Callaway Apex CF19 Smoke Irons

[Jagpilotohio]

Still No pics of the notorious wear issues. It’s all made up! LOLOLOL!!

[littled1212]

Sorry only pic I have right now-hopefully you can blow it up. I have played 5 rounds with these and the wearing is not bad at all!!

 

 

 

 

 

[dunn]

A couple of things we have to consider when discussing lofts and lies is measurements will vary from machine to machine, and how the head was inserted into the machine for measurement and adjustment can cause variances.

 

For example, if I insert an iron into my machine, misaligned at 1* flat of where it should be because I'm in a hurry or not really paying attention, my measurement and subsequent adjustments will be off. If the head was actually standard loft and lie, it may read at 1* flat in the machine. If I adjust back to standard, it may now actually be 1* upright.

 

I bring this up because the adjustments being done by Callaway are probably performed by someone who really knows nothing about golf and doesn't understand how small errors in measurement and adjustment can affect the overall product and its performance. These folks are probably given a short tutorial on how the loft/lie machine works, but may not really understand how easily lofts and lies can be screwed up.

 

I will also share that I ordered a set of irons from PXG with a request for all irons to be 1* upright. When I received them I put them on my loft/lie machine and found numerous discrepancies. Some irons were 1-2* up, some were standard, and some of the lofts were off. Now this begs the question "is their machine off or is my machine off?" Or maybe both?

agreed....anything I have measured I give 1 degree tolerance for machines and if something is way off I have em dbl check (which is usually) done more carefully.....

 

These are production items performed by people who dont golf (mostly)..

...tolerance on production and assembly..

 

If you want high end perfection go to JDM board, but you'll pay alot more

 

I just figure loft and lie are easily adjusted (and check every set I get)....SW is tougher but doable..

.

I really dont expect whole lot anymore and if they're almost exact I am shocked...(but has happened)

 

My last srixons were about best ove received...but they also were off the rack with stock shaft so that's probably gna be best bet anyway.....buy a set with DGS300 (if its stock shaft) and probably be one of best builds,lol....but am serious

[dearth12]

Had my Apex Pro’s with smoke finish in the loft and lie machine today, even had to have a couple adjusted and zero signs of any damage to the finish.

 

 

Just wanted to give a counter example to all the stories of the finish being ruined while adjusting loft/lie.

[O.D.underpar]

Let’s bump this to see some pictures after a few rounds. Or better yet the raw version.

[Kmac]

So they actually had a Smoke Pro demo at my local GG, which really surprised me. I was getting my putter regripped so I was in and out pretty fast but I thought the finish looked.... ok? Was not that dark, IMO and I dunno something about it made me glad I canceled my order.

[Mark_Crossan]

tdk8180 said:

They would have been better to offer these in RAW , and not black anything.

 

 

 

I just rawed my Apex Pro 19s and they are sick.

Post a pic of these already! 

Mans tell us the process, I want to do this to 3/5 iron to match my Apex Raw MBs

[Hifade]

I ordered a set with Tour V's and 1* weak to remove a slight amount of the offset, but kept them at standard lie and length. I'll adjust those myself, if need be. It will be interesting to see how they measure when I receive them. I ordered on 3/18 and expect them to ship either today or tomorrow, with overnight delivery. I had a set of the Rogue Pro blacks and they showed signs of wear quickly, but they're golf clubs so I'm fine with that. I was thinking of putting these in Coke and removing the black finish anyhow. Raw would be cool with black inserts in the cavities. Can't believe pics from the claims of having "rawed" some out still have not been posted.

[tdk8180]

Edit

 

[tdk8180]

Edit

 

[CaseyDan]

> @tdk8180 said:

> Here they are RAW!!!!!

>

> YA BABY!

>

>

>

So how did you get them Raw? CLR the Smoke Irons.... very interested to hear. They look great.

 

[tdk8180]

I took regular chromes and stripped the finish, then snadblasted, then soda blasted, then hand sanded with 80, 120 and 00 steel wool to get the grain look back.

 

Havent done anything with the Smokes yet...still to come.

[Kmac]

ugh I could never game or even stand to see those in my bag. No thanks!

[tdk8180]

Hopefully the raw finish will eventually be available one day. Probably have to hope for a tour set vs a retail offering

 

[kiwii]

I'm on both sides here.

1. Of course a brand new club should arrive.....well....brand new. I find it hard to believe that the finish is that delicate that it can't be bent in any way. Brass jaw bar? rubber mallet method like ping does on tour van? Duct tape around the hosel? Also hard to believe that they didn't prototype test the finish before mass production. By the time production has caught up, all hype and demand has withered and they will only be a few month before price is going to drop with new model on the way.

 

2. However, it should be known that any black finish on any golf club is going to show wear. Even on a driver, the face will show wear over time. so with any black finish club, one has to expect the wear to show through. that being said, it's hard to excuse wear on the hosel. It's pretty hard to have wear or damage to the hosel area. Bag chatter, shanks and such don't really beat up the hosel area. So when it comes to finish damage there, or dings, it's a sign of being bent in a machine.

 

 

[RodrigoNicely]

Any updates on how the finish is holding up on these?

[Mark_Crossan]

Did anyone ever strip the smoke irons at all? If the finish was put on a raw head then would it strip like the wedges do?

[wobgon]

Bumping this thread.......After some time has passed, any comments on the finish on these clubs?

[Kmac]

Anyone still go these in the bag? How bad did they look after one range sesh? Any love?

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I just had steelhead xr pro which only came in black which besides being not durable i loved. New they looked like a dream... 2 3 rounds woah.. nightmare. Looks like i had them since birth. Getting apex 19s in brushed silver. Would have went black again but afraid finishwont hold up again.

[Lobber]

They hold up very well

[st_pedro]

Almost a year with 2-4 rounds a week plus range sessions both on grass turf and carpet.

Regular dings and scratches with no head covers, only during flight travel I’ll have them on to prevent knocking the driver n fairway graphite shafts.

Here are the PW and 8i. They hold up very well surprisingly

 

 

 

[larciel]

I just bought a smoke Pro set from CPO and they look like the picture above; bit glossy

 

compared to a brand new set in my local shop, it looks more matte. (smoke as well)

 

Is it because of usage? or has there been a change in the finish?

[Larbear]

On 12/2/2020 at 1:30 PM, larciel said:

I just bought a smoke Pro set from CPO and they look like the picture above; bit glossy

 

compared to a brand new set in my local shop, it looks more matte. (smoke as well)

 

Is it because of usage? or has there been a change in the finish?

Same question actually! I bought a CPO 9 iron to replace a badly dinged one. But the finish is more matte