2021 Callaway Apex Irons, Apex DCB Irons, Apex Pro Irons, Apex Hybrids, Apex Pro Hybrids (in-hand photos)

[chip75]

On 1/14/2021 at 2:56 PM, Golfingfanatic said:

There are some stock pictures and specs on the european website of Callaway. But I haven't found any pictures of the irons in the flesh yet.

 

At first glance I thought they were X Forged CBs. Whilst I applaud Callaway giving golfers choice, combo sets are going to be fun with fitters!

[poppman2142]

On 1/16/2021 at 5:43 AM, chip75 said:

 

At first glance I thought they were X Forged CBs. Whilst I applaud Callaway giving golfers choice, combo sets are going to be fun with fitters!

ApexComboSets-2021.pdf

[SBH9458]

The Apex Pro 21 looks great in person, sounds great and performed for me. Hit it this weekend.  Look forward to getting my hands on the full set!

[brettmag]

1 hour ago, SBH9458 said:

The Apex Pro 21 looks great in person, sounds great and performed for me. Hit it this weekend.  Look forward to getting my hands on the full set!

I agree! It seems like Callaway is following the trend of offering multiple combo sets, but I'm not sure it's needed. I think the Pro offers a lot of tech and forgiveness in the long irons already. Plus, if I wanted just 4-5 iron in Apex or Apex DCB, the lofts seem awkward and I'm unsure how to adjust them. Easiest might be to have two 6 irons (one Pro and one Apex standard or Apex DCB) then a 5 iron of Apex standard or Apex DCB. I really don't want to strengthen the lofts on the Pro of the 7-PW.

 

Thoughts/tips?

[bcflyguy1]

5 minutes ago, brettmag said:

I agree! It seems like Callaway is following the trend of offering multiple combo sets, but I'm not sure it's needed. I think the Pro offers a lot of tech and forgiveness in the long irons already. Plus, if I wanted just 4-5 iron in Apex or Apex DCB, the lofts seem awkward and I'm unsure how to adjust them. Easiest might be to have two 6 irons (one Pro and one Apex standard or Apex DCB) then a 5 iron of Apex standard or Apex DCB. I really don't want to strengthen the lofts on the Pro of the 7-PW.

 

Thoughts/tips?

If you’re worried about gapping in a combo set and can’t test them on TrackMan with your ball of choice to get the best data possible, consider not doing a combo set at all.

 

having said that, with things being slow at the ECPC due to virus a greater amount of testing than normal went into testing the prescribed combo sets that are being offered so their gapping should be quite good.

[wcbjr]

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by wcbjr

[SBH9458]

1 hour ago, brettmag said:

I agree! It seems like Callaway is following the trend of offering multiple combo sets, but I'm not sure it's needed. I think the Pro offers a lot of tech and forgiveness in the long irons already. Plus, if I wanted just 4-5 iron in Apex or Apex DCB, the lofts seem awkward and I'm unsure how to adjust them. Easiest might be to have two 6 irons (one Pro and one Apex standard or Apex DCB) then a 5 iron of Apex standard or Apex DCB. I really don't want to strengthen the lofts on the Pro of the 7-PW.

 

Thoughts/tips?

I think @bcflyguy1 has it right. They’ve offered a nice set of combo options if that’s what you are after for the longer irons. And they do gap ok from what I read, but real world matters more than what we can all read for lofts and hence expected gapping. 
 

And I definitely agree with you, no way I’d want to strengthen the lofts on the Pros. They’re plenty strong enough as is. 

[davo32683]

Anyone seen the short irons in these yet? Are they as round looking as the X Forged CB?

[wldchld22]

Hit demo apex and apex pro today. Nearly identical from the top. The both just look so good too. 

[noodle3872]

Loved the Pro but disliked the twangy sound at impact. 

[mason82]

Hit the Pro extensively during a fitting las week. Looked awesome, but the feel was pretty bad. Loud and clanky, and that was on centered shots.

[EaglesGolf99]

Anybody hit the '21 Pro Hybrid yet? 

[bcflyguy1]

Yes, it’s perhaps the best Apex hybrid yet.

[EaglesGolf99]

9 hours ago, bcflyguy1 said:

Yes, it’s perhaps the best Apex hybrid yet.

Very interesting!

 

Huge fan, here, of the 2016. 

 

The 2019 did nothing for me. 

 

The 2021 looks real nice. 

 

What makes it so strong in your opinion?

[bcflyguy1]

Sounds and feels more like the ‘16 version.

 

Shaping is an appealing middle ground between the boxy ‘16/‘19 and the roundness of Mav Pro.

 

great combo of speed and spin retention. With the 20* sample I tested, I was seeing consistent 225-230 carry WITH spin in the lower 4000s so it manages to be long without sacrificing playability, much like the ‘21 Epic drivers.

5 hours ago, EaglesGolf99 said:

Very interesting!

 

Huge fan, here, of the 2016. 

 

The 2019 did nothing for me. 

 

The 2021 looks real nice. 

 

What makes it so strong in your opinion?

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by bcflyguy1

[bear87]

Having played all of the Callaway Apex irons, I'm looking forward to trying a combo set of Apex and Apex Pro's.  Just hoping there isn't a massive difference in performance between the two, as they look a lot more different than the CF19 iterations.  

[bcflyguy1]

43 minutes ago, bear87 said:

Having played all of the Callaway Apex irons, I'm looking forward to trying a combo set of Apex and Apex Pro's.  Just hoping there isn't a massive difference in performance between the two, as they look a lot more different than the CF19 iterations.  

Is it gapping that you're concerned about in a combo set?

[bear87]

22 hours ago, bcflyguy1 said:

Is it gapping that you're concerned about in a combo set?

I'm not so much concerned about gapping as I am about differences in playability.  For example, the Apex CF16 and Apex Pro 16 were, for me, very different in terms of forgiveness and playability.  The Apex CF19 and Apex Pro 19 had more subtle differences which suited a combo set better, for me.  Just my $0.02.

[dmeeksDC]

I kind of wish Callaway would put the tech in the Apex hollow heads and leave the Apex Pro as a nice-feeling forged iron. Then if golfers wanted tech in their long irons, they could blend in the Apex or DCB as desired — or not. No way around the cupface now, at least in the Apex family. You have to buy the X Forged. Maybe that is their plan. Given the performance overlap of these new Apex models, I’d prefer the 2014 or ‘16 Apex Pro releases over these. 

[Seidinho]

The pros look great. I was hoping they would make the regular apex look a bit more “classic and conventional”. I really don’t like the badging. Also, the cf 19 were super clicky. 

[boggyman]

Will SPEED irons follow these to replace the Mavrik line? 

[JasonPetermann]

So would the Apex 21 Hybrid (non-pro) be about the same size as the Epic/Epic Flash Hybrids?

[noodle3872]

5 minutes ago, JasonPetermann said:

So would the Apex 21 Hybrid (non-pro) be about the same size as the Epic/Epic Flash Hybrids?

From what I’m told, the Apex 21 hybrid is very, very similar to the Epic Flash hybrid in size and shape. 

[JasonPetermann]

5 minutes ago, noodle3872 said:

From what I’m told, the Apex 21 hybrid is very, very similar to the Epic Flash hybrid in size and shape. 

Thanks! I was looking for the head size and just did not see it anywhere. I liked the size of the flash. The Apex Pro just seems a bit to small for my liking.  

[Golfrnut]

Anyone been able to source out what the actual offset specs of the 'player' side of the irons are?  It appears to be a bit of a hot mess in terms of what the actual specs are supposed to be.  The Callaway site of all places has some pretty large offset specs for the Apex Pro for example:

 

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-mb.html

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-pro.html#product-specs

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-player-mix-combo.html#product-specs

 

Then you look at the combo PDF, or TGW, or any of the other retailers and they have specs more like you would expect to see.

Offset 0.140 0.135 0.125 0.120 0.110 0.100 0.085 0.075 

 

Who's gettin' it wrong here?

[noodle3872]

1 hour ago, Golfrnut said:

Anyone been able to source out what the actual offset specs of the 'player' side of the irons are?  It appears to be a bit of a hot mess in terms of what the actual specs are supposed to be.  The Callaway site of all places has some pretty large offset specs for the Apex Pro for example:

 

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-mb.html

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-pro.html#product-specs

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/irons-2021-apex-player-mix-combo.html#product-specs

 

Then you look at the combo PDF, or TGW, or any of the other retailers and they have specs more like you would expect to see.

Offset 0.140 0.135 0.125 0.120 0.110 0.100 0.085 0.075 

 

Who's gettin' it wrong here?

Some specs are in millimeters and others are in inches. The MB 4i has 2.8mm or 0.110”

[Golfrnut]

2 minutes ago, noodle3872 said:

Some specs are in millimeters and others are in inches. The MB 4i has 2.8mm or 0.110”

🤦‍♂️  FML  Thanks for that.  Bozo question on my part.

[kuuuuch]

Placed my order for Apex 21’s yesterday - after a full bag fitting at Callaway HQ, I did pick up a hair more ball speed and distance with the 21’s over my 19’s. I really liked the Pro’s as well and got similar numbers, but decided to go for a bit more help for days when I’m a bit out of sync. Agreed, not a fan of the new Apex badging, but boy the Pro’s looked even better in person. 
 

Just a proponent of hit the most forgiving iron you can stand to look at philosophy. 

[DallasDan]

I played a couple rounds with the DCB irons 5-AW. I traded in my Apex 19's. The feel is definitely a little clunkier. Even on solid shots it doesn't feel as good as the CF19's. The jury is still out on the forgiveness claims. That is the MAIN reason why I got the DCBs. I shot a 95 and then an 81. I'm in Texas so no golf for me in the near future. I want to say that it's going to help me over the long run because of the forgiveness. I feel like these don't spin as much as the CF19's. If anyone else has feedback on the DCBs i would greatly appreciate it!

[magnus7319]

Apex pro vs p770. Anyone hit both?