Blueprint S vs. Apex CB vs. Rogue St Pro

[gg38]

Hello folks!

 

Currently in a set of Callaway Rogue ST Pros with C Taper S+. Have been working with my instructor and we've found some success in moving to a more traditional CB. Clubs I anticipated were more in my wheelhouse like AI Smoke, Apex Pro, P770 were not getting the best results. We did a fitting and landed on Ping Blueprint S - they did not have the Apex CB heads for testing. So because I love the way they look I went to a trackman that had both and pulled the below data - based on the data available what are your thoughts? I've included my gamer as well. All descent angles were ~46 degrees. 

 

Below eliminates 6 shots from each club that were outliers (and removed 8 from the Rogue St Pro), all 7 iron. On the miss hit outliers, Apex CB had 2 shots come up the shortest out of all shots. Rogue ST Pro had the next 2 shortest shots. Blueprint S had the 3 longest shots, with 2 misses short.

 

This was done on a hitting mat so imagine spin rates are likely higher. 

 

Obviously some path issues that I am working on... 

 

Rogue St Pro C Taper 125 S+ (peak height 104.7 ft)

Blueprint S DG 120 X100 (peak height 96.4 ft)

Apex CB Modus 120X (peak height 102.2 ft)

*they did not have DG 120 for Apex or Modus for Blueprint, but can order those configurations.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by gg38

[dalillama47]

Tough choice.  Real tight groupings with the Ping and Callaway.  Decent angle and spin are very good for both.  Pings in general play with a little more bounce than Callaway.  This might come down to what looks and feels better to you.  GL.

[gg38]

56 minutes ago, dalillama47 said:

Tough choice.  Real tight groupings with the Ping and Callaway.  Decent angle and spin are very good for both.  Pings in general play with a little more bounce than Callaway.  This might come down to what looks and feels better to you.  GL.

Agree.
 

With the Apex CB every shot was the same fade shape, but the higher spin  and shorter misses concerned me.

 

The blueprint shot shape was more variable but spin was lower and miss hits were slightly better. 
 

Not sure how much is shaft vs head.
 

Regardless I do plan on Apex Pro 5 iron and below and i230(?) 5 iron and below. 

 

[Tree Levino]

30 minutes ago, gg38 said:

Agree.
 

With the Apex CB every shot was the same fade shape, but the higher spin  and shorter misses concerned me.

 

The blueprint shot shape was more variable but spin was lower and miss hits were slightly better. 
 

Not sure how much is shaft vs head.
 

Regardless I do plan on Apex Pro 5 iron and below and i230(?) 5 iron and below. 

 

1. I wouldn’t blindly order combo sets just because on paper they should be more forgiving. I hated the apex pro and don’t find it more forgiving than the MB or CB for my swing 

 

2. Your spin will go up outside not down - outdoor carry with the CB for example will likely be more in the 170 range and spin closer to 7000-7500rpm 

 

3. The DG 120 in the blueprint seems to be exaggerating your path. -8 is far too much for a 7iron. I’d continue working to neutralize this with your coach. 
 

4. CTS+ to dg 120 or modus 120 is a huge drop in stiffness. How did the new shafts feel in your hands? It’s a big change to make 

[gg38]

7 minutes ago, Tree Levino said:

1. I wouldn’t blindly order combo sets just because on paper they should be more forgiving. I hated the apex pro and don’t find it more forgiving than the MB or CB for my swing 

 

2. Your spin will go up outside not down - outdoor carry with the CB for example will likely be more in the 170 range and spin closer to 7000-7500rpm 

 

3. The DG 120 in the blueprint seems to be exaggerating your path. -8 is far too much for a 7iron. I’d continue working to neutralize this with your coach. 
 

4. CTS+ to dg 120 or modus 120 is a huge drop in stiffness. How did the new shafts feel in your hands? It’s a big change to make 

Thanks for this. I also didn’t love the Apex Pro. Will keep that in mind.

 

Path issues are the main thing we are working on. Path was pretty natural when fitting on Foresight with the dot on the club. The trackman data had nothing on the club for path for what it’s worth

 

The shaft change was what felt the best! My swing has gone from a very aggressive transition to much smoother since my last fit 3 years ago. We did the mizuno shaft optimizer and both of the 120 shafts were options there. 

Edited May 4 by gg38

[Jim53]

5 hours ago, Tree Levino said:

I wouldn’t blindly order combo sets just because on paper they should be more forgiving. I hated the apex pro and don’t find it more forgiving than the MB or CB for my swing 

I had the same experience, hated the Pros and love the CB's. I don't have the SS for 170 yd. 7 irons but really like what I do get out of the CB's and they drop and stop.

[Chunkitgood]

Not an expert but the outliers might be the most important data.

[gg38]

6 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

Not an expert but the outliers might be the most important data.

Here is the dispersion with all shots... Purple is Rogue St Pro. Red is Ping Blueprint S. Blue is Apex CB. 

 

Apex CB has the tightest overall, but the 2 bad miss hits were shortest. Ping Blueprint also a nice bunching on good shots, but more left. Miss hits didn't lose as much. 

 

Edited May 4 by gg38

[Pnwpingi210]

2 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

Not an expert but the outliers might be the most important data.

Agree with this.  Good shots are good shots and most clubs do the same.  It’s how the club performs when you don’t make your best pass.  Raise the floor.

[robbie91]

The Apex CB and Blueprint S are pretty similar clubs and the numbers that we are seeing are pretty similar as well. I will say that it's a bit weird that you are testing different shafts in each head, it would be ideal to have an apples to apples comparison. At the end of the day, there isn't a huge amount of difference between Apex and Blueprint -- most of the difference probably comes down to the shafts. I think you are in a spot where you can choose whichever club you enjoy most and make it work. 

[gg38]

On 5/4/2024 at 9:22 PM, robbie91 said:

The Apex CB and Blueprint S are pretty similar clubs and the numbers that we are seeing are pretty similar as well. I will say that it's a bit weird that you are testing different shafts in each head, it would be ideal to have an apples to apples comparison. At the end of the day, there isn't a huge amount of difference between Apex and Blueprint -- most of the difference probably comes down to the shafts. I think you are in a spot where you can choose whichever club you enjoy most and make it work. 

 

I agree it is weird. Unfortunately finding an Apex CB with the DG shaft around here has been impossible! I like the feel of the Modus but worry about the spin rates when I get outside. 

 

So if I go Apex CB I would likely order that with DG 120 X100 instead of the Modus. A little blind though.

 

Thanks for the input!

[TWGator]

On 5/4/2024 at 1:41 PM, Jim53 said:

I had the same experience, hated the Pros and love the CB's. I don't have the SS for 170 yd. 7 irons but really like what I do get out of the CB's and they drop and stop.

I’m a big fan of the CBs but love the pro 4&5 irons.  Still haven’t done it yet but want to swap my 6&7 pros out for CBs.  Already have the 8,9&10 in CB

[Jim53]

1 hour ago, TWGator said:

I’m a big fan of the CBs but love the pro 4&5 irons.  Still haven’t done it yet but want to swap my 6&7 pros out for CBs.  Already have the 8,9&10 in CB

We are all different, I have two rounds on the 5-11 CB's and even the 5 iron is easy to hit for me compared to the pros and those god awful Smoke ai I wasted time with.  Only way I can explain it is I need the spin of the CB's to keep the ball in the air. 

 

Nice high flight (even the 5 iron) with the distance I expect and drop and stop for the most part.

Edited May 13 by Jim53

[TWGator]

8 minutes ago, Jim53 said:

We are all different, I have two rounds on the 5-11 CB's and even the 5 iron is easy to hit for me compared to the pros and those god awful Smoke ai I wasted time with.  Only way I can explain it is I need the spin of the CB's to keep the ball in the air. 

 

Nice high flight (even the 5 iron) with the distance I expect and drop and stop for the most part.

Yea I haven’t hit a 5 iron CB, but the pro has a different face and super easy for me to hit.  But I’m with you, those CBs are awesome.   I have DG120 s400 shafts and the go high and stop.

[Joesti]

If you enjoy the modus 120 you should give the dynamic gold x100 a go. The 120 x100 is lighter and a different profile. I feel the regular x100 is much more active feeling like the modus 120 and heavier so it helps tempo. Also try the cobra king cb as well. I have been hitting a lot of players irons lately and I feel it’s one of the best out. I currently play mizuno pro 243 and they are pretty good. I missed left a lot with the apex pro. The blueprint s were fantastic feeling and I could bag them anytime. The cobra I just couldn’t stop hitting tho. 

Edited May 14 by Joesti