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Had a poor weekend with these last weekend. Excited to get out tomorrow and Sunday to put them back in play! I’ve had one stellar weekend and one bad one so I’m hopeful to get back on the Pros good side!
First Look: Callaway Apex 21 Irons
Hi everyone and first of all thanks for all the nice information you share. It's a lot of fun to read, especially since I couldn't find a forum here in Germany where the discussions get as detailed as in this forum!
My fitting will be tomorrow and I plan to compare the Apex lineup against the Mizuno 921. Some of you ordered the triple play combo and although I went through this whole thread, I have two questions left:
1) Do you enjoy the three different clubs in the triple play combo? Especially the transition from the standard mid irons to the pro wedges?
2) Combo sets seem to be very popular right now and it makes so much sense to me that I decided to give them a try... But I can't find details regarding the bounce. The lofts of the irons in the combo are adapted to realize proper gaps. But is the amount of bounce the same? There's a tiny note that says the tooling is different, but I assume this is mainly because the shafts won't fit otherwise. The rest of the specs are adapted by bending them, or am I wrong (The Mizuno combo definitely uses bending to make it work)? I'm afraid a stronger lofted pitching wedge will have less bounce, which will hurt the performance for me.
Would love to read your thoughts about this
My fitting will be tomorrow and I plan to compare the Apex lineup against the Mizuno 921. Some of you ordered the triple play combo and although I went through this whole thread, I have two questions left:
1) Do you enjoy the three different clubs in the triple play combo? Especially the transition from the standard mid irons to the pro wedges?
2) Combo sets seem to be very popular right now and it makes so much sense to me that I decided to give them a try... But I can't find details regarding the bounce. The lofts of the irons in the combo are adapted to realize proper gaps. But is the amount of bounce the same? There's a tiny note that says the tooling is different, but I assume this is mainly because the shafts won't fit otherwise. The rest of the specs are adapted by bending them, or am I wrong (The Mizuno combo definitely uses bending to make it work)? I'm afraid a stronger lofted pitching wedge will have less bounce, which will hurt the performance for me.
Would love to read your thoughts about this
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Regarding the first point, I know @xThor got the Triple play so I know he can help you out there.Hi everyone and first of all thanks for all the nice information you share. It's a lot of fun to read, especially since I couldn't find a forum here in Germany where the discussions get as detailed as in this forum!
My fitting will be tomorrow and I plan to compare the Apex lineup against the Mizuno 921. Some of you ordered the triple play combo and although I went through this whole thread, I have two questions left:
1) Do you enjoy the three different clubs in the triple play combo? Especially the transition from the standard mid irons to the pro wedges?
2) Combo sets seem to be very popular right now and it makes so much sense to me that I decided to give them a try... But I can't find details regarding the bounce. The lofts of the irons in the combo are adapted to realize proper gaps. But is the amount of bounce the same? There's a tiny note that says the tooling is different, but I assume this is mainly because the shafts won't fit otherwise. The rest of the specs are adapted by bending them, or am I wrong (The Mizuno combo definitely uses bending to make it work)? I'm afraid a stronger lofted pitching wedge will have less bounce, which will hurt the performance for me.
Would love to read your thoughts about this
Then about the second point, Callaway did a ton of testing to make sure they did the combos properly. It's not just bend and call it good without worrying about taking away the bounce or messing with the lie angles. Also the PW and AW in the Triple Play are only 1* stronger than the actual Pro set PW and AW. So I'm sure you'd be golden. They made these combos with a purpose and they will perform for you no doubt if they get fitted to you!
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Hi everyone and first of all thanks for all the nice information you share. It's a lot of fun to read, especially since I couldn't find a forum here in Germany where the discussions get as detailed as in this forum!
My fitting will be tomorrow and I plan to compare the Apex lineup against the Mizuno 921. Some of you ordered the triple play combo and although I went through this whole thread, I have two questions left:
1) Do you enjoy the three different clubs in the triple play combo? Especially the transition from the standard mid irons to the pro wedges?
2) Combo sets seem to be very popular right now and it makes so much sense to me that I decided to give them a try... But I can't find details regarding the bounce. The lofts of the irons in the combo are adapted to realize proper gaps. But is the amount of bounce the same? There's a tiny note that says the tooling is different, but I assume this is mainly because the shafts won't fit otherwise. The rest of the specs are adapted by bending them, or am I wrong (The Mizuno combo definitely uses bending to make it work)? I'm afraid a stronger lofted pitching wedge will have less bounce, which will hurt the performance for me.
Would love to read your thoughts about this
As @Muchmore18 mentioned, I went Triple Play. 4/5 DCB, 6-9 Apex, Pw/Aw Apex Pro.
1: Yes, very much so. I am enjoying these immensely. I LOVE the DCB long irons, as they are absolutely the easiest to hit long iron I have ever played. Candidly, I notice no real differences going from the Apex in mid irons, to the Pro pitching/approach wedge. It feels like a smooth transition at that point. I do not feel like I lost anything by choosing the Pro wedges, and I am in love with how they look. They perform exactly how I want them, and with distances/dispersion I expect, with still plenty of forgiveness. I came from the Mavrik (std) irons last year, and so far the Triple Play has met my expectations.
2: I don’t believe these are just ‘bent’ to match lofts. They are machined to be a matching set. If you look at the spec sheets for the Pro’s in the Triple Play combo set, versus the straight Pro set, the offset is exactly the same. This would not be achievable if they were simply bent stronger in the combo set. This leads me to believe the bounce would be the same as well.
Hope this helps! I am in love with the triple play combo, and it does everything I could ask it to do, from both a looks standpoint, and a practical performance aspect. It fits my game very nicely. I’ve got 3 rounds, several practice holes, a couple range sessions, and thousands of balls hit into my net at home with the Rapsodo MLM, and cannot say enough good things about a great combo set. Though I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the options, given that you are properly fit!
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That is hard!
Wow, thank you so much, this was everything I needed to know! Very nice to read. Now I can enjoy the fitting even more, because I'm afraid they won't have every club to hit. Only the demo mid irons, so it will be hard to decide about the wedges. But I think it's the right way! I will report afterwards if you want.
Glad to have helped!
Absolutely we would love for you to come back and post your thoughts following your fitting. Good luck!
OK, fitting done. Tough one.
First of all the irons are fun. But the fitting experience just didn't meet my expectations. That's the problem when you read too much and watch tons of TXG videos. Your standard is too high for what's offered in my country
Fitting done with range balls, as expected just the 7 heads, just tried the stock elevate and talked too much about swing technique rather than shaft options for my taste. MMT or Project X IO were not even available to try
Need further digging for the right fitter. Because it's just too much money for me to blindly order the set with some random shaft (imagine the full set of 8 irons will cost 1.600€ (with stock steel shafts!!!)which is just insane). I want to get better, therefore I need to trust my set and I didn't get the right base for that trust...
First of all the irons are fun. But the fitting experience just didn't meet my expectations. That's the problem when you read too much and watch tons of TXG videos. Your standard is too high for what's offered in my country
Fitting done with range balls, as expected just the 7 heads, just tried the stock elevate and talked too much about swing technique rather than shaft options for my taste. MMT or Project X IO were not even available to try
Need further digging for the right fitter. Because it's just too much money for me to blindly order the set with some random shaft (imagine the full set of 8 irons will cost 1.600€ (with stock steel shafts!!!)which is just insane). I want to get better, therefore I need to trust my set and I didn't get the right base for that trust...
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Had the pulls today, but some solid contact again and getting a little distance back.
I wondered what your impression of that would be. Little different. Glad you like it.
Today’s round solidified that the Triple Play was absolutely right for me.
DCB: 4 iron on a 187 yard, slightly uphill par 3. Super easy long iron to hit, on a hole in traditionally struggle. (Lots of trouble left side). Slight draw, left side of green. Easy two putt par.
Apex: the 7 and 8 irons were long and straight today. Distances were great, feel was even better.
Apex Pro: the approach wedge stole the show today. Not only was it super consistent from 110 out, I have come to use it on some ‘bump and run” style shots. It was 4 for 5 on those shots, all stopping within a foot of the hole for easy tap in pars, except for 1 that went about 4 feet by.
DCB: 4 iron on a 187 yard, slightly uphill par 3. Super easy long iron to hit, on a hole in traditionally struggle. (Lots of trouble left side). Slight draw, left side of green. Easy two putt par.
Apex: the 7 and 8 irons were long and straight today. Distances were great, feel was even better.
Apex Pro: the approach wedge stole the show today. Not only was it super consistent from 110 out, I have come to use it on some ‘bump and run” style shots. It was 4 for 5 on those shots, all stopping within a foot of the hole for easy tap in pars, except for 1 that went about 4 feet by.
Welp....i better, as I just finished the entire set! Lol
Haha That's the way to do it!!
Seriously. Sometimes diving all the way in solves a lot of problems. No choice but to roll with 'em now.
First full round with the new Apex Pros in the books, even if it was only 43 degrees . Have zero regrets getting these. The feel off the face is amazing and the visually compact heads just matches my eye really well. Started the round pulling the irons though, mainly because I am not used to how straight these go. I had to adjust my aim line to be less open to the target and more right at the flag and I started nailing greens.
Something I didn't really recognize until after the round when I was thinking through the shots, ever ball into a green from the 6 iron down to the PW took one hop and stopped off of moist and soft fairways, most within a foot of the divot. There was no over spin and no severe run out. Really looking forward to hitting these on a warmer day off a little firmer fairways where I can compress it a bit more and see how much control I have on the spin.
Something I didn't really recognize until after the round when I was thinking through the shots, ever ball into a green from the 6 iron down to the PW took one hop and stopped off of moist and soft fairways, most within a foot of the divot. There was no over spin and no severe run out. Really looking forward to hitting these on a warmer day off a little firmer fairways where I can compress it a bit more and see how much control I have on the spin.
Actually the other good thing is the $Tapers from Cally came off super easy and like butter so the ferrules are perfect. Can easily swap them back if necessary. Interesting how the $Tapers needed tip weights but the MMTs are coming in heavy with no tip weights. I'm going to get some heavier grips and perhaps sneak a bit of lead tape under the grips.
I had a range sesh today and my swing was feeling quite good. Excited to get the season going. No golf this weekend sadly, but hopefully soon.
Doesn't surprise me too much. The challenge with heavier graphite seems to be getting the right feel within flex and takes a lot of material in the tip. One of the recent interviews talked about that. That's awesome it was painless and saving the ferrules is sweet! Excited for you to get them on course and report back now that you swapped them all.
Yeah, excited to give them a go. The offset is a bit for me to get used to coming from my T100S irons bent one degree weak (little to no offset behind the ball). I may weaken the lofts on the pros to steal some offset out of the address position. One degree likely won't make any discernable difference in the ball flight/spin but will sneak some offset out of the longer clubs. Thinking I may weaken the 7, 6 and 5 one degree.
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I was super pumped to provide some feedback on the pros today with some strong winds but I just can’t. My swing was in shambles and I think I hit two balls out of the center of the face all day. The Pros weren’t at fault at all because I’ve been grooving these for awhile now but today just wasn’t my day. Hopefully tomorrow is a little better and I really want to have some wind play feedback
I'm wanting to play a light round tomorrow, just have some fun. So I thought why not play one of the other sets that I don't usually, or don't quite suit, etc. so I wouldn't take it too seriously. I've been casually shopping the club room all night and I really have no desire to play any of them. I don't like it... I think '21 Apex broke me. 
Even here in the States, I'm having difficulty finding fitters with the MMT and some of the other shaft offerings kindly recommended here. One fitter from Golf Tec said they are having difficulty getting them from Mitsubishi because of demand. Only some locations had them. Another fitter said he could order the MMT and OTi but it would be around a month to arrive. Good luck!OK, fitting done. Tough one.
First of all the irons are fun. But the fitting experience just didn't meet my expectations. That's the problem when you read too much and watch tons of TXG videos. Your standard is too high for what's offered in my country
Fitting done with range balls, as expected just the 7 heads, just tried the stock elevate and talked too much about swing technique rather than shaft options for my taste. MMT or Project X IO were not even available to try
Need further digging for the right fitter. Because it's just too much money for me to blindly order the set with some random shaft (imagine the full set of 8 irons will cost 1.600€ (with stock steel shafts!!!)which is just insane). I want to get better, therefore I need to trust my set and I didn't get the right base for that trust...
Those shots hitting into the wind have not been good, more distance loss than I’d expect. I’m thinking too much spin based on the way the flight looks. I’m close to putting PX steel in like the last few sets I’ve played. It may sound weird but I like the feel of those better. I was initially worried about stopping power and there is no problem with that.