Even though many of us are worried about how AI will take over our lives, I think the Callaway Epic Flash driver is the way of the future when it comes to golf clubs.
Callaway spent about $5 million on a supercomputer to make the sketch for the Epic Flash driver. At first, even their R&D guys didn’t understand what it came up with.
It works like this: you give the computer the legal limits and a few other rules, then you let it figure out the best design. It fails a lot, but it learns from those failures, and after 15,000 tries, it comes up with the Flash Face.
What does Callaway mean?
To give players what they want, more distance, Callaway’s main goal has been to speed up the ball. That’s how the Jailbreak technology worked when it was first introduced on the first Callaway Epic.
The most recent update to the Callaway Epic Flash gives the ball even faster speed across the whole face of the club, on both center and off-center hits. In this case, the experts at Callaway used AI to help them make the face. You can drool or roll your eyes during the break.
Long story short, Callaway says they will give golfers more space again while still following the rules set by the USGA. What their marketing team says about how the club is set up doesn’t really bother me. As always, they’ve worked hard to improve speed and will talk about it a lot in their messages. But it’s up to each player to test their swing and see if there are any real improvements.
Performing a test
I don’t review clubs very often on Practical Golf because the results of one player can’t tell you what other golfers will find with a certain club. Many of you want to see results, so I’m happy to try different things to see if there are any that stand out.
The Callaway Epic Flash and my Titleist 917 D3 driver were put side by side. It was custom made for me, and since I play low spin, it’s perfect for my swing. A lot of players didn’t like the 917 D3 because it was too “spinny.” They recently fixed this problem with their TS line.
My Titleist driver works great for me and I’ve had it for two years. But I can only go so far, which is why I was impressed by these results:
A big improvement in distance was seen when the ball was thrown a little faster and higher. My launch monitor showed some of the biggest drives I’ve ever seen. Some went more than 290 yards, and the ball speed was close to 155 mph (I rarely go over 150 mph).
At times, I thought the Callaway Epic Flash was pretty cool. If I had a better shaft/head combo, I might have been able to get the driver just a little better, but I could only use the demo club I took. Also, I really liked how the club looked and how it felt when I hit it. Those are just ideas, and each person may have a different one. It’s important to me that a new driver performs well before I buy it.
The Callaway Epic Flash Driver: Engineered for distance and forgiveness.
Between $529 and $600 is how much the driver costs, which is a lot of money.
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— Action Games Now (AGN) (@ActionGameNow) January 10, 2025
The back of the card shows that the Flash Face is made up of thick and thin lines that form what looks like an ear.
The human-designed X face has a more even shape with a bigger part behind the middle to make it legal. This one is very different.
Callaway is still learning how the Flash Face works to make the ball go faster, just like the computer. But that’s all you need to know.
The faster ball needs a stronger face to handle it. The Epic Flash Face is made from 595C Super Aged Forged Titanium, which is heated to make it stronger and then laser welded to the head.
To get the thickness down from 5/1000 of an inch to 2/1000 of an inch, the face is first cast on the inside and then milled on the front. This keeps it closer and closer to the limit.
The laser-etched lines look pretty cool, and the five bigger squares at the ends of the lines around the sweet spot are grooves that were etched. This means that when the club is at address, you can see two lines of white dots that line up with the ball to help you line it up.
A new T2C Triaxial Carbon with a tighter carbon weave is also in the crown. It is lighter. It only has 9.7g of weight and helps cut down on the CG.
After that, the tech includes the well-known Jailbreak bars, which connect the sole to the crown to make the frame stiffer and increase ball speed.
Finally, the weight that slides is back. It was in the Epic but not the Rogue. It now weighs 16g more and goes on a shorter track than in the Epic. This is done so that the weight doesn’t move too far forward and move the CG out of place.
As you can see, this head is somewhere between the Epic and the Rogue in terms of size and depth.
Many people liked how fast the Epic was, but it could have been more forgiving if you didn’t hit it right. A lot of people found that the Rogue solved their problem, but I didn’t like the shape that was drawn back, and I wasn’t going any farther with it.
I think that with the Epic Flash, they took the best parts of both and added a faster face. The Epic has a more open sound, but this one has a Callaway carbon sound to it.
The lead edge is set back from the curvy line that is typical of Callaway clubs.
It makes me think of older FT drivers, but this isn’t my favorite way to look at alignment. If the line is taking the place of the Speed Step, it’s not being overt about it; running your finger over it makes you feel something.
The OptiFit hosel can be adjusted from -2° to +2°, and when I use it to get to about 10°, I like to go up from 9° instead of down from 10.5° to keep the face angle more straight.
There is a raised bump on the back of each of the three stock shafts that helps you line up your hands. These grips are called Golf Pride Align. Both of the OptiFit rings can turn on their own, so you can keep this in the right place when you change the loft.
On GC2, I used Titleist Pro V1x balls and the Project X HZRDUS shaft that Epic fitted me for. I also brought the Epic Flash, Rogue, and original Epic drivers.
Read More: What you need to know about Odyssey Ai-One putters.
YouTube Video
With this set up, the Epic Flash gave me ball speed that was about the same as the Epic. I was able to get a higher launch with the Epic Flash, which gave me an extra couple of yards. This was because the CG was deeper than on the Epic.
The Epic had a deeper head than the Rogue, so I was able to lower the loft. The deeper head gave good lift with less spin. This means that the deeper head gives you more mercy and the straighter face gives you more ball speed. If you can do this, it’s kind of a win-win.
But this wasn’t the best choice for me, as I’ll show below with the Sub Zero model.
Read More: The Odyssey Ai-One Rossie S Putter: A Comprehensive Review.
A Look at the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero Driver
It has all the same features as the regular Callaway Epic Flash driver, but it has a smaller head.
A lighter 12g weight is in the back, and a screw weight is just behind the face. This moves the center of gravity (CG) forward and slows down the spin.
At address, it looks like it’s about the same size as the first Epic driver, which means it will be bigger than the first Epic Sub-Zero.
Because the head was set up to give 2.5 mph more ball speed with less spin and the same launch, the Epic Flash Sub Zero is the better choice for me than the normal model. The ball went an extra 6 yards.
The Epic Flash Sub Zero is about the same size as the regular Epic, but the head is a little lower, which makes it seem more give. To get the most distance out of your sets, you really need to go through a good fitting process with both the Epic Flash heads and different shafts.
Review of the Callaway Epic Flash Driver Verdict
Overall, this is a pretty cool new idea from Callaway. What’s even cooler about the Flash Face is that the back is designed to fit heads of this size and shape. On the inside of a different type of head, the shape will be different, as you can see from the Callaway Epic Flash Fairway’s Flash Face form.
The Flash Face does offer faster ball speed, just like Jailbreak did before it. If you can find the right launch and spin settings, you should also see a distance increase.
Also, it’s great to see the Epic name and colors back. I didn’t really like the blue of the Rogue, even though it worked well and was the best-selling car on the market.
Because the Epic Flash costs more, if you really like your Rogue, you might want to hold on to it for a little while longer. It will still be around for a while, and some higher handicappers may like the extra mercy it gives.
But if you already have the original Epic, I think you should get a Flash because it looks better, is more forgiving, and has faster ball speed.
Callaway golf history
Founding and Early Years (1982-1990)
The Callaway Golf Company was started in 1982 by Ely Callaway, a wealthy businessman who loved golf. In 1991, the company made its first product, the Big Bertha driver, whose big clubhead design changed the golf business forever. This new idea made it easy for golfers to hit the ball farther and more accurately.
Growth and New Ideas (1990s)
Callaway kept coming up with new ideas in the 1990s, with goods like the Big Bertha Steelhead and the ERC (Elliptical Recessed Crown) driver. These clubs became popular with golfers of all levels, which helped the brand’s image grow.
Callaway also made the Callaway Golf Ball line, which added more products to its line than just clubs. Because the business worked hard on research and development, it came up with new technologies like VFT (Variable Face Thickness), which made the ball go faster and farther.
Global Expansion (2000s)
As the 2000s began, Callaway Golf grew its global reach and made big moves into foreign markets. A lot of expert golfers were sponsored by the company, which helped build its reputation in the competitive world of golf.
Callaway bought the well-known golf ball company Top-Flite in 2003. It then added Odyssey putters to its line, which quickly became one of the best-selling putter brands.
Technological Advancements (2010s)
Callaway kept focusing on new ideas in the 2010s, releasing goods like the X Hot and Great Big Bertha drivers that had cutting-edge technologies that met the changing needs of golfers. Callaway’s dedication to performance was shown by the huge success of the Rogue series start in 2018.
Digital technology was also used by Callaway, and data analytics and artificial intelligence were used in the planning process. AI was used to improve speed of the Flash Face technology used in the Epic Flash driver.
Recent Developments (2020s)
Maintaining its position as the golf industry leader in the early 2020s, Callaway Golf has expanded its global reach and released innovative goods on a constant basis. After acquiring Taylormade in 2021, its grip on the golf equipment industry became even more entrenched.
To further its commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, the corporation has launched programs to lessen its impact on the environment and encourage more sustainable production methods.
Conclusion
Innovation, quality, and a dedication to improving the game characterize Callaway Golf’s rise from a modest firm to a world leader in golf equipment. Callaway has been around for a long time, but they’re still looking forward to the future. They’re making waves in the golf industry by giving players better equipment.
Ask away if there’s anything specific you’d need clarified.
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