First Look: Callaway Apex 21 Irons
So, as I mentioned in the Epic Speed thread I got a call this afternoon from the local driving range manager that the demo Epic Speed drivers and Apex irons came in. Pouring rain and 47 degree temperature couldn't stop me.
I'll talk about the Apex DCB first first as I only hit it a few times. It's bigger with more noticeable offset. It's easy to get the ball going left but to be fair I was able to hit it straight as well. It has the most draw bias built into it. The sound was a little techy but soft
I spent a lot of time with the Apex Pro. (I should mention they only have the 7 iron head of each). They didn't have the modus 105 stiff shaft which I know fits me but the guy who runs the shop recommended the new elevate 95 stiff flex shaft.
The pro looks incredible behind the ball. When I caught it out of the center it had a soft feel with a light click. If you missed the center there was a louder techy thwack sound.
Out of the center the ball flight was perfect. If you missed the center there was a drop-off in distance but the left to right dispersion was really good. This one flew very straight for me with a handful of balls that fell slightly to the right. It was a neutral to slightly fade biased head for my swing. I was able to easily draw the ball with it as well. I went into the shop with it thinking I could play the pros. I didn't love the sound/feel from the mishits but it wasn't terrible either.
I then threw the standard Apex 7 iron head on the same shaft and that's where the problem started. Behind the ball there's slightly more offset but not terrible.
I hit the ball and it went dead straight with a very pleasant and soft feel and sound. And I hit 8 straight balls like that. It just wanted to go straight. The balls were going consistently longer than the pros. The mishits still felt and sounded soft, though a but higher pitch, but retained more ball speed and seemed to go almost as far as the good hits. It could just be that I timed it better for some reason but I could not hit a bad ball with it. If I did get active with my hands it resulted in a nice draw. There were no big hooks but once again it could have been my swing. I even went aggressive with a couple swings and got a nice draw. If I held my hands off I could hit a slight fade. I expected it to have a bigger draw bias but I didn't see it. It had a neutral to slight draw bias and was the more playable iron. The feel, sound, and performance are too much for me to ignore. I may still try out the shorter pro irons which don't have the Tungsten but honestly if I get a set they will be apex all the way.
I'll talk about the Apex DCB first first as I only hit it a few times. It's bigger with more noticeable offset. It's easy to get the ball going left but to be fair I was able to hit it straight as well. It has the most draw bias built into it. The sound was a little techy but soft
I spent a lot of time with the Apex Pro. (I should mention they only have the 7 iron head of each). They didn't have the modus 105 stiff shaft which I know fits me but the guy who runs the shop recommended the new elevate 95 stiff flex shaft.
The pro looks incredible behind the ball. When I caught it out of the center it had a soft feel with a light click. If you missed the center there was a louder techy thwack sound.
Out of the center the ball flight was perfect. If you missed the center there was a drop-off in distance but the left to right dispersion was really good. This one flew very straight for me with a handful of balls that fell slightly to the right. It was a neutral to slightly fade biased head for my swing. I was able to easily draw the ball with it as well. I went into the shop with it thinking I could play the pros. I didn't love the sound/feel from the mishits but it wasn't terrible either.
I then threw the standard Apex 7 iron head on the same shaft and that's where the problem started. Behind the ball there's slightly more offset but not terrible.
I hit the ball and it went dead straight with a very pleasant and soft feel and sound. And I hit 8 straight balls like that. It just wanted to go straight. The balls were going consistently longer than the pros. The mishits still felt and sounded soft, though a but higher pitch, but retained more ball speed and seemed to go almost as far as the good hits. It could just be that I timed it better for some reason but I could not hit a bad ball with it. If I did get active with my hands it resulted in a nice draw. There were no big hooks but once again it could have been my swing. I even went aggressive with a couple swings and got a nice draw. If I held my hands off I could hit a slight fade. I expected it to have a bigger draw bias but I didn't see it. It had a neutral to slight draw bias and was the more playable iron. The feel, sound, and performance are too much for me to ignore. I may still try out the shorter pro irons which don't have the Tungsten but honestly if I get a set they will be apex all the way.
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@93civiccpe what did you think of the new elevate shaft?
@93civiccpe your posts really have me thinking. I have the 19 pro combo but have been thinking going straight standard Apex 21 now. In a prior post you referred to your notes and all the improvements over the Apex 19’s. Did you play the Apex 19’s. Curious to hear from you or anyone else who played the 19’s and how much of a difference you see.
Up until now I haven't found a shaft that performs as well as the nippon modus tour 105 stiff for me. I've tried steel and graphite yet nothing has taken its place. Tonight the pairing of the Apex with the Elevate 95 felt automatic. The feel and ball flight were really good but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. It was hitting range balls on a cold wet night. I was impressed enough though that I intend to put this head to head with the modus 105 in the Apex head on a launch monitor with the CSX ball to see which wins..
I had the opportunity to play the Apex 19s for only a couple rounds (they were my friends set). I remember liking them but my swing was in a much different place and I've played a couple different sets of irons since then so I'm not a good person to compare them. I could better compare them to the Cobra Forged Tec black irons if that would help anyone as I've played those for nearly 2 years.
Great notes and photos, thanks for posting!
Had a Callaway distance fitting yesterday and firmed up my choice (99.9%) to proceed with the new ‘21 Apex Pro 4-PW with MMT 95 stiff shafts. Having played Recoils for 5 years, I am looking forward to trying something else and the MMT shafts being stock offering was a no brainer.
The 95 Recoils that I play now in my ‘19 Apex Pros were going to be an extra $500 plus CAD$ so no brainer. Sold my Srixon Z565/765/965 combo set last night (sad moment) but have to make room and wasn’t playing them as the ‘19 Pros were so good. Once I receive the new Pro’s I’ll be moving the ‘19’s....have given up on having an extra set just gathering dust.
The 95 Recoils that I play now in my ‘19 Apex Pros were going to be an extra $500 plus CAD$ so no brainer. Sold my Srixon Z565/765/965 combo set last night (sad moment) but have to make room and wasn’t playing them as the ‘19 Pros were so good. Once I receive the new Pro’s I’ll be moving the ‘19’s....have given up on having an extra set just gathering dust.
Very nice!
I had been leaning hard towards thinking about a set of pros, but based on the feedback I've heard I'm honestly wondering if I want to just go with the fit I got out at ECPC and rock the Elevate 95s with the standard Apex. Or maybe even throw the DCB in there at the 4/5 - there's a par 3 at my course where those will get used every week, so some forgiveness there sounds good to me.
Great feedback! Not helping my willpower re a set of Apex 21s though!
Lol exactly.
I’m seriously jealous of you guys who have enough game for them. They are just so good looking.
If they're anything like the previous iterations, you don't need to be the recommended handicap to game them. I was a 20 when I got my combo set in 2013 and the Pros were the best part. I'm still terrible, and had a full set of 19 Pros i was able to pay just fine. Don't sleep on them because you don't think you're good enough.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one, I’m taking pictures and getting ready to sell my new haven’t even seen outside Mizuno jpx 921 forged set. As crazy as that is I can’t get these pro’s out of my head!
You should spend some time in my head. The Grandmama guys have been razzing me for 2 weeks now about how much I have been flip flopping. Straight pro's? Apex/Apex pro combo? Straight Apex? Don't buy at all? ( Ignore that last one....that was stupid ) I think I changed my mind 5 times yesterday alone. And I haven't even hit them yet.
Did you test them in the Elevate X?
Is that you go-to steel shaft option?
Inspired by another member I did some late night photochopping and the Pros are very likely to get some paint work once I have them. Doesn't seem like it'll be very very hard to make them look real clean.
Getting really excited to hit them with all the pictures and awesome @93civiccpe feedback, but start of the week is likely to be my busiest in quite a while so I'm trying not to think about it too much.
Probably best to just avoid this thread, really. But I won't.
Getting really excited to hit them with all the pictures and awesome @93civiccpe feedback, but start of the week is likely to be my busiest in quite a while so I'm trying not to think about it too much.
Probably best to just avoid this thread, really. But I won't.
Funny...was thinking the same. The black text in the tungsten would get the first attention. Otherwise I’m ok with the rest.Inspired by another member I did some late night photochopping and the Pros are very likely to get some paint work once I have them. Doesn't seem like it'll very very hard to make them look real clean.
Getting really excited to hit them with all the pictures and @93civiccpe feedback, but start of the week is likely to be my busiest in quite a while so I'm trying not to think about it too much.
Probably best to just avoid this thread, really. But I won't.
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Didn’t test them, this was a release article. Will hit them at the Showcase this next week though
If I, with a current HC somewhere north of 40, am considering the standards, maybe you, with your HC, might reasonably consider the Pros
Some (?) might think me off the reservation for considering the standards with my HC, but here's my thinking: 1. I'm doing off-season work with True Motion which I expect will have my HC significantly lower by spring and, 2. My current irons, TaylorMade CB clones that are probably 20+ years old, work well for me when I do my part--at which I'm already increasingly able to do. So I'm thinking a modern iron with all that Callaway has built into these might just be fine for me.
FWIW I think it goes beyond handicap. Not all handicaps are built the same way. I have a substandard iron game. Maybe I could go with a blended set. Maybe. There isn’t much reasonable hope that a full set of Pros would be a smart move. Similarly, based off what I’ve seen from the ‘19 Apex line the ‘21 Regular Apex could easily be rock solid for you, even with the higher handicap, depending on your game. I’ve played a lot of different irons over the past decade. IMO the Apex line is very accessible to a wide range of players.If I, with a current HC somewhere north of 40, am considering the standards, maybe you, with your HC, might reasonably consider the Pros
Some (?) might think me off the reservation for considering the standards with my HC, but here's my thinking: 1. I'm doing off-season work with True Motion which I expect will have my HC significantly lower by spring and, 2. My current irons, TaylorMade CB clones that are probably 20+ years old, work well for me when I do my part--at which I'm already increasingly able to do. So I'm thinking a modern iron with all that Callaway has built into these might just be fine for me.
@civiccpe - great write up! I hope the graphite shaft option in the Apex 21 is as good as your steel experience.
I switched to graphite after hitting the Mavrik's based on a quick range session and a Callaway tent. The Mavrik's just felt okay but not great when I got to the course. I don't know if it was the stock graphite shaft or head or some of each and/or me but during the impromptu fitting I was hitting it about 20 yards farther and straight. I know stronger lofts but still I do like the graphite shafts in my irons. I am going on 58 years old and just don't seem to get the distance in irons. Since I wasn't able to enjoy the Mavrik's, Callaway was gemerous and gave me store credit (gift cards) and at that time the rep told me that new irons were coming out so I was pretty excited to see if it was an iron that I would like. Looks like the Apex 21's with take care of that and my gift cards!
I hope the local golf store is open during this covid deal and will have some to hit with graphite shafts sometime here soon! Not a huge hurry since it is winter but would still like the irons to get here so I can look at them every day til Spring! lol
I switched to graphite after hitting the Mavrik's based on a quick range session and a Callaway tent. The Mavrik's just felt okay but not great when I got to the course. I don't know if it was the stock graphite shaft or head or some of each and/or me but during the impromptu fitting I was hitting it about 20 yards farther and straight. I know stronger lofts but still I do like the graphite shafts in my irons. I am going on 58 years old and just don't seem to get the distance in irons. Since I wasn't able to enjoy the Mavrik's, Callaway was gemerous and gave me store credit (gift cards) and at that time the rep told me that new irons were coming out so I was pretty excited to see if it was an iron that I would like. Looks like the Apex 21's with take care of that and my gift cards!
I hope the local golf store is open during this covid deal and will have some to hit with graphite shafts sometime here soon! Not a huge hurry since it is winter but would still like the irons to get here so I can look at them every day til Spring! lol
And this is exactly what they had in mind. Make the pros more forgiving and easier to launch to broaden the range of players that can game them. Then come out with the DCB to give those that struggle with irons a forged option. Then make the standard apex fill the gap. And, after all that, make some combo sets to help some transitions between. They have pretty much everyone covered with this release.