Apex Pro 16 with Nippon Modus3 120 Horrible Feel

[oh-brian]

I know that you think I am crazy, because everyone says these heads and shafts are "the bomb." I got my new Apex Pros with Nippon Modus shafts after going through a fitting with a Top 100 Club fitter AND having the shafts SST PURED and these things are the worst feeling clubs I have ever played. They are utterly unresponsive, I get zero feedback and they feel dead. In talking to the fitter, they don't even seem to care. I just dropped $1300 on a set of irons and you would think that they would want me to be satisfied. WTF

 

I have since hit the iron with a PX 6.0 and the feeling in night and day.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience with either the head or shaft?

 

Thanks!

[sofla]

Just got my Apex 16 Combo set (Pro in 8-PW) with the Nippon Modus 120. Will hit this weekend I hope and let you know.

[JaNelson38]

I know that you think I am crazy, because everyone says these heads and shafts are "the bomb." I got my new Apex Pros with Nippon Modus shafts after going through a fitting with a Top 100 Club fitter AND having the shafts SST PURED and these things are the worst feeling clubs I have ever played. They are utterly unresponsive, I get zero feedback and they feel dead. In talking to the fitter, they don't even seem to care. I just dropped $1300 on a set of irons and you would think that they would want me to be satisfied. WTF

 

I have since hit the iron with a PX 6.0 and the feeling in night and day.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience with either the head or shaft?

 

Thanks!

 

I have the 2014 Apex Pros with PXI 6.0 and they are some of the best irons Ive played. Feel great when hit well, second-to-none feedback on mishits. I would assume the feeling would be the same with the newer model Apex.

 

You said you were fitted with these shafts...did you not hit the club/shaft combination before buying? I dont know what you want the club fitter to do, but if Im dropping that much coin on a fitted iron set Im making sure I actually hit the head/shaft combo I plan on buying.

[oh-brian]

I know that you think I am crazy, because everyone says these heads and shafts are "the bomb." I got my new Apex Pros with Nippon Modus shafts after going through a fitting with a Top 100 Club fitter AND having the shafts SST PURED and these things are the worst feeling clubs I have ever played. They are utterly unresponsive, I get zero feedback and they feel dead. In talking to the fitter, they don't even seem to care. I just dropped $1300 on a set of irons and you would think that they would want me to be satisfied. WTF

 

I have since hit the iron with a PX 6.0 and the feeling in night and day.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience with either the head or shaft?

 

Thanks!

 

I have the 2014 Apex Pros with PXI 6.0 and they are some of the best irons Ive played. Feel great when hit well, second-to-none feedback on mishits. I would assume the feeling would be the same with the newer model Apex.

 

You said you were fitted with these shafts...did you not hit the club/shaft combination before buying? I dont know what you want the club fitter to do, but if Im dropping that much coin on a fitted iron set Im making sure I actually hit the head/shaft combo I plan on buying.

 

Obviously I definitely hit the head/shaft combo in the fitting. I spent 90 minutes hitting a bunch of combos and the Apex/Nippon combo was the best. These club felt awesome during the fitting, so what I am now experiencing is inexplicable.

[Golfrnut]

How would you want them to make it right? Pay out of their own expenses for a shaft at the time of the fitting you considered "awesome"?

[yellolab]

Maybe have the flex checked to make sure they are not mislabeled and too stiff?? Other than that, the fitter can't help you I don't think.

[Tcann32]

I've hit the heads with C-Tapers, X100's and 6.0's and thought they were every bit as good as last year's offering, and felt better than all of the other players cavity irons. Odd to hear that the Nippons would make them feel worse as I've only seen good reviews on the feel of them, and admittedly they aren't as stout as I like the feel of, but if you like the feel of PX the just might not be the right shafts for you, at least subjectively.

[oh-brian]

How would you want them to make it right? Pay out of their own expenses for a shaft at the time of the fitting you considered "awesome"?

 

I would expect them to work with me to make me happy. I would never expect them to absorb the cost of new shafts, etc. If it means trying a new shaft I would of course expect to pay for it. This was not the reason for my post however, I was just wondering if anyone had a similar experience.

[oh-brian]

Maybe havthe flex checked to make sure they are not mislabeled and too stiff?? Other than that, the fitter can't help you I don't think.

 

I'm not sure about that. From what I have read about Nippon, they have some of the tightest tolerances and are very consistent from shaft to shaft. The fitter just now reached out and wants to have me back in to potentially tweak the swing weights. I am guessing he might want to go a little heavier in SW to soften the shaft and offer more feel.

[dmeyer1982]

Hit that exact combo in my fitting, they are like butter.

[AmazinBlue]

Feel is very subjective, but yeah, I think you're crazy. I have the Apex CF16 with Nippon Modus3 120S and I think they are amazing. I also didn't pay $1300. You need to call Dan's Discount Golf, they have the best deals on the planet and the equipment comes directly from the OEM if custom ordered. The Cust. Service is the best.

[oh-brian]

Feel is very subjective, but yeah, I think you're crazy. I have the Apex CF16 with Nippon Modus3 120S and I think they are amazing. I also didn't pay $1300. You need to call Dan's Discount Golf, they have the best deals on the planet and the equipment comes directly from the OEM if custom ordered. The Cust. Service is the best.

 

 

In all fairness, I paid $950 for the irons, but when you add the fitting fee and PURING and tax and it gets to $1,300. I wasn't sure about the PURING, but said what the heck. I kind of think that I am crazy too. I am going to have a buddy hit them tomorrow and tell me what he thinks, but something isn't quite right.

[jrpwa]

I have the apex with the KBS tour 110V best feeling clubs I have owned they let you know when it pure and when its not.

[TCZ]

If the shaft/head combo felt good during the fitting, something must be out of whack with the specs on the order (?)

[golfwb]

i have the 120s hard stepped once in some 745's. Do they feel amazing. No. But its what I got fit for and the performance is good.

It is a little bit disappointing that they feel the way they do, but i'm going to stick with them. I prefer getting close to or making the ball do what I want, than having perfect feeling irons that don't cooperate.

[dmeyer1982]

Did they decide to do anything different with the clubs compared to the ones you were fitted for?

[AmazinBlue]

Didn't see the SST PURED part. In all CAPS and I still missed it, sorry about that. I have known my specs for several years, but I guess I took a bit of a gamble on the Modus3s, since I hadn't hit them before. I hit the CF16s with DG when I tested them and liked them pretty well. They felt better than the Srixon Z545s I played last year.

 

On Sunday, I finally was able to play in decent weather, 70*+ with a slight breeze. My ball control was great, the trajectory was fantastic and the feel was superior and even on miss hits it wasn't bad, it just let me know that I missed which is the point I guess.

 

Again feel is purely subjective and sound has a lot to do with feel. To have spent that much $$$ on a fitting, Puring and the equipment and receive something that far off from your fitting feel, something might be wrong.

 

I ordered mine 3* up and the clubs extra long and I trimmed to match the 3/8" increments I wanted. It has worked out well. Too bad they don't match the feel you had at the fitting.

 

The one thing different between the CF16 and the Pro is that the CF16s are parallel tipped, the Pros are taper-tipped. That should give the pros better feel, in my book YMMV.

[Nixhex524]

I have not hit the heads, but I bought a 6 iron 120 stiff to try out in a couple different heads... mostly with an mp53. I will agree, I was less than impressed with the shaft. Funny thing was, I tried the shafts in a set of Honmas and they felt incredible. I realize now that may have mostly been the head, but I was about to pull the trigger on a full set of Modus 120s and I am glad I didn't. My PX 5.5 flighted in my 745s are the best feeling iron I have ever hit. Seems the Modus are not for everyone. I will agree with the comments on the Tour V... that is a really smooth feeling shaft, kind of what I was hoping to get from the Modus. Sorry you are stuck OP, maybe you can sell them to recoup some dough, or just bite the bullet and reshaft them.

[mason82]

I had almost this exact set up- apex pro 16/cf 16 combo set with modus3 120. Feel was mostly bad, every once in a while it was smooth. I had 90 days to take them back, so I did and went back to Srixon with my trusty KBS shafts in them.

 

Bad experience.

[dmeyer1982]

Not liking them is one thing, but getting a build based on hitting them and liking them at the fitting? Something changed.

[flog2]

I know that you think I am crazy, because everyone says these heads and shafts are "the bomb." I got my new Apex Pros with Nippon Modus shafts after going through a fitting with a Top 100 Club fitter AND having the shafts SST PURED and these things are the worst feeling clubs I have ever played. They are utterly unresponsive, I get zero feedback and they feel dead. In talking to the fitter, they don't even seem to care. I just dropped $1300 on a set of irons and you would think that they would want me to be satisfied. WTF

 

I have since hit the iron with a PX 6.0 and the feeling in night and day.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience with either the head or shaft?

 

Thanks!

 

yes, with Mizuno and nippon shafts- took them back after a week of trying and hating the 'feel', its all about the 'feel' right?

 

lost 60% value trading them in and then 'fitting' myself with trial and error to get what worked for me and my swing.....forget the numbers, I wanted it to feel good, sound good and consistently go where I intended it to go.

 

I now never get intentionally fitted.

[icandy]

i had the same experience but with Titleist AP1 716, was flushing it during fitting and Modus 120 stiff shaft was outperforming all other shafts.

When I went out to the course, I couldn't find the same consistency and shaft felt like noodles. I've ordered some spare heads and Modus 125 Stiff/Regular, Modus 105, Modus 120 Extra Stiff now to redo the fitting but to my terms on a golf course.

[icandy]

Also remember, the modus 120 is suited for an early release swing, see following diagram from Nippon Shafts. We could have been swinging with an early release during fitting.

 

[oh-brian]

Also remember, the modus 120 is suited for an early release swing, see following diagram from Nippon Shafts. We could have been swinging with an early release during fitting.

 

 

Thanks for the chart! I am going back in today to hit some shots on Trackman and potentially make some tweaks. I also have another set of shafts that I can throw in if need be. We are going to try to soften the feel either through swing weight or potentially soft stepping the shafts.

[tigers9iron]

the modus 120 has a unique bend profile most have never used before with the soft middle soft butt and stiff tip. The shaft will probably only fit a smaller % of golfers. I swapped in modus 125 stiffs into my Z745s from s300 and the modus 125 are great. Somewhat similar to the s300 but feel lighter, much smoother no vibration and they feel less stiff but its prolly only a perception due to smoothness as there is no ball flight dispersion as a result of any flex issue. Ball flight is strong, penetrating and go high or low. I think the 125 shaft with its familiar bend profile will be much more suitable to the masses looking to try nippon

[jay65]

I'd ring Callaway themselves, explaining the situation in a calm way. They don't want people playing their Clubs who are unhappy and with bad experiences. So give them a call, and see if they can get the Fitter to work with you to resolve the situation.

 

FWIW I had a set of Miuras a few years ago, with KBS Tour, which is a shaft I have used for 7 or 8 years, and they felt bloody terrible. something was a amiss, so these things happen for some unexplained reason, but as I said, call Callaway and maybe you can persuade them to get the 3 parties to work together to get a resolution that will suit everyone.

[markheardjr]

the modus 120 has a unique bend profile most have never used before with the soft middle soft butt and stiff tip. The shaft will probably only fit a smaller % of golfers. I swapped in modus 125 stiffs into my Z745s from s300 and the modus 125 are great. Somewhat similar to the s300 but feel lighter, much smoother no vibration and they feel less stiff but its prolly only a perception due to smoothness as there is no ball flight dispersion as a result of any flex issue. Ball flight is strong, penetrating and go high or low. I think the 125 shaft with its familiar bend profile will be much more suitable to the masses looking to try nippon

Soft butt, firm middle and firm tip. Not soft middle.

 

Tour120 is love hate. I don't prefer it. Feels clunky and dead as you say, too soft. I like to feel the shaft in my hands and the Tour120 I don't feel it. It's like I got some Novocaine in my arms when I swing those.

 

That said, you totally wasted your money SST pureing Nippons. You can insert them in any orientation and they will play 100% the exact same. SST pure in general is just a gimmick. I've been in multiple tour vans when the van tech's pretty much laugh at the SST Pure guy when he wants to pure their newest offerings. It's only done on tour for players repping SST Pure or for the few mental midgets that can't swing a club without that sticker on it.

[oh-brian]

the modus 120 has a unique bend profile most have never used before with the soft middle soft butt and stiff tip. The shaft will probably only fit a smaller % of golfers. I swapped in modus 125 stiffs into my Z745s from s300 and the modus 125 are great. Somewhat similar to the s300 but feel lighter, much smoother no vibration and they feel less stiff but its prolly only a perception due to smoothness as there is no ball flight dispersion as a result of any flex issue. Ball flight is strong, penetrating and go high or low. I think the 125 shaft with its familiar bend profile will be much more suitable to the masses looking to try nippon

Soft butt, firm middle and firm tip. Not soft middle.

 

Tour120 is love hate. I don't prefer it. Feels clunky and dead as you say, too soft. I like to feel the shaft in my hands and the Tour120 I don't feel it. It's like I got some Novocaine in my arms when I swing those.

 

That said, you totally wasted your money SST pureing Nippons. You can insert them in any orientation and they will play 100% the exact same. SST pure in general is just a gimmick. I've been in multiple tour vans when the van tech's pretty much laugh at the SST Pure guy when he wants to pure their newest offerings. It's only done on tour for players repping SST Pure or for the few mental midgets that can't swing a club without that sticker on it.

 

Yeah, I felt like a sucker on the PURING. I wasn't going to do it mainly because I didn't want the Nippon graphics all cocked as the shafts got rotated. Then the clubfitter said they would remove all that for me and I was like ahhhh...ok.

 

I went back today and started tinkering with swing weights. We got them to a spot where I could handle the feel. I'm going to give them a few weeks and if all else fails I have a set of KBS Tour to throw in...with NO SST PURING.

[sofla]

the modus 120 has a unique bend profile most have never used before with the soft middle soft butt and stiff tip. The shaft will probably only fit a smaller % of golfers. I swapped in modus 125 stiffs into my Z745s from s300 and the modus 125 are great. Somewhat similar to the s300 but feel lighter, much smoother no vibration and they feel less stiff but its prolly only a perception due to smoothness as there is no ball flight dispersion as a result of any flex issue. Ball flight is strong, penetrating and go high or low. I think the 125 shaft with its familiar bend profile will be much more suitable to the masses looking to try nippon

Soft butt, firm middle and firm tip. Not soft middle.

 

Tour120 is love hate. I don't prefer it. Feels clunky and dead as you say, too soft. I like to feel the shaft in my hands and the Tour120 I don't feel it. It's like I got some Novocaine in my arms when I swing those.

 

That said, you totally wasted your money SST pureing Nippons. You can insert them in any orientation and they will play 100% the exact same. SST pure in general is just a gimmick. I've been in multiple tour vans when the van tech's pretty much laugh at the SST Pure guy when he wants to pure their newest offerings. It's only done on tour for players repping SST Pure or for the few mental midgets that can't swing a club without that sticker on it.

 

Yeah, I felt like a sucker on the PURING. I wasn't going to do it mainly because I didn't want the Nippon graphics all cocked as the shafts got rotated. Then the clubfitter said they would remove all that for me and I was like ahhhh...ok.

 

I went back today and started tinkering with swing weights. We got them to a spot where I could handle the feel. I'm going to give them a few weeks and if all else fails I have a set of KBS Tour to throw in...with NO SST PURING.

 

Did you increase or decrease the swingweight? My combo set with the Nippon 120 swingweight between d2 and d3 at stock length and lie

[autronicdsm]

Maybe havthe flex checked to make sure they are not mislabeled and too stiff?? Other than that, the fitter can't help you I don't think.

 

I'm not sure about that. From what I have read about Nippon, they have some of the tightest tolerances and are very consistent from shaft to shaft. The fitter just now reached out and wants to have me back in to potentially tweak the swing weights. I am guessing he might want to go a little heavier in SW to soften the shaft and offer more feel.

 

Yea but Nippon didn't assemble your clubs.