About this review This review is my honest opinion of the irons, which I bought with my own money in November 2021.

My take

The Callaway Mavrik Max is mainly geared towards higher handicap players looking for an assist in distance, ball-striking, and launch.

For myself, a mid-handicap player, I found that this club helped make golf fun again. I often play an easier course where shot shaping isn’t needed to get around, and these clubs are perfect for that setting. I can swing easier, and feel more confident that the club will go the distance I need it to, whether I find the exact center of the face or not. These clubs exude confidence and standing over a larger head with a comfortable offset will help anyone looking for that slight advantage.

About the club I tested

• Model: 2021 Callaway Mavrik Max 7 iron
• Loft setting: 30°
• Shaft type: True Temper XP 95 Steel Shaft
• Shaft flex: Regular

About me

• Average score: 84
• Handicap: 8
• Experience: 7 years
• Right/Left-Handed: Right-handed
• Typical ball flight: Slight Fade
• Golf ball used: TaylorMade TP5
• Club swing speed: 100mph

Test conditions

• When I tested the club: November 2021
• Days tested: 10
• Where I’ve used it: Indoor Facility
• Weather and wind conditions: Indoor

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was looking for a club that was more forgiving and easier in rougher conditions. The irons I was playing before were given to me by a scratch golfer and I always knew they were too much club for me. They were thin blades that required a very accurate strike (dead center of the face) to produce a good launch and ball flight. I wanted to try out the Callaway Mavrik Max as an ultra-forgiving, easy-to-hit club. I was looking for something to simplify the game a bit, and just let me focus on swinging smoothly without worrying about making perfect contact.

Why I chose this club

Callaway has always made great irons, and when looking for golf gear, I trust brands. With groceries or clothing, I’ll often go with off-brand merchandise. But with the subtle technology that goes into golf equipment, I trust the brands with the money and resources to put that back into products, and the AI design won me over. I was between these and the SIM2 Max; the specs were very similar and prices were almost exact, but I went with the Callaway Mavrik Max Irons mostly because of the visuals. I like the shape, look, and color of the Mavrik Maxes more. I was also heavily considering the Mavriks over the Mavrik Maxes, but I figured since I was looking for more forgiveness, I might as well get the model with the oversized head and bigger sweet spot.

What I love about it

• Forgiveness: This face and club are designed for forgiveness. The face is massive, and it feels like that ever-elusive sweet spot spans the entirety of the face. The Tungsten Energy Core weights and lowered center of gravity really promoted a faster and more consistent launch, even when I caught it lower on the face or off the toe. It felt like I could hit anywhere on the face and the feel, sound, and resulting distance were the same. Although I’m a lower handicap than the target audience for these irons, I don’t shape the ball enough to feel like I need clubs that are more difficult to hit. I want to simplify the game, hit the ball solid and straight, and have more fun.
• Distance: There were some swings where I could tell something was off in my contact, I could tell that I should lose yardage, but somehow the numbers stayed in a consistent dispersion. The launch and large sweet spot on this club kept mishits in a playable range. In good golf, distance is about controlling the number more than making the number higher - but these irons did a little bit of both. I saw longer distances with each club and more consistency throughout.
• Sound: The sound was solid and smooth. These clubs made the ball feel lighter and sounded like they bounced off of a trampoline. They provide that comforting, deep, solid ‘thwack’ that I want from a great strike. The sound exudes confidence, and I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but even on off-center strikes, the sound stays consistent and solid.
• Shaft Feel/Performance: Although the shafts may have been a little whippy for my swing speed, I loved the feel and weight. They are very lightweight for steel shafts so I was able to generate a lot of swing speed which translated to more distance in my numbers. The best shafts are like editing in a movie, it’s best when you don’t even notice it’s there. These shafts felt light, fast, and accurate.
• Aesthetic Appeal: The club has a thicker topline than what I was playing before, but compared to some other models of game-improvement irons Callaway does a nice job of keeping them thinner and better-looking. I’m a big fan of the color palette as well, and when I was faced with a decision between Callaway Mavrik Maxes or Sim 2 Maxes, I went with Callaway simply for the design, color scheme, and visual appeal. The look is simple without too much flair or flash.
• Launch Angle: The launch angle on these irons is absolutely perfect. Hitting on an indoor bay, I noticed both the launch angle and the angle of descent stayed within a few degrees throughout the whole session. This is great for accuracy and staying consistent through distances and rollout. Essentially, every time I hit my 7 iron it launched at the same angle (about 16 degrees), and if it’s hit at a similar speed, it should hit the same max height, distance, and roll out the same. This kind of consistency lets me feel confident with my yardages and hit more.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Feel: Unfortunately one of the drawbacks of game-improvement irons is a lack of feel. Cast irons, unlike forged irons or softer metal irons, don’t have the same feel and feedback on off-center strikes. It’s SO forgiving that sometimes I don’t even know that I missed the center of the clubface by an inch. This is detrimental to improving my ball striking and becoming more consistent.
• Workability: Another shortcoming of these large sweet spots and ‘not-as-soft’ faces is a lack of workability. I was able to put a small draw and fade onto some shots, but the high and low shots were difficult. These clubs are made to produce a similar launch and ball flight over and over. So working shots and getting more creative with ball-flights to avoid trouble will be difficult to achieve.
• Grip Feel: The stock grip on the Callaway Mavrik Max’s is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Soft. Although these grips are widely used I prefer a rougher grip, or something a little more tacky. Especially under pressure, I get clammy hands occasionally, so without a glove, these things would fly out of my hands.
• Spin: Although the launch numbers were extremely accurate, I felt I couldn’t get the same amount of stopping power as I did with my previous set of irons. These have a bit more roll out to them, which depending on the style of play, or the firmness of the course that is played, could be beneficial, but for me, I count on a short roll out or some back-spin, which I was not able to achieve with these irons.

Best shot with this club

It wasn’t one particular shot, but I hit these clubs at a simulator that was tracking all of my ball flights, and the dispersion at the end of the session was incredible. I have a fade tendency that I can overcorrect into a pull left. I would say my max distance left and right were only 10-15 yards apart. That is huge for my iron game and should translate to more hit greens and easier up and downs.

Value for the money vs. other options

I haven’t hit many other game improvement irons recently, but I have swung both the Callaway Mavrik Max and the TaylorMade SIM2 Max, and both of these irons have very similar qualities. If anything I would say the Callaway has a more solid feel and its head is a bit heavier. However, the SIM2 Max has that muted TaylorMade sound that many people love - I’m just not a huge fan of it. I prefer the more classic iron sound/feel and the Callaway Mavrik Max provides that.

Final verdict

Although I would not generally suggest someone lower than a 10 handicap to use this iron, it absolutely unlocked a part of the game I have been struggling with for a while. When golfers start to get lower scores and get better at the game, they start to expect lower scores. They start to expect to hit those perfect shots and expect to never miss big. Well, I still miss big. These irons allowed me to get out and really just simplify that aspect of the game. I still have to execute shots and have a good swing, but the mental confidence that these clubs produce makes for a different golfing experience that I really enjoyed. I feel like these clubs are the equivalent of telling people who shouldn’t be playing from the back tees that they’d have more fun playing from the tees right for them. If these suit your style, and you need a little help with launch and distance, these irons will just make golf more fun.