The new Elyte line of golf clubs from Callaway isn’t just a breakthrough in performance, it also brought on new manufacturing and production processes that will help shape the future of the company.
In previous models, Callaway would have been able to create and test three or four models for shape and aerodynamics before releasing a product for launch. Now, Callaway is able to produce upwards of 75 models to test and it’s all thanks to 3D printing and artificial intelligence.
“For the first time ever, the team was able to print shapes, go test them and refine. 75 different prototypes they did and measured in order to land on this new shape,” Callaway Vice President of Global Tour, Jacob Davidson said. “Incredible breakthrough, and so you’re seeing massive steps in innovation now packed within a year because of the investments we’ve made in 3D printing, investments we’ve made in AI.”
In the past, when designing and shaping a new product, Callaway would print a wax model of the clubhead, test its shape, send that wax model overseas to get an iteration that could be attached to a shaft and tested on the robot. It was an arduous process that would limit Callaway to only three or four different tests and molds.
However, through investments in 3D printing and continuing to push the boundaries of their manufacturing process, Callaway was able to 3D print a nylon model of the Elyte clubheads. The nylon versions were fully functional and could be attached to a shaft and used with their robot for testing.
Through that process, Callaway was able to create 75 different prototypes to perfect the shape of the all new Elyte family of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons.
“(We’re) really excited about the new shape. We’re seeing upwards of 1.2 miles per hour improvement in clubhead speed,” Davidson said. “So, very efficient. But, when you look down at (the driver), you still get the look of that larger profile.”
The Callaway team was able to get the shaping and aerodynamics exactly where it wanted with improvements on the Ai Smoke model. That meant, however, that the mass properties had changed. Getting the weight, center of gravity and mass correct is of the utmost importance to keep results consistent and efficient.
That led the engineers to look for different materials to try to get the weight exactly where it needed to be in the drivers and fairway metals and it brought them to the thermoforged carbon crown. An aerospace material that has never been used by Callaway and one that Davidson believes is the material that will propel future lines.
“Being able to manufacture that was huge, we had to go rebuild our whole manufacturing process with this thermoforged carbon crown,” Davidson said. “Really excited to get this in there, it’s lighter, better integrity. It allows us to have that bigger footprint that’s faster, but still maintain that low spin.”
In the irons, shaping was as important as the drivers and Callaway spent a ton of time perfecting the Elyte irons, as well.
“The industry has changed a little bit. You used to think about these game improvement irons as these big, chunky, super forgiving look,” Callaway Senior Manager of Product Marketing, Zack Oakley, said. “But the industry has changed where players have gravitated towards something that looks nice, something they can be proud of. So, it’s our job to figure out how we can deliver that to them, while also making sure it performs the way it needs to.”
Oakley says he believes that the Elyte irons are the best game improvement irons Callaway has ever made.
No matter if it’s the irons, the fairway metals or the drivers, Callaway has changed its process and the way it manufactures clubs to bring this new line to light. The Elyte line features upgrades from past models and quite possibly has paved the path for Callaway with a new way to ensure the company is creating the best products possible.
“More speed, more control, more forgiveness, up to 19 percent tighter dispersion (in the drivers). That’s over Ai Smoke, which was the number one selling driver last year,” Davidson said. “So, the future of Elyte performance really comes through the new shape, the new thermoforged carbon crown and the Ai 10x face. Some really exciting breakthroughs here, we feel like that’s why it’s Elyte.”
