In this video Joe Ferguson, Golf Monthly gear staff writer, casts his verdict on the new Callaway Apex iron range for 2024 and explains the subtle differences between the models aimed at the lower handicapper.
The Callaway Apex MB and Apex Pro replace the previous models while the Apex CB is a completely new model, so it will be interesting to see where this fits in.
Hopefully by watching this video, you'll have an idea as to which one is best suited to you if you're in the market for a new set.
The Callaway Apex MB and Apex Pro replace the previous models while the Apex CB is a completely new model, so it will be interesting to see where this fits in.
Hopefully by watching this video, you'll have an idea as to which one is best suited to you if you're in the market for a new set.
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00:00Right, today I want to talk to you about the new Apex line from Callaway.
00:03We've got three different models, we've got the MB, the CB and the Pro, all designed for
00:08slightly different golfers, so I'm going to do some testing and find out which model is
00:11going to suit you.
00:16Right, so first up I wanted to talk about the looks of this Apex range, and it's very
00:21difficult not to fall in love with what Callaway have done here.
00:23I love the finish, it's kind of a brushed steel, satiny finish, it doesn't have that
00:28harsh chrome look that a lot of the irons do, and there's a real, what I think is a real
00:33feature of these irons is there's a real cohesion between each model.
00:37We've got the MB, the CB and the Pro, and when you zoom in there's real nods to each model
00:43within the other model, so comboing a set if you want to go with some MBs in the short
00:47irons and some CBs or even three way combo Pro further up.
00:52So I'm going to take a look at the MB, and straight away when you put it up against the
00:56other head, you notice it is smaller, there is definitely a smaller footprint, it's a
01:01very traditional kind of bladed shape and size and footprint.
01:06It is a little bit longer heel to toe than its predecessor, which can give you a little
01:10bit more confidence down by the ball, it does instill that little bit more confidence, but
01:14when you do put it down behind the ball, you've got a really, really very thin top edge, which
01:20you'd expect from an iron of this ilk, but a very angular pointy finish.
01:25There's not sort of the soft curves that you would associate with a blade down this end
01:29of the market.
01:30It is kind of more of a harsher, more angular feel.
01:34Okay, and onto the CBs.
01:36Now, I probably shouldn't say this early in the video, but certainly visually, this is
01:39my pick of the bunch.
01:41It's just got the perfect blend for me, it's perfect size, it's got lovely soft edges,
01:46I love the subtlety of the Callaway logo, they've even sort of embossed that in silver rather
01:51than in black, so whilst it's still visible, it's a bit more subtle.
01:55When you put it down by the ball, it's a very, very different shape to the MB.
02:00It's got a much more rounded and soft toe area, but a similar heel to toe length and arguably
02:07a similar top line thickness.
02:09It's not much thicker than the bladed version.
02:13Minimal to no offset, which I really, really enjoy.
02:15Like I said, visually for me, I think this is probably the pick of the bunch of the range.
02:20Okay, and lastly, the Apex Pro model.
02:22This is the hollow-bodied construction iron they've got, so it offers a little bit more
02:25flex in the face, a little bit more pop and a little bit more ball speed, but it's all
02:29wrapped up in a really subtle kind of better player package.
02:33It's not giving you the feel, you've got something that's giving you too much help or
02:36game improvement here.
02:38That said, when you do put it down behind the ball, it is noticeably a little bit larger
02:42in its profile, it's got a thicker top line, and you're starting to see the introduction
02:46of a bit more offset, but it's really subtle.
02:49It's not in your face game improvement, it's just little nods to know you've got a little
02:54bit more help.
02:55The head's just a touch bigger, you've got that little bit more offset to give you a
02:58little bit more time to square the blade, and you've got a thicker top line giving you
03:02the indication that you've got a little bit of assistance here.
03:05All right, so I want to talk to you a little bit about the feel of these different models.
03:12I'm here in the 18th fairway at the beautiful Northamptonshire County Golf Club, and I'm
03:16going to hit a couple with each and just talk you through my feelings that I get at impact
03:20and what I feel about the club from a sound and feel perspective.
03:23I've got the MB first, I've got about 175 yards into the 18th, I'm going to hit a couple
03:28with each.
03:33So predictably, that felt buttery soft.
03:36It's a lovely soft forged blade, there was a real depth to the strike and I don't know
03:41if that's something to do with the positioning of this weight that sits directly behind impact.
03:47It's interesting, it's buttery soft but it also feels there's a depth and a solidity to
03:52the strike.
03:53I really enjoy that.
03:54I'm just going to hit another one.
03:57A little bit cleaner that one, a little bit more off the bottom of the face but it still
04:02made the distance.
04:04Something I have noticed, and I've tested these before, is the turf interaction with
04:08the new dual chamfer sole that Callaway have.
04:11They've worn off a little bit, pre-worn a lot of the leading edge, made that a little bit
04:14softer and a little bit of the back edge, which a lot of people don't do and have forgotten.
04:19So the leading edge tends to help with the entrance into the turf, makes that a little bit smoother.
04:24Softening this back edge helps the exit from the turf, so it doesn't feel like the club
04:29gets caught up in the turf, which is actually a really nice, smooth feeling at impact, which
04:33I really enjoy.
04:34I'm just going to move on to CB and see if there's any noticeable difference.
04:41That was noticeably more lively.
04:43It's not a hot feeling you get off a distance iron that's got a springy face, but it's just
04:50got a little bit more energy to the strike than it feels on the MB.
04:56Certainly not a jumpy one, certainly not anything too poppy, but it's just a little bit more
04:59energy, which is a really interesting feel and one that I really like, actually.
05:07It's got the softness that the MB has, but it just gives me the feeling, like I said, a
05:11little bit more energy is being transferred into the ball or a little bit more life in the
05:16strike.
05:17I really, really like that.
05:18I'm going to go and move on to the Pro.
05:23Really nice turf interaction again there.
05:26No sense of snagging up or catching.
05:29That's probably my closest shot, actually.
05:30It's a little bit left of the other two, which is something you would expect, a little bit
05:35more offset in the Pro.
05:39Really good turf interaction again.
05:41You can definitely feel, again, a little bit more pop and a little bit more energy in strike.
05:46Real subtle differences between these irons, but a nice symbiosis in there as well, which
05:51knows you're hitting things from the same range, which is great.
05:54All right, so now I want to talk to you about the performance of these individual models because
06:06there are some subtle differences between the models, as you'd expect, but it is worth
06:11being aware of these before making your decision on which model you're going to go for or which
06:15combo set you might put together yourself.
06:18I'm just going to hit a couple away and talk to you about those differences.
06:21I've got the MB in my hand, and we've got about 175 yards to this green.
06:31Came out a lovely window, exactly the launch I would expect to see.
06:34It wasn't climbing too much.
06:35I'll pop a little bit of data on the screen now so you can see the comparison between
06:39the models, but it's a very familiar launch and spin window for me for what I'm used to.
06:45So somewhere around just under the 7,000 revs per minute mark, which produces pretty much
06:51a good flight for me.
06:52Okay, so that'll be interesting.
06:56That's a little bit lower on the face.
06:59What I really did like about that is immediately, upon misstriking it somewhat, I could tell
07:03you pretty much exactly where on the face that came from.
07:06That was some really good feedback, so that's a really nice feature of the MBs.
07:11So moving into the CBs now.
07:13Again, I'll pop the data up for the CBs so you can have a little look at where this comes
07:16from.
07:17From my previous testing, you'll see the actual performance in terms of distance and spin,
07:23almost identical to the MBs.
07:26They're the same in loft, pretty much a similar construction in terms of there's no hollow
07:30body giving us a little more ball speed or anything like that.
07:34So the windows are very, very similar.
07:36It's just the feel really I found between these models that is different.
07:41That'll be a nice comparison.
07:44Actually, that was, again, a little bit low on the face and probably a bit healy, but that's
07:50pretty much pin high actually.
07:51I've just seen where that's landed and that looks, it's made it past the bunker that the
07:55MB dropped into.
07:56So that would suggest that I'm getting a lot more, or certainly a significant amount more
08:01forgiveness out of the CB than I am out of the MB.
08:03Okay.
08:04So now I'm going to hit a couple with the Apex Pro Iron and this is a slightly different
08:08proposition to the other two.
08:09Obviously, we know it's a hollow body construction and again, I'm going to pop up the data for
08:13you to have a little look at for what we can see on screen and be interesting to see
08:17if it carries through into a real life situation here, but what I saw was marginally higher
08:21launch, but a bit less spin.
08:23So almost a bit more of a driver flight.
08:25So I was getting a significant amount more distance from the Pro Irons than I was from
08:30the MB and the CB.
08:35Yeah, that was absolutely flushed and that's on it.
08:38From eye here, I'd say five or six yards past where my good strike with the CB and the MB
08:43has ended up.
08:44That's just past pin high and fractionally left of it and that's something I have noticed
08:48with the pros and I think for me, it would be attributed to just that slight more offset.
08:55So obviously when we get a little bit of offset on the iron, the face has that little millisecond
09:00extra to close through impact, which if you do struggle with a right miss might be something
09:05that's really beneficial for your game and that's something that I do notice.
09:09All of my patterns with the Pro versus the other two have just been that five to six yards
09:14further left, which is really interesting.
09:17That is very useful for testing purposes because that's a very similar strike to the miss hit
09:25that I had with the MBs and the CBs, so there is a lot more assistance there with those.
09:30Even on the miss hits, I'm still looking probably five or six yards further up the fairway.
09:36And yeah, again, even the miss hits that would normally fall a bit right for me off the low
09:40heel is still a little bit further left, which would suggest that offset is doing its job.
09:46So I'm really impressed with that.
09:49So I have to say I am super impressed.
09:51I think Callaway have absolutely nailed it with this apex range.
09:55It's something for absolutely everyone.
09:57The blend of the aesthetic from the MB-CB all the way through to the Pro, you have to look
10:02pretty hard in someone's bag to know the difference between the models and I think that's a really
10:06nice touch Callaway have introduced to help those combo sets this year.
10:10So for me, I think these will fly off really, really, really impressed with the performance.
10:15Something for everyone.
10:16They've got all bases covered.
10:17So to read the full review, head over to golfmonthly.com and do comment below which model do you like
10:23the look of and which do you think would suit your game the best.
10:26Also, check the description in the link below for the best deals in your region.
10:30Thanks for joining us.
10:31I will see you next time.
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