P790 vs Apex 19

[WeritoK2]

Hi guys, given its been some time since both models came out, can anyone who have played both share some light on which of the two is the "better iron"? I know it will work different for different people but I hope some of you could tell me which is more forgiving and performs better overall.

 

Thanks 

 

 

[bombs]

In my experience..

 

P790 is more forgiving. Faster face. Goes further. Physically larger head with more tungsten.

 

Apex spins more. A little more workable. A little softer. 

 

 

 

 

[platgof]

What about around the greens? To me, this is where the Apex is far better! 

[Munich77]

It is personal preference. I got fitted and tried both.  The CF19 worked better for me.   

[bombs]

Both are super hot around the greens. I would not dare hit any delicate shots with either. 

[Htk084]

Is anyone concerned about the larger loft gaps and distance gaps with the p790 short irons?

 

For this reason alone, I would think the Apex would be better

[JohnKHawk]

I have the first gen P790's & Apex CF19's. Prefer the look & feel of the CF19's. Distance is pretty much a toss up. Both are distance clubs & do their job in that regard.

 

Also liked that CF19's offered a matching set sand wedge.

[AcesAndHoles]

13 hours ago, WeritoK2 said:

Hi guys, given its been some time since both models came out, can anyone who have played both share some light on which of the two is the "better iron"? I know it will work different for different people but I hope some of you could tell me which is more forgiving and performs better overall.

 

Thanks 

 

 

I played both the CF19 and the P790. Echo some of what was said above. The p790 will be overall "hotter" and a bit more forgiving than the Apex but not by much. I also found more fliers with the P790 but that's simply user-error. With a proper fitting you should be within comparable distance. IIRC the launch of the P790 was a bit lower with less spin and more roll. The Apex launched pretty high with good numbers and balls would basically stick. While the CF19 requires a bit more precision on the face I felt that it was much more rewarding. The feel and feedback of a well struck shot, or a  poor one is far superior to the P790 for me. I would have been happy with the P790 but not completely satisfied. The CF19, on the other hand, made my very short list of irons to buy. 

 

Price wise they're comparable but Callaway has stellar sales on the Callaway Pre-owned page and should have something coming up for Black Friday if you can be patient and know your specs. I was able to find 4-Aw for about $900 in "Like New" condition time ago when I was looking at them. So far "Like new" has been pristine in the 4 purchases I've made from them.

 

If you don't mind cast, check out the Mavrik Pro as well-- they're a bit better priced than the Apex. The Apex and Mav Pro were neck and neck for me on the list. Essentially the Mav had the same total distance for me with a lower trajectory and a bit more roll. Looks are super clean and while I typically don't futz around with it, they're supposed to be more workable.

Edited November 18, 2020 by AcesAndHoles
Mav Pro added

[AcesAndHoles]

16 minutes ago, JohnKHawk said:

I have the first gen P790's & Apex CF19's. Prefer the look & feel of the CF19's. Distance is pretty much a toss up. Both are distance clubs & do their job in that regard.

 

Also liked that CF19's offered a matching set sand wedge.

 

I love that they offered the matching Sw but didn't hit it as well as I would have liked. Maybe it's in my head but I found that I prefer "proper" wedges for Sw and Lw

[JohnKHawk]

2 minutes ago, AcesAndHoles said:

 

I love that they offered the matching Sw but didn't hit it as well as I would have liked. Maybe it's in my head but I found that I prefer "proper" wedges for Sw and Lw

I generally use a specialty wedge for SW & LW too, but I took a chance and tried the CF19 matching set SW wedge & it just flat out works for me. No complaints.

[OhYeahPlayer]

My fitting recommendation was either CF19 or P790 - came away with the CF19. P790 was really hot and low spin, too hot for my liking. No complaints about the CF19 and no objections to anything anyone has said above. I'll second checking out the Mavrik Pro, I found them very comparable. Depends on your shaft fit though, I got fit into Modus 120 which was no upcharge with Apex but an extra couple hundred with the Mavrik Pro, made cost almost the same so I went with the forged head.

[AcesAndHoles]

54 minutes ago, arenapoutine said:

My fitting recommendation was either CF19 or P790 - came away with the CF19. P790 was really hot and low spin, too hot for my liking. No complaints about the CF19 and no objections to anything anyone has said above. I'll second checking out the Mavrik Pro, I found them very comparable. Depends on your shaft fit though, I got fit into Modus 120 which was no upcharge with Apex but an extra couple hundred with the Mavrik Pro, made cost almost the same so I went with the forged head.

You read my mind. If you do chose to go with the P790 you'll be able to tinker a bit with shafts to get either your launch higher or your spin up a bit. I played the P790 and the Callaways in different shafts, but the Mav Pro and the Apex both in Project X so the comparison is a bit more fair. I'll dig around on my phone to see if I can find my launch monitor stats for each. 

[OhYeahPlayer]

51 minutes ago, AcesAndHoles said:

You read my mind. If you do chose to go with the P790 you'll be able to tinker a bit with shafts to get either your launch higher or your spin up a bit. I played the P790 and the Callaways in different shafts, but the Mav Pro and the Apex both in Project X so the comparison is a bit more fair. I'll dig around on my phone to see if I can find my launch monitor stats for each. 

I suppose I'll share my LM stats as well, FWIW for anyone reading. I'm about 85mph SS with a 7 iron. I need an x flex, heavier weight, and lower launch/spin because of my aggressive tempo and transition. The P790 and Modus 120 spun ~4500RPM for me. To be fair, this was off a mat, and was being fit using a notoriously low-spin iron ball in a Chrome Soft, but still. Even though the fitter "fit" me into that, I couldn't buy it. (At this point I knew I needed the Modus and wanted the CF19 so didn't bother testing the Mavrik Pro extensively here.)

 

Apex 19 was around 5000RPM, which still had me a bit skeptical but knew my on course spin would be higher. I recently used a GC2 and my own ball (Z Star XV) and was up to 5400/5500RPM, still off a mat. I don't have any issues holding greens though with anything other than my (23.5 degree) 5 iron, so even though it's still pretty low I don't find it a problem on course. I do think P790 would have been too low on the course though given I couldn't really go to a higher spin shaft. 

[WeritoK2]

its hard to make up my mind! I need to choose either one of those sets but the thing is I can't hit them where I live so its going to be a blind decision, the only thing for sure is that both sets come with Project X Pxi 6.5 soft stepped once, I really don't know...

[fundustrial]

I’ve played first gen P790 and CF19 Apex combo. The feel of the Apex wins for me, and in other areas they feel similar (don’t have LM numbers and different shafts too).

 

For what it’s worth I think Callaway is releasing a new Apex line early next year (not sure if just the Pro line or both) so may want to wait for that.

[AcesAndHoles]

4 hours ago, fundustrial said:

I’ve played first gen P790 and CF19 Apex combo. The feel of the Apex wins for me, and in other areas they feel similar (don’t have LM numbers and different shafts too).

 

For what it’s worth I think Callaway is releasing a new Apex line early next year (not sure if just the Pro line or both) so may want to wait for that.

My guy at the store says the same. They were instructed not to fit the apex anymore. 

[RxGolf1]

The 790's are more forgiving on mishits and they have a lower, penetrating ball flight.  The Apex's would balloon up on me, but I'm also high spin player.  

[AcesAndHoles]

4 hours ago, arenapoutine said:

I suppose I'll share my LM stats as well, FWIW for anyone reading. I'm about 85mph SS with a 7 iron. I need an x flex, heavier weight, and lower launch/spin because of my aggressive tempo and transition. The P790 and Modus 120 spun ~4500RPM for me. To be fair, this was off a mat, and was being fit using a notoriously low-spin iron ball in a Chrome Soft, but still. Even though the fitter "fit" me into that, I couldn't buy it. (At this point I knew I needed the Modus and wanted the CF19 so didn't bother testing the Mavrik Pro extensively here.)

 

Apex 19 was around 5000RPM, which still had me a bit skeptical but knew my on course spin would be higher. I recently used a GC2 and my own ball (Z Star XV) and was up to 5400/5500RPM, still off a mat. I don't have any issues holding greens though with anything other than my (23.5 degree) 5 iron, so even though it's still pretty low I don't find it a problem on course. I do think P790 would have been too low on the course though given I couldn't really go to a higher spin shaft. 

 

[RoyalMustang]

You can get a good deal on the Apex 19 right now: new sets on going for $800 on eBay from Callaway pre-owned (anything listed as "like new" will show up new; it is all NOS they are getting rid of) if they work for you.

 

I hit them and liked them.  They are more of a GI iron than a player's iron and have a little added ball speed and lower spin; they feel pretty nice but not quite as clean as my Mizuno MMC.  I didn't notice any difference in forgiveness, but the Apex was stock (which is upright) and my Mizuno is 1/2 degree flat (which is probably minus 2 for Callaway) as I have very long arms; that can make a difference in terms of strike.  

 

I haven't hit the P790.  You can also throw the Mizuno JPX 921 Forged in there: it is very similar and a great club.  

 

I have hit a bunch of iron sets over the past 3 months, and my takeaway was that if the irons were matched for me in terms of lie and shaft, I hit them well. If they weren't, I didn't.  It is only my opinion, but there aren't really bad irons out there; anything you pick up that has a matched shaft and lie to your swing will work quite well.  Now, you might be more discerning if you are a scratch golfer, but my trial and error has really pointed at lie and shaft as the big factors.  I was lucky as I was able to hit similar irons but with different lie angles; as someone who needs a flatter lie angle, I always hit Mizuno better "out of the box" as they have the flattest stock lie angle.  It doesn't mean Mizuno makes a better club for me, only that the Mizuno stock is a better fit.  Ideally, when choosing clubs, one would know their lie angle and ideal shaft and try heads based on that.  Lie angle rarely happens until after the purchase if I am not mistaken, unfortunately.  This is great if you need the average-stock lie angle, but even then, they aren't uniform across all clubs. 

 

Even my Mizuno trial found a JPX 921 forged set that was anywhere between .5 and 2 degrees upright from the factory but were ordered to be stock/neutral.