Callaway Elyte Irons Review (Honest Feedback After Testing)

Callaway’s new Elyte Irons offer a more streamlined appearance along with all of the bells and whistles golfers expect from the company’s cavity-back golf clubs.

Along with the thinner topline, the Elyte features Callaway’s new Ai10x Face, which has more control points and provides more forgiveness from toe to heel. 

Built for golfers with moderate to fast swing speeds, the Elyte irons claim to be Callaway’s most sophisticated game-improvement irons ever.

So, do these new irons take a step forward when compared to last year’s Paradym Ai Smoke Irons?

In our honest Callaway Elyte Irons review, we’ll answer that pressing question plus offer a detailed analysis of the Elyte’s performance on the course and with the launch monitor.

Callaway Elyte Irons Features

Speed Frame Construction

The new Speed Frame works as the primary connection for the topline and face of the Elyte irons.

The frame improves flexibility while keeping ball speed high to produce the distance mid and high handicappers need on the course.

The Speed Frame also works to dampen vibration and improve overall feel and responsiveness.

Tri-Sole Design

Featuring three distinct sections of the sole to boost turf interaction and reduce skidding, the Elyte’s Tri-Sole Design represents a significant advancement for Callaway’s irons.

The curved leading edge moves smoothly through the soil to guarantee ball-first contact, while the beveled rear edge keeps the club head from losing speed after impact.

Ai10x Face

Featuring 10 times more control points along the face compared to last year’s Paradym Ai Smoke irons, the new Elyte irons are the most forgiving irons Callaway has ever produced.

Shots off the toe and heel maintain ball speed and keep the target line with tight dispersion.

Our In-Depth Callaway Elyte Irons Review

Looks

At address, the Elyte irons carry a more compact appearance than you’d expect with a game-improvement set. The top line is definitely thinner and more advanced than last year’s Paradym Ai Smoke set.

Callaway has given the sole a pre-worn look that is as stylish as it is functional. We appreciated the innovative sole in the bag, which looks great next to your other clubs.

Overall, these irons have a sharp and advanced build that certainly carries over to how they play. Regarding looks, the Elyte Irons are quite good for their price.

Sound

The sound leans to the louder side of the spectrum, but the impact sound never distracts or hurts the ears.

If pressed for one word, we’d choose “muscular,” as the ball indeed crackles when coming off the sweet spot.

With the Tri Sole Design, the sound of taking a divot is much cleaner compared to any of the Paradym iron sets of the previous few years. 

The iron doesn’t sound heavy entering the turf with a ‘thud,’ but instead delivers a crisp cutting sound that mimics the aural feedback you’d get with a players iron.

For a game-improvement iron, we give the Elyte Irons a relatively solid score.

Feel

The Elyte irons boast a firmer feel, but that’s not unexpected with the best game-improvement irons where distance is more coveted than workability.

The iron sits comfortably in your hands with a lighter touch, even when equipped with the True Temper steel shafts.

Responsiveness ranks mid-range as center strikes deliver a pure feel that inspires confidence.

When it comes to feel over the full swing, we believe the Elyte Irons are rather sturdy.

You won’t feel the flimsiness you might feel with lesser iron sets, which is certainly a boost if you are looking for a higher-end iron set.

Performance

Once we got the irons to the indoor facility, we immediately loved how the ball jumped off the face with intention.

The hollow-body construction does a dependable job of flexing at impact. It never felt too stiff or kept us feeling that we weren’t finding the sweet spot when striking the golf ball.

The Tri-Sole Design certainly helps when taking a divot. The club head moves smoothly through the soil without snagging or skidding, ensuring we got ball-first contact every time.

We were able to control our trajectory and work the ball with relative ease.

You won’t find the workability here that you would in a Callaway Apex iron, for example, but you can create the shot shape you want quite often with these irons.

When evaluating the True Temper Vector 90 steel shafts, we must admit that we enjoyed the responsiveness and sturdy feel throughout the swing.

We played with the stiff flex rating and the shafts weren’t too rigid, helping us get the club back to square without issue.

Ideal for golfers with handicaps between 10 and 20, the Elyte Irons are a valid entry point for weekend warriors looking for a first-rate upgrade.

Other Models Available

Our Verdict

We gave the Callaway Elyte Irons elite marks straight from the box, as we were immediately enamored with its streamlined design and thinner topline.

Everything about this club screams speed, and once we got it to the range, we were blown away by how fast it plays.

Simply put, the new sole design is a home run. During our testing, we repeatedly noted how smoothly the Elyte’s iron head moves through the turf to strike the ball with maximum power.

The 7 iron optimizes ball flight at around 20°, helping to get more spin on the ball than Callaway’s top iron set of the previous year.

Ideal for mid handicappers but accessible enough for low handicappers, the Elyte Irons are a dramatic step forward for Callaway and incredibly fun to play.