Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood Review

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood Key Features:

• Tungsten Speed Wave is a 35g weight that positions mass low and forward to promote fast ball speeds
• New Step Sole for efficient turf interaction & improved centre-face contact
• Ai 10x Face for optimal launch and tight downrange dispersion

Callaway’s Ai Smoke Fairway Woods were some of the best in the business in 2024, and this year, the American brand is aiming to push performance to elite levels. See what I did there. 

How do they plan on doing that? Well, a whole host of new technical features have been introduced this year to improve every aspect of performance.

The most visibly noticeable addition is the new Tungsten Speed Wave, a 36-gram tungsten weight positioned low and forward in the face to promote faster ball speeds.

Another new feature across the line is a new step sole aimed at promoting improved turf interaction and, as a byproduct, enhanced contact on the centre of the club face.

Callaway has also been busy developing a new Ai Smart face, which the brand claims has 10x more control points than the previous iteration on the Ai Smoke line.

To better understand how the new Elyte fairway woods perform, GolfMagic Equipment Editor Alex Lodge and I took them out on the course before digging into the data at Custom Golf Works.

Let’s get into it

Player Level

The Callaway Elyte is the core model in the Elyte family, making it the perfect middle ground between speed and forgiveness. If you need a lower spin head for the triple diamond, and if you require forgiveness, I recommend trying out the X. In all honesty, the core model delivers the best of both, so I think it will be efficiently utilised by most golfers.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood Looks and Feel

It’s fair to say the Ai Smoke range from Callaway was a little bit Marmite in terms of pure aesthetics, but I have to say the Elyte lineup is a big upgrade.

The sole design is consistent throughout the range, with black and chrome panels making up a dynamic design that is nicely complimented by flashes of green.

I’m personally not a huge fan of the big E near the rear of the head, but it isn't enough to really put me off. All in all, I think Callaway has done a great job with this design, and I would be willing to claim it might be the best-looking option in 2025.

The shaping is very traditional, and especially when looking down at address, the profile is very confidence-inspiring. The heel-to-toe length is generous and the face lies relatively flat to the ground, which is a visual that I personally love as it looks easy to launch, especially off the fairway.

The crown is also a big hit, with Callaway going for an all-black design, which is split with a solid panel directly behind the face, while the remainder of the crown features a carbon overlay. We’ve seen this design utilised many times, but it doesn’t get any less effective.

Feel is once again fantastic. Callaway is renowned for making great-feeling woods, and the Elyte is no different. If you liked the Ai Smoke you will love Elyte; it’s as simple as that. The sensation is hot, crisp and very rewarding from the middle.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood Performance and Forgiveness

From a pure data perspective, we’ve seen a noticeable uptick in speed with Elyte compared to the Ai Smoke range. Spin has also increased ever so slightly, leading to increased carry distance and total distance.

If I were to put this down to one technical addition, I would say it’s probably the tungsten speed wave, and the additional weight that has been brought forward to the front of the club.

In terms of numbers, we’ve seen quite a noticeable uptick in speed of about 5 mph, and while we’re not robots here at GolfMagic, we did hit numerous shots with both clubs, and the averages don’t lie.

So, in terms of numeric improvement, it’s a big thumbs up from us, as the increase is quite a stark one. In terms of launch characteristics, due to the slightly higher spin we found the ball did rise slightly higher in the air, and in terms of direction, we found it to be very neutral, with no bias noted either way.

We’ve mentioned Callaway’s prowess when it comes to fairway woods before, but it has to be said the playability of this model is top-notch. From the tee or the fairway, even for the average golfer, this fairway wood is easy to hit and offers plenty of forgiveness.

It’s not going to protect you from the complete thin or the fat shot, but in terms of maintaining spin and speed from across the face, I was really impressed by the consistency of numbers.

Fairway woods are notoriously one of the more challenging clubs in the bag to hit, but the Elyte filled me with confidence repeatedly, and the results spoke for themselves.

Should you buy the Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood?

Typically, we would say that if you have purchased a fairway wood in recent years, then to save your money, but there has been a noticeable uptick in performance this year from Elyte, and I would highly recommend going and hitting it right away, it’s that good. Fast, forgiving and easy to use, this fairway wood is the real deal. Bravo Callaway.