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First Look: Callaway Apex 21 Irons

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SuperStroke
I'm a mid-handicapper. My ball striking isn't great at times. I thought I wasn't good enough for the Apex 21. Here are some numbers trying a 7i with the MMT 95S. The Callaway team had done a good job with this flash face cup technology. My launch angles weren't the same but the distances were pretty similar all things considered. Don't rule them out as a possible iron set to go in your bag, even if you aren't considered a "player". They are good! No.... they are better than good, they're awesome!

I'm thankful another THPer @shanewu nudged me to give these a go, otherwise I wouldn't have found myself really enjoying the Apex21 irons.20211104_173314.jpg
 
The DCB 4 iron has been great for me since I put it in the bag early this year. It is mainly a tee club for me but WOW, has it changed my outlook from the tee box. If a hole calls for less than driver I am grabbing this club nearly every time. I carry no fairway woods and two hybrids but my dispersion is much better with the DCB 4 iron. The story of the scorpion and the frog comes to mind, it is a long iron after all and I know its going to sting me on some shots but it is still my best option on a tight hole.
 
Have to give a shoutout to my Apex Pro 21's. Compiling a lot of data from this year in the past week as I'm coming off my hand injury. I improved my GIR from my previous average of roughly 35% with my Rogues up to 40%.

Some interesting notes:
With my Rogues, I was hitting 35% GIR, 5% left, 10% right, 40% short, 10% long.
With the Apex Pros, it is: 40% GIR, 10% left, 5% right, 5% long, 40% short.

I was afraid I would be shorter with the weaker lofts and no A.I tech in the 8-PW. My club distances are a touch shorter, but not by much. My PW is just 1 yard shorter, with my 5 iron coming in at 8 yards shorter. It appears my improved GIR is coming from a tighter dispersion and better distance control. I sometimes flew the green with my Rogues, didn't hold the green with longer irons, and my misses, while still going hole high would be much further right or left. I have always had a fade with my irons, but after having the lie fitted and adjusted, I have a tiny draw.

Naturally, my wedges have something to do with this also. I have gotten considerably better with my full and 3/4 wedge swings which do help.
 
hadi05 said:
I'm a mid-handicapper. My ball striking isn't great at times. I thought I wasn't good enough for the Apex 21. Here are some numbers trying a 7i with the MMT 95S. The Callaway team had done a good job with this flash face cup technology. My launch angles weren't the same but the distances were pretty similar all things considered. Don't rule them out as a possible iron set to go in your bag, even if you aren't considered a "player". They are good! No.... they are better than good, they're awesome!

I'm thankful another THPer @shanewu nudged me to give these a go, otherwise I wouldn't have found myself really enjoying the Apex21 irons.View attachment 9043363
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Those are some great numbers! The thing with the Apex line, minus the TCBs and MBs since those really are players irons, they are all very playable for a lot of skill levels. I mentioned in my final season review that while the Pros did require good ball striking, they still had a pretty insane level of forgiveness for a club having Pro in the name. I'm not surprised at all that you found the Apex to work for you. They are a fantastic iron that deserves looks from higher caps to lower caps alike. Glad you gave them a shot!
 
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Muchmore18 said:
Those are some great numbers! The thing with the Apex line, minus the TCBs and MBs since those really are players irons, they are all very playable for a lot of skill levels. I mentioned in my final season review that while the Pros did require good ball striking, they still had a pretty insane level of forgiveness for a club having Pro in the name. I'm not surprised at all that you found the Apex to work for you. They are a fantastic iron that deserves looks from higher caps to lower caps alike. Glad you gave them a shot!
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My wife went from M4's to the regular Apex. We were a little afraid about the weaker lofts and considered having them bent but...with her low ball flight she really benefited from the lofts. She's holding more greens and has actually increased her distance a tad. Probably a combination of the AI face and good ball-striking. She's had a couple of shots that landed on the back of the green that stuck or spun back down rather than bouncing over.

Love it!
 
Cruskater said:
My wife went from M4's to the regular Apex. We were a little afraid about the weaker lofts and considered having them bent but...with her low ball flight she really benefited from the lofts. She's holding more greens and has actually increased her distance a tad. Probably a combination of the AI face and good ball-striking. She's had a couple of shots that landed on the back of the green that stuck or spun back down rather than bouncing over.

Love it!
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Love to hear it!
 
Cruskater said:
My wife went from M4's to the regular Apex. We were a little afraid about the weaker lofts and considered having them bent but...with her low ball flight she really benefited from the lofts. She's holding more greens and has actually increased her distance a tad. Probably a combination of the AI face and good ball-striking. She's had a couple of shots that landed on the back of the green that stuck or spun back down rather than bouncing over.

Love it!
Click to expand...

That's awesome!
 
The Apex MB MF'ing A wedge can do all things. I didn't have any specialties today, so it had full duties. Sticking full and partial approaches, a par 3 birdie, up and down, sand saves.. it just shines. I've absolutely loved the sole since .. what, about a year ago now?, and the weight placement and control, but throwing it in the fire like that today I was truly impressed. Seriously old school/new school blade goodness.
 
I’ve been testing out a full set the MBs for the past 6 rounds. I’m surprised these don’t get more love. They seem to be the forgotten child in this family. I mean, I get it. The whole line is so solid, but way more user friendly than I was expecting, love the looks, they feel amazing, sneaky long, and precise. Don’t see or hear much about them tho.
 
So, anyone by chance have an address and sole comparison of the TCB's and the T100S? Asking for a friend. :LOL:
 
Jman said:
So, anyone by chance have an address and sole comparison of the TCB's and the T100S? Asking for a friend. :LOL:
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Haha What?? You love your T100S!
 
Jman said:
I do, but love never stops us, does it? :LOL:
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It's apparently going to take me a bit to find the pictures of the soles. These alone was like trying to find a footprint in the desert after 3 months. :LOL:

The S would obviously look a little stronger. I've posted them in here or the T Series thread at some point though. Just haven't found the right keyword to track it down.
 
I thought the T100 looked pretty compact being used to the Apex Pro. TCB are noticeably more compact.
 
I grabbed an Apex 21 7 iron with the MMT 95S shaft today on CPO to compare with my CF19’s with Elevate 95S. My elbows and forearms have been bothering me so want to see if this will help. My last try with graphite was a big fail, but they were too light.
 
Took the TCBeauties out for a faaaast round today in the cold wind with a bunch of holiday crazies. 14 greens and 9 birdies (couple good putts helped) and I don't know what more I can say about them. Them, TSi3, and Apex UW are without a doubt the most impressive clubs I've played this year. The TCBs know no bounds on what they can do.
 
OldandStiff said:
Took the TCBeauties out for a faaaast round today in the cold wind with a bunch of holiday crazies. 14 greens and 9 birdies (couple good putts helped) and I don't know what more I can say about them. Them, TSi3, and Apex UW are without a doubt the most impressive clubs I've played this year. The TCBs know no bounds on what they can do.
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Now the temperatures are dropping here in the UK, the TCBs are beginning to outperform the MBs more consistently.

When it was warmer they were comparable, but the combination of off-centre strike plus cooler temps result in the MBs losing more distance for me vs similar shots with the TCBs.

When hit flush they are the same, but I’ll take the extra little bit of forgiveness thanks.
 
Now that we know we will be using our own clubs at The Grandaddy, I spent some extra time dialing the Pros in last Friday. I'm feeling as good about these right now as I have all season! Excited to use these at such a fantastic course if I'm needing to!
 
Still loving my Apex Pro 21s. Had the lofts/lies adjusted/put back to my specs a couple weeks ago.
 
Apex CF21 7 iron arrived with MMT 95S shaft. Going out later to hit a bucket to compare. Notice they swing weight D4-5 more than my CF19s (D2-3) with Elevate 95S. Kinda like that. That’s gotta be the MMT shaft right? More mass behind ball too on the CF 21, hadn’t seen that. We’ll see what that does to flight and feel.

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Kenomikes said:
Apex CF21 7 iron arrived with MMT 95S shaft. Going out later to hit a bucket to compare. Notice they swing weight D4-5 more than my CF19s (D2-3) with Elevate 95S. Kinda like that. That’s gotta be the MMT shaft right? More mass behind ball too on the CF 21, hadn’t seen that. We’ll see what that does to flight and feel.

View attachment 9049339
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Long high bombs with that setup. MMT may be the first non-steel iron shaft where I was addicted from first swing. I want to try the 105s if I can get my hands on some.
 
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