Callaway Apex Ai200 and Ai300 Irons - 2024 Forum Review

[Shankster]

Honestly I didn’t really look at the clubs before commenting in this thread. I just stopped by Callaway’s website and I have to give it to them.  They did what I said manufactures should do.  Make the non tour model have the appearance of the tour model.  Hats off to them.  It will be an easier sell when you have the look of the CB, with the extra forgiveness.  I can’t wait to see how they perform, and sell.

[Shrek74]

20 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Haha.  Dang always wanting people to play from the other side.  How many times do us lefties have to say it..... we play from the right side.  

According to, well, lots of PGA professionals I talked to many years ago and some recently, if you're a right-handed person you should play left handed. If you're a left-handed person, you should play right handed. You want your dominant hand to be your lead hand. So most of us are actually playing from the wrong side, if we're being honest.

[Josh Parker]

2 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

According to, well, lots of PGA professionals I talked to many years ago and some recently, if you're a right-handed person you should play left handed. If you're a left-handed person, you should play right handed. You want your dominant hand to be your lead hand. So most of us are actually playing from the wrong side, if we're being honest.

I putt well right handed and did for a solid year at one point.

[JohnSmalls]

17 hours ago, Shankster said:

Honestly I didn’t really look at the clubs before commenting in this thread. I just stopped by Callaway’s website and I have to give it to them.  They did what I said manufactures should do.  Make the non tour model have the appearance of the tour model.  Hats off to them.  It will be an easier sell when you have the look of the CB, with the extra forgiveness.  I can’t wait to see how they perform, and sell.

That's an interesting thought, Alan.  Very similar to one I had as well when I had my fitting at Golf Galaxy.  I wish there was a little less offset but they are a good looking club.  We'll see how the performance shakes out soon, hopefully.  

I hit the Ai Smoke irons two or three months ago and was pleasantly surprised at their visual appeal and feel for that matter.  The yearly Callaway driver named irons have improved significantly over the years IMO.  But if you put either of the Apex Ai200/300 on the shelf beside the Ai Smoke, I am picking the Apex iron 10 times out of 10.

3 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

According to, well, lots of PGA professionals I talked to many years ago and some recently, if you're a right-handed person you should play left handed. If you're a left-handed person, you should play right handed. You want your dominant hand to be your lead hand. So most of us are actually playing from the wrong side, if we're being honest.

Very interesting thought.  I always knew us lefties were on the right side of the ball.  A PGA pro tried to get me to switch to being a righty when I was a very very young child at a golf clinic.  Ironically he is my coach now .  

 

Okay @Wib081 @bbreezy716 @GolfSpy_BNG  how are the swings coming?  I am chomping at the bit to get started!

[bbreezy716]

21 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

That's an interesting thought, Alan.  Very similar to one I had as well when I had my fitting at Golf Galaxy.  I wish there was a little less offset but they are a good looking club.  We'll see how the performance shakes out soon, hopefully.  

I hit the Ai Smoke irons two or three months ago and was pleasantly surprised at their visual appeal and feel for that matter.  The yearly Callaway driver named irons have improved significantly over the years IMO.  But if you put either of the Apex Ai200/300 on the shelf beside the Ai Smoke, I am picking the Apex iron 10 times out of 10.

Very interesting thought.  I always knew us lefties were on the right side of the ball.  A PGA pro tried to get me to switch to being a righty when I was a very very young child at a golf clinic.  Ironically he is my coach now .  

 

Okay @Wib081 @bbreezy716 @GolfSpy_BNG  how are the swings coming?  I am chomping at the bit to get started!

Literally at the range now. Wanted to get a few swings before taking them to the course this weekend and got out of work early. Going to try and get on a trackman next week probably.

[JohnSmalls]

30 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

Literally at the range now. Wanted to get a few swings before taking them to the course this weekend and got out of work early. Going to try and get on a trackman next week probably.

Love to see it!  Enjoy the beautiful day on the range!

[Wib081]

1 hour ago, JohnSmalls said:

That's an interesting thought, Alan.  Very similar to one I had as well when I had my fitting at Golf Galaxy.  I wish there was a little less offset but they are a good looking club.  We'll see how the performance shakes out soon, hopefully.  

I hit the Ai Smoke irons two or three months ago and was pleasantly surprised at their visual appeal and feel for that matter.  The yearly Callaway driver named irons have improved significantly over the years IMO.  But if you put either of the Apex Ai200/300 on the shelf beside the Ai Smoke, I am picking the Apex iron 10 times out of 10.

Very interesting thought.  I always knew us lefties were on the right side of the ball.  A PGA pro tried to get me to switch to being a righty when I was a very very young child at a golf clinic.  Ironically he is my coach now .  

 

Okay @Wib081 @bbreezy716 @GolfSpy_BNG  how are the swings coming?  I am chomping at the bit to get started!

 

39 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

Literally at the range now. Wanted to get a few swings before taking them to the course this weekend and got out of work early. Going to try and get on a trackman next week probably.

Work hijacked my day and postponed my range session until tomorrow. However my boss is aware I have an appointment for mental health, her suggestion lol, so I will be gapping for distance and putting the clubs through their paces before my Sunday round! I have continued hitting into the range (woods) behind the house and I can say I hit a decently toey shot that went straight as an arrow with the intended height! Loving the feel of the P and A wedges! I did get a few solid strikes in there as well this afternoon. 

[bbreezy716]

9 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

 

Work hijacked my day and postponed my range session until tomorrow. However my boss is aware I have an appointment for mental health, her suggestion lol, so I will be gapping for distance and putting the clubs through their paces before my Sunday round! I have continued hitting into the range (woods) behind the house and I can say I hit a decently toey shot that went straight as an arrow with the intended height! Loving the feel of the P and A wedges! I did get a few solid strikes in there as well this afternoon. 

Had some great hits. Was shocked how well I hit the 5i, have only hit one a few times. The AW gave me a little issue at first but I think it will settle in nice. This was a just one hit off my 9i. Definitely very receptive hitting these. Every good hit feels instantly good and sounds good. 

[JohnSmalls]

15 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

Had some great hits. Was shocked how well I hit the 5i, have only hit one a few times. The AW gave me a little issue at first but I think it will settle in nice. This was a just one hit off my 9i. Definitely very receptive hitting these. Every good hit feels instantly good and sounds good. 

 

28 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

 

Work hijacked my day and postponed my range session until tomorrow. However my boss is aware I have an appointment for mental health, her suggestion lol, so I will be gapping for distance and putting the clubs through their paces before my Sunday round! I have continued hitting into the range (woods) behind the house and I can say I hit a decently toey shot that went straight as an arrow with the intended height! Loving the feel of the P and A wedges! I did get a few solid strikes in there as well this afternoon. 

I'm old school at heart and love chrome irons.  But the satin/matte finish of this Apex line is really growing on me.   

[Wib081]

13 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

 

I'm old school at heart and love chrome irons.  But the satin/matte finish of this Apex line is really growing on me.   

Dude I feel you I love the look of my 921’s but this Apex line kills it!

[bbreezy716]

37 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

 

I'm old school at heart and love chrome irons.  But the satin/matte finish of this Apex line is really growing on me.   

I love the matte finish. Part of my setup is I hold the club way out in front of me to set my grip and make sure the club will be square before I bend, and the matte finish is so much easier to do it with. It does show ball marks alot more I feel like though. Gonna have to see what is left after caddy splash gets a go at them. The back profile is so clean looking. They look sexy in my bag.

[Wib081]

20 minutes ago, bbreezy716 said:

I love the matte finish. Part of my setup is I hold the club way out in front of me to set my grip and make sure the club will be square before I bend, and the matte finish is so much easier to do it with. It does show ball marks alot more I feel like though. Gonna have to see what is left after caddy splash gets a go at them. The back profile is so clean looking. They look sexy in my bag.

They make those BombTech wedges pop beside them too dude! Good looking bag setup right there!

[bbreezy716]

2 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

They make those BombTech wedges pop beside them too dude! Good looking bag setup right there!

Thanks! Been building my bag up all years. Next will be a new bag hopefully. The wedges were an impulse buy earlier this year and I love them. Took the 56 out for the AW as I didn't really need it anyway and needed a filler between my PW and 52 more. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

3 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

That's an interesting thought, Alan.  Very similar to one I had as well when I had my fitting at Golf Galaxy.  I wish there was a little less offset but they are a good looking club.  We'll see how the performance shakes out soon, hopefully.  

I hit the Ai Smoke irons two or three months ago and was pleasantly surprised at their visual appeal and feel for that matter.  The yearly Callaway driver named irons have improved significantly over the years IMO.  But if you put either of the Apex Ai200/300 on the shelf beside the Ai Smoke, I am picking the Apex iron 10 times out of 10.

Very interesting thought.  I always knew us lefties were on the right side of the ball.  A PGA pro tried to get me to switch to being a righty when I was a very very young child at a golf clinic.  Ironically he is my coach now .  

 

Okay @Wib081 @bbreezy716 @GolfSpy_BNG  how are the swings coming?  I am chomping at the bit to get started!

Wish I could say I have hit them since they arrived Monday but work got in the way. Saturday morning for sure is a round. Hoping maybe some iron work tomorrow or Friday after work too. Kinda windy at the moment

[GolfSpy_BOS]

5 hours ago, Wib081 said:

 

Work hijacked my day and postponed my range session until tomorrow. However my boss is aware I have an appointment for mental health, her suggestion lol, so I will be gapping for distance and putting the clubs through their paces before my Sunday round! I have continued hitting into the range (woods) behind the house and I can say I hit a decently toey shot that went straight as an arrow with the intended height! Loving the feel of the P and A wedges! I did get a few solid strikes in there as well this afternoon. 

Whoa whoa whoa, be careful there buddy.  Hit it out of the middle like that too often and people will start calling you a sandbagger! 

[Wib081]

17 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Whoa whoa whoa, be careful there buddy.  Hit it out of the middle like that too often and people will start calling you a sandbagger! 

Oh I am in no danger of being lumped in with Aaron Rodger’s of Pebble Beach Pro-Am fame. I’ll get some real gems tomorrow that put the forgiveness claims to the test for sure just you wait and see! 

[Shankster]

8 hours ago, bbreezy716 said:

Had some great hits. Was shocked how well I hit the 5i, have only hit one a few times. The AW gave me a little issue at first but I think it will settle in nice. This was a just one hit off my 9i. Definitely very receptive hitting these. Every good hit feels instantly good and sounds good. 

 

9 hours ago, Wib081 said:

 

Work hijacked my day and postponed my range session until tomorrow. However my boss is aware I have an appointment for mental health, her suggestion lol, so I will be gapping for distance and putting the clubs through their paces before my Sunday round! I have continued hitting into the range (woods) behind the house and I can say I hit a decently toey shot that went straight as an arrow with the intended height! Loving the feel of the P and A wedges! I did get a few solid strikes in there as well this afternoon. 

Looks like you fellas are finding the home button.  Nice work.

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Had the chance to hit both the Ai200 and Ai300 today at a Callaway event. Of the two, I was able to get better results out of the Ai200 due to the bit of higher loft. Regular Graphite shaft was also the suggestion but I only had time to hit the Cypher. Overall, they're exciting but for right now, the AI Smoke HL was actually what would have worked best from Callaway. The fitter did think I could work my way into the Ai's but it might be a steeper learning curve than I would like.

Just thought I'd share!

[JohnSmalls]

4 hours ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

Had the chance to hit both the Ai200 and Ai300 today at a Callaway event. Of the two, I was able to get better results out of the Ai200 due to the bit of higher loft. Regular Graphite shaft was also the suggestion but I only had time to hit the Cypher. Overall, they're exciting but for right now, the AI Smoke HL was actually what would have worked best from Callaway. The fitter did think I could work my way into the Ai's but it might be a steeper learning curve than I would like.

Just thought I'd share!

Awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  What did you like most about the Apex Ai's, what would you have changed about them?

[Michael.Sandoval33]

2 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  What did you like most about the Apex Ai's, what would you have changed about them?

For me, I actually enjoyed hitting using the Apex's smaller-than-I'm-used-to head and the forgiveness of the club actually surprised me. Can't say I would make any changes, and I think if I were going to get an Apex set, I would be looking at a combo set of 5-6 Ai300 and 7-pw Ai200.

[Wib081]

So I had a day today! Went for 2 hours at lunch to the track man range that is outdoors less data than the indoor place but still good. Below is the find my distance giant range chart I was all over but the good ones were still good. 
 

I will say some of the balls that went straight had no business doing so. See this gem 

what’s impressive is I was aiming off the right edge of the yellow green for the shot

[Wib081]

Towards the end of the session last 25-30 minutes I found my swing and the clubs really took over and the forgiveness and ease of hitting well struck shot was so impressive even thinned and moderately fat shots held lines and went roughly the distance I was aiming for. Here is the chart from a selected few at the end and tbh I like the gapping a lot right now

Again I went through the gapping meh played a 9 hole virtual and was meh. Went back to range practice got dialed in with driver ask @Michael.Sandoval33 and got a really good feel for the swing and timing with these suckers! I’m really excited to get to the course with them on Sunday. Might leave driver in the bag as it will lessen the iron testing opportunities after today lol. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

3 hours ago, Wib081 said:

Towards the end of the session last 25-30 minutes I found my swing and the clubs really took over and the forgiveness and ease of hitting well struck shot was so impressive even thinned and moderately fat shots held lines and went roughly the distance I was aiming for. Here is the chart from a selected few at the end and tbh I like the gapping a lot right now

Again I went through the gapping meh played a 9 hole virtual and was meh. Went back to range practice got dialed in with driver ask @Michael.Sandoval33 and got a really good feel for the swing and timing with these suckers! I’m really excited to get to the course with them on Sunday. Might leave driver in the bag as it will lessen the iron testing opportunities after today lol. 

That’s some impressive distance. I’m thrilled if I have 160 carry with my 7-iron lol

[Wib081]

Just now, GolfSpy_BNG said:

That’s some impressive distance. I’m thrilled if I have 160 carry with my 7-iron lol

The 300’s are rocket launchers!

[Josh Parker]

3 hours ago, Wib081 said:

Towards the end of the session last 25-30 minutes I found my swing and the clubs really took over and the forgiveness and ease of hitting well struck shot was so impressive even thinned and moderately fat shots held lines and went roughly the distance I was aiming for. Here is the chart from a selected few at the end and tbh I like the gapping a lot right now

Again I went through the gapping meh played a 9 hole virtual and was meh. Went back to range practice got dialed in with driver ask @Michael.Sandoval33 and got a really good feel for the swing and timing with these suckers! I’m really excited to get to the course with them on Sunday. Might leave driver in the bag as it will lessen the iron testing opportunities after today lol. 

How do the distances differ from the current gamers?  Are the lofts similar?

[Wib081]

49 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

How do the distances differ from the current gamers?  Are the lofts similar?

So my 921 forged on trackman I can get 190 if I step on my 7 iron. Normal carry on good contact 175 carry consistently. I will say these feel a club to a club and a half longer and I don’t have to step on them. I swing driver fast but my irons I don’t like to and never have tbh. So the fact I can get distance out of them like today is great. I’m 42 and I don’t know how much longer I can swing like o do now with my driver so having these in the bag is quite nice! The thing that shocked me was how quick the stopped! They landed great and with minimal rollout 

[Wib081]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

How do the distances differ from the current gamers?  Are the lofts similar?

Sorry I forgot to answer about the lofts. The Ai300’s are stronger lofts than my 921’s. The 5-8 in the 300’s are 2 degrees stronger where the 9-A are 3 degrees stronger than my 921’s. Lot of distance there but I did notice with the AW I could hit 50-80 yard shots relatively easily by choking down and opening the face a bit

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, Wib081 said:

Sorry I forgot to answer about the lofts. The Ai300’s are stronger lofts than my 921’s. The 5-8 in the 300’s are 2 degrees stronger where the 9-A are 3 degrees stronger than my 921’s. Lot of distance there but I did notice with the AW I could hit 50-80 yard shots relatively easily by choking down and opening the face a bit

I always find it interesting about lofts on different iron sets. Glad to see the distances being consistent. That's the most important part!

[Wib081]

Just now, Josh Parker said:

I always find it interesting about lofts on different iron sets. Glad to see the distances being consistent. That's the most important part!

What really impressed me was a number of the 9i swings hit and popped back for a shorter totals than actual carry. Spin rates like that with stronger lofts is something I can’t wait to actually test on the course into the greens!

[JohnSmalls]

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!