Apex pro 21 unpopular?

[fjk]

I see tons of TCB sets on BST and eBay but hardly apex pro 21s. I know some people were put off by the sound or feel of the long irons. 
 

still, they set up nice and compact and the tech seems all there. Now I’m hearing they’re discontinued and can’t be ordered, for the new line which isn’t due for release until summer or fall. 

 

I’m going to try a set bc MMT come stock. Thoughts on them from the community?

Edited February 5, 2023 by fjk

[KNG_MT]

I have a set of 21 pros with the MMT 105TX. Also have ZX7 and t100s to compare them against.

 

The apex are nice. Of the three sets I have I prefer the looks and shape of the Apex. However they are third in feel  and sound which is super subjective. Both the t100s and the ZX7 have a nice thwack sound when hit flush. I've seen people say the Apex are clicky... I don't find that, just doesn't sound as solid. 

 

Numbers wise, my sets are all different lofts, so it's not apples to apples, but there isn't anything that stands out as any sort of anomoly. 

 

I'm torn on which set I prefer over all. All three are nice.

 

If you can catch a good deal on a set with the MMT go for it. At worst, you won't lose much if you decide to resell them.

[Golf Pig]

I went from the Apex CF16s to a combo set of Apex Pro/Apex 21s. I liked the feel so much in the short irons that I replaced the Apex 7/6/5/4 with Apex Pros. KBS Tour $-Taper shafts in all of them. Couldn't be happier. Maybe the lack of BST listings is because people really like them 😀

[Tree Levino]

Long irons are great. You see tons in bags of European tour guys. 

[kwainio]

I actually just don't think they sold super well. They're good irons, but I would say there are other irons in that category that looked/sounded/felt better.

[cg0rd0noo7]

I played a set of apex pros 21 for about a year. They were excellent. People who didn’t like them thought they were clicky and didn’t feel great. I think these people expected/wanted the pros to be a forged solid iron and they are not. 

[sniper]

FWIW my son ordered a set almost 3 weeks ago that is expected next week.  
 

At least I haven’t heard otherwise but I do see you can’t customize on the website now. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by sniper

[JohnKHawk]

Made a custom set of Apex 21's...6-7 iron DCB, 8-9 irons standard Apex & PW-AW were Apex Pro. Started off last year with them & by July the Apex 19's were back in the bag.

[Hawkeye77]

Not seeing them all over the BST suggests they are popular not unpopular. People aren’t dumping them 20 minutes after they buy them. 

[QuigleyDU]

Maybe you are seeing a ton of TCBs because 15 handicaps got hungry eyes and bit off more than they could chewy while those that ordered the standard are happy and still playing them rather than trying to flip them..

[B.Easy]

I had the 4 iron in the top of my bag.  Looks nice, performs well.  Kind of an unusual feel and I don't think clicky is the right description.  Sounded and felt like a hollow casting.  When the rest of your irons are solid forgings, that sound/feel can put you off.  For me, it was more the turf interaction.  I play pretty firm and catchy fairways and it would get caught.  Overall, really nice club. 

[sparky1_2007]

Weren't the Apex Pro 21's custom order only? Or maybe that was only the MB's.

either way - i've got the Apex MB/Pro 21 combo from the callaway preowned store and love the way they both sound/feel/look.

[Skrimpdelite]

I love both the ‘21 apex and apex pros. I wonder which one sold better between those 2

[Straphael]

They got caught in no man’s land. 
faster players hit them to far and there’s better options for people who need help. They are kinda a confusing set of irons. Not sure the target market but they just don’t really fit into any categories. It’s a shame because they’re good but once again callaway has too many options for iron sets that just get lost in the shuffle

[T_Golf_23]

2 hours ago, Straphael said:

They got caught in no man’s land. 
faster players hit them to far and there’s better options for people who need help. They are kinda a confusing set of irons. Not sure the target market but they just don’t really fit into any categories. It’s a shame because they’re good but once again callaway has too many options for iron sets that just get lost in the shuffle

They only had like 4 irons for the better player…. 
 

apex pro 

x-forged CB

apex TCB 

apex mb 

 

…. Yeah…. Kind of a lot of releases at once for such a limited category….

 

 

[FifeRiviera]

Greatly underrated irons

[vtpachyderm]

I went from Apex Pro 16's to Cobra King Tour MIM's. Demo'ed the Pro 21's and did not like how they felt compared to the 16's. I know it's subjective, but the numbers were about the same as the MIM's so if I'm spending that much I went with what I preferred feel wise. If you ask me, those MIM's were seriously underrated - bit more forgiving than the Pro 16's but same soft feel and consistency.

[Straphael]

6 hours ago, T_Golf_23 said:

They only had like 4 irons for the better player…. 
 

apex pro 

x-forged CB

apex TCB 

apex mb 

 

 

this is my point though. If you want blades then mb is there want a little cavity back then tcb and x forged are there. So they get caught in that in between game improvement but not what better players want because the ball flys off the face. 
they are in no way a bad iron they do exactly what callaway says they do. I just don’t see the market outside of maybe an older player who has lost speed but at best you might get a combo set out of them because nobody needs a hot face on scoring irons

[MtlJeff]

I don't know if their sales were good or bad but i thought it was a weird release, especially once the TCB came out. 

 

Kinda reminded me of the Ping I10 which was one of the least popular I series irons that Ping did. They made them too small and people just got S57's or G series. 

 

The 2021 Apex Pro was different looking than previous gens which were cavities, and it felt a bit different. Than the TCB's came out which were the same size basically and had a lot more cache

 

[radiman]

I feel like the Apex Pro lost it's luster, at least for me, when they started with the cup face.  I had the 2016 version and they were phenomenal.  They felt super solid and were super consistent.  Then the 19 came out with the cup face.  Wasn't a huge fan.  Then the 21 came out with the hollow body and cup face.  At that point they weren't really the Apex Pro from years past.  The TCB kind of took that mantle.  

 

Like others have said, I think it was a bit of an in between set.  For me personally, they were too long and I didn't really care for the feel.  If a guy needed some help, they could just get the standard Apex.  I know a few people with those and they absolutely love them.  

[cubuffs]

Agree with what others posted above - just a strange release window for Callaway.  My son who will be playing in college next year got the X Forged when they came out in November of 20, and I ordered the Apex Pros in early 21.    I believe that all of the tour players took to the TCBs which surprised Callaway (was good friends with one of their reps) and forced their hand to release.  Just too many offerings for somewhat of the same target player.

 

Around the irons - fit what I was looking for in a compact players shape, with some tech/added distance to keep up with the kid, and a more consistent and playable spin number.   Had been a long time Mizuno player and I didn't have any issue with the feel.  They are still in the bag today - a bit upset with Callaway not being more open on when the replacements will be coming and may be looking outside of the brand this year.

[third-times-a-charm]

Callaway has too-many-irons-itis especially in the 'player' range. As has been mentioned from the TCB to the Apex Pro line and the yearly Rogue/Mavrik/etc Pro iron.

 

Also IMO the Apex Pro took too big of a cosmetic turn away from the regular apex so when you combo'd them they looked like two completely diff irons - where as the 19 model looked the same.

[jholz]

Of the Apex Pro's, I'd have to say the 2016's were the worst looking but best performing.

 

Apex Pro 2019 were a good combination of looks and playability.

 

The Apex 2021's took things in a weird direction. People weren't prepared.

 

The DCB's more closely fit their expectations of what the Apex Pro 21's were "supposed" to be like.

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

I played Apex Pros 2014 until last year.  Went with Apex Combo set, with 8-Aw being Apex Pros.....not as 'soft' as the 2014s, but I like the set.

 

I did consider going with Pros but found the Apex 2021 more than playable for my aging body.

 

Also, I agree, probably see lots of TCBs as likely players bought on forum input but don't have the game for them.

[98muted]

I guess there is a negative to there being too many options in Callaways lineup, but I think of it as a positive.  I game the 21 pros with $taper and love them.  T100s had better feel when I hit them well, but that was the problem, I didn't hit them well often enough.  The Apex Pro sits in a nice spot as a players distance with more forgiveness.  It's not for everyone, but for the niche it fills, I think its a great club

[Hawkeye77]

On 2/6/2023 at 12:54 PM, 98muted said:

I guess there is a negative to there being too many options in Callaways lineup, but I think of it as a positive.  I game the 21 pros with $taper and love them.  T100s had better feel when I hit them well, but that was the problem, I didn't hit them well often enough.  The Apex Pro sits in a nice spot as a players distance with more forgiveness.  It's not for everyone, but for the niche it fills, I think its a great club

I don’t see the negative - they don’t have any trouble selling irons, pretty sure they know their market, not like someone’s head is spinning because the website has too many pictures BUT they’ve said with Paradym there is a focus on perhaps fewer selections/models with drivers so maybe that signals a change in general. 
 

 

[DLiver]

I play the CF19s and went to a Cally demo day to try the CF21s (my set is getting pretty beat up). While I was hitting them the Cally rep told me some interesting things. First, I probably couldn't tell much difference between the 19s and the 21s (he was right). Second, the 21s are so popular, that they are putting off their scheduled freshening for a year. I've known this rep for a while, and he is a straight shooter. He was also talking himself out of a sale, so I believe what he was saying.

[leftylama]

Tried both the 19 and 21 versions and definitely went backwards in feel vs the 16 model.

 

Callaway aren't the only ones suffering this. I had T100 v1 and recently picked up a set of 716 AP2. To me the 716 feel is superior.