Tour Kevin Kisner's new Callaway Apex TCB irons w/ Nippon LSL3 prototype shafts – 2022 CJ Cup

[atursky]

[PureDivots]

TCBs seem like an iron that’s going to stick around on tour for a long time. 

[pjc]

That LSL3 proto is the Modus 115 I believe.  Not sure why he is playing it instead of the 115.  Probably because that's what was installed in those heads from the beginning.

[Viper4225]

44 minutes ago, pjc said:

That LSL3 proto is the Modus 115 I believe.  Not sure why he is playing it instead of the 115.  Probably because that's what was installed in those heads from the beginning.

 

thanks, was just about to ask what shaft that is.

[Red4282]

Is that a custom sole grind? Wonder if something like that is coming to retail

[sniper]

Don’t be surprised if Kisner is with a different manufacturer next year.  I’ve heard he wants a driver with more spin (possibly Ping). May sign with and move to Wilson for irons. 

[webber]

22 minutes ago, sniper said:

Don’t be surprised if Kisner is with a different manufacturer next year.  I’ve heard he wants a driver with more spin (possibly Ping). May sign with and move to Wilson for irons. 

He switched drivers a lot this year or at least shafts. I think he was playing the Triple Diamond S head. He had a Motore F1, then Ventus Blue, then Project X Hzrdus Red RDX, then a PX Riptide, then back to the old Bertha head with the Aldila ATX Green. 

[LoopySwing13]

Not a huge callaway guy but the TCB always have me wondering what if… 🤩 

[Ed Settle]

7 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Is that a custom sole grind? Wonder if something like that is coming to retail

I wondered if it had a bit off a leading edge grind. Not sure. 

[chip75]

1 hour ago, Ed Settle said:

I wondered if it had a bit off a leading edge grind. Not sure. 

 

Looks like they've had some offset added to them as well.

[Red4282]

2 hours ago, Ed Settle said:

I wondered if it had a bit off a leading edge grind. Not sure. 

Thats what it looks like to me, as well as trail edge. And added offset. Almost makes me think its a completely different iron than the retail version

[Hot Rod 71]

I don't think there is more offset on this iron than the standard offset on the TCB. Callaway lists the offset for a TCB 7 iron at 2.3mm and the 5 iron at 2.8mm. 

 

I had a set for a little while and the amount of offset was surprising to me for a "tour" club.

[avg_joseph]

23 minutes ago, Hot Rod 71 said:

I don't think there is more offset on this iron than the standard offset on the TCB. Callaway lists the offset for a TCB 7 iron at 2.3mm and the 5 iron at 2.8mm. 

 

I had a set for a little while and the amount of offset was surprising to me for a "tour" club.

A Raw TCB ZO would be $$$

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, Hot Rod 71 said:

I don't think there is more offset on this iron than the standard offset on the TCB. Callaway lists the offset for a TCB 7 iron at 2.3mm and the 5 iron at 2.8mm. 

 

I had a set for a little while and the amount of offset was surprising to me for a "tour" club.

15 handicaps on the internet are the only ones who complain about 1mm offset differences, thats why. Tour pros dont care as long as its reasonable and performs.

[CKaneb]

9 hours ago, sniper said:

Don’t be surprised if Kisner is with a different manufacturer next year.  I’ve heard he wants a driver with more spin (possibly Ping). May sign with and move to Wilson for irons. 

I'd love to see Kisner's bag if he was just a free agent. Feel like he would have a really awesome setup because it seems like he has no bias towards new equipment and will play whatever works without regard to how old it is

[Red4282]

22 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

15 handicaps on the internet are the only ones who complain about 1mm offset differences, thats why. Tour pros dont care as long as its reasonable and performs.

Sorry but thats just wrong, plenty of pros dont want to see excessive offset. I guess they dont “complain”, because they dont have to. Yes performance is #1 but they still want something pleasing (to them) to look at. I dont know how much that 7 iron in the picture has, but to my eye it looks like more than the retail version i own. 

[third-times-a-charm]

3 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

Sorry but thats just wrong, plenty of pros dont want to see excessive offset. I guess they dont “complain”, because they dont have to. Yes performance is #1 but they still want something pleasing (to them) to look at. I dont know how much that 7 iron in the picture has, but to my eye it looks like more than the retail version i own. 

Thats why I said reasonable. The TCB is more than reasonable in its offset vs performance and what it provides to players that need it. Just like not every player - or tour player - needs a crazy open-looking or fade-biased club. Some prefer draws or draw-bias. YMMV of course but to say the TCB is an outlier with 'surprising' offset doesnt make sense.

[Red4282]

7 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Thats why I said reasonable. The TCB is more than reasonable in its offset vs performance and what it provides to players that need it. Just like not every player - or tour player - needs a crazy open-looking or fade-biased club. Some prefer draws or draw-bias. YMMV of course but to say the TCB is an outlier with 'surprising' offset doesnt make sense.

Well i agree with you about the tcb and reasonable offset. And im certain there are pros that do prefer more and there are pros that dont really care either way. And there are 15 caps that have preferences too, and that is totally fine!

 

Went back to old threads to find pics. Its hard to make a definitive conclusion based on pics because how its held and angles can change how it looks.

 

kisners 7 iron:

 

7 iron:

6 iron on the right:

 

5 iron:

 

 

 

[ThomasfromScarboro]

These look amazing. Hope Kis hits them well!

[stevechooster]

19 hours ago, pjc said:

That LSL3 proto is the Modus 115 I believe.  Not sure why he is playing it instead of the 115.  Probably because that's what was installed in those heads from the beginning.

The part that surprises me is the shaft choice and flex... figured he'd might be in a heavier/stiffer choice. Always interesting to see setups that aren't always DGX100.

[RacineBoxer]

On 10/18/2022 at 10:04 PM, LoopySwing13 said:

Not a huge callaway guy but the TCB always have me wondering what if… 🤩 

 

Same. I like a little forgiveness. If there was a TCB that was designed for a single digit handicapper instead of a tour pro I'd give them a real hard look. I'm sure the feel is great. 

[JohnnyCallaway]

On 10/19/2022 at 4:13 AM, Ed Settle said:

I wondered if it had a bit off a leading edge grind. Not sure. 

Took some relief from the leading edge to match the turf interaction of his Apex Pro

[JohnnyCallaway]

6 hours ago, RacineBoxer said:

 

Same. I like a little forgiveness. If there was a TCB that was designed for a single digit handicapper instead of a tour pro I'd give them a real hard look. I'm sure the feel is great. 

Sounds like the perfect iron

[JohnnyCallaway]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:24 AM, Red4282 said:

Thats what it looks like to me, as well as trail edge. And added offset. Almost makes me think its a completely different iron than the retail version

It’s not. Only one version of TCB (RAW/Satin). The only ones that look to have more or less is due to bending strong or weak. 

[JohnnyCallaway]

On 10/18/2022 at 4:35 PM, Viper4225 said:

 

thanks, was just about to ask what shaft that is.

It’s a Nippon Prototype 

113 Grams 

softer handle/stiff mid/soft tip

 

kis is looking to hit his irons a bit further and higher. The label is NS Pro LSL

[Red4282]

1 hour ago, JohnnyCallaway said:

It’s not. Only one version of TCB (RAW/Satin). The only ones that look to have more or less is due to bending strong or weak. 

Thanks for the clarification. Pictures can play tricks with the eyes! Love that leading edge grind btw

[Hot Rod 71]

Just to be clear, iron offset may help in squaring the club face, but it also helps increase a player's launch angle. 

 

Someone mentioned Kisner needs a higher-spinning driver. If that's the case, the added offset in these irons may assist with increasing trajectory in his irons.

 

There are many tour players using what are considered to be "game improvement irons". Lee Westwood and Stewart Cink come to mind immediately. Westwood has played the PING i-210, or its equivalent, for decades, and Cink has been using the i-210 for the last two or three seasons. I think Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland used them as well. 

 

 

[Viper4225]

2 hours ago, JohnnyCallaway said:

It’s a Nippon Prototype 

113 Grams 

softer handle/stiff mid/soft tip

 

kis is looking to hit his irons a bit further and higher. The label is NS Pro LSL

 

so it's not the same as modus 115? would you say it's closer to modus 105 or 115? 

 

thanks!

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Viper4225

[STL44]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:50 AM, Hot Rod 71 said:

I don't think there is more offset on this iron than the standard offset on the TCB. Callaway lists the offset for a TCB 7 iron at 2.3mm and the 5 iron at 2.8mm. 

 

I had a set for a little while and the amount of offset was surprising to me for a "tour" club.

Demo'd a set a few months ago, compared to an old 714 AP2, offset was night and day

[pjc]

On 10/19/2022 at 11:37 AM, stevechooster said:

The part that surprises me is the shaft choice and flex... figured he'd might be in a heavier/stiffer choice. Always interesting to see setups that aren't always DGX100.

Well, the Modus 115 in stiff is 118.5 grams and 1.6* torque.  Only 1 gram difference between all 3 flexes and .1 degree of torque difference.  And to clear things up, the LSL3 was the prototype for the Modus 115.  There were 3 different protos, one just LSL, LSL2 (stepless), and this one LSL3.  The LSL was the one that weighed a bit less as stated above.