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Callaway Epic Flash
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Our Conclusion
The Epic Flash driver range fits very much into the usual cosmetics Callaway offers, with big, bright colours and a bold design. I wouldn’t say the Epic Flash is the prettiest driver out there on the market - Taylormade’s offerings are more visually pleasing while offering a similar modern look, while if you want something more traditional Titelist drivers are always beautifully classic - but that is possibly personal preference, and if you’re a player who likes a bit of flare, this might be for you! The Jamaican style green and yellow on the bottom of the club and the headcover certainly catches the eye if you’ve got the confidence to pull it off!
Looking down at the club, the Epic Flash is a big, deep head that certainly inspires confidence. Again, I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite looking club at address; the head shape is a little ovaled, and the green and yellow markings at the back are possibly a little distracting. The alignment aid is simple enough, Callaway’s usual arrow at the centre of the face, and it also includes a line an inch or so back from the face. This reminded me of a more subtle version of the Taylormade SIM’s two tone look, with the white strip across the face. While not quite as striking as the SIM’s version, it does have the optical effect of making the face feel big and thick, which again inspires a lot of confidence when you’re looking down at the club about to make your swing.
Looking down at the club, the Epic Flash is a big, deep head that certainly inspires confidence. Again, I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite looking club at address; the head shape is a little ovaled, and the green and yellow markings at the back are possibly a little distracting. The alignment aid is simple enough, Callaway’s usual arrow at the centre of the face, and it also includes a line an inch or so back from the face. This reminded me of a more subtle version of the Taylormade SIM’s two tone look, with the white strip across the face. While not quite as striking as the SIM’s version, it does have the optical effect of making the face feel big and thick, which again inspires a lot of confidence when you’re looking down at the club about to make your swing.
Where to Buy
Key Features
Key Features
The Epic Flash driver from Callaway is full of so much technology it’s almost overwhelming. A lot of it sounds so high-tech that it will go over most golfer’s heads, but the overall takeaway is the same with most modern drivers: according to Callaway, this is a golf club you can swing quickly and hit far. One of the exciting things about this range from Callaway is the company’s use of artificial intelligence, the first time AI has been utilized to help create golf clubs.
Without going too much into the ins and outs of the supercomputer Callaway is using, the Epic Flash was designed with the help of "machine learning", a combination of statistics and computer science that allows a machine to ‘learn’ without being programmed.
The most prominent of the Epic Flash’s features is the new ‘Flash Face Technology’ which gives the club its name. Though the face looks normal from the front, if you were to pull open the club, you would see that back of the face is covered in what looks like ripples - alternating areas of thickness and thinness, with the outside of the club being the thickest, and the center or sweet spot being the thinnest. The claim is that this optimises ball speed on both off centre strikes and those out of the middle. The machine learning was a big part of the design process of the Flash Face, with Callaway’s AI going through 15000 versions to come up with the best performing driver face.
As well as this, the Epic Flash features Callaway’s ‘Jailbreak Technology’, which is now standard across their drivers. This is essentially two bars inside the driver connecting the top of the club to the bottom, just behind the face. This is supposed to stabilize and stiffen the driver at impact, especially when it’s swung quickly, allowing the club to withstand and optimize faster swing speeds and therefore longer drives.
Onto more standard technology, the Epic Flash features the usual customizations that modern drivers boast, with an adjustable neck allowing you to alter the loft and lie angle, and a sliding weight in the back to promote draw or fade bias.
Without going too much into the ins and outs of the supercomputer Callaway is using, the Epic Flash was designed with the help of "machine learning", a combination of statistics and computer science that allows a machine to ‘learn’ without being programmed.
The most prominent of the Epic Flash’s features is the new ‘Flash Face Technology’ which gives the club its name. Though the face looks normal from the front, if you were to pull open the club, you would see that back of the face is covered in what looks like ripples - alternating areas of thickness and thinness, with the outside of the club being the thickest, and the center or sweet spot being the thinnest. The claim is that this optimises ball speed on both off centre strikes and those out of the middle. The machine learning was a big part of the design process of the Flash Face, with Callaway’s AI going through 15000 versions to come up with the best performing driver face.
As well as this, the Epic Flash features Callaway’s ‘Jailbreak Technology’, which is now standard across their drivers. This is essentially two bars inside the driver connecting the top of the club to the bottom, just behind the face. This is supposed to stabilize and stiffen the driver at impact, especially when it’s swung quickly, allowing the club to withstand and optimize faster swing speeds and therefore longer drives.
Onto more standard technology, the Epic Flash features the usual customizations that modern drivers boast, with an adjustable neck allowing you to alter the loft and lie angle, and a sliding weight in the back to promote draw or fade bias.
Performance
So, the Epic Flash is a bold-looking driver that is absolutely packed full of design features and technology - but how does it perform? The short answer is: very well. Callaway’s own testing revealed that their tour pros were gaining on average 1.7mph in ball speed, an increase which was often pushing 3mph. To put that into perspective, increasing your ball speed by one mile an hour translates to roughly two extra yards of distance, depending on the strike.
That might sound marginal, and, to be honest, it is - but for the professionals, a six-yard increase would be the difference between being the twentieth biggest hitter on tour and outside the top fifty. It is also worth noting that driver technology is so good now, any increase year on year between the top brands is incredibly hard to come by, so being able to boast a six to ten-yard gain is a pretty impressive boon. Whether it’s down to the Jailbreak technology or the Flash Face, the Callaway Epic Flash hits the ball fast and far with high launch and very low spin, so if it’s the distance you’re after and you’ve got the swing speeds to chase it, it might well be one to consider putting in the bag.
But what about for the mid handicappers, who perhaps don’t have the speed or consistency to get such consistent gains in distance? Well, the good news is the Epic Flash is a very forgiving club, with very marginal drop-offs on off-center strikes, which is exactly what the Flash Face is there to achieve - maybe that computer did know what it was doing after all! It is a low spinning driver which can hurt high handicappers more than it helps them, but it is also very high launching, which should hopefully balance that out.
The only other thing worth noting is the sound - it’s quite a high-pitched sounding driver, a little bit more tinny and metallic than some carbon-based big sticks. That’s completely down to preference, but if you’re somebody who’s bothered by the sound of the club when you strike it, it might be worth grabbing a demo club and trying it out before making the purchase!
That might sound marginal, and, to be honest, it is - but for the professionals, a six-yard increase would be the difference between being the twentieth biggest hitter on tour and outside the top fifty. It is also worth noting that driver technology is so good now, any increase year on year between the top brands is incredibly hard to come by, so being able to boast a six to ten-yard gain is a pretty impressive boon. Whether it’s down to the Jailbreak technology or the Flash Face, the Callaway Epic Flash hits the ball fast and far with high launch and very low spin, so if it’s the distance you’re after and you’ve got the swing speeds to chase it, it might well be one to consider putting in the bag.
But what about for the mid handicappers, who perhaps don’t have the speed or consistency to get such consistent gains in distance? Well, the good news is the Epic Flash is a very forgiving club, with very marginal drop-offs on off-center strikes, which is exactly what the Flash Face is there to achieve - maybe that computer did know what it was doing after all! It is a low spinning driver which can hurt high handicappers more than it helps them, but it is also very high launching, which should hopefully balance that out.
The only other thing worth noting is the sound - it’s quite a high-pitched sounding driver, a little bit more tinny and metallic than some carbon-based big sticks. That’s completely down to preference, but if you’re somebody who’s bothered by the sound of the club when you strike it, it might be worth grabbing a demo club and trying it out before making the purchase!
The Verdict
Overall, the Epic Flash is an extremely exciting club because of all the new-age technologies that went into making it, and seems to have the performance to back that up. If you like the bold and dynamic design, it’s definitely a driver worth considering.
Where to Buy
Where to buy
Best offer on: Jun. 05. 2023
