We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Callaway Apex Irons Review Thread

SuperStroke
golfdawg said:
No but my wife can, and when she looks in our hall closet and sees four full sets of clubs each in their own golf bag, let's just say she knows every club in there. Think she took inventory one day, i am sure of it.

Now when it comes to my other pricey activity, i am lucky she does not go rooting around in my gun safe.





I am surprised to hear this in part as i figuring the forging would reduce the chances of hot spots. I have tried clubs before that i steered away from, because of large distance gaps.
Click to expand...

While the body is forged, it's a steel face that is extremely hot. In essence, they are a distance iron, so I wasn't surprised at some of the distance gains, I just didn't think it would be like that. This was the 3rd time I had pondered making the change and kept coming back to them. But after having 4 approach shots be well struck and end up 15 yards past the green with a tree between me and the hole, I said enough was enough. My instructor felt the same way. He wanted to get me into something that offered a little help, but nothing insane. Again, I'm not saying that these irons are bad, because they're not. If this was last year I would be hard pressed to kick these out. But all my friends know I eventually would because I am a club ho.

I played two 9 hole rounds of my league last Thursday with a set of MCs and things were a lot more consistent. I was able to stand over a 125 yard shot and know that it was a 9i, not hope that the 9i isn't all jacked up on Mountain Dew and ready to come at the ball like a spider monkey.
 
adamw238 said:
I was able to stand over a 125 yard shot and know that it was a 9i, not hope that the 9i isn't all jacked up on Mountain Dew and ready to come at the ball like a spider monkey.
Click to expand...

thanks for sharing, and letting me understand a bit more, and also for a good laugh on that last line.
 
LEFTY57 said:
I just received my lefty Apex with 660 f3 recoils , sweet looking sticks but the recoils shafts just feel too lite for me . I can't feel the head though my swing .
I am going to send them back , not giving up on the Apex but I going to get fitted in the spring to see what shaft is best for me . Mean while I will stick with my x-hot pros with px 95 flighted shafts , which is seems to be a nice combo for me ,great sticks as well.

gb
Click to expand...

Check out the Recoil 110s. I play them in my G25s and love them.
 
adamw238 said:
Both. I went to an outdoor range that was heated and saw a lot of the same. Sometimes it goes the right distance, other times it flies the target by a good distance. I wasn't catching it thin on these either. These were shots dead center and feel amazing, but then they just go forever. The launch monitor was more of the same. It got problematic with the 9i and PW especially.

I loved the feel of these and can see where the distance and forgiveness can really benefit a lot. However, where my game is right now and where it's heading these aren't right for me at this time.
Click to expand...

This is really interesting to me. I am going to reach out to a designer on this one, because I have not seen this at all, and not heard of a single player at the "higher" level seeing it.

Could it be that you just really pured one and the rest you were just missing since hitting off of mats? (Im guessing on the mats thing).
 
JB said:
This is really interesting to me. I am going to reach out to a designer on this one, because I have not seen this at all, and not heard of a single player at the "higher" level seeing it.

Could it be that you just really pured one and the rest you were just missing since hitting off of mats? (Im guessing on the mats thing).
Click to expand...

If it were just one, JB, I would probably think just that. But this was common place as time went on. The mats I hit off are the thick ply matts that swallow your club on a fat shots. So it wasn't a drop kick situation or the common mat problem of the club sliding into impact.

I'm not going to 100% dismiss your theory as I think there is the ball striking part of it that might be part of it. I have been taking lessons for a while and my ball striking in the last 2 months has gotten much much better. So what could be the case, and part of what you said, is that I am just making better contact now and was seeing the true benefits of these irons. But with that being said, the gap between a miss that feels good and a pure shot distance wise was too much for me and I couldn't tell the difference. I see the same thing when I've hit the regular Bio Cell irons. If that makes sense?

I had issues with these early on with distance (mentioned some where in this thread) and it was because hitting the ball a few grooves low. The problem then was that the mishits felt just as good as the good shots.

I loved these irons from the moment I hit them back in November, they are really well engineered and I can't say anything bad about them. But as I'm trying to improve my game I like to feel my misses and know that I hit a bad shot. The Apex Pros give me that kind of feedback and feel, but I can't shell out another $1100 for irons. At least not without my wife kicking me out of the house after she snaps every club in half.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Really surprised here as I just have not seen a single "hot spot" type of thing with multiple rounds under my belt and using 3 different sets of these. Nor did I see any when watching monitor testing with 14 different guys.

Hmmm. Let me do some digging on my end, because I am a bit perplexed.
 
I have some more thoughts on the Apex after putting them in play again today. But I wanted to address the "hot spot" issue.

I was watching for it, especially with the low irons. I was seeing a lot of distance in general (something I'm still getting used to), but I was not seeing crazy shots that went ridiculously further than they should have. There were some shots that flew on me, but I was also playing in 20-30mph gusts.


The new distances are tough to get used to. It's mostly a trust/confidence thing. But, I'm not seeing random flyers with these irons.
 
I'm with JB as I do not believe "hot spots" exist - have not seen them in any fittings either and I have hit them a lot. However, I will see a low spin missile once in awhile on my swings and in a few fittings which usually appear to be on shots just low of the sweet spot (which seems counterintuitive). For me as a picker, they are not a great match for this reason (no matter how much I like them from the top line).

adamw238 said:
If it were just one, JB, I would probably think just that. But this was common place as time went on. The mats I hit off are the thick ply matts that swallow your club on a fat shots. So it wasn't a drop kick situation or the common mat problem of the club sliding into impact.

I'm not going to 100% dismiss your theory as I think there is the ball striking part of it that might be part of it. I have been taking lessons for a while and my ball striking in the last 2 months has gotten much much better. So what could be the case, and part of what you said, is that I am just making better contact now and was seeing the true benefits of these irons. But with that being said, the gap between a miss that feels good and a pure shot distance wise was too much for me and I couldn't tell the difference. I see the same thing when I've hit the regular Bio Cell irons. If that makes sense?

I had issues with these early on with distance (mentioned some where in this thread) and it was because hitting the ball a few grooves low. The problem then was that the mishits felt just as good as the good shots.

I loved these irons from the moment I hit them back in November, they are really well engineered and I can't say anything bad about them. But as I'm trying to improve my game I like to feel my misses and know that I hit a bad shot. The Apex Pros give me that kind of feedback and feel, but I can't shell out another $1100 for irons. At least not without my wife kicking me out of the house after she snaps every club in half.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
bellairemi said:
I'm with JB as I do not believe "hot spots" exist - have not seen them in any fittings either and I have hit them a lot. However, I will see a low spin missile once in awhile on my swings and in a few fittings which usually appear to be on shots just low of the sweet spot (which seems counterintuitive). For me as a picker, they are not a great match for this reason (no matter how much I like them from the top line).
Click to expand...

I'm not disagreeing with either of you guys. It could be 100 things that I'm not aware of. Our swings sound similar in that I'm a bit of a picker too. I think these clubs are so forgiving that it's hard to feel those shots just a little low. And thinking back to the fitting I did last week, those distance hogs were a bit low on the spin side. Tough to tell that on the outdoor range when you're hitting into snow. In my fitting, the Apex actually scored lower than I thought. It was the Bio Cell +, Adams forged XTD, TM Tour Preferred CBs, Apex Pro, AP1, Covert Forged, AP2, ACP, Apex, X2 Hot Pro.



Rap-a-tap Tappin' on my SG4
 
Mine come out flatter than normal and just carry - I know it right away by the ballflight but I cannot feel the contact difference either. What was your scoring criteria in the fitting?

adamw238 said:
I'm not disagreeing with either of you guys. It could be 100 things that I'm not aware of. Our swings sound similar in that I'm a bit of a picker too. I think these clubs are so forgiving that it's hard to feel those shots just a little low. And thinking back to the fitting I did last week, those distance hogs were a bit low on the spin side. Tough to tell that on the outdoor range when you're hitting into snow. In my fitting, the Apex actually scored lower than I thought. It was the Bio Cell +, Adams forged XTD, TM Tour Preferred CBs, Apex Pro, AP1, Covert Forged, AP2, ACP, Apex, X2 Hot Pro.



Rap-a-tap Tappin' on my SG4
Click to expand...
 
I haven't experienced any hot spots either. I know how far a club is going to go if I get it pure, and I know how far is going to go if I'm a little off(barring a complete mishit).
 
I have a bit of a dilemma and need some advice on graphite shafts. I have hit the Apex once, with Recoil F4s (not sure if they were 660 or 680), either way, I hated them. Also hit the M75i, much better but wasn't blown away and really need to try them again as I got very little hitting time. That's all the graphite shafts that fitter had.


I have another fitting next week, but this shop only have the 680 F4. I don't know any other fitters in my area that carry the M75i or the Recoil 95 which I want to also try.


Would I be totally mad ordering up the Recoil 95s without hitting them? I may be "pushed" into getting steel or take a chance that the M75i's will grow on me.
 
Last edited:
Tomorrow my Recoil shafted irons hit the course again and I am really looking forward to it. Since putting them in play, I am loving the irons and I have to admit, they are one of the best looking I have seen in the bag. Just love the way they look.
 
I also have played a solid 20+ rounds on mine now and have not had a "hot spot issue" But what I do have is Irons that I hit a ton further than my old ones. It has been an adjustment to say the lease. I really love the xp95 shafts still. I want to find out more on why Callaway went we these because the work amazing with them. The feel and weight is great for me.
 
Sorry for the delay in replying, I have been out of the country with limited access. It is more of a contact / feel issue which most likely means it is just me. When I make the correct swing they are right where I aim and about a club longer than the blades I was playing. Drop and stop and a couple of times with the 9 ir and A W. backed up some.
Today at a BB Driver fitting (by the same man that fit my irons) we talked about my issues and he let me try the Tour V in reg. and to be honest I just could not hit the ball, just bad swing after bad swing. When I did get it right it felt better but the issue was between my ears more than anything else. Oddly enough I was hitting the Driver great and he fixed me up with a New BB with the Alpha S shaft, what a pleasure to hit. Bought it on the spot, tomorrow have a mid morning tee time and will warm up good and give it a go.
 
I've been most surprised by how much distance I get from mishits. Yesterday, I had a couple thin shots that just drew a couple yards extra and ended up about five yards short of target. Pretty impressive.

Of course, I also learned that hitting about four inches behind the ball still significantly affects distance.
 
ATLGolfer said:
I've been most surprised by how much distance I get from mishits. Yesterday, I had a couple thin shots that just drew a couple yards extra and ended up about five yards short of target. Pretty impressive.

Of course, I also learned that hitting about four inches behind the ball still significantly affects distance.
Click to expand...

The forgiveness you have been missing for quite some time. It just so happens that these are in a package that is quite attractive.
 
I need to try these, anybody have some they want to send to Texas?

The overwhelming positive thoughts on these have me itching to try them in addition to the first interview we heard with Harry about them.
 
#Cookie said:
I need to try these, anybody have some they want to send to Texas?

The overwhelming positive thoughts on these have me itching to try them in addition to the first interview we heard with Harry about them.
Click to expand...

Can you be here by tomorrow morning?
You can play my set (with shafts that you would love) for the full round.
 
Yeah, my last irons would not carry like that after bottom groove interaction.

The Apex are really a perfect mix of looks, feel, forgiveness and performance. Once I just get confidence in the numbers (i.e., that my 8i will consistently fly in the 160s without over swinging), they will be deadly.
 
JB said:
Can you be here by tomorrow morning?
You can play my set (with shafts that you would love) for the full round.
Click to expand...

Dude, have had my eyes in that thread all day. If I did not have my kids this weekend, I would be there. Unfortunately that does you no good for tomorrow.
 
#Cookie said:
Dude, have had my eyes in that thread all day. If I did not have my kids this weekend, I would be there. Unfortunately that does you no good for tomorrow.
Click to expand...

You only need to see them on Sunday. They can relax and do nothing tomorrow.
 
How much more distance do you get with the graphite shafts over the steel?

Sent from my RM-845_nam_vzw_100 using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top