Callaway Apex Ai200 and Ai300 Irons - 2024 Forum Review

[GolfSpy_BOS]

1 hour ago, JohnSmalls said:

Awesome to see some numbers coming in @Wib081

 

Callaway has got some incredibly quick club builders and friends at UPS.  My lefty Ai200's just got in!  I'm working on a video for my first impression; shooting to have it up by Saturday.

Sneakpeak:  They are gorgeous!

Glad to hear it!  Just in time for the weekend! 

[billpierce]

On 8/27/2024 at 9:05 AM, frazzman80 said:

Looking forward to reading about the experiences and the performance. It always feels like Callaway is “marketing first” and I’m curious to see if these irons are AI hype or if they are legitimate.

 

On 9/10/2024 at 8:50 PM, Indy_Oz said:

That really is quite poor quality control ahead of shipping, particularly when sending clubs for a public product test! Even if they did have to swap shafts, there's no excuse for not making that action invisible to the customer receiving them.

Interesting observations already. Perhaps why they dont sell as well as they could!

[Wib081]

Had to tweak the filters in the photo of the club head as I took it in the shade and the ball mark wasn’t showing as well as I could see it. Good  idea of forgiveness with the 9 iron. Lost some distance but flew pretty good on a bad strike. 

To be clear I wasn’t aiming at the red target I was aiming at the right 3rd of the yellow green. There is a power tower right there in the middle of the range that’s a great midpoint. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

First official full round tomorrow for the TiFusions and I can’t wait. Snuck out to the course quick this afternoon and hit some balls. Not a ton of shots as I completely removed the very bad swings but loving the gapping I seen. 

[bbreezy716]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

First official full round tomorrow for the TiFusions and I can’t wait. Snuck out to the course quick this afternoon and hit some balls. Not a ton of shots as I completely removed the very bad swings but loving the gapping I seen. 

I'm playing 9 holes tomorrow. Have to work in the morning so we couldn't fit 18 in. 

[Josh Parker]

58 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

First official full round tomorrow for the TiFusions and I can’t wait. Snuck out to the course quick this afternoon and hit some balls. Not a ton of shots as I completely removed the very bad swings but loving the gapping I seen. 

Gapping looks great. Killing the driver on carry!  

What are you seeing on flight with these irons?  

[GolfSpy_BNG]

10 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Gapping looks great. Killing the driver on carry!  

What are you seeing on flight with these irons?  

So far with limited shots it’s a nice high strong flight.  Some draws and some fades as I learn ball position.  The TiFusions look to have a little less offset but that could just be the black hiding it. That and the Hzrdus gen4 silver 75 shafts are a different feel. Lighter than what I was playing.  
 

No data for my round today but will try to get a small recap up afterwards.  I’m gonna try to get a net and mat setup in the garage to grab some serious data for the rest of the review. This way I can just keep concentrating on playing for a score and do the data afterwards. 

[Josh Parker]

6 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

That and the Hzrdus gen4 silver 75 shafts are a different feel. Lighter than what I was playing

I ended up light with the PXGs.  So far I have liked them. 

[JohnSmalls]

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!

I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!

 

 

[JohnSmalls]

@GolfSpy_BOS a voice you requested, and a voice you have received. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

4 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!

I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!

 

 

Very well done sir!

[JohnSmalls]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Very well done sir!

Thank you!  I have a huge new appreciation for you guys that have been doing videos for your reviews

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Well gotta figure out the indoor setup. Thinking my lighting isn’t quite adequate yet so no data yet but I did hit all 4 par 3 greens today and 2 of 4 yesterday.  It’s a beautiful high flight that actually lands and backs up about 3 feet almost everytime.    Not seeing any wear yet which is huge as I hit about 25 balls with my 8-iron last night on my matzilla mat trying to get the FSK to read.  
 

So far the feel is perfect. It’s soft and explosive but not mushy.  You can tell where you hit the ball on the face without having to even look at the club.  

[bbreezy716]

Played 9 holes yesterday with the Ai300's and even though my driving game and putting were subpar, I was able to have a good round still. Doubled my GIR% and had a better FIR%. Best holes were a 140 yard par 3 and I used the 8 iron and hit it to the fringe off to the right. Hole 18 par 4 I had a 210 yard Drive that faded right on the edge of the fairway. Used my 7 iron the hit a beautiful ball onto the fringe of the green 20 yards from the hole. 2 putted over a hill and in for par. Still had some slices off toe shots, but they were all pretty playable. Distance felt good and my accuracy was better. 

Definitely want to get more swings in with the 300's and hit the course again for 18. They did perform well for the first round I had them out.

[Wib081]

Played 9 today with my 15 y/o and 3pm rounds on browns Sunday are GREAT! There was a 4some ahead of us that we caught on hole 5 but the group behind us was easy 3 hole back so instead of keeping right on the group in front we played a couple extra shot a hole, you know for testing of the 30@‘s lol. When I’m not looking up to find the ball they do their job well great ball flight, landing angles and spin! Here’s a PW from 132 wind knocked it down a bit and pushed it right but I’m okay with GIR on a par 3 that is my nemesis!
 

Man do these clubs feel like weapons in my bag. My son was hesitant to try them because they’re new and he didn’t want to damage them. I handed him the 9 from the layup position. On the 2nd par 5 and he pitched up on and 30 feet from the hole going over 30 yards of water to boot! He said it felt so good hitting that one! 

[Lefty11]

16 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!

I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!

 

 

Fantastic video!  Another golfer who swings from the proper side! Lefties unite! 

[LeakyValve]

17 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!

I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!

 

 

Great job on the video. Well done!!!

[billpierce]

On 9/13/2024 at 7:34 PM, GolfSpy_BNG said:

First official full round tomorrow for the TiFusions and I can’t wait. Snuck out to the course quick this afternoon and hit some balls. Not a ton of shots as I completely removed the very bad swings but loving the gapping I seen. 

sign me up for those numbers!!!

[Shrek74]

14 hours ago, Wib081 said:

Played 9 today with my 15 y/o and 3pm rounds on browns Sunday are GREAT! There was a 4some ahead of us that we caught on hole 5 but the group behind us was easy 3 hole back so instead of keeping right on the group in front we played a couple extra shot a hole, you know for testing of the 30@‘s lol. When I’m not looking up to find the ball they do their job well great ball flight, landing angles and spin! Here’s a PW from 132 wind knocked it down a bit and pushed it right but I’m okay with GIR on a par 3 that is my nemesis!
 

Man do these clubs feel like weapons in my bag. My son was hesitant to try them because they’re new and he didn’t want to damage them. I handed him the 9 from the layup position. On the 2nd par 5 and he pitched up on and 30 feet from the hole going over 30 yards of water to boot! He said it felt so good hitting that one! 

Damn, that's a serious ball mark! Serious spin and height. Nice!

[Wib081]

So a little more from yesterday’s round. I tried to run the right edge of the fairway on this par 5 as I normally love the woods to the left for some reason. Well I hit the fade I awlays try to hit when I am left edge and wound up in the first fairway 201 from the back. 
 

So here is where I ended up blue circle is the green I was going for and if you zoom in you can see the flag. The ball jumped off my 6 iron and was going right at it but was knocked slightly right by the breeze we had yesterday and here is where I ended up on the green! I honestly can say enough good things about these clubs! When I’m getting landing angles like this out of a 6 iron and the PW that’s just AWESOME, and the SPIN to come back at the hole! Granted it did slope down hill but some of that was definitely from the backspin off the 6! 

[Shrek74]

53 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Finally got the FSK straighten out in the garage.  It was tilted ever so slightly forward causing it to only read low shots. Once I changed it we got reads in every thing. Now I gotta find time to situate it so I can grab some numbers after work. May try to break it up into 4/5, 6/7/8, 9/PW. 
 

I do wish the range(which is now available and in beta) would show flight for each shot together instead of only one at a time and then gone. 

[JohnSmalls]

Playing some catchup to get some good data in.  But early impressions from the course are interesting.

• Feel is top notch for hollow-bodied irons
• I am hitting shots a little more thin than normal, Ai200's forgiveness seems to be a little lacking low on the face
• On the other hand, forgiveness higher on the face seems to be great
• Early impressions from the 5,6,7 irons are pointing to a gapping problem

[JohnSmalls]

On 9/16/2024 at 3:53 PM, Wib081 said:

So a little more from yesterday’s round. I tried to run the right edge of the fairway on this par 5 as I normally love the woods to the left for some reason. Well I hit the fade I awlays try to hit when I am left edge and wound up in the first fairway 201 from the back. 
 

So here is where I ended up blue circle is the green I was going for and if you zoom in you can see the flag. The ball jumped off my 6 iron and was going right at it but was knocked slightly right by the breeze we had yesterday and here is where I ended up on the green! I honestly can say enough good things about these clubs! When I’m getting landing angles like this out of a 6 iron and the PW that’s just AWESOME, and the SPIN to come back at the hole! Granted it did slope down hill but some of that was definitely from the backspin off the 6! 

Impressive pitch mark!  The greens are so firm down here they add dimples to the golf ball

[Wib081]

11 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

Impressive pitch mark!  The greens are so firm down here they add dimples to the golf ball

I will say that even in late April early May I wasn’t putting pitch marks in the green like that with my 921’s. The gapping issue I’m having is from the AW down it’s looking like I might need a 52* wedge in the bag for the gap between the AW and my 56 the AW is quite strong at 47. I carry my BRNR mini from last year for 3 wood replacement it’s 11.5 but I lofted it up to 13.5 and I’m thinking of pulling it or my 5 wood. I lofted my M3 4H down to 19.5 so it’s like a weak 5 atm just gotta see which makes more sense. 

[JohnSmalls]

24 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

I will say that even in late April early May I wasn’t putting pitch marks in the green like that with my 921’s. The gapping issue I’m having is from the AW down it’s looking like I might need a 52* wedge in the bag for the gap between the AW and my 56 the AW is quite strong at 47. I carry my BRNR mini from last year for 3 wood replacement it’s 11.5 but I lofted it up to 13.5 and I’m thinking of pulling it or my 5 wood. I lofted my M3 4H down to 19.5 so it’s like a weak 5 atm just gotta see which makes more sense. 

That's a great sign coming out of the Ai300's for you compared to your 921's.  9* of separation is definitely a big gap to fill.  

I am trying to limit my scope just to the Ai200's for the test.  I'm on the other end of the loft spectrum in my wedges.  I only have  2* from my Aw to my 50*

Edited September 18 by JohnSmalls

[bbreezy716]

26 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

I will say that even in late April early May I wasn’t putting pitch marks in the green like that with my 921’s. The gapping issue I’m having is from the AW down it’s looking like I might need a 52* wedge in the bag for the gap between the AW and my 56 the AW is quite strong at 47. I carry my BRNR mini from last year for 3 wood replacement it’s 11.5 but I lofted it up to 13.5 and I’m thinking of pulling it or my 5 wood. I lofted my M3 4H down to 19.5 so it’s like a weak 5 atm just gotta see which makes more sense. 

I'm rocking a 52* and 60* and they paired up perfectly with the PW and AW. I have a 56 as well that is currently retired to the garage with all my other extra clubs. I'm slowly building a second set for someone to borrow lol

[Wib081]

2 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

That's a great sign coming out of the Ai300's for you compared to your 921's.  9* of separation is definitely a big gap to fill.  

I am trying to limit my scope just to the Ai200's for the test.  I'm on the other end of the loft spectrum in my wedges.  I only have  2* from my Aw to my 50*

Oh this will be down the road after the test. Right now I’m using a 3/4 AW to fill the gap and it’s a good option until I give it a little more gusto than I intend to lol. I definitely flew over the back of a green on Sunday. Laughed and so did my son he then pitch up and his hung on that said he put a full swing on his callaway X-20 AW

[Indy_Oz]

On 9/15/2024 at 2:42 AM, JohnSmalls said:

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!

I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!

 

 

Great work on the video. Raising the bar on production with background music and graphic transitions! Damn... I'll have to start brushing up on iMovie changes in the last 17 years since I last made a vid (unofficial wedding video). Ha ha.

[Mrich2021]

Congratulations everyone! Look forward to the reviews, have fun!