The new Callaway Super Hybrid is the result of a simple request that came directly from the desk of company CEO and president Chip Brewer. His challenge: Make a fully loaded fairway wood but fit it in the size and shape of a hybrid.
Challenge accepted, it seems. The Super Hybrid, which checks in as an oversized hybrid at 143 cubic centimeters or a third or more bigger than standard issue hybrids, brings multiple material horsepower to a hybrid that the company hasn’t even pushed into its fairway woods yet. That includes a titanium body and face along with a super light carbon composite crown that only weighs five grams. The light weight of all that titanium and carbon composite frees up substantial mass (as much as 68 grams) that is redistributed within the clubhead. That mass takes the form metal-injection molded tungsten slabs fit into the heel and toe sections to provide both a lower center of gravity and more stability on off-center hits.
Just like Callaway’s hybrids, fairway woods and drivers of recent vintage, the Super Hybrid also incorporates the twin vertical bars that join the crown and sole. Known as “jailbreak,” the internal structure is designed to concentrate flexing in the thin titanium face.
While the Super Hybrid is significantly larger than any hybrid in the Callaway family, it really fits between fairway woods and hybrids. The smaller shape may make it a more visually pleasing fit for some better players than current fairway wood sizes, especially in the 5-wood loft. Meanwhile, some average players might prefer the larger size over that found in similarly lofted traditionally sized hybrids. The Super Hybrid also features Callaway’s eight-way adjustable hosel that allows players to tweak each of the three lofts by -1/+2 degrees and upright and standard lie angles. That means the three lofts (17, 20 and 23 degrees) actually extend across every single degree from 16 to 25 degrees.
“This is one we’re really excited about,” said Dave Neville, Callaway’s senior director of brand management. “It’s really fairway wood power in a hybrid, mostly directed at a better player but also extending out with the 23-degree to a game-improvement player. It’s a club we feel is going to be as long or longer than a lot of the fairway woods that might be in your bag but provide more versatility.”
The Super Hybrid, whose stock shaft is the better-player focused 85-gram Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange, is available for pre-order today and will be in stores beginning Nov. 1 ($320).