Callaway Apex Ai200 and Ai300 Irons - 2024 Forum Review

[JohnSmalls]

Ai200's incoming...

 

[sirchunksalot]

19 hours ago, bbreezy716 said:

Just wanted to add some more photos from today on these clubs. The photos don't do these clubs justice. My Girlfriend had a lot of fun taking the clubs for a photo shoot. 

Those are looking good! I can't wait to hear how y'all hit them. 

[Wib081]

44 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

I'm taking mine to the trackman one night this week hopefully. Saturday I have a tee time with friends to get some shots in with them! 

I’m setting up my first round with them for Sunday! Thinking the trackman range here as well.

[Wib081]

Just before I cut the grass and it’s a bit long I decided to test the gap wedge (AW) from 5-6 different lies in the rough we’ll call it. And other than the last one I took a 50-60% swing on and thinned they all felt great! The thinned ball went the direction I wanted with almost the height and distance into my range behind the house. 
 

And here is the range behind the house 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Video intro/unboxing/first impressions and a couple swings is up on page one. I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow as well as some pics but for now check out the video and ogle over these beauties. Won’t lie there were some concerns/disappointments that I’ll touch in tomorrow also. 

[Willie T]

22 hours ago, bbreezy716 said:

Just wanted to add some more photos from today on these clubs. The photos don't do these clubs justice. My Girlfriend had a lot of fun taking the clubs for a photo shoot. 

Great photos - the clubs are off the charts clean…

[Wib081]

11 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Video intro/unboxing/first impressions and a couple swings is up on page one. I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow as well as some pics but for now check out the video and ogle over these beauties. Won’t lie there were some concerns/disappointments that I’ll touch in tomorrow also. 

Dude those 3rd and 4th balls sounded nuked!!! Video was freaking great, well done!!!! That scratch kinda sucks. Hopefully not too many concerns with them. Looking forward to the post tomorrow. 

[Lefty11]

Love the black finish on the clubs!

[GolfSpy_BNG]

15 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

Dude those 3rd and 4th balls sounded nuked!!! Video was freaking great, well done!!!! That scratch kinda sucks. Hopefully not too many concerns with them. Looking forward to the post tomorrow. 

The last shot was the nuked one. Into a 20mph wind, flew the green with a beautiful draw.  
 

This is what I like about the FullSwingKit.  It’s radar that tracks the flight the entire way so it takes wind and everything into it. However you can normalize the numbers and it will take away the wind in the face to show what carry should be.  These are normalized 

[Shrek74]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Video intro/unboxing/first impressions and a couple swings is up on page one. I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow as well as some pics but for now check out the video and ogle over these beauties. Won’t lie there were some concerns/disappointments that I’ll touch in tomorrow also. 

So for $2100, you get no plastic protection on the heads, a little bubble wrap, no other real protection, and a scratch on the 8? I can pay 1/3 of that from a DTC and get a ton of protection and a lot more "special" feelings. It's a shame. They do sound great though.

I am REALLY interested in hearing your overall review of the shafts. I've been begging PX to make iron shafts from their HZRDUS shaft line.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Ok so now that I have slept on it and really digested my initial shock let’s go over a couple things. 
 

Let me start by saying I enjoy building clubs almost as much as I enjoy buying and selling them lol. So with that in mind perhaps I notice things others wouldn’t. 
 

1. The lack of wrapping on the heads(they did still have bubble wrap) was only disappointing due to loving the chance to tear it off. 
 

2.  I haven’t mentioned this hear yet but one club had epoxy on the top line and a couple others had some still on the ferrules. It cleaned up easily but wanted to point it out. 
 

3. A few ferrules are turned properly. Now I’m not great at this either but I’d expect better from a major OEM. 
 

4.  Scratches on new clubs. The scratch on the bottom of the 8-iron is disappointing but after 1 hit would probably be there anyways. However I did find a scratch through the paint near a ferrule which isn’t super noticeable unless really inspecting the clubs.  
 

I’ll mention it again, I’m perhaps being too critical but as this is a review I wanted to point out all the flaws I was seeing. 
 

 

Alright now a couple positive first impressions. 
 

These ti fusions feel AMAZING!!!  The shafts which are PX Hzrdus gen4 silver 75s feel waaay better than the steelfibers to me.  Tight but not harsh.  The grips are Golf Pride Z grip soft(callaway) with 2 extra wraps that feel super soft and tacky. Really loving this grip and wish it would come to retail. 

[bbreezy716]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Ok so now that I have slept on it and really digested my initial shock let’s go over a couple things. 
 

Let me start by saying I enjoy building clubs almost as much as I enjoy buying and selling them lol. So with that in mind perhaps I notice things others wouldn’t. 
 

1. The lack of wrapping on the heads(they did still have bubble wrap) was only disappointing due to loving the chance to tear it off. 
 

2.  I haven’t mentioned this hear yet but one club had epoxy on the top line and a couple others had some still on the ferrules. It cleaned up easily but wanted to point it out. 
 

3. A few ferrules are turned properly. Now I’m not great at this either but I’d expect better from a major OEM. 
 

4.  Scratches on new clubs. The scratch on the bottom of the 8-iron is disappointing but after 1 hit would probably be there anyways. However I did find a scratch through the paint near a ferrule which isn’t super noticeable unless really inspecting the clubs.  
 

I’ll mention it again, I’m perhaps being too critical but as this is a review I wanted to point out all the flaws I was seeing. 
 

 

Alright now a couple positive first impressions. 
 

These ti fusions feel AMAZING!!!  The shafts which are PX Hzrdus gen4 silver 75s feel waaay better than the steelfibers to me.  Tight but not harsh.  The grips are Golf Pride Z grip soft(callaway) with 2 extra wraps that feel super soft and tacky. Really loving this grip and wish it would come to retail. 

I'm shocked yours came with no plastic on the heads. Seems odd, the Ai300 came with plastic and no visible damage. Callaway dropped the ball on that one. Especially since the Fusions are black and going to show a lot more damage that the brushed satin of the Ai200 and Ai300. 

[Wib081]

28 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

I'm shocked yours came with no plastic on the heads. Seems odd, the Ai300 came with plastic and no visible damage. Callaway dropped the ball on that one. Especially since the Fusions are black and going to show a lot more damage that the brushed satin of the Ai200 and Ai300. 

Yeah that is a great point! You'd think there would have been more protection on the Ti's or at least the same that we saw on the 300's with the 2 bags of bubble wrap and the cellophane. I mean honestly who doesn't want to peel that off the head of a club!

[Shrek74]

47 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Ok so now that I have slept on it and really digested my initial shock let’s go over a couple things. 
 

Let me start by saying I enjoy building clubs almost as much as I enjoy buying and selling them lol. So with that in mind perhaps I notice things others wouldn’t. 
 

1. The lack of wrapping on the heads(they did still have bubble wrap) was only disappointing due to loving the chance to tear it off. 
 

2.  I haven’t mentioned this hear yet but one club had epoxy on the top line and a couple others had some still on the ferrules. It cleaned up easily but wanted to point it out. 
 

3. A few ferrules are turned properly. Now I’m not great at this either but I’d expect better from a major OEM. 
 

4.  Scratches on new clubs. The scratch on the bottom of the 8-iron is disappointing but after 1 hit would probably be there anyways. However I did find a scratch through the paint near a ferrule which isn’t super noticeable unless really inspecting the clubs.  
 

I’ll mention it again, I’m perhaps being too critical but as this is a review I wanted to point out all the flaws I was seeing. 
 

 

Alright now a couple positive first impressions. 
 

These ti fusions feel AMAZING!!!  The shafts which are PX Hzrdus gen4 silver 75s feel waaay better than the steelfibers to me.  Tight but not harsh.  The grips are Golf Pride Z grip soft(callaway) with 2 extra wraps that feel super soft and tacky. Really loving this grip and wish it would come to retail. 

Yeah, that's all super disappointing from a major OEM. But I'm not sure I'm overly surprised either. They're trying to crank out as many clubs as they can every day, which leads to improperly turned ferrules, epoxy left on clubs, and sadly scratches and nicks. Although DTCs aren't perfect, I've noticed they are far better with this. Still, for $2100 I'd expect better.

[Josh Parker]

49 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Ok so now that I have slept on it and really digested my initial shock let’s go over a couple things. 
 

Let me start by saying I enjoy building clubs almost as much as I enjoy buying and selling them lol. So with that in mind perhaps I notice things others wouldn’t. 
 

1. The lack of wrapping on the heads(they did still have bubble wrap) was only disappointing due to loving the chance to tear it off. 
 

2.  I haven’t mentioned this hear yet but one club had epoxy on the top line and a couple others had some still on the ferrules. It cleaned up easily but wanted to point it out. 
 

3. A few ferrules are turned properly. Now I’m not great at this either but I’d expect better from a major OEM. 
 

4.  Scratches on new clubs. The scratch on the bottom of the 8-iron is disappointing but after 1 hit would probably be there anyways. However I did find a scratch through the paint near a ferrule which isn’t super noticeable unless really inspecting the clubs.  
 

I’ll mention it again, I’m perhaps being too critical but as this is a review I wanted to point out all the flaws I was seeing. 
 

 

Alright now a couple positive first impressions. 
 

These ti fusions feel AMAZING!!!  The shafts which are PX Hzrdus gen4 silver 75s feel waaay better than the steelfibers to me.  Tight but not harsh.  The grips are Golf Pride Z grip soft(callaway) with 2 extra wraps that feel super soft and tacky. Really loving this grip and wish it would come to retail. 

After building a set of clubs, I have really noticed the small things as well.  Both good and bad as a consumer.  These new releases, they crank so many out that there is bound to be some imperfections unfortunately.  

Clubs look amazing though!

[GolfSpy_BNG]

I’m kinda leaning that mine were a stock set that had the shafts pulled, hzrdus shafts installed, then bent flat. Which is probably what lead to the scratches by the ferrule during prep.  I will say that none of these things are noticeable from address and not something I’m gonna keep harping on but want clarity in the review as we owe the OEM’s and MyGolfSpy community honesty. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Ok so now that I have slept on it and really digested my initial shock let’s go over a couple things. 
 

Let me start by saying I enjoy building clubs almost as much as I enjoy buying and selling them lol. So with that in mind perhaps I notice things others wouldn’t. 
 

1. The lack of wrapping on the heads(they did still have bubble wrap) was only disappointing due to loving the chance to tear it off. 
 

2.  I haven’t mentioned this hear yet but one club had epoxy on the top line and a couple others had some still on the ferrules. It cleaned up easily but wanted to point it out. 
 

3. A few ferrules are turned properly. Now I’m not great at this either but I’d expect better from a major OEM. 
 

4.  Scratches on new clubs. The scratch on the bottom of the 8-iron is disappointing but after 1 hit would probably be there anyways. However I did find a scratch through the paint near a ferrule which isn’t super noticeable unless really inspecting the clubs.  
 

I’ll mention it again, I’m perhaps being too critical but as this is a review I wanted to point out all the flaws I was seeing. 
 

 

Alright now a couple positive first impressions. 
 

These ti fusions feel AMAZING!!!  The shafts which are PX Hzrdus gen4 silver 75s feel waaay better than the steelfibers to me.  Tight but not harsh.  The grips are Golf Pride Z grip soft(callaway) with 2 extra wraps that feel super soft and tacky. Really loving this grip and wish it would come to retail. 

At a rate of $300 per club, anything less than perfect IMO is unacceptable. Yes, mass production is bound to have an error here and there, but the big glob of epoxy on the top line of one clubhead, plus a scratch on the sole of another, should not happen. Sure, a scratch will appear after hitting it, but to me that is not the point.

[jdlesniak]

I picked mine up from Club Champion and found a tiny little knick - maybe 3 millimeters, incredibly small - on the back of the 5i. It's annoying to see, but it's purely aesthetic and I intend to play these clubs like crazy over the next 3-5 years, so I don't really mind. If it was on the grooves of the club I 100% would complain. Like you said, errors in mass manufacturing happen.

 

The clubs are awesome. My best hits are better and my worst hits aren't as bad. Sadly, they don't remedy operator errors. Can't wait until they make a club that does.

6 minutes ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

At a rate of $300 per club, anything less than perfect IMO is unacceptable. Yes, mass production is bound to have an error here and there, but the big glob of epoxy on the top line of one clubhead, plus a scratch on the sole of another, should not happen. Sure, a scratch will appear after hitting it, but to me that is not the point.

 

[Wib081]

4 minutes ago, jdlesniak said:

I picked mine up from Club Champion and found a tiny little knick - maybe 3 millimeters, incredibly small - on the back of the 5i. It's annoying to see, but it's purely aesthetic and I intend to play these clubs like crazy over the next 3-5 years, so I don't really mind. If it was on the grooves of the club I 100% would complain. Like you said, errors in mass manufacturing happen.

 

The clubs are awesome. My best hits are better and my worst hits aren't as bad. Sadly, they don't remedy operator errors. Can't wait until they make a club that does.

 

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the 4i in the set you have I went 5-A instead of 4-P. Curious how forgiving it is and what the numbers look like off of it

[jdlesniak]

7 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the 4i in the set you have I went 5-A instead of 4-P. Curious how forgiving it is and what the numbers look like off of it

I've only hit it at the range with range balls. I don't use a monitor to track shots on the range, so I can't give precise numbers. Sorry to disappoint there. If I had to guess, I carry it about 210-220 and I like the trajectory. I use a Modus 3 105 shaft that is for mid spin mid trajectory.

I've always played a 4i because irons are the best part of my game. The 4i gets replaced by a 4H in many bags, but the 4i makes more sense for my game.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

35 minutes ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

At a rate of $300 per club, anything less than perfect IMO is unacceptable. Yes, mass production is bound to have an error here and there, but the big glob of epoxy on the top line of one clubhead, plus a scratch on the sole of another, should not happen. Sure, a scratch will appear after hitting it, but to me that is not the point.

I completely agree they should come immaculate when new from any OEM big or small. I just don’t wanna concentrate on it as I know sometimes an initial bad thought can lead to not giving the club a full chance. 

[Wib081]

Unboxing is live on page 1!!!

 

 

Edited September 10 by Wib081

[Shrek74]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

At a rate of $300 per club, anything less than perfect IMO is unacceptable. Yes, mass production is bound to have an error here and there, but the big glob of epoxy on the top line of one clubhead, plus a scratch on the sole of another, should not happen. Sure, a scratch will appear after hitting it, but to me that is not the point.

[bbreezy716]

Ai300 Unboxing reaction posted on page 1! 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/66401-callaway-apex-ai200-and-ai300-irons-2024-forum-review/?do=findComment&comment=1116579

Edited September 10 by bbreezy716

[bbreezy716]

2 hours ago, Wib081 said:

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the 4i in the set you have I went 5-A instead of 4-P. Curious how forgiving it is and what the numbers look like off of it

I contemplated getting the 4i-PW, but having never hit a 4i and being solid with my hybrid, I opted for the AW to fill a gap in my bag between my PW and 52 degree. Might have to go swing a 4i after my review and see if I want to switch. 

[Wib081]

2 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

I contemplated getting the 4i-PW, but having never hit a 4i and being solid with my hybrid, I opted for the AW to fill a gap in my bag between my PW and 52 degree. Might have to go swing a 4i after my review and see if I want to switch. 

See I have a few older sets with a 4i but I only ever used it off the tee and even then not often. I like the idea of it for the occasional tee shot where I need the 220ish distance so maybe in the future but atm I’m using an old as hell burner bubble 2 7 wood and a 4h myself and when I feel like torturing myself I occasionally throw the cobra utility in the bag because I hit it good about 4 times a year but the shot shape is addicting enough to keep chasing it

[Wib081]

Here is the first swing from yesterday afternoon! Sound and feel were great for me even if it was a bit fat. 
 

 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

Just so you all know @JohnSmalls did receive his clubs.... but I ordered him a RH set because I wanted him to learn to play from the correct side of the ball.

Turns out he's not man enough to do so.  Instead as a result of my "mistake" in ordering he will be a few days behind with his unboxing and first impressions.

 

 

 

Please respect his privacy at this time as I am sure he is already ashamed that he plays from the wrong side of the ball and is not willing to learn to play the game correctly. 

P.S. - Really was my fault, thankfully Callaway already has his correct order in production so he shouldn't be too delayed! Thanks for being a good dude about it JP!

[Shankster]

You were just trying to Phil the gap on tour, trying to make a Righty.  You never know… 

[RetiredBoomer]

The Ai200 irons are getting good performance reviews on YouTube,
but they've gone even stronger lofted than the excellent Apex Pro iron,
and for the life of me, I can't understand why.

It's not they they won't perform well with the stronger lofts.
They're getting the desired launch angle, flight height, and descent angles that they want.
No problem there.  They're making very good golf clubs.

But every time the lofts get stronger, the resulting added distance forces one to change the configuration of the complete set.   
In my case, the weaker lofted an iron set is,

the more my set can be arranged the way I like it.

Obviously, then, it's the most unforgiving muscle back model in every OEM's line
that has the bests lofts for how I want to set up my bag,

but that, of course, will be the OEM's line that I can hit the least well.

Frustrating for me, but obviously not for too many because otherwise, they wouldn't do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 10 by RetiredBoomer