JPR1959
Well-known member
Just ordered my Apex 21s just now. 6-AW. DART 75 gram shafts in stiff 2 degrees up. The trade in bonus was the final straw. I paid $680 for my CF16s, so getting $450 for them was like stealing. Now the wait begins!!
First Look: Callaway Apex 21 Irons
tcugdu
Active member
Got my first round with my Apex 21 irons in today. They were very solid performers.
My biggest complaint is also one of my favorite things about them. I hit 3 shots very low on the face and I didn't like the feel at all compared to doing the same with my Apex 19s...BUT all 3 of those shots ended up within about 5 yards of the distance I would expect on a well-struck shot.
My biggest complaint is also one of my favorite things about them. I hit 3 shots very low on the face and I didn't like the feel at all compared to doing the same with my Apex 19s...BUT all 3 of those shots ended up within about 5 yards of the distance I would expect on a well-struck shot.
I've had two practice sessions with the Apex Pros on the Skytrak and I'm really happy with them. They remind me of the i25s I had, in terms of performance (though looks are obviously very different). The long irons definitely give you some help (though are smaller/less offset than the i25s were) while the short irons pretty much play like a straight players cavity.
My miss is left, and these do a much better job of retaining spin than the irons I'd been playing in the past on that miss. Rather than 10 yards long, these are a few yards longer. That matched what I saw in the fitting. I had a couple swing with the standard apex that just flew forever when I shut the face down a bit. These mitigate that miss a bit more. However, that comes at the penalty of definitely losing more yards if I don't turn the club over and hang one out to the right. As with everything, it's a tradeoff.
But I finished my session hitting some 9i and I think the last 5 shots were within a 3 yard carry range. And that has me excited.
My miss is left, and these do a much better job of retaining spin than the irons I'd been playing in the past on that miss. Rather than 10 yards long, these are a few yards longer. That matched what I saw in the fitting. I had a couple swing with the standard apex that just flew forever when I shut the face down a bit. These mitigate that miss a bit more. However, that comes at the penalty of definitely losing more yards if I don't turn the club over and hang one out to the right. As with everything, it's a tradeoff.
But I finished my session hitting some 9i and I think the last 5 shots were within a 3 yard carry range. And that has me excited.
This is what I want to hear as I have the same miss.
Wreckingshop
Member
Does anyone have any head-to-head comparison between the standard Apex 21 forged and the Srixon zx5? Feel, forgivness, ect
i am so in love with the pro 21 in my short time. for the first time i did notice a little clicky feeling with the 7i but only when i missed toward the toe. out of the middle i think it feels so good.
my instructor was in love with these when i showed him. he loved the look, so i encouraged him to take a few swings. he couldn’t stop gushing about them.
my instructor was in love with these when i showed him. he loved the look, so i encouraged him to take a few swings. he couldn’t stop gushing about them.
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Wife apparently likes exploring new stores more than hanging out with me today, so I got to play them again.
Paired the Pros with the new V1x today, and that combination gets up. I guarantee I had a couple mid-long irons over 120' today. Right on the edge of a storm with a breeze it was a smidge outside my preference. Splitting small hairs here, but for a guy who wants the speed and spin help on that but not the launch, I think it got in my head. Tried to seriously muscle an 8i MB over a soft Pro 7 out of wind and flightability concerns, and ended up in the drink and an eventual double. Big stupid decision on multiple levels. Still though, prefer the real world flight and numbers I get with them and V1/TP5 I think. Plays a tad better for my game so far.
They feel really satisfying pure. I swear the sound has layers though. I feel like I hear multiple pieces. It's not bad, just different than anything I can think of. It furthered a really fun discussion out there today about how I think the last couple Apex lines do a uniquely good job of separating sound and feel a little in their pursuit of performance.
Lots of fun and I played 6 shots better than the last time I played that course.
Paired the Pros with the new V1x today, and that combination gets up. I guarantee I had a couple mid-long irons over 120' today. Right on the edge of a storm with a breeze it was a smidge outside my preference. Splitting small hairs here, but for a guy who wants the speed and spin help on that but not the launch, I think it got in my head. Tried to seriously muscle an 8i MB over a soft Pro 7 out of wind and flightability concerns, and ended up in the drink and an eventual double. Big stupid decision on multiple levels. Still though, prefer the real world flight and numbers I get with them and V1/TP5 I think. Plays a tad better for my game so far.
They feel really satisfying pure. I swear the sound has layers though. I feel like I hear multiple pieces. It's not bad, just different than anything I can think of. It furthered a really fun discussion out there today about how I think the last couple Apex lines do a uniquely good job of separating sound and feel a little in their pursuit of performance.
Lots of fun and I played 6 shots better than the last time I played that course.
Got in about 3-4 hours of range time with the Standard Apex.
So far, I like. The comparison was with the '21 X Forged CB, Apex CF16 (my 2-3 year gamers) and some old Mizzy MX23s that will probably be in rotation because they're so fun. The first day I hit them well, but worked hard to find my February swing, and today I was flushing everything.
Looks: Apex 21 win. Classic but modern look. X Forged are sharp, CF16... just fine.
Feel: XFCB by a mile, obv. I've always liked the soft, solid feel of the CF16s (with PX 6.0, which is quite smooth to me) They mostly felt better than the Apex 21s (which were a bit more crisp and "click.") Still nice, but not anything that'll knock your socks off.
Forgiveness: The two Apex were close. Call it a draw... the sweet spot on the CF16s is "bigger" for me, but the 21s minimized my most common miss. I'll take that.
Distance: Apex 21s clearly. Call it a 3/4 club longer than any other. I really like the flighting I get out of it too. Sometimes the Project X would come off a bit high and spinny for me. The Elevate ETS (which I was trying to convince myself I would not like) seem very controllable. I like the lower, flatter (relative) flight.
Coolness factor: New stuff > old stuff, unless it's fancy vintage.
I'm ok with trading in the XFCBs, but I'm nervous about giving up the CF16s. But hey, I can prob buy the same set back on CPO later...
I for sure could have gone with the MMTs. They felt amazing - honestly the best of the bunch - and they were really long. I was flinging a few way left, which I likely could have smoothed out, but was just striping the ETS too well. Gives me a reason to snag a set of Pros on CPO in the fall.
Quick Trackman results.
Orange- CF16/PX
Red- Apex 21/ETS
Green- Apex/MMT
And can’t be too mad at this:
So far, I like. The comparison was with the '21 X Forged CB, Apex CF16 (my 2-3 year gamers) and some old Mizzy MX23s that will probably be in rotation because they're so fun. The first day I hit them well, but worked hard to find my February swing, and today I was flushing everything.
Looks: Apex 21 win. Classic but modern look. X Forged are sharp, CF16... just fine.
Feel: XFCB by a mile, obv. I've always liked the soft, solid feel of the CF16s (with PX 6.0, which is quite smooth to me) They mostly felt better than the Apex 21s (which were a bit more crisp and "click.") Still nice, but not anything that'll knock your socks off.
Forgiveness: The two Apex were close. Call it a draw... the sweet spot on the CF16s is "bigger" for me, but the 21s minimized my most common miss. I'll take that.
Distance: Apex 21s clearly. Call it a 3/4 club longer than any other. I really like the flighting I get out of it too. Sometimes the Project X would come off a bit high and spinny for me. The Elevate ETS (which I was trying to convince myself I would not like) seem very controllable. I like the lower, flatter (relative) flight.
Coolness factor: New stuff > old stuff, unless it's fancy vintage.
I'm ok with trading in the XFCBs, but I'm nervous about giving up the CF16s. But hey, I can prob buy the same set back on CPO later...
I for sure could have gone with the MMTs. They felt amazing - honestly the best of the bunch - and they were really long. I was flinging a few way left, which I likely could have smoothed out, but was just striping the ETS too well. Gives me a reason to snag a set of Pros on CPO in the fall.
Quick Trackman results.
Orange- CF16/PX
Red- Apex 21/ETS
Green- Apex/MMT
And can’t be too mad at this:
Glad you got out today. We got 4 inches over here in the Village. Was hoping to take the 21's out on their maiden voyage tomorrow but am not sure any courses will be open after 4". The ranges will be closed for sure. Anxious to see the difference in feel between the Dart shaft compared to the Recoil 780s. Really like the looks of the ion black Dart shafts.
It was crazy. Wife kept looking at the radar and asking if we were okay, but we just stayed right on the line of the storm. Couple hours later and we have a massive lake in our yard. That's why I try to jump if I get a chance. I didn't know the courses there even got up and running this week. They sounded like a mess last I heard on Tues.
I think those darts look really slick too. I'll be curious to try them when their heavier weights come out. The style definitely fits well with my stuff.
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Can't wait to get these in my hands and hit some balls with them. even if only on a sim round.
So today was the day.... first day with some full swings with my set of Apex and first full swing since 30SEP2020. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit concerned I would even be able to make contact as I continue to recover from rotator cuff surgery!
I literally hit about 50 balls total with PW only.... 25-30 balls just warming up 1/2 and 3/4 swings and then about 15 full swings and the rest back to 3/4 and 1/2 swings. Two observations, the sound/feel of the Apex is sooooo good even on less then stellar contact and the distance on mis-hits was pretty much 95% of distance of solid contact. While I know this is only a small sample size for me and I was hitting off mat I think its pretty reasonable to assume these are as powerful and forgiving as advertised! Sweet Spot FTW!
Now, my only hope is that ~15 full swings wasn't too much for the shoulder as I ease my way back... can't wait to get some swings though the rest of the set! Want to get to those DCBs
I literally hit about 50 balls total with PW only.... 25-30 balls just warming up 1/2 and 3/4 swings and then about 15 full swings and the rest back to 3/4 and 1/2 swings. Two observations, the sound/feel of the Apex is sooooo good even on less then stellar contact and the distance on mis-hits was pretty much 95% of distance of solid contact. While I know this is only a small sample size for me and I was hitting off mat I think its pretty reasonable to assume these are as powerful and forgiving as advertised! Sweet Spot FTW!
Now, my only hope is that ~15 full swings wasn't too much for the shoulder as I ease my way back... can't wait to get some swings though the rest of the set! Want to get to those DCBs
Really good session tonight in the garage with the Rapsodo.
I’m coming off of a back injury in the last couple months, and working with a coach to redo my swing to something consistent and long term won’t hurt me.
feeling really good about it, and have been hitting these irons every day for the last 2 weeks. They are so easy to hit. Feel amazing.
The only thing I’m struggling with is distance, but that’s a new swing and me problem, not these problem. I’m absolutely loving hitting these and cannot wait to get them on the course.
here’s my 55 swing session tonight.
I’m coming off of a back injury in the last couple months, and working with a coach to redo my swing to something consistent and long term won’t hurt me.
feeling really good about it, and have been hitting these irons every day for the last 2 weeks. They are so easy to hit. Feel amazing.
The only thing I’m struggling with is distance, but that’s a new swing and me problem, not these problem. I’m absolutely loving hitting these and cannot wait to get them on the course.
here’s my 55 swing session tonight.
I have been spending a lot of time hitting these in my garage sim as I'm working on swing changes with my coach. This is my first time playing graphite and i have had no issue transitioning from Modus 105sb in my last irons to MMT 95 in these Apex irons. These irons feel incredible and I am so glad i went with Apex 21 irons.. the extra forgiveness is apparent but these are incredibly consistent. I plan to start setting target greens with my Skytrak and get more data to share.
Yeah coming from the CF19s, the P790s definitely leave something to be desired in the feel category. They're performers though. Going to be fun to have options this year.
i cannot shake how good these irons were for me in an extended practice session yesterday. peppering a target at 190 with just as much consistency as i was flighting a wedge to a target at 132. it's just so shocking how crazy consistent there are throughout the whole set.
This seems to be what I am hearing about the Pros. The consistency across the face is pretty crazy. I have yet to get mine out to a course due to rain and pageants with my daughter, but hope to this Friday morning. Fingers crossed!
I do not miss Arkansas storms!
Wreckingshop
Member
Just thought I would give anyone intrested a tip. My Callaway contact let me know that the grips are what's holding back the shipping dates. I changed my grips on my order and my shipping date went from end of May to 3 weeks from now. Fingers crossed.
JPR1959
Well-known member
Do you know which grips are causing the delay? I sure hope it's not MCC 4s in gray midsized!!
Wreckingshop
Member
I can't say for sure. I know the stock grips that come on them are backordered. I'm not a midsize player so. I went with the Align grips because he said they were available. Couldn't believe it made that much of a difference in shipping date though.
why would bending the head cause a delay? mine were 1.5* flat and i got them on 2/15. order was placed the day after pre-release went live, so i think it was about 3 weeks for me?
BahBahBS
Active member
I ordered +1 strong, .5 upright, orange MCC 4 standard grips, PX LZ 6.0 shafts and a D6 swing weight. Order was made 1/26, packed on Fri, tracking number Sat and just left Monterrey MX an hour ago. Woot woot!
Edit: Apex Pro 4-AW
Edit: Apex Pro 4-AW
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somehow lost track of this thread, but after going through an iron fitting about a week ago, wanted to put some thoughts on two of the new offerings.
I hit the Apex pros and the standard apex. Both with the elevate offering. The apex pro was really nice. Feel was superb (those microspheres doing work haha). look was outstanding of course. Numbers were decent overall, but what kept it from really having a shot in my bag was it didnt launch and spin well enough for me. We tried going into a different flex and different shaft but couldn't get where we needed.
The standard apex irons.
first the cons: not exactly an iron i tend to super enjoy looking down at. It's not bad by any means, and I am better about not caring so much if performance is there. feel was good (again, gotta love those microspheres). The good: Distance was there. about half a club or so more than mine apex pro 19. The launch was in a great window. Spin was higher at first, but switched to a stiffer shaft and it got into a good range. It was probably number 2 in the lineup in terms of what seemed to have been best for me.
Overall I did enjoy the irons. I was kind of upset they didn't win out even though I should be very happy with what I was fit into (although really any of the irons I hit would have been solid. It was splitting hairs in many categories). They look great and callaway seems to have absolutely nailed the apex line with offerings. They can cover every category of player with this line. Triple play, combo set, etc.
Hoping those that are playing them/have them on order are loving it.
I hit the Apex pros and the standard apex. Both with the elevate offering. The apex pro was really nice. Feel was superb (those microspheres doing work haha). look was outstanding of course. Numbers were decent overall, but what kept it from really having a shot in my bag was it didnt launch and spin well enough for me. We tried going into a different flex and different shaft but couldn't get where we needed.
The standard apex irons.
first the cons: not exactly an iron i tend to super enjoy looking down at. It's not bad by any means, and I am better about not caring so much if performance is there. feel was good (again, gotta love those microspheres). The good: Distance was there. about half a club or so more than mine apex pro 19. The launch was in a great window. Spin was higher at first, but switched to a stiffer shaft and it got into a good range. It was probably number 2 in the lineup in terms of what seemed to have been best for me.
Overall I did enjoy the irons. I was kind of upset they didn't win out even though I should be very happy with what I was fit into (although really any of the irons I hit would have been solid. It was splitting hairs in many categories). They look great and callaway seems to have absolutely nailed the apex line with offerings. They can cover every category of player with this line. Triple play, combo set, etc.
Hoping those that are playing them/have them on order are loving it.