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First Look: Callaway Apex 21 Irons

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SuperStroke
Kenomikes said:
Just curious, anybody play the CF19 Apex forged and upgraded to the CF21 forged and noticed any big improvement? I’m not upgrading now, maybe next season.
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I switched to the mixed combo set and I'm really enjoying them. The scoring irons are about the same distance for me as my CF19s. I'm starting to see a little extra off of the 5-7I. Whether or not it's worth the upgrade will be up to you. I've been wanting to try a mixed set for a while and finally took the plunge. So far they've played great. Well enough I'm getting ready to sell off my other set.
 
So I've been for a proper fitting today, open book looking to replace my 6 year old TM PSI irons.
The PSI are pretty much all standard specs other than MCC plus 4s.
I tried P790, Cobra forged Tec, T200 and APEX.
The fitter uses a club connex type system so it was a fit with any shaft head combo.
Long story short, APEX won, T200 for looks behind the ball but with APEX bent 1 weak, 2 up with Elevate ETS 115 X shafts gave me such consistent numbers. I would never have chosen the Apex but that's why you get fit I suppose 👍
 
I mean, I don't know what else to say. I haven't been this enamored with an iron set since the original 14 Apexes and my J40s. Of note, my J40s, which I always end up going back to, are sitting in a bag in my office hoping I some day think about playing them again. Let me jot down some points of interest from yesterday's nine hole after work game. I hit two fairways. One was a fatted iron off the first tee, the second was driver on 9. I hit 3 GIR. I left myself in pretty poor spots off the tee, but I was able to use these irons to get back in play and salvage something. Second shot on two, left side of the hole in the rough, 162, a little uphill and a little hurt in the wind. Pushed a hair to the right, carries the bunker, 8 feet for birdie. Second shot on three, poor drive leaves me in the rough on the right side well back. I hit a 5 iron over some pine trees and end up on the right side of the fairway leaving me 106 yards to the flag and another GIR. Fifth hole, par three. 160 with wind hurting off the left. Pull my 7 iron a little, ends up about five feet off the green, but less than 15 feet from the hole. Hole seven: four iron off the tee doesn't turn over and goes too far, running through the fairway. Have to hit a cut 8 iron around all the trees, able to get the ball just in front of the green. After going from irons being the strongest part of my game to the weakest, its really really exciting to be hitting good, solid iron shots again.
 
These irons continue to amaze me, my confidence is sky high right now . Not sure if it was all the work I put in over the winter to improve my swing and ball striking but I’m excited to hit them every time. This being my 4th set of Apex Pro irons I think this one and my first version is ‘14’s take top spot. Havnt had much confidence hitting the 4 iron in other sets so I opted out . This set came with it and is becoming a weapon off the tee.

Knowing what to except stepping up to the tee is key for my game as I struggle with tee shots . This set is stellar
 
Liking these irons so much I grabbed a DCB 4I to go with them. Catalyst 100 shaft because I have the lighter version in my hybrids and I'm curious.
 
I think I’ve reached my wits end with my preorder. Callaway says the earliest they could show up is in august (more than 6 months after the order) but that delays could continue. Knowing new stuff is around the corner for next year, I should cancel, right?!
 
Molten said:
I think I’ve reached my wits end with my preorder. Callaway says the earliest they could show up is in august (more than 6 months after the order) but that delays could continue. Knowing new stuff is around the corner for next year, I should cancel, right?!
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i had a wedge on order for months that i just cancelled because it moved from being ready for delivery next week to september
 
Molten said:
I think I’ve reached my wits end with my preorder. Callaway says the earliest they could show up is in august (more than 6 months after the order) but that delays could continue. Knowing new stuff is around the corner for next year, I should cancel, right?!
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Is newer ALWAYS better... for you ???
What are your existing irons... are they no longer playable that you cannot wait until next month ???
Curious as to which component(s) is holding up your order ???
 
2Bad4u said:
Is newer ALWAYS better... for you ???
What are your existing irons... are they no longer playable that you cannot wait until next month ???
Curious as to which component(s) is holding up your order ???
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It’s not that they become unplayable, it’s that I have never hit them and I could just bank that money into a different set next year - might be the same set (likely at a discount) or something else that fits my game. The customer service has been hit or miss over six months and it’s an interest free loan at this point.

The shaft is the problem, although they are also guessing the grip will become a problem by the time the shafts come.
 
I put the mixed combo set in play earlier this year and I have been quiet about them here on THP. I love my momma and she told me if I don't have nothing nice to say then don't say nothing at all. Irons have always been the strong point of my game but this year I have been struggling with them. Knowing that the clubs are not the problem I just stuck with it and finally found a flaw in my setup that had been causing me to be inconsistent. Yesterday I shot 81 on a tough course and hit many great iron shots that felt perfect at impact. I am glad I figured it out because I really did not feel like moving on from this set.
 
Molten said:
I think I’ve reached my wits end with my preorder. Callaway says the earliest they could show up is in august (more than 6 months after the order) but that delays could continue. Knowing new stuff is around the corner for next year, I should cancel, right?!
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I think you're a good and patient man for waiting this long. I would have cancelled already. New stuff IS coming.
 
I went in to 2nd Seing today and saw @JohnnyCallaway set make up! Apex 21s with TI X100 from True Temper. The line was crazy long to get in a bag so I wasn’t able to hit them.
 
Haven't had a chance to talk about the TCB's much the last few. Been having fun with some others a bit. Brought them down this weekend for someone to try though, and played them myself yesterday.

I had a blast with them on a new course yesterday. My iron swing confidence (and speed) is real high right now, so there were some wows out there for a few, especially on a couple long par 3's. I also put myself in trouble off a tee bit - golf tired and unfamiliar course - so had to get creative with a few. There were a couple comments on their sound, but more the flights. Hard to say what's just exposure to what someone's not quite used to seeing and what's the actual irons but they tend to impress people and are always great to play.

For me I guess... My friend didn't love them. Scratch guy, good iron player. He didn't like how compact they were, and that they didn't seem very long on distance. Former he said made him uncomfortable out of bad lies/rough, and the latter just really bugged him. "If I'm going to give up a few yards I need to see a real benefit. I'm not getting it.". Lol. His friend, who plays blades quite a bit on the other hand, thought they were GREAT. I'm guessing he already ordered a set. :p. So player responses tend to still be pretty mixed from the guys who have tried mine, and as is usually the case, seems highly dependent on what a guy is used to.

Personally I love that you only get what you give with them. Faces don't help you out, but with the cavity you do get some noticable forgiveness compared to a blade, for a similar-ish flight and spin profile, with a soft feel, and decent sound. Very little I don't love about them and I'm really excited they made them available to order and more people are going to get a chance to try them.
 
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I had a fitting and now have the 3H and 4H with the Recoil Dart 75 HYB S flex shafts on order. I feel quite confident with these, and they should fit the gaps above my 5 iron well. In addition, during the fitting, my coach had them lofted down 1 degree. Can't wait!
 
I am now probably 40 games into my new 2021 Apex pros with MMT 95 stiff shafts and I must say they are spectacular. It took me a little while to get confidence in my move from my recoil regular shafts to the stiff MMT but they have definitely taken the left miss out of my swing by moving to the stiffer profile.

Coming from Apex Pro 2019, these are definitely a much more forgiving profile. The face is much hotter but I must admit the combination of the shaft change has just been tremendous. I think my last seven or eight rounds I’ve been at the most 3 over par which is for me….great. If I could only putt 😢.

I was a little bit nervous going in and ordering the clubs without even hitting the combination before hand but after getting comfortable they are a lethal combination. Good work Callaway they certainly are a winner.
 
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Had my first two rounds with the Apex Pro 21s that I snagged off CPO. It was worth the wait! Shot a 79 Saturday and a 76 Sunday. The benefits that I am seeing compared to my X Forged CB 21s are the exact areas I was hoping to see. First, I am seeing much more height on my ball flight. Second, I am seeing some increased spin (I was not expecting this). My playing partners were commenting on how crisp the sound was after a solid shot. More to come soon.
 
2 more rounds with the Pros since having them tweaked a degree strong and 1 up vs. standard loft and 1.5 up and man are the so fricking good. It's knocked off a little spin and given me some distance. They feel so good!
 
...aaand my DCB 4I is back ordered. Definitely a 'for fun' purchase but still a dagger.
 
I just noticed that the Apex 21 irons are on Callaway Preowned now. I'll be keeping my one eye over there now.
 
Apex Pro long irons are just amazing. I can hit shots with the 5 iron that I never could with my XForged 5i. High towering ball flight, easy to take over trees. Noticeable difference and a big improvement at that end of the bag.
 
GolfFest said:
Apex Pro long irons are just amazing. I can hit shots with the 5 iron that I never could with my XForged 5i. High towering ball flight, easy to take over trees. Noticeable difference and a big improvement at that end of the bag.
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I’ve heard that somewhere else too…..
 
I got to hit the lone Apex Pro long iron (4) I carry sometimes once today. 226 into a hurting right breeze. I missed my starting line just a bit but it held it's line and speed well on a nice trajectory and I ended up 30' pin high left. Landed like a dream. And then was a crime victim on the putt, but I'll take par on a hole like that.

It's good to hear some reaping the launch and height benefits of the Apex Pros. That's some of the reasons I've kept it around. I remember hearing/reading someone say the TCB's launch lower than the X Forged, and that hasn't been the case for me. The X Forged were both lower launching and lower spinning for me. It wasn't a great fit for me and sticking greens that weren't soft, and the couple guys I know who play those are pretty launchy/spinny compared to me. All trying to meet in the middle I suppose. That's why I preferred the Apex Pro to the X Forged combo'd with my MB's and TCB's though.

TCB's continue to be great 5-A. Some real good rounds this last week. They suit me real well on launch and spin and carry numbers have been very good lately. That's why I haven't needed the Apex Pro 4 much. Rubbed my hip wrong today so speed might take a dip for a bit, but I think I'm finally ready to swap shafts in my TCB's. IO 6.5's hold up VERY well imo for my swing, but I've noticed some delivery dynamics I don't love with a recent speed boost and think it's time for a little more weight. Mioght put the IO's in something new to get a good comparison, and go X100 or Modus 115X in the TCB's. Picked up some grey Z Softs today and those, on the black Modus 115, with the TCB heads, would look reeeeal sharp I think...
 
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I bought a set of Callaway Big Bertha Diablo irons in 2010. I believe they were the first of this line of irons. I haven't demo's this model but I have done previous models which, for me, were not improvements on the BB Diablo's. IMO Callaway got it right with their first model.
 
I'm surprised at how well I've continued to score even with my swing getting out of sorts. I'm glad I went with the Apex 21 standard irons as that forgiveness is paying off. I've had misses out towards the toe (past the grooves) which have still hit the green which is not deserved but welcome!
 
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