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°
Save me from the agony.
This is my thought as well. I think from a Marketing spectrum, this is smart. The more options you give people to cover the wide variety of levels of golfers. I need to give this a try!
This was my thoughts as well. I suck with hybrids, but this might be the inbetween that can give those that want to game a hybrid but don’t because they aren’t great with it a chance.
I’ve gotten along with hybrids on occasion, that slot between 3w and 4i always is a revolving door. I’d have to see it in person to see if I could use it as a tee option but anywhere else it could be a winner. This is the second time I’ve heard the term "bridge" club from the THP staff writers and I’m guessing we will start to see more of these options in the future. Its kind of exciting
That will be the fun part. I see things that fit my eye and the description sounds like what I’m looking for but I’m going to trust whatever the fitter shows me is best!
I’ve games 5 woods, hybrids and UT’s in the past with some good off tee some off ground and some mediocre at it all. Hybrid has been best but draw bias doesn’t fit me.
Hoping this UW is the Goldilocks and is just right!
There’s already some comparing it to the super hybrid, so here’s my UW next to my Epic Speed 5W. Won’t be able to play again today, or tomorrow, but looking forward to smashing it this week.
Was going to pick up a TSi2 3H, but kind of want to give this thing a try now.
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Little weight swap to D3.5 and ready to rock.
I like that look.
love the small shape, I don’t really like the bighead shaping of most modern fairways
I’m a big fan of the shape too. More than I thought I would be from initial pictures. It’s a nice balance.
I love the flexibility manufacturers are offering. I think some players feel more comfortable with fairway woods. Some of us prefer hybrids. But lower lofted hybrids were never as user friendly as higher lofted ones. These clubs fill a nice place at the top of the bag.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts. I need to see it in person but love the shape and how it sits behind the ball from the pictures I’ve seen
ESH Is a high launching, long as all hell, low spin monster. Apex UW is more of a surgeons tool that YES launches high but gives you the spin and versatility u need for versatility. Im LOVING this thing
Players 5 or 7 wood is a good way to look at it however, the UW doesnt have the hot spots that a fairway wood would have. It lives in a nice launch window up and down the face.
I love seeing 7 wood converts. I know this is not exactly that, but it kinda is at the same time. It is such a fun club.
I have had this exact same thought..
Apex Pro hybrid, Apex UW, Epic 5W
That is kind of how I am seeing it. I am sure there is some more nuance than that as always but this is a good base.
I could see it in the higher loft I guess. The lengths and launch and face are all a little different though, and I’m more wanting it to be an in between FW and hybrid with lots of control at fairly big distance. Unless I go to 4W and 19 UW maybe. Really liked what I saw from the 17* today.
I think part of what appeals to me is the idea that this launches high and spins which would be more beneficial for holding a green.
Oh my.
I must find one to test.
I was pumped for the SH, but I need spin, and control. This seems like the ticket, even if it’s not a rocket launcher.
I agree, for those who have a lot of club speed, this could be a weapon. I suppose that is why Mickelson took to it. For those like me, who need distance, I am not sure if this is the correct profile. Spin robs me of distance that I need. It is the same logic as to why a player distance iron works well for many. The high launch and low spin gets them some extra distance. It is a very intriguing club, but the more I think about it, I am the wrong player for it.
I wanted to love the super hybrid. In testing I just haven’t found what I’ve seen to be very useful on course, for me. I’ve enjoyed the 5W quite a bit, but there are occasional flights that give me pause. I was able to mash this off the tee today, while still launching it, and controlling it in the wind really well. It honestly surprised me. I think I have some direct shot comparisons, but I’ll have to check when I get home later.
This kind of says it all for me. Left is my 5W into the wind about a week ago. Right is same tee today, into an even stronger wind. Watching that 5W climb on that shot was the first time I went ? ohhh, with it. Watching the UW hit the same intended peak, on a more boring trajectory was the first time I started saying okay I like this. I was able to with it high and low and both directions, add and take off spin, and really hit the shots I wanted on a windy day. My low loft hybrids would have been more bullet-like, and my 5W would have climbed there again. I’ll do a lot more comparison, but the flight and spin window looked real useful for me today out there.
So are you saying that your 5w spins more than this UW?
Are you finding the super hybrid easy enough to stop? My concern is Utah conditions where even landing short it will roll over and off the back of the green.
I’ll check it later this week, but I believe it might be. The launch and spin combination at least, is definitely a higher spinnier looking flight, that I can’t do all the things I did with this even on the front 9 today. It’s more bell. Less flat at the top. But this seemed to have enough spin to control, and also get up.
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This shot today with the UW is another example. With my 18* hybrid, I wouldn’t have tried that shot. I would have played left of it. And with my 5W I could take that line, but I would hand it over to the elements more. It would drift at the peak. That thing was solid. I was able to shape one with it against a right wind to land and stop on an upper fairway today at 240, generally work out like I said, but flatten it out too. I leaned on a draw off a right wind off the tee for 309 today. That would have actually been a problem on a split fairway, but it was impressive none-the-less. My fairway wants to just get up and go regardless of what I want a little more.
It’s early, and only one outing. Impressions are bound to change. I’m not easy to impress like that though. It did really well.
For me, the OG Super Hybrid was more of a second shot into a par 5 club and a tee club on short par 4’s. I figure that on a par 5 a second shot on or near the green is a winner. It wasn’t something that I really sought to stop on a green. I have a new Super Hybrid and thus far haven’t hit it well, but I haven’t really had a chance to work with it.
It sounds like an interesting experiment. I played most of the season without a fairway wood in the bag.
I’m also a little interested in the super hybrid. A 2 hybrid set up where the shorter is used for approaches and the other to just hit it far could also work.
Do you think you could flight the UW down a bit if needed? I have a 9W right now for the gap between 5i and 5W but it is tough to flight down. I do like the trajectory and stopping power.
Oh and how do you have one already. I was just on the Callaway website and it says they don’t ship until Thursday.
I have been able to work it high and low pretty easily. That’s what I’ve really enjoyed about it yesterday and today. I can fly them and land them pretty soft at a consistent distance, or lean on it into the wind or to run with very little effort so far.
I get my hands on some stuff a little early is all.
the big "keep" approval! Nice!
I wish that I could strike the ball even half as well as you can describe striking it. Cool that you found something so pleasing.