Callaway legitimately revolutionized irons when they first introduced the APEX lineup way back in 2014, the blending of forgiveness and all-out performance had never been done like that before. Not only that, but with each subsequent release the accolades have grown as has the amount of tech the company continues to pour into them.
What that has led to is an incredible amount of anticipation each time we edge closer to the unveil of the next iteration. Well, the Callaway Apex 21 lineup is coming, and it’s bringing a new friend with it.
The New Apex Family
Callaway has taken full advantage of the two-year lifecycle of the Apex lineup to not just bring forth two irons worthy of the family name, but they have brought a third to the party as well. Yes, a third.
This go-round the Apex and Apex Pro will be joined by their little-big brother, the DCB (deep cavity blade) which they believe makes their lineup reach more players than any other generation before it. But more on that very soon.
The Apex irons continue to be the crème de la crème of the Callaway iron umbrella, and with that it is no surprise that they continue to feature the best of all their iron technology developed over the years and rolled into each new version. This is after all the iron series that defined forged irons meeting true forgiveness and playability, literally blurring the lines of classification like never before.
This year the goal was to stretch the tech even more to hit an even broader player profile, while also in their minds not just retaining but increasing their hold as the “#1 Irons in Golf”. Performance and consistency of performance is the goal, and by implementing things like Flash Face Cup, Tungsten Energy Core, and Urethane Microspheres in all three irons, they definitely look poised to accomplish that.
Callaway Apex 21 Irons
It’s only right to start with the flagship iron, right? The Apex 21 is being hailed as a “21st Century Forging” by Callaway, and continues to be a shape and size that will fit the eye of a broad range of golfers. The shaping continues to let them put forgiveness into the iron, but without getting too big nor losing the shot-making potential that has endeared the line to so many over each release.
The goal was to further entrench the Apex as offering leading distance, launch, speed, feel, and most importantly consistency in all of those aspects. To do that they have implemented a “Big Three” of tech, if you will.
First, A.I. Flash Face Cup is here, and it is the first time that Callaway has implemented AI into a forged iron. It was a natural progression given the success A.I. has allowed them in the past couple of years, but it took a lot to implement it into these three sets of irons. This means more distance, but also with more forgiveness all while maintaining spin numbers better than previous iterations. It is also worth noting once again, each iron has a unique face design, both loft for loft as well as compared to the other two Apex sets.
Added to that is a “Massive” tungsten core with a unique split application system low in the iron with heel, toe, and center sections. The unique split placement allows for the increased MOI blended with a lower CG. In all, there is 5-times the Tungsten compared to the Apex 19 irons, ranging from 34g to 64g in the 3-9 while only 14 in the PW and AW to tune in the desired flight through the set. Rounding it out, the 1025 Carbon Steel with Urethane Microsphere technology that continues to be revolutionary compared to anything else on the market for performance and feel.
Callaway is claiming higher peak ball speed compared to the Apex 19, but more importantly the “sweet spot” is much larger and more centered as well as lower than previously which matches where most golfers tend to miss much better. The set will play off a 30.5° 7-iron and 43° PW, but Callaway notes that the A.I. design is allowing them to generate and retain more spin loft for loft than previously possible.
The Apex 21 will be available in 3-AW and paired with all new premium shafts in True Temper Elevate ETS 95’s (R, S) for steel and UST Mamiya Recoil Dart 75’s (L, R, S) for graphite. They are rounded out with Golf Pride Z-Grip Soft for the stock grip options.
Callaway Apex Pro 21 Irons
The Apex Pro irons have long thrived on being a unicorn of sorts, making a more players style iron impressively more playable for a wider range of golfers. Since they have been infinitely successful, Callaway did the only natural thing, they totally and completely redesigned them from the ground up. These are not like any Apex Pro before. Truly.
Welcome the Apex lineup to the age of the hollow body design.
The Pro’s are now a forged hollow body design that Callaway calls a player’s performance iron. For golfers from scratch to single digits who want performance mixed with forgiveness, this may be the ticket, fitting between the Apex 21 and the X-Forged CB.
Hollow is popular right now, but Callaway believes they have done it differently. They liked the hollow body design because it affords more stiffness in the rear of the club but allows a lot to be done internally with the application of the aforementioned A.I. Flash Face Cup, 1025 Carbon Steel with Urethane Microspheres, as well as a massiveamount of Tungsten.
The Flash Face cup is unique to this specific set as well as club for club within the set. When blended with the “Tungsten Energy Core” which has placed 53g to 90g in the 3-7 of the set you have an iron design primed for more speed, more forgiveness, and more spin consistency. Callaway also believes that thanks to the huge amount of Urethane Microspheres both low and higher in the club, and their ability to collapse and rebound without sacrificing energy transfer, they have produced a hollow body with feel like a one-piece forging. Now that is something that will perk up some ears.
The Apex Pro 21 will be available in 3-AW and the set plays off of a 33° 7-iron and 45° PW. Additionally, the premium stock shaft offerings are the all-new True Temper Elevate ETS 115 (R, S, X) in steel as well as the Mitsubishi MMT (R – 85, S – 95, TX – 105) in graphite and paired with the Golf Pride Z-Grip.
Callaway Apex DCB Irons
Rounding out the Callaway Apex 21 irons lineup, the new kid on the block, the Apex DCB.
DCB stands for “Deep Cavity Blade” and the name says it all, this is an even more forgiving forged iron that Callaway wanted to create in order to allow golfers who need a wider sole, longer blade length, and a bit more offset a way to still be part of the Apex family.
All of the above traits meet up with the A.I. Flash Face Cup, 1025 Carbon Steel with Urethane Microspheres, and Tungsten Energy Core just like the other two irons in the lineup, simply in a more forgiving and easier launching package. Though they feature a progressively large sole than the rest of the Apex offerings, they look a lot like the Apex 21’s and visually blend well enough to make a golfer happy when looking down at the clubs.
The Apex DCB will be available in 4-AW and playing off of a 30° 7-Iron and a 43° PW with the set being practically the same as the Apex 21 other than the long irons. Premium shaft offerings for the DCB are True Temper Elevate ETS 85 (R, S) as well as UST Mamiya Recoil Dart 65 (L, R, S) and finished with the Golf Pride Z-Grip Soft.
Combo Time!
Some of you were reading along and wondering, so this is for you…
YES, Callaway will be offering a combo sets for the Apex 21 lineup.
The main option will be the same we saw last time around blending the Apex 21 3-7 with Apex Pro 21 8-AW through the use of unique tooling in the Pro’s to make the set flow as seamlessly as possible. However, they are fully anticipating the possibility of other combo’s created by the consumer or during fittings with the “Apex Sweet Spot” having DCB 4-5 and Apex 21 6-AW, the “Apex Triple Play” with DCB 4-5, Apex 21 6-9, and Apex Pro 21 9-AW, as well as the “Apex Player” featuring Apex Pro 21 3-7 and Callaway Apex MB 8-AW.
The Details
The Callaway Apex 21 irons lineup will begin fitting on 1/28/21 and have a retail date of 2/11/21. Pricing will be $185 per club for steel and $200 per club in graphite.
Be sure to keep an eye on THP for a lot more to come on the entire Apex 21 lineup.
But I mentioned I played yesterday and this morning and wasn’t happy with how I played. Not necessarily only with these, but overall with how I played to end my season so I went out for a second time tonight. I couldn’t miss. I was firing darts almost every single time I had these in hand. It really felt good and had me at peace with giving these up for something a little more forgiving in the Pros next year. My last shot of the season was 145 yard from the rough. Dropped it to a foot with my 9i and a birdie to end the year.
If I was even just a little more consistent, I wouldn’t ask for anything else from these irons. So thankful I had a chance to play these the last two years because of the 21 Grandaddy.
Nice way to finish!!!
A
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Range session Friday night saw the real first progress I’ve seen. I literally counted (1, 2…3, 4) on every single iron shot and…on my goodness, I found the center of the club face!! I tried to stop my counting, but found myself getting a bit quick through some of those downswings so the counting just stuck around. I was already impressed with the Apex 21, even with the consistent toe-strikes, as they still provided the same distance I saw with my J15CB. After learning to use the center of the club face, I believe I made the right choice in looking at these irons. The effortless distance, the trajectory, and the feel were all a welcome sight! Our tournament on Saturday was more of the same. On two iron shots I didn’t count, got a bit quick, and suffered a bit. The rest of the day I hit my irons better than I’ve hit any irons in a long time. It was in the low to mid-40’s with a 10-15 N wind, but I hit greens all day long.
Very much (now) enjoying the Apex 21 and grateful for so many that shared their own positive experiences and pushed me that direction.
Heck yes! Love to hear you’re enjoying the irons and you’re getting the tempo sorted!
You said your bad toe shots were getting the same distance as your old irons. You seeing any nice distance gains now that you’re finding the center? Or just way more confidence overall (not necessarily distance)?
The Apex are lofted about 1 club stronger than the J15CB. Between the stronger loft, finding the center of the club face, and the confidence gains I have seen distance gains for sure. I used to hit it longer than I do at this stage of life, but the distances I’ve seen since Friday have me happy. For example: 198 yd (to the pin) par 3 (10-15 mph north wind blowing straight back in our faces) – unless struck perfectly, I’d never have gotten my Bridgestone 4-iron back to the pin. I pulled 5-iron Saturday, landed 5′ past the pin, rolled down a slope to the left of the pin, and stopped inside 10′.
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Some of you have probably noticed I am a big fan of Callaway’s Apex line of irons. I have played some form of Callaway Apex iron for all but a few of my rounds since 2016, which is when I had my first iron fitting and was fit into Apex CF16 5i-AW with Project X 5.5 shafts. Since then, I have played Apex Black (CF16) with UST Mamiya Recoil 110F4 shafts (thanks to @DannyLe and THP for the shafts), Apex 19 with Catalyst 80S (thanks to Callaway and THP for the clubs and unbelievable experience of the 2018 Grandaddy), Apex Pro 21 with black True Temper Elevate Tour stiff, and finally the Apex 21 with True Temper Elevate 95S (thanks to THP!!!).
Before winning the Apex 21 set here on THP, I had been struggling a bit with my Apex Pro 21 irons, so I was ready to welcome the added forgiveness of the Apex 21’s with open arms. I have been playing this set for the last couple months on both familiar and new-to-me courses in addition to some range sessions, and I feel ready to share my thoughts. I’ll break down my review into a few common categories: looks, feel, and performance.
Looks
Not everyone loves the looks of the Apex irons, especially some of the badging over the years, but I am overall very happy with the looks of the Apex 21 irons. They look great in the bag and have earned more than a few compliments from playing partners the last couple months. I think Callaway improved the looks from the 19 to the 21 release. The satin finish is an excellent choice and preferred by many Apex players. However, it would be nice if the finish were a bit more durable.
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When it comes to looks at address, these irons inspire confidence. Callaway did an excellent job making the top line look not too big, and the sole will not make many players think “chunky.” Sure, they are not tricking anyone into thinking they are muscle back blades, but they also aren’t obviously game improvement irons either. They really look like something different when you take a closer look. “Players distance” may be an annoying category to some, but I think the phrase makes a lot of sense with irons like this. They fit the bill perfectly in more ways than one.
Feel/Sound
Thanks to the urethane microspheres in the 3i-9i, this version of the Apex irons feels better than its predecessors. I’ve never disliked any of the previous offerings when it comes to feel and feedback, but these definitely take feel to another level. A well struck shot feels and sounds quite satisfying.
Poorly struck shots provide ample feedback to give you some idea of where you missed the shot on the face. For example, when I hit it way too high on the face out of the rough, I could tell immediately. Unfortunately, the A.I. hasn’t figured out how to make those misses produce better results for me yet. ?
Performance/Forgiveness
When I think about the Apex 21 irons, this is the category that first comes to my mind and why I keep coming back to this line. Great distance, awesome performance, and excellent forgiveness in a package that doesn’t scream “GAME IMPROVEMENT!”
With every release of the Apex line, Callaway tries to best the previous iteration. When you make a really good offering, surpassing it often requires new approaches and new tech. In that vein, Callaway used its A.I. design tools to create and add a Flash Face Cup to the Apex line for the first time ever.
According to Callaway: “The unique A.I. architecture in each iron creates high ball speeds and increased spin robustness across the face. They’re engineered for impressive distance and pinpoint control.”
In the 3i-AW, Callaway also added more tungsten in strategic spots to improve consistent launch and improved forgiveness.
I have tested the forgiveness repeatedly (just for data gathering purposes of course), and I have seen surprisingly good results from low strikes and from toe strikes (two of my most common misses). I thank Callaway engineers and R&D out loud sometimes while on the course when I hit a green in regulation after the strike feels like it has no chance of getting there.
When I think about how the Apex 21 irons have performed for me over the last couple of months, the long irons really stand out to me. Sure, I’ve hit some shots to within 8’ with the PW and the 9i, but that is not quite as memorable for me as what I’ve done with the 5i and 4i. It hasn’t been a large sample size, but I have hit the green in regulation on long par 3s (210-225) way more often than my normal success rate. The first time I even hit the 4i was on a 225-yard par 3. It was a low draw that headed right towards the flag on the left upper section of the green. I two-putted from around 30’, and I was grinning big time (par feels like a big victory for a hacker like me on that hole). I’ve hit the green in regulation on par 3s from around 210 with the 5i over 75% of the time, which again is well above normal for me.
To extend the testing a bit, I let my dad take the set out for a few rounds. He also took them to the range to compare to his old Callaway Steelhead XR irons. According to him, he’s hitting the Apex 21s higher, farther, and straighter than the XRs. Now, it may be hard to get them back!
Conclusion
The Apex 21 irons deliver at a high level on looks, performance, forgiveness, and distance. When I first put them in play, the phrase “effortless distance” came to mind, but that distance did not come at the sacrifice of stopping power on the greens for me.
The main things I would love to see Callaway improve if they decide to release a new version of the “standard” Apex irons are: 1) more durable satin finish and 2) heavier stock graphite shaft option (or offer no upcharge graphite options like they are in the 2024 Apex Pro Series).
We all know these aren’t the newest irons on the block, but the fact that they are a few years old doesn’t mean golfers aren’t still checking them out. In fact, Callaway still sells new sets and recently started a promotion for up to $200 off a set. The Callaway Pre-Owned site is worth checking out for good prices as well if you’re interested in these irons.
While they are labeled “players distance,” I sort of think of them as sneaky game improvement irons. If you don’t like to look down at thick top lines or chunky soles but still want an iron that offers more than ample distance and impressive forgiveness, these will fit the bill quite nicely.
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Fantastic write up my man!
Thanks, brother!
They truly are great irons. Great looks, feel and performance. I have no reason to look elsewhere.
I got to hit some over the weekend and have to agree. I have no reason to but I probably will. Feel like I’ve been hitting moon balls with these since the end of the season. Need to get on a monitor with a fitter and see what’s up.
You talking to me?
No actually just a friendly reminder to the forum and to let others know about the trade value. However….
I figured your Cobra’s were back in the bag as soon as you got home.
it’s funny, I was thinking about them the other night. I can’t get over buying a set of irons that are 3 years old, which takes nothing away from how good this set is.
I agree with the 3 year old part but as Callaway says, until they can make it better in a way that can actually be produced…. they won’t replace it. I’m going to game mine my next round. Its a set I didn’t want to part with for some reason.
I don’t blame you. I hit my 19s a couple of weeks ago
I’m going to play these Paradym irons until Maynard asks for them back, but an Apex DCB + Apex upgrade comes out… I’m in.
I could see an Apex/Pro combo through the set and keeping the 10 and 11 for wedge play. That could be the absolute ticket to fun and forgiving.
oh I’m likely in on an Apex upgrade.
I think I want a DCB / Apex combo next time…
Let us know how it works out for you.
I definitely will. I have hit them a couple of times in the Sim. They feel good. Just ready to get them outdoors!
High ball speeds and big ball flights. I pulled the CBs and put these in the bag for the joy of it in my next round.
Only had them on the range so far because it has literally rained almost every day and most local courses have been shut. but I’m now really starting to strike them consistently and getting that fantastic noise when you compress the ball out of the middle of the face. I’m adjusting from X20 Tour irons which are traditionally lofted – but now feel I’m ready for a proper gapping session to recalibrate before I hopefully make it out onto a course in 10 days or so. They might be 3 years old in design but these are the newest set of clubs I’ll have owned by some margin and I’m appreciating the technology in them.
My son has the combi set and whilst I like hitting his 8-PW in Apex Pro I’m really really happy with the forgiveness across the bag.
Looking forward to getting some real life feedback on spin and control on a course rather than the lumpy, effectively greenless bog of a range I have been firing balls down…. will let you know how I get on !
So today @jayronmillz10 and @Briton G went and played 9 holes at the legends. As far as playing well I did not play great. But I did hit a good number of solid irons and these were amazing. I put my kbs 120 tour light shafts in and I am super impressed. My distance was there. Except for a few the wind got ahold of. I could control my ball flight like I wanted too and felt like I had control. Looking forward to more rounds but I would say 1st round with the 21 pros was a success!
Wind had us all at times today ?