Callaway Apex Irons Review Thread

[TNTCigarguy]

A test against ping g25, ap1 and speedbladez would be awesome! I got a fever, and the only prescription is callaway apex irons...

Well War Eagle has a set of speedbladez so he will be able to give a comparison. I am currently gaming a set of G15s and there is no comparison. Like going from a Honda Accord to a Maserati. As soon as you have a chance olaS I would put your hands on a set. You will be blown away. When I get home from my trip I will try to get some comparison pics.

 

[drp3434]

Man, these are some seriously awesome looking irons. I think I like the look of the pro's a tad better, but these are still gorgeous and may suit me better. Thanks for all the pics, can't wait to see these in person.

 

[mikedean441]

Man, these are some seriously awesome looking irons. I think I like the look of the pro's a tad better, but these are still gorgeous and may suit me better. Thanks for all the pics, can't wait to see these in person.

I really dont think you can go wrong either way, will all come down to preferences

 

[olaS]

Well War Eagle has a set of speedbladez so he will be able to give a comparison. I am currently gaming a set of G15s and there is no comparison. Like going from a Honda Accord to a Maserati. As soon as you have a chance olaS I would put your hands on a set. You will be blown away. When I get home from my trip I will try to get some comparison pics.

Thanks. No doubt the maserati vs honda comparison but it would still be interesting to hear about the forgiveness between these asw as distance. Maseratis can still be pretty difficult to tame

 

[mikeg_74]

Anyone that has these in hand, do you have a perspective of how these match up to the Adams CB3 black forged? Those are my current gamers and wondering how they compare.


iPhone 5 Tappin

 

[JB]

Anyone that has these in hand, do you have a perspective of how these match up to the Adams CB3 black forged? Those are my current gamers and wondering how they compare.


iPhone 5 Tappin

I have hit both and they are very different. Size they could be similar, but the rest is very different. More distance, higher ball flight and a unique feel give the edge to the Apex irons for me.

 

[mikeg_74]

I have hit both and they are very different. Size they could be similar, but the rest is very different. More distance, higher ball flight and a unique feel give the edge to the Apex irons for me.

Thanks JB.... Was the higher ball flight a result of the shaft or just the way the Apex head is designed to perform? I have the KBS Tour 90 and love the ball flight. If I had to describe it, it would be a penetrating mid- high flight that doesn't balloon.


iPhone 5 Tappin

 

[Greg Kulbick]

I'll have my J40 DPCs at the range tonight to compare with the new Apexes. Probably get a couple side by side pics and whatnot.

 

[JB]

Thanks JB.... Was the higher ball flight a result of the shaft or just the way the Apex head is designed to perform? I have the KBS Tour 90 and love the ball flight. If I had to describe it, it would be a penetrating mid- high flight that doesn't balloon.


iPhone 5 Tappin

The sets I hit had the same shafts in them. Both KBS Tour. When I say higher ball flight, I mean in relation to distance. Its certainly did not balloon for me. But getting 7 iron distance out of an iron, without any sacrifice in ball flight is what made it so special. Very similar to a larger club head irons in that aspect.

 

[arydolphin]

I'll have my J40 DPCs at the range tonight to compare with the new Apexes. Probably get a couple side by side pics and whatnot.

I would love some comparison pictures of these 2 sets. Are you one that went with the combo set? If so, a comparison of the 5 iron size between the DPC and Apex along with the 8 iron size between the DPC and the Apex Pro would be awesome.

 

[ns1189]

Just got mine a little bit ago just as the sun was setting. I am going to take them out first thing in the morning to the range and then plan on playing 36 holes with them and then come back here and let everyone know what I think so far. I will say these Apex irons look soooooo nice and may take some getting use to since they look a lot different than my Ping G20's here are some comparison pics. FYI- I got the Apex irons 5-AW with the Regular XP95 shaft.

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--------------Apex 5 iron/G20 5 iron----------------------------------- G20/Apex---------------------------------------------- Apex/G20

I play the G15s, so these photos were a great comparison for me. Can't wait to hear your reviews and how they compare.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Greg Kulbick]

I would love some comparison pictures of these 2 sets. Are you one that went with the combo set? If so, a comparison of the 5 iron size between the DPC and Apex along with the 8 iron size between the DPC and the Apex Pro would be awesome.

I'll keep it in mind.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Good morning, beautiful.

Almost done with my round. Really enjoying these. I will hopefully have a review up tonight.

 

[Marks23]

Are you guys seeing higher ballspeed and distance with the Apex over the Apex Pro?

 

[Miller Time]

Really like the looks of these bad boys.. looking forward to your thoughts!

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Are you guys seeing higher ballspeed and distance with the Apex over the Apex Pro?

I have a combo set so I am not going to be able to compare them say 7 iron to 7 iron. I played today and thought the set I have 3-7 Apex, 8-PW Pro flowed nicely and didn't run into any gaps that would cause problems. Obviously, not the answer you may be looking for and only limited experience but that's what I've seen so far.

 

[jhstew1]

i always thought the Apex Pro was the club for me but after reading this not so sure...

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

i always thought the Apex Pro was the club for me but after reading this not so sure...

All I can say is you can't go wrong either way. I could have happily gamed either set so I settled for a combo set for the added forgiveness of the mid and long irons.

 

[mightyquinn]

I was able to get out to the range this morning before heading to the course to play 36 holes. Once I got to the range it just took a few swings to warm up and I was hitting these clubs pretty consistently as I was going through all the clubs. As for feel, I would have to say that they just felt really smooth and forgiving and didn't seem to "dig" as much as my G20's seem to when I come in a little too deep which is usually my miss. I was also getting some good height on most of my shots which I really liked since I tend not to hit the ball really high and the ball was just going straight which I liked a lot too. I only measured a few distances with my range finder and I seemed to be hitting them with the correct club.

On the course I wish I could say more right now but my swing that I had at the range seemed to leave me and I was struggling all day but I do have to say these are a lot easier to hit than my G20's as them seemed to get through the turf a lot easier and were pretty forgiving. I have to admit that mishits with these were not that punishing as the shot still felt decent but with out all the harshness and well struck shots are just as smooth as butter. I can already see that these are definitely going to be replacing my G20's real soon. I am going to give it a go tomorrow and see if I can't get my swing back so I can test them a little better.

 

[Marks23]

I have a combo set so I am not going to be able to compare them say 7 iron to 7 iron. I played today and thought the set I have 3-7 Apex, 8-PW Pro flowed nicely and didn't run into any gaps that would cause problems. Obviously, not the answer you may be looking for and only limited experience but that's what I've seen so far.

I take it you would give the forgiveness edge to the Apex model but sounds like distance wise they are similar? From the pictures everyone has sent, I give the looks advantage to the Apex Pros but keep on wanting to find reasons to put pluses in the Apex column. If distances are similar I may be now leaning to the Apex Pros.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

I take it you would give the forgiveness edge to the Apex model but sounds like distance wise they are similar? From the pictures everyone has sent, I give the looks advantage to the Apex Pros but keep on wanting to find reasons to put pluses in the Apex column. If distances are similar I may be now leaning to the Apex Pros.

Distance-wise I feel like they are similar but can't say with absolute certainty. I haven't seen anything to say the Pros are short compared to the Apex. When we hit them side-by-side it was on the range, so it was hard to tell. Forgiveness definitely to the Apex over the Pro, especially on the mid to long irons.

 

[v.man]

I know I'll be testing the TaylorMade CB irons in January. But, I have to say these Apex irons are calling to me. They are simply beautiful and so far sound forgiving for a forged iron. I'll be following you guys closely in this thread for sure.

 

[mikedean441]

I know I'll be testing the TaylorMade CB irons in January. But, I have to say these Apex irons are calling to me. They are simply beautiful and so far sound forgiving for a forged iron. I'll be following you guys closely in this thread for sure.

Hmm...I know a guy that can let u try out the Apex in Jan if u already havent.

 

[bobgeorge]

OK, I'll kick this off again, as this is the more appropriate thread for the pics. So here goes. I plan on heading out to the night golf course with these after work. Should have ample opportunity with 14 par 3s to get some good feedback on these bad boys.

Those are beautiful irons!

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

First off, thanks to THP and Callaway for letting us test these irons. It's a cool feeling knowing you are testing equipment that hasn't been released to general public.

There's been a lot of hype surrounding these irons. I'm sure Callaway did not come to the decision to dust off the Apex name without giving it some serious thought. And I don't think they would put that name on an iron if they didn't believe they had a winner on their hands. From my brief time with them at testing, I've been wanting to get a chance to to put these in the bag, and this morning I was finally able to do that.

For the sake of the review, I will state again that I am gaming a combo set the Apex 3-7 and Pro 8-PW with the KBS Tour V 110 gram stiff shaft. I am currently gaming Ping i-20s 3-PW with the stock CFS X-stiff shaft. I am high ball hitter that can struggle to control a draw at times, but am working on straightening that out. My miss is a hook from closing the club face but will hit an occasional push.

I am going to try to avoid a blow-by-blow encounter of my round. I played this morning with no warm-up other than stretching and no previous range time with these irons other than a brief fitting a few months ago. I have played blades in the past and was gaming a set of Hogan Apex 99 blades until about 2 years and I do have a fondness for the Apex name and tradition. These Callaway Apex are not my old Hogans, and I don't necessarily think they are trying to be. There is a reason I stopped I stopped playing blades. I don't play as much as I used to and I wanted more forgiveness.

It was 48* when I teed off this morning and there was no sting when I didn't catch it flush (my hands thank you, rubber material in the cavity). I chose go to with the combo set because well I wanted more forgiveness. I would have no problem playing the Pro 3-PW but after my time on the range, I didn't feel like I was sacrificing feel in the mid and long irons of the Apex set. As far as sound and feel go, I think Callaway has hit it out of the park with these. I love the sound these make when struck solid. I felt like I was mic'd up on the PGA tour--a very crisp, pure sound that lets you know you hit it well. Feel was good too, I could tell when I hit it more towards the toe and knew at impact which way the ball was going. No complaints with feedback.

As far as launch and ball flight goes, I really like what I saw today. Paired with the new KBS Tour V shaft, I was hitting it high and straight. I saw less right to left movement than I typically see with my Ping irons. It was windy today, and the Apex held it's line well into the breeze and into crosswinds. I had no trouble getting the long irons to launch from the tee or fairway. I didn't really try to flight any of the long irons but will try to work on that next time out. I had a 5 iron into a stiff breeze on a par 3 and it cut through the wind and held its line nicely.

Distance-wise, I have no complaints. Callaway is touting these irons as a great combination of distance and forged feel, and I believe these to be as long as my current gamers. Not sure on exact distances. Something else to keep an eye on.

I was also impressed with the turf-interaction.The "rolled leading edge" sole grind seems to work nicely from all the lies I came across today. No excessive digging on the one I caught heavy. I had a few awkward lies in the fairway and the ball came out nicely.

I'm running out of steam here, but I will say I was surprised that I felt totally comfortable out of the gates. No awkwardness or real getting to know you period. I trying not to sound like a homer, but I really like what Callaway has done with these. The distance is there, feel is great, and the forgiveness I need is there as well. Looking forward to getting these out again ASAP>