2024 APEX CBs reviews

[jsixman]

Can anyone give a review and their two cents on these.  They look so good I'm thinking of switching after being with titleist irons from 2008. 

[Kale_m]

Hit the demo head 

 

soft, compact, thin sole , satin finish 

 

all boxes ticked for me

 

they are #1 on my list for next year if I get new irons 

[mikehill06]

Last week I hit them at a Callaway demo day at the Club I am a member at.  My previous Callaway iron experience is with TCB Raw heads - I tried to like them TWICE.  Purchased a set when they first came out and again in the spring of 2022.  TCB’s and new CB’s are fantastic irons but Titleist irons seem to be a better fit for ME.  

 

The TCB is my baseline for the CB assessment below: 

 

Shape - I much prefer the shape and sole of the CB’s over the OG TCB’s.  Toe, topeline and footprint looked really good

Feel - I think these are much softer than the OG TCB’s.  As good as anything I hit - Srixon ZX7 MK II 23’ T100

Turf interaction - probably the best change, the pre-worn leading edge and overall sole are really good 

 

Also heard the faulty Apex Pro head - holy cow did it sound terrible.  Like Nike square Sasquatch bad.  The rep said it was faulty and the production heads wouldn’t sound like the demo head prior to letting my buddy hit it but I was shocked he would even allow that to happen. 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by mikehill06

[BirdieBob]

 

[UnderPar18]

Got my set in today. First impressions are the CB’s are Callaway’s best looking irons in a longgggg time. I usually hate the look of Callaway irons and these are really clean. Glad I got the Pro in the 4 iron but wouldn’t love the Pros all the way down as they are more round in shape.

[SBH9458]

I love them. Looks, sound, feel all are outstanding. 

[UnderPar18]

2 hours ago, SBH9458 said:

I love them. Looks, sound, feel all are outstanding. 

Haven't been able to test them in a round, but looking forward to the opportunity. How have you found the pre-worn leading edge through the turf?

[SBH9458]

1 minute ago, UnderPar18 said:

Haven't been able to test them in a round, but looking forward to the opportunity. How have you found the pre-worn leading edge through the turf?

Really really good!

[T Creer]

I'm trying to decide if I pull the trigger on Callaway CB or wait for the Ping Blueprint S. Both look very intriguing. 

[Scott0000]

On 10/9/2023 at 6:07 PM, UnderPar18 said:

Got my set in today. First impressions are the CB’s are Callaway’s best looking irons in a longgggg time. I usually hate the look of Callaway irons and these are really clean. Glad I got the Pro in the 4 iron but wouldn’t love the Pros all the way down as they are more round in shape.

Any chance you are willing to show address of a few from a lefty set?  They look better than I would've thought upon this view.

[UnderPar18]

1 hour ago, Scott0000 said:

Any chance you are willing to show address of a few from a lefty set?  They look better than I would've thought upon this view.

 

[Scott0000]

14 minutes ago, UnderPar18 said:

 

Appreciate it.  Much less rounded than older TCB.  Toe looks way better imo.

[UnderPar18]

24 minutes ago, Scott0000 said:

Appreciate it.  Much less rounded than older TCB.  Toe looks way better imo.

Less rounded for sure!

[dodgyman]

I really wanted to like these; they were top of the list on paper. After testing though I eliminated them as a choice pretty quickly. That said, I think these will be great depending on what you are looking for.

 

The pro: for me were the feel and how well they would combo with the Apex Pro's.

 

My biggest issue with them is perceived offset. I say perceived because on paper these have small offset, but for whatever reason, to my eye the offset looked pronounced. From a performance, look and forgiveness standpoint I felt there were far better options and sort of knew right away that these were not going to work but they're still good irons and I think if you like the look they'll perform.

[UnderPar18]

7 hours ago, dodgyman said:

I really wanted to like these; they were top of the list on paper. After testing though I eliminated them as a choice pretty quickly. That said, I think these will be great depending on what you are looking for.

 

The pro: for me were the feel and how well they would combo with the Apex Pro's.

 

My biggest issue with them is perceived offset. I say perceived because on paper these have small offset, but for whatever reason, to my eye the offset looked pronounced. From a performance, look and forgiveness standpoint I felt there were far better options and sort of knew right away that these were not going to work but they're still good irons and I think if you like the look they'll perform.

You’re saying the CB had perceived offset? 

[coreyhr]

Has anyone taken the weight plate off, or on the TCB’s (I’m assuming they’re similar)? Just curious how much room there is between the plate and the head and if there’s room for a few grams of hotmelt. From what I’ve read, the weight differences between the plates is pretty substantial. 

[bcflyguy1]

Despite my swing and game being pure trash for the last several weeks, I'm really looking forward to seeing how these irons do once I've gotten all that even somewhat sorted out. High hopes for them, just can't get out of their way right now.

[UnderPar18]

40 minutes ago, coreyhr said:

Has anyone taken the weight plate off, or on the TCB’s (I’m assuming they’re similar)? Just curious how much room there is between the plate and the head and if there’s room for a few grams of hotmelt. From what I’ve read, the weight differences between the plates is pretty substantial. 

Not sure there is much room behind the plate but likely not intended to have room to fit hot melt. I asked mine to be SW to D4 and they did a superb job building them. I do agree that the weight difference seem to be significant, but I bet there will be knock off plates in more increments. 

[jetro110]

Really liked hitting these, anybody combo with the Pro’s specifically at the 4 or 5 iron with the 455 face cup and how well do they gap?

[coreyhr]

3 hours ago, UnderPar18 said:

Not sure there is much room behind the plate but likely not intended to have room to fit hot melt. I asked mine to be SW to D4 and they did a superb job building them. I do agree that the weight difference seem to be significant, but I bet there will be knock off plates in more increments. 

Thanks. Obviously tip weights are the easy answer. But I’ve got this unwarranted and unproven thought in the back of my mind that 4-6 grams of tip weights cause draw bias. Again, I know that’s not the case. Just thought adding weight inside the plate would get the SW right and appease my psychotic brain at the same time. 

[dodgyman]

5 hours ago, UnderPar18 said:

You’re saying the CB had perceived offset? 

Yes, I found both the CB and the Pro to have perceived offset. I did not try the MB.

 

I'm curious if it's just me or others see the same.

[Pnwpingi210]

2 hours ago, coreyhr said:

Thanks. Obviously tip weights are the easy answer. But I’ve got this unwarranted and unproven thought in the back of my mind that 4-6 grams of tip weights cause draw bias. Again, I know that’s not the case. Just thought adding weight inside the plate would get the SW right and appease my psychotic brain at the same time. 

I had the tcbs last year.  You could fit a could - few grams of thin lead tape behind the weight plate before you screw it in.  A strip or two and the plate will probably sit flush.  More than that and it will likely affect the aesthetics 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Pnwpingi210

[kylesilk]

14 hours ago, coreyhr said:

Has anyone taken the weight plate off, or on the TCB’s (I’m assuming they’re similar)? Just curious how much room there is between the plate and the head and if there’s room for a few grams of hotmelt. From what I’ve read, the weight differences between the plates is pretty substantial. 

I just wish Callaway would just sale the plates on their website, would be so much easier.

[UnderPar18]

10 hours ago, dodgyman said:

Yes, I found both the CB and the Pro to have perceived offset. I did not try the MB.

 

I'm curious if it's just me or others see the same.

The CB's have less offset than my Zx7 mkii's and it is noticeable in my opinion. The Pro's do have more offset but nothing crazy. I can take a picture of my 4 iron (Pro). As pictured above the CB 8 iron really doesn't show much offset at all. 

[dodgyman]

1 hour ago, UnderPar18 said:

The CB's have less offset than my Zx7 mkii's and it is noticeable in my opinion. The Pro's do have more offset but nothing crazy. I can take a picture of my 4 iron (Pro). As pictured above the CB 8 iron really doesn't show much offset at all. 

I agree, CBs do have less offset than Zx7s, but that's a whole different iron category. With Zx7s you get a bigger blade length and a much bigger topline so the offset there seems to make more sense. With the CBs I'm expecting something small and sleek; I'm contrasting Mizuno and the T100/T150s, and there it just seemed to be more pronounced. Again, not trying to be too negative on the CBs, I expect them to be popular and a lot of people to like them, but I do at least recommend seeing/trying them as to me the offset was off-putting.

[UnderPar18]

24 minutes ago, dodgyman said:

I agree, CBs do have less offset than Zx7s, but that's a whole different iron category. With Zx7s you get a bigger blade length and a much bigger topline so the offset there seems to make more sense. With the CBs I'm expecting something small and sleek; I'm contrasting Mizuno and the T100/T150s, and there it just seemed to be more pronounced. Again, not trying to be too negative on the CBs, I expect them to be popular and a lot of people to like them, but I do at least recommend seeing/trying them as to me the offset was off-putting.

You're not being negative your most certainly entitled to your opinion on how an iron looks. Looking at offset specs the CB's are 0.1 mm different than T100 in the scoring irons, the middle irons to long irons are near identical for offset. This being said how an OEM shapes a set of irons could impact the appearance and that is probably the case for you. The previous x forged has such an ugly shape and offset I couldn't even stomach them. But that was just how my eyes perceived the overall shaping. 

[QuigleyDU]

I have the 5-7 iron in the CB and 8-11 in the MB. To me, they launch high and are spinny. I think they look good but something off about the shape of these irons. I think it may be because the leading edge grind makes the leading edge look so straight. 

 

I went back to my apex mb 21 irons and these are sitting in a bag for now. 

[lilcaeser]

here are pics of my 24' pro6 iron and CB 7 iron,,,,I love the transition and off-set of 6/7 iron  haven't played them yet- recovering from a kidney tumor surgery ,hoping to start swinging next week but I absolutely love them, too me they have a longer sleeker look hidden inside of TCB sized head ,,,T

[mushkie11]

On 10/16/2023 at 6:53 PM, coreyhr said:

Has anyone taken the weight plate off, or on the TCB’s (I’m assuming they’re similar)? Just curious how much room there is between the plate and the head and if there’s room for a few grams of hotmelt. From what I’ve read, the weight differences between the plates is pretty substantial. 

So I bought a set of TCB’s from Callaway Preowned. Got them. Ball wasn’t really reacting well and something was making a noise. Thought it was epoxy in the shaft, nope. Kept inspecting. Took apart the weight and found this. Someone super glued this little weight into the head. I have since returned them got my 21 Apex pros back and just got my new Cb’s which will be built up tomorrow. 

[JTK37]

On 10/17/2023 at 12:28 PM, QuigleyDU said:

I have the 5-7 iron in the CB and 8-11 in the MB. To me, they launch high and are spinny. I think they look good but something off about the shape of these irons. I think it may be because the leading edge grind makes the leading edge look so straight. 

 

I went back to my apex mb 21 irons and these are sitting in a bag for now. 

 

 

This is spot on.  I've got a hodge podge of the new Apex's to make up a combo set as needed.  23* UT(BTW this thing is soooo much better than the old ones), Pro 4-6, CB 4-11 and MB 8-10. Right now I've settled on the UT and 5-11 in the CB. There is something about the look thats different- its not off putting, its NOT offset- though it looks like off/on-set, its just different.  The leading edge is significantly more square than anything I've had in the bag, and the transition from toe to top line looks to me like a much sharper smaller radius than others.  If anything it took a round and some range time to get comfortable looking at it at address.

 

I love the feel, the UT is tremendously forgiving, the CBs way more forgiving than I expected( close enough to the Pros that I don't see swapping out the longer clubs) and the turf interaction is amazing.  To the point its not even a thought, the irons get into the turf and get back out(I tend to be steep) better than anything I've ever played.  What I haven't benefitted from is the increased launch and spin.  Same DGX100s I've played in all my recent sets and these launch significantly higher(1+ degree more), while spinning 800+ RPM more (vs '21 X-forged, P770s, way more than the 790s).

 

Normal conditions there isn't a huge impact, and the numbers are extremely consistent.  Bringing the ball flight down, which was never something I struggled with has become an issue.  But there have been trees I've been able to go over that I never would have tried in the past.

 

I'm not sold on them, and I'm determined to make them work, happy to hear others are having a similar experience