Figured it was a good time to dig into these as they are BY FAR the most asked about iron in our line. Earlier this year I broke down our player’s irons (see link below) and I briefly went into TCB. With Rahmbo’s win at Torrey, it’s time to dig into these a little further.
101: What Callaway Players Iron is best for you and why
The title says it all. I get pounded with questions on what the difference is, comparable model and who should play what. Yes, we at Callaway have many options to choose from and we understand that it can get a bit overwhelming. HOWEVER, there is a method to the calculated madness. I thought the...
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THE BASICS:
Created as a reboot to the popular Apex Pro Double Dot (pictured below) the Apex TCB is a forged players CB integrating Callaway’s back weighting system that locks in CG and swing weight. From a performance standpoint, the Apex TCB launch lower and spin a bit more than its counterpart X-Forged CB ’21. It has less offset, shorter blade length and less bounce than XF21 offering players that like that blade look in a cavity back head the perfect option.
The question I get from time to time is “what does the TCB have internally?”. The answer is not much. No Flash Face Cup like you see in Apex ’21 only the A. I driven Tour Tuned Face Plate that dials in spin and launch.
WHY IS IT SO POPULAR?
According to the man that designed them Callaway Golf’s Scott Manwaring it was a labor of love that started with the development of the Apex Pro Double Dot that were designed with the help of then-new staffer Xander Schauffele.
Xander Back-Up from 2020, the original gamer had no stamping
Xander Back-Up from 2020, the original gamer had no stamping
Xander Back-Up from 2020, the original gamer had no stamping
“The double dot is an iron that I’m very proud of, we took the idea of the Apex Pro and added nuanced shape, lines, and setup that gave Xander exactly what he was looking for. I have a signed head on my desk from Xander as we speak. It represents a lot of hard work and what is possible when we can hyper-focus on making an iron for one of the premier ball strikers in the world.”
-Scott Manwaring Callaway Golf Director of Design
As with any great iron, the tour presence didn’t stop with Xander, many of our staffers put the iron in play and continue to game them. Players like Si Woo Kim and Wesley Bryan come to mind.
With Apex TCB, Manwaring and the R&D team took the DNA of the double dot made some very subtle refinements to the shape (top line, par area, etc). The biggest to-do was implementing the new CG/Swing weight system that you see in the current lineup.
“It didn’t make much sense optically to use the circle weight that we do with the Apex MB, I was actually inspired by some of the things Odyssey/Toulon were doing in regards to weights. They always had a seamless appearance and I wanted to try and integrate that into XF21 and TCB. After some serious trial and error, we found the recipe. What we have now is a true player forged CB that almost instantly gets the response from our players.”
-Scott Manwaring Callaway Golf Director of Design
HOW DID RAHMBO REACT AT FIRST?
This one was actually quite un-dramatic, JR took one look at the TCB, set it down, and fell in love VERY quickly. The lower launch, blade-like look with the forgiveness he wants was all fully cooked.
The OG Rahm Set
The OG Rahm Set
“It was kind of a one and done with Jon” “I just got a 4-iron signed by him for my desk, that’s the club he hit into #16 which was one of the coolest things for me to see”
-Scott Manwaring Callaway Golf Director of Design
TCB VS XF21
- Less offset
- Less bounce
- Shorter blade length
- TCB Launch lower
- Spin is apples to apples
FYI
PHOTO GALLERY
MY EXPERIENCE
As a true gear head, it actually shocks me that I haven’t really dug into these yet. I’ve hit a bunch of 6 irons at ECPC and compared them to my XF21. Spin was the same, launch was slightly lower and TCB was a little easier to turn over oddly enough. I do like the less bounce aspect to them, especially in the short irons (tried an 8-iron) where the turf interaction is amazing. All in all, if I were to integrate these it would be 7-PW at the most, having too much fun with the Apex ’21 4-6
.Hope this info helps
LFG
JDub
