were, to me, astounding.

Eight tee shots, seven fairways, with a max of 187mph ball speed.

The flight was neutral to draw at first, which then towards the end of the round started to change to a fade (human error).

The forgiveness provided by the Ai10x face and the overall looks of the core model down at address helped me shoot under par on the back nine, and I truly didn’t know what to believe.

Will I finally put a Callaway driver in play this year?

Well, let’s be honest, a Spanish course with wide open fairways wasn’t a true test.

I took the core driver to Mannings Heath Golf & Wine Estate on a wet windy December day to really see how it would cope in the trenches.

With four layers on, I hit two/three fairways, and was again, pleasantly surprised to see my misses not feel like actual misses.

The core model is a great mix of forgiveness and speed, and is a true contender to go in my bag.

Should you buy the Callaway Elyte Driver?

Let’s be clear, if you have the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke, don’t be too jealous of the fancy new Elyte range. Differences are not significant, although I did find the feel to be improved. If you have a driver that is five years old, such as the Mavrik, or an older generation head, I do think you’ll be surprised by what the Callaway Elyte driver can offer.