AI Smoke TD vs Elyte TD

[Desh]

I wanted to see if others are finding the same between the two heads... My AI Smoke TD seems to be fade bias while the new Elyte TD seems to be draw bias. Does this seem crazy that Callaway would make the TD draw bias in the Elyte?

[jdemocko]

I've had both and the Elyte definitely finds the left side of the fairway more so than the AI Smoke.

[NicholasP]

I find the same holds true for the std Elyte vs AI Smoke Max.  Throwing the rear weight in the toe gets it much closer in my experience 

[jfeldt7]

I heard early on in the Elyte release that the Triple Diamond was much more neutral this year vs the fade bias of the Ai Smoke TD

[phizzy30]

Absolutely.  I've been playing the fade all last year thanks to the smoke TD.  Elyte TD plays more like the OG Paradym TD but slightly more forgiving heel side, IMO.  

[SwooshLT]

1 hour ago, phizzy30 said:

Absolutely.  I've been playing the fade all last year thanks to the smoke TD.  Elyte TD plays more like the OG Paradym TD but slightly more forgiving heel side, IMO.  

 

AND...... I'm finding it easier to turnover and launch as well 

[Desh]

I agree with what everyone has commented here. Launches higher, more draw bias that AI Smoke TD.

 

What weights came stock in your Elyte Head? Mine came with 9/4g.

What weight setups are ya'll playing?

[Jut]

1 hour ago, Desh said:

I agree with what everyone has commented here. Launches higher, more draw bias that AI Smoke TD.

 

What weights came stock in your Elyte Head? Mine came with 9/4g.

What weight setups are ya'll playing?

Mine came with the stock 9g in back and 4g in front.

 

I'm now playing it at 44.25" with a 14g in back and the 9g in front.  Super forgiving, easy to launch, and sounds/feels amazing. 

[Desh]

I weighed both heads (Elyte TD 9/4g and AI Smoke TD 14/2g) with adapter, screws, and found Elyte = 191g and AI Smoke TD = 194g. So excluding the weights, the heads weigh the exact same.

It is interesting how they opted to have the elite come with 9/4g and reduce the packaged weight from AI Smoke with 14/2g. 

 

 

[shaolingolfer]

In this Video, Luke ditched his new Elyte driver and went back to AI smoke for third round.   Basically, in the second round his driver kept going left and with the AI smoke, no more left.

 

 

[Desh]

5 minutes ago, shaolingolfer said:

In this Video, Luke ditched his new Elyte driver and went back to AI smoke for third round.   Basically, in the second round his driver kept going left and with the AI smoke, no more left.

 

 

OMG, I feel like I am going to be doing the same. It boggles my mind that Callaway would make this triple diamond so easy to go left...just seems it wouldn't fit the ideal player profile.

[bcflyguy1]

Not much more than semantics, but saying Elyte TD is draw biased is less accurate than saying that it is less push and fade biased than Ai Smoke TD is. Does that mean ETD will not suit the player that needs the push/fade bias of Smoke TD as well? Of course it does. Does that mean the player that liked everything about Smoke TD except that it could be a bit too push/fade biased with be happy as a pig in mud with Elyte TD? Yes, it does.

Given what Elyte TD is, I do find the coming releases of the TD Max and the TD Tour Draw to be curious. Think there would've been a greater market for a Smoke TD Tour Draw given the stock Smoke TD head's flight tendencies.

Edited March 26 by bcflyguy1

[phizzy30]

10 hours ago, shaolingolfer said:

In this Video, Luke ditched his new Elyte driver and went back to AI smoke for third round.   Basically, in the second round his driver kept going left and with the AI smoke, no more left.

 

 

That's exactly why I still have my smoke TD in the bag after testing the Elyte TD.  As a hooker, lol, I don't ever wanna see the ball go hard left especially with driver.  

[jtmagic]

I’ve played the Elyte TD in 5 rounds now and can definitely confirm that it is less fade bias than the Smoke TD is for me.  

[getitdaily]

On 3/25/2025 at 8:40 PM, Desh said:

I wanted to see if others are finding the same between the two heads... My AI Smoke TD seems to be fade bias while the new Elyte TD seems to be draw bias. Does this seem crazy that Callaway would make the TD draw bias in the Elyte?

Elyte td definitely is not draw biased. It's still slightly fade biased. But nowhere near as much as smoke td.

[Desh]

10 hours ago, jtmagic said:

I’ve played the Elyte TD in 5 rounds now and can definitely confirm that it is less fade bias than the Smoke TD is for me.  

I've had to change my shot shape to a push draw with the Elyte...not really how I want to be hitting driver though.

[herkyjerk]

Really interesting to be seeing this.  One of my buddies said same thing after demo day.  Said he was “pulling” Elyte driver.  I told him must be poor shaft fit.  Maybe not.  Also FWIW he was hitting the friggin 3W almost as long as driver.  Said Elyte FW is an absolute cannon.  

 

[MerryTex]

I found the Elyte TD to be very inconsistent with flight compared to the Ai Smoke TD. It’s why I’m in the prior gen instead of the new Elyte. I tried with similar shaft and weight set up with zero luck. 

[Desh]

2 hours ago, MerryTex said:

I found the Elyte TD to be very inconsistent with flight compared to the Ai Smoke TD. It’s why I’m in the prior gen instead of the new Elyte. I tried with similar shaft and weight set up with zero luck. 

I would agree with this. The range of spin across the face is greater than the AI smoke.

I can still hit a fade with it, just not as confident with the smoke. However, the smoke was really hard to hit the draw when needed, especially with heavy weight on the front, but the Elyte does it with ease.

I am committed to sticking with the Elyte because of the versatility.... assuming I can manage that.

[OhioGolfDude]

This is really interesting perspective, because I had similar results with Ai Smoke TD. I had a hard time turning that over, and the Smoke TD Max was the perfect fit. I just did a Callaway demo day and hit the Elyte TD pretty well, and I did notice that my best swings were either straight down the middle or more toward the left side. Not a pull per se, but definitely trending on the left side. For me, this might be a good fit.

[ANimz]

On 3/26/2025 at 10:39 PM, jtmagic said:

I’ve played the Elyte TD in 5 rounds now and can definitely confirm that it is less fade bias than the Smoke TD is for me.  

It stays in the bag.  Can't mess with a streak.  LGB!

[MerryTex]

Well, the 9* is miles better than the 10.5*. I decided to try the Elyte TD In lower loft and it was a complete change in ball flight and consistency. I would have thought a similar loft in the new head would perform just as good but it was worse. No consistency but the 9* was a big change in terms of ball flight characteristics and consistency. It’s now in the bag. I like the crown much better on Elyte compared to Ai Smoke. I’ve also got the Aretera in it and it was fantastic on every shot I hit with it. It will stay in the driver instead of the Denali Blue I enjoyed in the prior generation TD. 

[SwooshLT]

On 4/3/2025 at 12:15 AM, MerryTex said:

Well, the 9* is miles better than the 10.5*. I decided to try the Elyte TD In lower loft and it was a complete change in ball flight and consistency. I would have thought a similar loft in the new head would perform just as good but it was worse. No consistency but the 9* was a big change in terms of ball flight characteristics and consistency. It’s now in the bag. I like the crown much better on Elyte compared to Ai Smoke. I’ve also got the Aretera in it and it was fantastic on every shot I hit with it. It will stay in the driver instead of the Denali Blue I enjoyed in the prior generation TD. 

 

What major differences in the 10.5 vs 9 have you seen? I'm using 9* lofted up to 10 with great success.... 

[ilikegolf26]

On 3/26/2025 at 8:13 AM, Desh said:

I agree with what everyone has commented here. Launches higher, more draw bias that AI Smoke TD.

 

What weights came stock in your Elyte Head? Mine came with 9/4g.

What weight setups are ya'll playing?

 

On 3/26/2025 at 10:06 AM, Jut said:

Mine came with the stock 9g in back and 4g in front.

 

I'm now playing it at 44.25" with a 14g in back and the 9g in front.  Super forgiving, easy to launch, and sounds/feels amazing. 

 

On 3/26/2025 at 10:48 AM, Desh said:

I weighed both heads (Elyte TD 9/4g and AI Smoke TD 14/2g) with adapter, screws, and found Elyte = 191g and AI Smoke TD = 194g. So excluding the weights, the heads weigh the exact same.

It is interesting how they opted to have the elite come with 9/4g and reduce the packaged weight from AI Smoke with 14/2g. 

 

 

I just got my Elyte TD today and it has 14g in the front and 9g back. This has to be a mistake right? It has the Kai’li white 60x at 45.25”.  I think head weight with the weights comes out to 203g!

[SwooshLT]

12 minutes ago, ilikegolf26 said:

 

 

I just got my Elyte TD today and it has 14g in the front and 9g back. This has to be a mistake right? It has the Kai’li white 60x at 45.25”.  I think head weight with the weights comes out to 203g!

 

Stock is 4g and 9g 

[ilikegolf26]

7 minutes ago, SwooshLT said:

 

Stock is 4g and 9g 

Yeah. I actually specified on my order that I wanted 4g/12g and got 14g/9g….

[SwooshLT]

20 minutes ago, ilikegolf26 said:

Yeah. I actually specified on my order that I wanted 4g/12g and got 14g/9g….

 

Give them a holler with maybe spec sheet showing.....they'll make it right! 

[MerryTex]

5 hours ago, SwooshLT said:

 

What major differences in the 10.5 vs 9 have you seen? I'm using 9* lofted up to 10 with great success.... 

 

For whatever reason, I could not find center as consistently as I was in the 10.5 in the prior generation. Same shaft. Now, I changed shaft and went to the 9* head and I can hit it how I want. 

[SwooshLT]

11 minutes ago, MerryTex said:

 

For whatever reason, I could not find center as consistently as I was in the 10.5 in the prior generation. Same shaft. Now, I changed shaft and went to the 9* head and I can hit it how I want. 

 

Awesome to hear .....the 9 head has been a revelation! I think they added some max secret sauce in it as the launch /spin don't seem to be of the TD ilk .....be that as it may, I'm VERY happy 😊 

[Streuner]

very interesting thread. I still play a Paradym TD and like the shape and sound of this head. It was 2023 by far the best driver for me. 

the last years AI Smoke did not suit my swing at all. The Elyte TD or TD max may fit more into my 100mph swing speed.