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Callaway Apex Irons Review


mizuno_lover

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This review came about quite by accident in that I had ordered some new shafts for my current gamers and while I am waiting for them to arrive and be fitted my local pro kindly let me use the Demo set of Callaway Apex irons he has in the shop.  They just happen to have the same shaft I have ordered so it really was a win win situation for me.  The shaft in question is the True Temper XP 95 steel R300.

 

I gamed them yesterday for the first time and whilst I hit some great shots with them I didn't score well and decided to hang onto them for today and use them for my Friday competition.   As a bit of background I have never been able to for whatever reason to hit Callaway irons full stop.  I remember 20 odd years ago Callaway bought out a set of stainless steel irons that I desperately wanted to buy.  I was sold on the concept and had all but paid for them.  The shop had a net you could hit balls into and I took the demo set out there and must have hit 100 balls and everyone of hem felt like I was hitting steel ball bearing that weighed 10lb each.  I was the most disappointed potential Callaway buyer ever and walked out of there with a set of Wilson staff irons instead.  I have tried periodically to hit friends irons and various woods but not with any success so it was with great trepidation that I hit them yesterday and today and boy was I glad I did because the Callaway curse is now broken! :)

 

In my opinion the Apex is a very tidy looking club that almost borders on sexy.  That always helps when I'm going to hit a club and I think most players are the same, if you don't like what you see, hitting them is just that much harder.  The satin finish not only looks good it's great in bright sunlight when it comes to the glare factor.  I checked the specs yesterday on my phone as I was driving down the 2nd fairway in my little buggy and the first thing I noted was that Callaway has jiggered the lofts on the irons to make them go "further".  That is a pet hate of mine because in my opinion the manufacturers are lying to us outright.  Our clubs go further!  Yes they do because you changed a 6 iron into a seven iron and so on.  Customers then are under the illusion that where they used to hit a 7 iron they now hit an 8 iron and some how they have magically picked up 15 yards with these amazing clubs.  There's nothing else to call it but plain bullshit and pure marketing  and Callaway are the market leaders in that aspect of marketing hype hate, hate, hate. Nuff said on that subject.  What I do find amazing is how they then are able to get the clubs that have less loft fly as high or higher than more traditionally lofted irons.  I know a lot of it has to do with the shaft kick points, technology and what not but it is quite incredible.  They have of course managed to do this exceptionally well with the Apex irons.  The clubs sit really well in your hands and the feeling I got from the moment I addressed the ball was I can hit these.  They are incredibly well balanced and sole nicely on the turf.  The turf interaction is positive and they handled pretty much any lie they came up against with ease.  That included bunkers, firm hardpan, peachy fairway lies, fluffy rough etc.

 

On the Callaway website the blurb says they have a thinner hotter face for faster ball speeds off the face, that translates to more distance even on off centre hits.  It is true.  The ball seems to really explode off the face and the feeling is a really crisp strike.  They are forged Carbon steel so they are going to always have better feel than your cast irons but it is not quite the same as other forged offerings on the market like Mizuno for instance.  The Mizuno feel is soft and buttery, quite a sensual feel, the Cally is crisper with a slightly sharper edge to it, similar but different and its good.  I think over all, the ball flight across the set, 4-PW, is slightly lower.  Oddly enough the club I noticed it the most in was the 8 iron.  My current gamers are the Mizuno MP 54 with TT Dynamic Gold S300's and I hit the 8 iron quite high and the TT DG's are supposedly low launching.  Perhaps that is not a great comparison never the less the Cally 8 iron was considerably/noticeably lower than I would have liked.  The surprise was the PW.  And I mean surprise.  I hit that sucker into orbit.  The first time I hit it, it elicited a "Holy s***" out of me.  It was a good holy s*** and the ball flew straight and high, did I say high and stopped about 2 inches from where it pitched.  Distance wise they were about the same as my Mizuno's.  I read somewhere that when you change from cast to forged clubs expect a drop of around 10% length wise and I have found that to be true for the most part.  I went from the loft jiggered G30 irons to the Mizuno's and now I'm trialling these and distance wise I am the same with the Cally's as the Mizuno's.  I think if I went with graphite I might pick up 5 - 7 yards.  I was very surprised at how quickly I took to these iron and I think they will appeal to a broad range of players and the beauty of these irons is  I think a 20 handicapper would be as comfortable hitting them as I was off 7.  They can be worked both ways but really come into their own when hitting them straight.  For some reason I find them difficult to hook and easier to fade, usually it's the other way around.

 

So what did I think over all?  I asked my pro if he would sell the set to me. I love the Apex irons.  I recommend them to anyone wanting a forgiving club with minimal off set and with positive feed back and feel. As always if you are going to buy a set get fitted or a least try before you buy. Hope you enjoyed the read and above all that it helped.

apex1.jpg

My Bag

 

Driver:  :ping-small: G25 Stiff shaft
3 Wood:  :mizuno-small: JPX 850 16 degree. Fujikara Orichi 65 gram stiff shaft
Hybrids: 3 & 4 :mizuno-small: JPX 850 Fujikara Orichi 65 gram regular shafts
Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP- H5 3 - 6 iron dynamic gold XP 115 gram stiff soft stepped
Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP 54 4 - PW dynamic gold S300
Wedges:   :mizuno-small: MP T4 52 degree,  :titelist-small: :vokey-small: 56 degree 10 degree bounce, :titelist-small: :vokey-small: 60 degree 10 degree bounce.
Putter:  :ping-small: ZB S

 

Evil prospers when good men do nothing.

 

Honorary member Texas BBQ Curtin Circa 2015 

 

 

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Nice review.  Thanks for posting it.

WITB:
Driver Ping Anser 8.5 deg Diamana 'ahina X
3 Wood Adams LS Stock S or TM 14 deg MiniDriver stock S
Irons Ben Hogan FW 15 KBS Tour V S
Wedges Ben Hogan TK 15 KBS Tour V S
Putter Nike Method Concept
Launch Monitor: SkyTrak

 

Play Right-handed

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Great review! Very glad you found a set!

 

Apex irons are absolute CANNONS! IMO they're just rebadged Diablo Forged irons from a few years back. The DF were a great iron; however, Callaway was not in a position to sell $1k+ iron sets. Now it seems they are.

 

Personally, I played Diablo Forged irons at two separate periods. The first go around, I couldn't get over the sound of them (almost like a hollow hybrid) and got rid of them after one round. The second go around I actually played them for a month, but could never get used to the distances. My last round with them I was on Hole #2 at Ravisloe CC in Homewood IL and I was in the right rough 220 yards out (second shot on a par 5) and I pulled out 7 iron. Put it on the back of the green. One of the guys in my group jokingly said "What'd you hit their Hammer? 7 iron?" Show him the bottom of the club as I'm cleaning it and they all lost it. I could control distances off the fairway and tee, but if you had a lie in the rough and quite possibly a flyer you better under club BIG TIME!

 

Anybody looking for super forgiveness and distance without sacrificing looks- Callaway Apex is the club.

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I didn't get a chance to try these outs, but did try the Apex pros which felt good, but like you said- not mizuno good  B) .

Much like you I haven't had much luck with Callaway- other than the x hot 3 wood (They will bury me with it)

Hope they treat you nice if  you pick up a set!

 

Reminds me how I miss the big bertha alpha we just never got along  :blink: .

My Mixed-Bag:

 

Driver:      :callaway-small: Mavrik Sub zero, ventus black 7x

Fairway:     Still looking!

Irons:         :mizuno-small:MP-18 MB 4-PW

Wedges:     Miura K Grinds

Putter:       Evnroll 1.2 blade

Ball:        :srixon-small: Z star XV

 

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Kenny I'm really hoping that the new shafts transform my Mizunos into sex on a stick so I don't have to change my name.  Silly name that it is, it was all I could think of when I joined the forum :lol:

My Bag

 

Driver:  :ping-small: G25 Stiff shaft
3 Wood:  :mizuno-small: JPX 850 16 degree. Fujikara Orichi 65 gram stiff shaft
Hybrids: 3 & 4 :mizuno-small: JPX 850 Fujikara Orichi 65 gram regular shafts
Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP- H5 3 - 6 iron dynamic gold XP 115 gram stiff soft stepped
Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP 54 4 - PW dynamic gold S300
Wedges:   :mizuno-small: MP T4 52 degree,  :titelist-small: :vokey-small: 56 degree 10 degree bounce, :titelist-small: :vokey-small: 60 degree 10 degree bounce.
Putter:  :ping-small: ZB S

 

Evil prospers when good men do nothing.

 

Honorary member Texas BBQ Curtin Circa 2015 

 

 

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