The Utility Iron has long been a part of our modern golf vernacular, it’s a club that blends ideas together to make it more playable for a variety of skills.
But what about a Utility…Wood?
Curious? You and everyone else.
As the newest release from the minds behind Callaway Golf, this is another specialty club focused on doing things differently, and after months of whispers as well as Tour players like Phil Mickelson having it in the bag, its finally time to discuss this club.
Say hello to the new Callaway Apex UW.
What is in a name?
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Callaway will not simply slap the Apex name on just any club. They have shown us time after time that they will even push the entire release of the newest Apex irons a cycle if they aren’t demonstrably different and live up to what that Apex title stands for.
So, after working with their Tour staff to create something different, they have come up with a bridge club of sorts that takes the pluses of higher lofted fairways and blends them with the strongest performance benefits of low lofted hybrids. Take that concept and throw in all the tech that has made Callaway an industry leader, and they believe they had created something worthy of the name.
Callaway Apex UW
Yes, UW stands for Utility Wood. Is this a totally new concept? Not generally speaking, but there for sure hasn’t been anyone who has thrown this kind of design tech at this spot in the bag for a bridge club of sorts. The root of it all is simple, make a 5-Wood have a baby with a hybrid. Well, maybe it isn’t that simple, but it’s a pretty solid way to think about it.
The focus here is tee, turf, and rough. Callaway wanted a club that hits the trifecta for better players as usually for them it becomes a choice of only one, maybe two, of those things.
According to Callaway, the Apex UW has a higher launch and steeper descent angle which is more like a fairway wood than a hybrid. This means it becomes a point and shoot option from the tee but will hold the green when it’s being unleashed on a Par 5. However, the center of gravity is much more neutral in the Apex UW compared to Callaway’s 5-Woods which have some inherent draw bias, taking that away opens up comfort and confidence for the better player. Rounding it all out is spin, this isn’t meant to be a low spin monster like the Super Hybrid, rather, here the goal is for it to sit right between a hybrid and 5-wood.
While the concept is cool, a lot of clubs that have tried to establish themselves in this realm have suffered in technology as well as overall aesthetics. Frankly, most don’t look good, but that is something Callaway paid a heavy focus to through their Tour staff, and according to them, they are all raving about the UW. The shaping isn’t awkward, instead it is more compact than most will expect.
Internally, the three different lofts (17°, 19°, 21°) all feature the A.I. Flash Face SS21, all unique for this design to optimize speed generation and retention across the face. The same Jailbreak A.I Velocity Blades that were put into the Apex Hybrids are here as well to ensure maximized energy transfer through impact. Now, add in 18g of MIM’d tungsten on average to help create a neutral CG location and overall bias, you have the first players Utility Wood on the market.
While that is a lot to digest and get excited about, the performance will be most interesting to follow along with, and rest assured, THP will have a lot for you all on that front when the time comes. Is this a club that interests you? Do you have a spot in the bag for a design such as the Apex UW? Let us know below as well as on the THP Community!
The Details
Availability: 10/7/21 Pre-Order and 10/14/21 Retail
Price: $299.99
Shaft: Project X Smoke RDX
Lofts: 17°, 19°, 21°
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This one in particular. I would LOVE to be in a position to take a whack at that thing. I love that this club makes me think about stuff like this.
Ever.
It defies all logic.
I fully expect them in a LOT of granddaddy bags. This is the first club that could make me heed @Canadan and his hate of fairway woods. I adore fairways, but this….yeesh. @OldandStiff has nailed it on this one for some time now.
I don’t know if I’ll have a fairway wood in the bag between this and the Super Hybrid as a possible option has me really excited for the possibilities.
SH is lethal, and easy to hit. This though is just…something special. It breaks my mind, and I am NEVER short on words to describe a club.
I see this hole going a little different for me ???
I’m at such a crossroads. I’ve got a gap issue because of this thing at 19, but I don’t want to change it out
Oh it might go horribly for me, but I want that CHANCE..
to totally screw it up. ?
Magic.
Effing Magic.
This though, I might give up a couple yards off the tee, but I’ve gained the ability to throw it at flags as well as workability. It’s just so easy to flight. It’s mind bending,
This is not what I needed to hear
I’ve been one of the few here kinda nit picky about a lot of the stuff in the hybrid realm for Callaway, they’ve been really good at ultra low spin cannons, but that’s not for everyone. This…this is the best Callaway club I’ve hit in probably 2 years.
Man it was something I was already giving some consideration, but this feedback is very difficult to ignore.
Ponder fully engaged.
I was ultra pessimistic about it, the release article and getting to write that had me curious, but the early feedback from guys here had me going “no way in hell is that real”…well…it is.
what did you put it in as in shotscope? hybrid?
Yup. It’s not on there yet so I just put it as an Apex hybrid.
Ventus Red are going in mine. First time in a long time I’m excited about playing some winter golf
Same, but it’s the 19 that has me thinking about it. Would royally eff my gaps though.
I went 19 | 21 and gaps just fine for me. The 21* blends into the 5i perfectly
I’ve said it for while. This is the most underrated club, in a long time.
B21 says hello.
This is a perfect description. I don’t know what they did to engineer this, but it is a magical club.
The 21 and 17 make an awesome combo for me.
Ponder no more. I got one based off the early comments and glad that I did…making me ponder another one to replace the 4w.
Which one did you get?
Need to hit. I need to get fit.
Gaming the 21* right now…I think the 17* is coming soon.
You’re not alone.
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And the fact that your least accurate club is 3W says a LOT. Outstanding.
How does it determine that the club achieved a birdie, simply if it was used on a hole that resulted in a birdie?
that’s my guess. it’s kinda funny…but it’s also true
I’m always surprised by folk pulling out the 3 wood off the tee because it is ‘more accurate’.
In my experience it isn’t. And your stats indicate the same thing.
Enormously large and thus forgiving head vs small head?
Makes sense.
Ditto the 3 wood versus UW. Long shaft vs short shaft?
267 off the tee with the 19 today. Which is crazy, but not as crazy as the 252 off the deck into a Par 5 green.
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When I was fitted, my spin was really low and launched very high (not too high but just right). On the course the last two days, I pretty much saw the exact same thing. This club flies. Every time I hit it, the launch and trajectory were precisely the same as the fitter.
I really like this club. Based on the last two days, playing this club will have a much higher chance of success every day of the week. I do not have the same top, chunk, or duck hook fears with my 3 wood. Plus, the spin rates are so low, I am not even convinced I lose any distance between the UW and a 3 wood.
This clubs is a natural replacement for a 3 wood with a much higher chance of success. It is a no-brainer and makes total sense why Finley said everyone in his office is playing one of these.
Is this the fairway or the hybrid version of this shaft? I have the 80X in my 3 wood and is really good for my swing. Interested to hear your thoughts on this combo.
The heads are .335, they’re the fairway versions
Safest club in my bag.
That means more than you know especially coming from you. I have read your thoughts numerous times, and I TRULY think this will fill a gap in my bag I need filled.
I bought the 21° +HZRDUS RDX black and it is easily the best club in my bag. I’m debating on picking up the 17° to replace my M1 5 wood set at 17°. The problem is I hit my 5 wood really well haha.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the UW goes farther than your 5 wood. The spin numbers are so low. I replaced my 3 wood!