Callaway Apex Performance Series Irons – Ai200, Ai300 and Ti Fusion

[amarkabove]

The concept of a pre-worn leading edge is not new, but I have to take a minute to speak on how well executed Callaway’s Dynamic Sole Design is. It’s not exclusive to the Apex irons, as the Ai Smokes have it as well, but I feel like I really see the benefit with the Ai200s.

As someone who takes a very minimal divot regularly, I can be prone to getting very chunky when the turf is soft and wet. With irons I played last year I would actually get stuck in the ground on occasion. With the relatively small sole and Dynamic Sole Design of these irons that wasn’t nearly as much of an issue. Similarly with the Smokes, I can get thru the turf with ease if needed (I just had an issue with the added length of the Smokes causing chunks a bit more frequently I think).

Like I said, this type of concept isn’t exclusive to Callaway or the Ai200s, but for sweepers like me, some thickness for forgiveness can sometimes cause an issue. It’s just nice knowing the Apex Performance series should fit a variety of swings.

 

[MrVanillaGorilla]

Ok swing weights were

AW D7.2
PW D9.1
9 D7.0
8 D7.2
7 D6.0
6 D8.0
5 D7.2

Switched the 14g weight from PW with the 9g weight in 7 iron.

AW D 7.2
PW D 7.0
9 D 7.0
8 D 7.2
7 D 8.2
6 D 8.0
5 D 7.2

 

[zengineer]

Ok swing weights were

AW D7.2
PW D9.1
9 D7.0
8 D7.2
7 D6.0
6 D8.0
5 D7.2

Switched the 14g weight from PW with the 9g weight in 7 iron.

AW D 7.2
PW D 7.0
9 D 7.0
8 D 7.2
7 D 8.2
6 D 8.0
5 D 7.2

Those are all higher than any iron I've ever owned. Mine (not Fusion or even Apex)are D2. Are they aftermarket shafts or really lightweight grips?

 

[MrVanillaGorilla]

Those are all higher than any iron I've ever owned. Mine (not Fusion or even Apex)are D2. Are they aftermarket shafts or really lightweight grips?

Shafts are 1 1/4" over standard. Grips are oversize DriTac 2.0. Mine have always been heavier due to shaft length, which i like. I was very curious why they sent PW with 14g weight. I called Callaway and they're sending me two 12g weights for the 6 and 7 iron, then all should be D7ish.

 

[amarkabove]

Ok swing weights were

AW D7.2
PW D9.1
9 D7.0
8 D7.2
7 D6.0
6 D8.0
5 D7.2

Switched the 14g weight from PW with the 9g weight in 7 iron.

AW D 7.2
PW D 7.0
9 D 7.0
8 D 7.2
7 D 8.2
6 D 8.0
5 D 7.2

Interesting. What inspired you to check these? Did something feel off in your swing?

 

[MrVanillaGorilla]

Interesting. What inspired you to check these? Did something feel off in your swing?

Only had them about two weeks, read on another site where someone swing weights were very inconsistent and weights were inconsistent as well. Decided to check the weights. The PW had a 14g while the AW, 9, and 8 had a 9g.

 

[FlipFlop]

Just picked up the TiF with the newly installed Fujikura Pro 95 shafts and midsize Lamkin St+2 hybrid grips. Really looking forward to getting these out on course this week

 

[amarkabove]

Only had them about two weeks, read on another site where someone swing weights were very inconsistent and weights were inconsistent as well. Decided to check the weights. The PW had a 14g while the AW, 9, and 8 had a 9g.

Gotcha. I think that ends up being true for a lot of clubs unless you're having the built by a Club Champion or something similar. Good to see Callaway sending you out different weights though. Their CS is always top notch.

 

[Cruskater]

High praise from Ian Frasier for the TiF's

 

[mikefrench]

Picked my Ai200s up from the pro-shop tonight. Took 3 working days having placed the order on Saturday.

Custom builds from Callaway UK, now unboxed, shot scope tags installed and ready for an initial range session either tomorrow or Friday. Can't tell you how excited I am to get these dialed in, and out onto the course.

 

[Muchmore]

Just picked up the TiF with the newly installed Fujikura Pro 95 shafts and midsize Lamkin St+2 hybrid grips. Really looking forward to getting these out on course this week
View attachment 9306871

Those look like they could be spicy!

 

[JB]

Picked my Ai200s up from the pro-shop tonight. Took 3 working days having placed the order on Saturday.

Custom builds from Callaway UK, now unboxed, shot scope tags installed and ready for an initial range session either tomorrow or Friday. Can't tell you how excited I am to get these dialed in, and out onto the course.

View attachment 9306963View attachment 9306964View attachment 9306967View attachment 9306965View attachment 9306966

Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[FlipFlop]

Those look like they could be spicy!

They are for sure! When I was getting fit I picked up about 400 spin, 2.5mph ball speed, and 5ft peak height. Not to mention it brought in the dispersion circle quite a bit. I cannot wait to get these out on course this weekend.

 

[mikefrench]

Let us know how it goes for you.

Absolutely will do.

As with @Jtubb17 my fitting session showed some impressive gains - looking to see how they translate across the set.

 

[Golfers Anonymous]

Interesting. What inspired you to check these? Did something feel off in your swing?

Something all should do honestly as my TiF’s were off a bit as well especially in the lie categories. Whether OEM or custom shop I’d get them rechecked to ease the mind for one and make sure you’re getting your best fit to swing. The numbers his showed off are more common than not.

 

[amarkabove]

Something all should do honestly as my TiF’s were off a bit as well especially in the lie categories. Whether OEM or custom shop I’d get them rechecked to ease the mind for one and make sure you’re getting your best fit to swing. The numbers his showed off are more common than not.

I get that they can be off but, if you’re not having any issues… why go looking for one? If they’re wildly different and feel weird in the swing, by all means, check your builds. But if it all feels good, I’d be reluctant to mess with it.

 

[Golfers Anonymous]

I get that they can be off but, if you’re not having any issues… why go looking for one? If they’re wildly different and feel weird in the swing, by all means, check your builds. But if it all feels good, I’d be reluctant to mess with it.

For the player how do you know that while maybe better at the moment you’re fully maximizing your equipment from previous ones? If you don’t know whether they’re what you ordered before you could only be capitalizing on 50% of the gains you saw in a fitting.

 

[Nappy]

Picked my Ai200s up from the pro-shop tonight. Took 3 working days having placed the order on Saturday.

Custom builds from Callaway UK, now unboxed, shot scope tags installed and ready for an initial range session either tomorrow or Friday. Can't tell you how excited I am to get these dialed in, and out onto the course.

View attachment 9306963View attachment 9306964View attachment 9306967View attachment 9306965View attachment 9306966

These look so good.

 

[amarkabove]

For the player how do you know that while maybe better at the moment you’re fully maximizing your equipment from previous ones? If you don’t know whether they’re what you ordered before you could only be capitalizing on 50% of the gains you saw in a fitting.

I guess that depends on how you're ordering. If you're going on to Callaway's website and ordering based on previous fitting experiences, or picking up a set at a big box, swing weight isn't one of the things you're adjusting when you order. If you worked with a fitter and dialed in swing weights as part of the fitting, yes, make sure everything is built to your liking. But if you didn't do that, I personally wouldn't go looking for solutions without a problem. At the same time, if it's something you're always going to be thinking about until you know, then obviously you should check.

 

[amarkabove]

Its interesting... I'm working my way thru a lot of my older posts in this thread as I start to compile my thoughts for a full review summary, and at the beginning of the process I was largely wondering if at the end of the 8 weeks if I was going to be trying to swap the Ai200 4i and 5i for Ai300s. Now I'm wondering if the Ai200 4i is going to completely kick the U•505 out of the bag when I need to only have 14 clubs. It's proven to be such a useful club and while it might only give me 90% of what the utility club gives me off the tee, it probably gives me 10% more off the deck. I honestly think this is a good problem to have, and yet another testament to the performance and forgiveness of this set of irons.

 

[JonD]

Took me a while to get my iron swing dialed back in after some... issues. Since then, these have really shined for me. On good swing days they're amazing and on off days they're very playable. Love the shape and the looks still, and have been really happy with the stock shaft offering.

 

[mikefrench]

These look so good.

Agree - but they don't just look good !

Managed to get my first hit on the range with them an an initial attempt at getting some gapping numbers and comparison to my Apex 21s.

Probably hit about 7-10 balls with each, after a short warm up and discarded any complete mis-hits so the image you see is ever so slightly edited/curated to get some meaningful averages rather than a complete picture of distance/dispersion. Chillier today than the last couple of weeks and of course with the limitations of range balls (compensation on) and TopTracer.

Naturally first real session wasn't perfect - I have changed my shaft, and lie angle so there will be a little bit of adjustment, and I'm nursing a sore shoulder at the moment. So I'll be combining this with another couple of sessions over the next few days to get my first real idea before heading out onto the course.

First image is my gapping (Edit: 52 wedge warm up in Orange) from AW in yellow to 5i in purple. Definitely more dispersion that I would want once dialed in but generally happy. The outstanding dispersion I got in my fitting were with Chrome Tour balls and they are such a different kettle of fish to the variable age and quality range balls I was hitting today so I'm not placing too much on this at the moment. Real course data or a trackman with my own balls will be a more accurate determination of that improvement. Second image are the last 3 x 5i shots I hit. Again a little left but really pleased with the consistency in distance, ball speed, launch, apex and landing angle.

Initial observations in comparison to my Apex 21s:
- Looks are a dramatic improvement. Gone are all of the angles and sharp edges and the open back. These are sleek, smooth and look significantly more premium.
- Sound is improved
- Love the feel off the forged face, off centre strikes feel more forgiving on the hands as well as the flight
- Getting a much more pleasing launch, higher apex and the landing angles are amazing, can't wait to fire these into some greens. Very little rollout even on the longer irons. I got really good spin and landing angles with my Apex 21s but there is a definite improvement over and above.
- Comparing a recent session at the same range, using the same balls, and pretty much the same bay I am seeing distance improvement of about 3-5 yards 8i-AW, 14 yards with the 7i, 9 yards with the 6i and 16 yards with the 5i. Particularly good news on the 5i as it was gapping a little too close with my 6i on the Apex 21s - my 6i was my best struck iron and this evens my gapping out nicely.
- Average distance from carry to total yardage was 1 for the AW, 3 for PW & 9i, 6 for 8i and 7i, 7 for 6i and 9 for 5i. Again subject to the limitations of Toptracer and the balls.

I'll do another update after a few more range sessions.

 

[Nappy]

Little battle between the DCB AW (Dart 90) and the Ai200 AW (Dart 105) today. Hitting on a mat into a Net Return Net. Had the MLM2pro with me but the sun shining into the shed seemed to skew numbers.

From a feel standpoint the Ai200 is light years ahead of the DCB in my opinion.....which blows my mind because the DCB AW has been one of my favorite clubs.

Kinda prefer looking down at the Ai200 too.

 

[mtbloco]

Little battle between the DCB AW (Dart 90) and the Ai200 AW (Dart 105) today. Hitting on a mat into a Net Return Net. Had the MLM2pro with me but the sun shining into the shed seemed to skew numbers.

From a feel standpoint the Ai200 is light years ahead of the DCB in my opinion.....which blows my mind because the DCB AW has been one of my favorite clubs.

Kinda prefer looking down at the Ai200 too.

View attachment 9307133
View attachment 9307134

I like the look of the Ai200 over the DCB. The shipping at address is more appealing. IMO.

 

[Nappy]

I like the look of the Ai200 over the DCB. The shipping at address is more appealing. IMO.

It is. And it's kind of making me question going with the Ai300s in the rest of my irons.