Mid-handicap Review of Apex 21 Player’s Combo (8-PW Apex MB, 3-7 Apex pro) and Mizuno MMC MP20

[RoyalMustang]

 

Shafts: S400 tour issues

Quick review: I bought these here as a compliment (and trial) to my Mizuno MMC MP20 irons with X100 DG120 shafts.

About me: 5 foot 9, 165lbs.  Swing speed I don’t know exactly, but I typically carry my 7-iron 175 and my 3-hybrid 240.  Fairly athletic. Currently a 7 handicap but I have had several rounds in low 80s on tough courses with bad chips, hazards, and 40 putts. I have been working hard on my swing recently eliminating early extension, arm movement, and being more patient; the last round I played, I was 3/4 hitting into greens from 180-205 yards out.   

I played a couple of rounds on the par 60 course with these and my old Mizunos for a comparison.  There was nobody on the course, so I took my time and played 10 balls to a couple of holes to test dispersion and distance. 

 

Hole 1: 135 with a sight tailwind.  Long, narrow green, sloping slightly downward.

Apex PW: I hit 10 balls, 5 of which landed on the green. Perhaps it was due to the light swing weight, but I was getting an interesting draw here.  The balls were mostly all pin-high in terms of distance, putting me within 15 yards of the pin, but it was a left grouping mostly.  2 were fades right and missed by about 10 yards right.  The Apex PW felt great: the distance was super consistent, but dispersion was off. I couldn’t quite figure it out.  The SW was only D1 which may have had something to do with it (my irons are D3 and hybrid D5).  Nice solid feel.  Good spin

Mizuno MMC MP20 PW: if anything, the Mizuno felt even better.  Super solid contact, and the club worked better for me somehow.  I got a lot less left to right dispersion: I hit 6/10 on the green with the others super close. What was weird was the distance dispersion: perhaps it was me feeling more comfortable with the club and SW, but I had a couple of swings here that I absolutely crushed with the PW, sending it long off the green at 150. Most were about pin high but the really clean strikes seemed to go long; I must have been swinging harder as the Mizunos aren’t “loaded” like a GI iron. 

 

Hole 2: 168 to pin, fairly strong headwind/sidewind L to R.  This hole has an even longer green (30 yards) and is super narrow.  It was playing 185 or so with this wind; the hole is not protected by trees. 

 

Mizuno MMC 6-iron: I started with this club and hit 6/10 balls onto the green.  It was crisp, clean, and played straight to a bit of a fade.  I hit a couple a bit fat that fell 10 yards short, a couple that ended up in a draw and stayed left of the pin,  but most balls were on-line and ended up close to the pin.  Great feel.

 

Apex Pro 6-iron. If anything, this felt just as good or even better. It has a more “muted” feel to the Mizuno, which is beautifully crisp. The Apex had a really solid feel, almost heavier and deeper when struck well. I was 7/10 on the green for this club: dispersion was tight, nearly every swing resulted in straight to slight fade, and it produced the best swing out of the 20, a tap-in “would be” birdie and 2 others within 10 feet.  I got a little quick on one and hit a too-hard open faced flyer that flew 185 in these conditions (so 205 effective, which is too long for a 6-iron) but when I made good swings and was in my relaxed 185 yard 6-iron swing zone, good things happened. 

I wouldn’t say the pro is better than the Mizuno or vice versa; both had nice ball flights and were accurate. They performed similarly for sure, but with a bit different feel and look. The Mizuno gives more feedback and I like that. The Apex is a bit more muted and some may like that. The Apex Pro also looks better.

Shaft comparison: this was a big one for me.  I have wondered if I should be playing the S400 or the DG120 X100.  If I had to compare, the S400 feels a bit softer and buttery.  Launch is perhaps a bit higher?  The X100 has a stouter feel.  Again, SW is different, but I think more of a mid-tempo player (which I certainly am when I play well) could do well with either. 

Overall: while I can certainly play the Apex Player’s 8-PW MB irons, I don’t think they give me any sort of advantage.  They are nice and tight but so are my Mizunos.  They feel very crisp but so do my Mizunos. Dispersion is slightly less forgiving, but if you have a tendency to swing hard, they seemed to give me more of an easy distance control.  Would I trade them for my Mizunos?  If they were the same price, sure!  If I had to “pay” to get a new set, then no.  It would have to be a straight trade as they didn’t give me a performance boost.

For the Apex Pro vs MMC MP20: they are the same type of iron for the same type of “above average ballstriker” I am guessing.  Similar feel, distance, spin, dispersion.  I would play either! Same as above.

 

So, conclusion. I highly recommend the Apex Player’s combo set.  I also highly recommend the Mizuno MMC MP20.  Both are great. I bet once you get to this level, equipment doesn’t matter as much as properly matched (to the golfer) equipment.  I played a round recently with a set of 718 AP2 irons w/AMT White X100 and yep, they were great too. 

[DMartini]

good write up there RM.

i am looking at Apex Pro in a 3i for my summer build to maybe kick out a '18 XF UT 21 degree as the WRXer in me wants to shuffle up the top of the bag just because, i have hit the demo '21 Pro 7i, i enjoyed the club alot (except that Elevate ETS shaft) but enjoyed the '21 MB just a little more lol especially in PX LS.

[craz-e]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts, I haven’t had the chance to hit the Apex MB’s yet but I loved the last model. Some great irons out there at the moment 

[RoyalMustang]

1 hour ago, craz-e said:

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts, I haven’t had the chance to hit the Apex MB’s yet but I loved the last model. Some great irons out there at the moment 

 

Definitely. I went to the park and was playing around with the Apex MB PW as a cut open-faced wedge this afternoon, hitting it about 80 yards on a full swing.  What a confident, easy-to-hit club!  

 

I think this club is 1 degree up as ordered by the previous owner, so I will try to get them bent for me (whatever that is).  that could be contributing to the inaccuracy side to side.   

[RoyalMustang]

3 hours ago, DMartini said:

good write up there RM.

i am looking at Apex Pro in a 3i for my summer build to maybe kick out a '18 XF UT 21 degree as the WRXer in me wants to shuffle up the top of the bag just because, i have hit the demo '21 Pro 7i, i enjoyed the club alot (except that Elevate ETS shaft) but enjoyed the '21 MB just a little more lol especially in PX LS.

 

I have the Apex Pro 3i but honestly, I hit my 4-iron well and it makes more sense to just use my 3-hybrid choked up for that distance.