Callaway's new Apex MB and X Forged irons

[LaymanM]

X forged heads made in china

 

Don't know about the mb's. Someone who has them have a look what it says on the plastic seal around top of the 8i shaft please

 

Lookin at my 8 iron. I don’t see anything...

[RainShadow]

I was able to hit everything that interested me today during a Club Champion fitting. Dang, that was fun!!

I was able to hit on the monitor my Ping s55, X Forged, Apex MB, Srixon 765, Ping I200, Taylormade P770,P750,P730, etc..

The standouts for me were the Srixon 765 and the X Forged with the Steel Fiber shaft in Regular flex. I thought the Project X 6.0 was perfect (except for the wear and tear on my elbows) and they were good but they were not even close to best. I also thought my s55 Pings with the Steel Fibers I own were a decent fit but they were not even close to the same shaft in the 765 and X Forged. The spin was way too high. The X Forged were the overall winner in both distance and dispersion over a very nice Srixon club!

Final build will be X Forged with Steel Fiber R flex shafts bent a degree or two strong depending on club. This gave me the optimum trajectory, spin, and super dispersion. Though not a factor, the distance increase in the 6 iron over my stock set up with Project X 6.0 was over 14 yards. Getting this combo correct gave me a feel I really did not know I was missing. The smash factor was a VERY consistent 1.4.

Fun day even including the 9 hours I spent on the road and getting up at 1:30am to get work done before hitting the road. Golf makes me stupid like that :-)

FWIW, while I hit the MB OK, I know I am in the minority here but I did not like it compared to the X Forged. I felt like I was striking it well, but I must have been missing it enough to affect feel and performance. Neither was good.

The Ping I200 was the biggest disappointment for me. I had high hopes that it would be a good contender but it performed and felt the worst for my swing.

 

One of the X Forged with steel fiber swings. All you youngsters out there...no laughing at the 59 year old man numbers :-)

 

 

Club Speed Ball Speed Smash Fac. Spin Rate Launch Ang. Carry Total Height Land. Ang. Attack Ang.

Mph Mph Rpm Deg Yds Yds Ft Deg Deg . 84.5 119.2 1.41 5370 18.6 170.0 178.6 99 47.9 -0.5

 

What weight did you get the steelfiber shafts in? 95 or 110.

[LaymanM]

Anybody find a shop with the XForged head on the fitting cart?

I can only find demo 7 Irons w/PX 6.0 in them. Worst possible shaft for me.

Called Callaway today and they said that they are supposed to have the fitting heads out there.....

 

I still haven’t seen any. I hit the demo 7 iron with px 6.0 well. I fit my shafts Mizuno optimizer and then tested in mb 18 six iron.

 

Mizuno optimizer spit out 6.5 px lz and then 6.5 px.

 

Tested px and px lz 6.5 and 6.0. Got best numbers and feel with 6.0 px lz. That’s what I ordered in Apex MB. Love the results

[Stanks]

This APEX MBs are smoooooooooth and soft. I’m talking mizunos soft. Maybe better. Haven’t tried the x forged

[CaseyDan]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

[STPBMW]

Can't wait to see the xforged with the paint fill removed from the cavity.

[CDM]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

 

I was thinking of doing this with my 16” pros. Maybe use my 4-6 and get the MB in 7-Pw. They do spin different in testing so shafts would have to be looked at across the board. KBS in PRO”s but in prelim testing the MB the PX LZ worked “well”....best was Oban but damn they are expensive .

[bcflyguy1]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

 

This is what I'm playing at the moment with DG AMT X100. 3-5 '16 Apex Pro, 6-P MB with the MBs all bent 1* weak. At address, the similarity of Pro/MB was much greater than X Forged/MB.

[CaseyDan]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

 

This is what I'm playing at the moment with DG AMT X100. 3-5 '16 Apex Pro, 6-P MB with the MBs all bent 1* weak. At address, the similarity of Pro/MB was much greater than X Forged/MB.

 

My guess is that they play the same but did you see any difference in forgiveness between the X-Forged and Apex Pro 16?

 

 

[bcflyguy1]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

 

This is what I'm playing at the moment with DG AMT X100. 3-5 '16 Apex Pro, 6-P MB with the MBs all bent 1* weak. At address, the similarity of Pro/MB was much greater than X Forged/MB.

 

My guess is that they play the same but did you see any difference in forgiveness between the X-Forged and Apex Pro 16?

 

Nothing readily apparent, no. What clinched going the route I did instead of a full set of X Forged was that I wanted to go to a 3 wedge set-up (48, 54, 60) instead of 4, and that was much easier to do with the MB and Pro. Since the lofts on the X Forged short irons are stronger, the need for a gap wedge was always going to be there.

[gioguy21]

Hit the x forged today and have to say, I wasn't too impressed. They launched a bit high for my tastes and sounded a bit...clacky? The mbs are pure sex on a stick. It will be a toss up between them and the 730s for me.

[tdk8180]

Hit the x forged today and have to say, I wasn't too impressed. They launched a bit high for my tastes and sounded a bit...clacky? The mbs are pure sex on a stick. It will be a toss up between them and the 730s for me.

 

MBs all day bro. That bounce angle is perfect for these irons. They really got it right. Of course, the classic look....so good.

[gioguy21]

Hit the x forged today and have to say, I wasn't too impressed. They launched a bit high for my tastes and sounded a bit...clacky? The mbs are pure sex on a stick. It will be a toss up between them and the 730s for me.

 

MBs all day bro. That bounce angle is perfect for these irons. They really got it right. Of course, the classic look....so good.

I know but, tm connections sway bias lol and price...

[tdk8180]

Hit the x forged today and have to say, I wasn't too impressed. They launched a bit high for my tastes and sounded a bit...clacky? The mbs are pure sex on a stick. It will be a toss up between them and the 730s for me.

 

MBs all day bro. That bounce angle is perfect for these irons. They really got it right. Of course, the classic look....so good.

I know but, tm connections sway bias lol and price...

 

Well then...

[pearsonified]

I hit both the Apex MB and the 18 X-forged today (with PX 6.0 shafts), and here are my takeaways:

 

The Apex MB is the finest MB I've hit since the Adams MB2. Feel off the face is a perfect combination of solid with an acoustical reverb that is more reminiscent of your favorite CB than it is a blade.

 

The only thing that gave me pause about the MBs is the fact my spins were lower than ever throughout the bag. For example, I averaged 5960rpm with the 7i, which was causing me to carry the ball about 6 yards farther than I'd like. This results in distance gapping that is larger than I'd like with shorter clubs.

 

On the other hand, I can see myself thriving in the wind with these clubs because it hardly seemed possible to spin the ball too much (without wiping the sh*t out of it).

 

And next...

 

I was extremely disappointed with the 18 X-forged. After hitting the MB, these felt like cheap junk.

 

I generally prefer the reverb-y nature of CBs to MBs, but the Apex MB felt more like a cavity where the X-forged felt more like a wonky blade.

 

I produced more "normal" spins with the X-forged (~6800rpm with 7i), but I have a hard time imagining myself having a pure ball striking round with these things.

 

I feel like Callaway maybe extended themselves too much with this cavity, and the entire club just comes off as cheap to me.

 

Now with that said, I suspect the 18 MBs will eventually reach legendary cult status, as they offer an unmatched feeling at impact.

[paztormike]

I hit both the Apex MB and the 18 X-forged today (with PX 6.0 shafts), and here are my takeaways:

 

The Apex MB is the finest MB I've hit since the Adams MB2. Feel off the face is a perfect combination of solid with an acoustical reverb that is more reminiscent of your favorite CB than it is a blade.

 

The only thing that gave me pause about the MBs is the fact my spins were lower than ever throughout the bag. For example, I averaged 5960rpm with the 7i, which was causing me to carry the ball about 6 yards farther than I'd like. This results in distance gapping that is larger than I'd like with shorter clubs.

 

On the other hand, I can see myself thriving in the wind with these clubs because it hardly seemed possible to spin the ball too much (without wiping the sh*t out of it).

 

And next...

 

I was extremely disappointed with the 18 X-forged. After hitting the MB, these felt like cheap junk.

 

I generally prefer the reverb-y nature of CBs to MBs, but the Apex MB felt more like a cavity where the X-forged felt more like a wonky blade.

 

I produced more "normal" spins with the X-forged (~6800rpm with 7i), but I have a hard time imagining myself having a pure ball striking round with these things.

 

I feel like Callaway maybe extended themselves too much with this cavity, and the entire club just comes off as cheap to me.

 

Now with that said, I suspect the 18 MBs will eventually reach legendary cult status, as they offer an unmatched feeling at impact.

I had the exact opposite experience....

 

I loved the look of the MB's and was taking the demo 7 iron from the pro shop daily to hit on the range. I loved the feel and the flight. Fantastic club.

I didn't even give the X Forged demo iron a try for weeks until I just grabbed it on a whim.

 

I immediately loved the feel of the X Forged.

Soft and powerful at the same time. The look is classic. The performance was so much more versatile after trying it from different lies and while alternating with a driver and wedge.

I am a relatively low spin player, and the X Forged gets my spin up to where I want it. I love that I can work them but also feel very confident in their forgiveness.

 

It was such a turnaround for me because I was sure that I would end up ordering a set of the MB's.

After a few hitting sessions and a fitting, I chose the X Forged with KBS Tour V 110 shafts.

My set is on order and I can't wait to get them and start practicing.

[CDM]

I hit both the Apex MB and the 18 X-forged today (with PX 6.0 shafts), and here are my takeaways:

 

The Apex MB is the finest MB I've hit since the Adams MB2. Feel off the face is a perfect combination of solid with an acoustical reverb that is more reminiscent of your favorite CB than it is a blade.

 

The only thing that gave me pause about the MBs is the fact my spins were lower than ever throughout the bag. For example, I averaged 5960rpm with the 7i, which was causing me to carry the ball about 6 yards farther than I'd like. This results in distance gapping that is larger than I'd like with shorter clubs.

 

On the other hand, I can see myself thriving in the wind with these clubs because it hardly seemed possible to spin the ball too much (without wiping the sh*t out of it).

 

And next...

 

I was extremely disappointed with the 18 X-forged. After hitting the MB, these felt like cheap junk.

 

I generally prefer the reverb-y nature of CBs to MBs, but the Apex MB felt more like a cavity where the X-forged felt more like a wonky blade.

 

I produced more "normal" spins with the X-forged (~6800rpm with 7i), but I have a hard time imagining myself having a pure ball striking round with these things.

 

I feel like Callaway maybe extended themselves too much with this cavity, and the entire club just comes off as cheap to me.

 

Now with that said, I suspect the 18 MBs will eventually reach legendary cult status, as they offer an unmatched feeling at impact.

 

I had similar feeling on the X forged. The MB was way better with the same shaft. I swapped out the PX shaft for a KBS on the X Forged and the feel was much better. Note: I had to go up to X in the KBS to get the spin numbers back in line with each other. The X forged seem to spin a lot more.

 

Will the MB reach that legendary status? I think your right...they are sweet heads. Still gaming my 16' Apex Pro's but if any iron will kick them out it could be the MB or a Mizzy.

 

I tried the MP 18 line also and the Blade/SC model both have that Mizzy feel. (Apex MB does have a bit better feel IMHO) The MCC I thought would feel like crap based on the reviews on WRX. Not at all...! For my swing it provided the best all around numbers. It is 2 degrees stronger loft then the Mizzy MB/SC or Apex MB. I think the same lofts as X Forged.

 

I will say on the MCC, if you take a real divot...yea they don't feel great. If you as shallow divot / sweeper the MCC have a great feel. I would say if your a bottom 2-3 groove player look into these.

 

Edit: As to the X forged feeling cheap... Not agree 100% but compared to the MB yes there is a huge difference in feel.. A friend plays the Chrome soft and loves the X forged / ball combo. That ball being so soft does make the X Forged seem different in feel vs a V1X or TPX. Me I can not get along with the CS as the Apex Pros are soft as is So related to the "feel" department I have been wondering Calloway tested the "feel" aspect using the Chrome soft primarily?

[twjames]

Is the RAW version available in left-handed?

[pearsonified]

Funny you mention the Mizuno MMCs, which were my next favorite heads from this morning.

 

They have jacked lofts, but man—they provide a very addictive feeling at impact!

[BirdieBob]

I will second the positive thoughts on the Cally Apex MB irons....Fantastic blades.

I have not tried the xforged and have no intention of doing so.

 

[LaymanM]

Had a fun round today. Shot an 80 today with my Callaway Apex MB. Was fairly warm, mid 60s. 13 mph wind and course was SOAKING WET. Marsh city here in Ohio. I am bagging 5-AW Apex MB with Project X LZ shafts. Love these irons, hit quite a few greens in regulation. Didn’t track it but felt like I hit more then normal.

 

Lovely set of irons. Gonna have these for a long long time! Can’t wait for weather to warm up and course dry out.

 

Good day! Really early in season, I haven’t played or practice much with crap weather. I am miles ahead of last year at this point. I think it’s gonna be a very very good year

[cmatthews77]

Just thought, does anyone else think that the Apex Pro 16's would blend better with the 2018 MB than the 2018 X-Forged? Looks wise, the Apex Pro 16 and MB's are both chrome so that is easy.

 

For anyone that has played both X-Forged vs Apex Pro, did one seem more forgiving than another or why did you prefer one of the other?

 

I'm about to blend my Apex MBs (on order) with my previous' 16 Apex Pro. I'm just a bit too anal to blend a set with different finishes and different names. I'm honestly a bit surprised Callaway didn't hold these MBs for retail to go along with whenever the newest Apex refresher is.

 

Funny I went the other way from the Apex Pro to the Apex CF16 and have enjoyed it for a while especially through a transition where I was really struggling with strike. But now that I've got that back on the mend I just can't help but to go back with what I enjoy and prefer playing. As much as I love the CF16 there just seems to be the occasional jump from the 8i to the 7i. I can hit 20 balls with my CF16 7i and get my usual 167 with it and then get those 3-4 that go 175+. Just a random 10 yard jump. Just going back to my predictable 162.

[puttingmatt]

I am having a blast playing the XF 18's, find them to be a nice

evolution of the XF13's. Simular in feel.