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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.
Transcript
00:00 Right, today I want to talk to you about the new Apex line from Callaway. We've got
00:04 three different models, we've got the MB, the CB and the Pro, all designed for
00:07 slightly different golfers. So I'm going to do some testing and find out which
00:10 model is going to suit you.
00:13 Right, so first up I wanted to talk about the looks of this Apex range and it's
00:20 very difficult not to fall in love with what Callaway have done here. I love the
00:24 finish, it's kind of a brushed steel satiny finish, it doesn't have that harsh
00:28 chrome look that a lot of the irons do and there's a real, what I think is a
00:33 real feature of these irons is there a real cohesion between each model. We've
00:37 got the MB, the CB and the Pro and when you zoom in there's real nods to each
00:42 model within the other model, so comboing a set if you want to go with some MBs
00:47 and the short irons and some CBs or even three-way combo Pro further up. So I'm
00:52 going to take a look at the MB and straight away when you put it up against
00:56 the other heads you notice it is smaller. There is definitely a smaller footprint,
01:00 it's a very traditional kind of bladed shape and size and footprint. It is a
01:06 little bit longer heel to toe than its predecessor which can give you a little
01:10 bit more confidence down by the ball, it does instill that little bit more
01:13 confidence but when you do put it down behind the ball you've got a really,
01:17 really very thin top edge which you'd expect from an iron of this ilk but a
01:22 very angular pointy finish. There's not sort of the soft curves that you would
01:28 associate with the blade down this end of the market, it is kind of more of a
01:31 harsher more angular feel. Okay and on to the CBs now probably shouldn't say this
01:37 early in the video but certainly visually this is my pick of the bunch.
01:40 It's just got the perfect blend for me, it's perfect size, it's got lovely soft
01:45 edges, I love the subtlety of the Callaway logo, they've even sort of
01:49 embossed that in silver rather than in black so whilst it's still visible it's
01:54 a bit more subtle. When you put it down by the ball it's a very, very different
01:58 shape to the MB, it's got a much more rounded and soft toe area but a similar
02:04 heel to toe length and arguably a similar top line thickness, it's not much
02:09 thicker than the bladed version. Minimal to no offset which I really, really enjoy
02:15 and like I said visually for me I think this is probably the pick of the bunch of
02:18 the range. Okay lastly the Apex Pro model, so this is the hollow body
02:23 construction iron they've got so it offers a little bit more flex in the
02:26 face, a little bit more pop and a little bit more ball speed but it's all wrapped
02:29 up in a really subtle kind of better player package, it's not giving you the
02:34 feel you've got something that's giving you too much help or game improvement
02:37 here. That said when you do put it down behind the ball it is noticeably a
02:41 little bit larger in its profile, it's got a thicker top line and you're
02:45 starting to see the introduction of a bit more offset but it's really subtle
02:49 it's not in your face game improvement it's just little nods to know you've got
02:54 a little bit more help, the heads just a touch bigger, you've got that little bit
02:57 more offset to give you a little bit more time to square the blade and you've
03:00 got a thicker top line giving you the indication you've got a little bit of
03:04 assistance here.
03:07 So I want to talk to you a little bit about the feel of these different models,
03:12 I'm here in the 18th fairway at the beautiful Northamptonshire County Golf
03:15 Club and I'm gonna hit a couple with each and just talk you through my
03:18 feelings that I get at impact and what I feel about the club from a sound and
03:22 feel perspective. So I've got the MB first, I've got about 175 yards into the
03:26 18th, I'm gonna hit a couple with each.
03:30 So predictably that felt buttery soft, I mean it's a lovely soft forged blade,
03:38 there was a real depth to the strike and I don't know whether that's something to
03:42 do with the positioning of this weight that sits directly behind
03:46 impact, it's interesting it's buttery soft but it also feels there's a depth
03:50 and a solidity to the strike, I really enjoy that. I'm just gonna hit another one.
03:56 A little bit cleaner that one, a little bit more off the bottom of the face but
04:01 it still made the distance. Something I have noticed, I've tested these before, is
04:06 the turf interaction with the new Dual Champ for Soul that Callaway have, they've
04:10 worn off a little bit, pre-worn, a lot of the leading edge made that a little bit
04:14 softer and a little bit of the back edge which a lot of people don't do and have
04:18 forgotten, so the leading edge tends to help with the entrance into the turf,
04:21 makes that a little bit smoother but softening this back edge helps the exit
04:26 from the turf so it doesn't feel like the club gets caught up in the turf
04:29 which is actually a really nice smooth feeling at impact which I really enjoy.
04:33 So I'm just gonna move on to CB and see if there's any noticeable difference.
04:38 That was noticeably more lively, it's not a not a hot feeling you get off a
04:46 distance iron that's got a springy face but it's just got a little bit more, a
04:51 little bit more energy to the strike than it feels on the MB, certainly not a
04:56 jumpy one, certainly not anything too poppy but it's just a little bit more
04:59 energy which is, it's a really interesting feel and one that I really
05:02 like actually. It's got the softness that the MB has but it just gives me the
05:09 feeling, like I said, a little bit more energy is being transferred into
05:13 the ball or a little bit more more life in the strike, I really really like that.
05:17 I'm gonna go move on to the Pro. So really nice turf interaction again,
05:24 there's no sense of snagging up or catching, that's probably my closest shot
05:29 actually, it's a little bit left of the other two which is something you would
05:34 expect, a little bit more offset in the Pro. Really good turf interaction again,
05:40 you can definitely feel again a little bit more pop and a little bit more
05:43 energy in strike. Real subtle differences between these irons but a nice symbiosis
05:50 in there as well which knows you're hitting things from the same range which
05:53 is great.
05:55 So now I want to talk to you about the performance of these individual models
06:06 because there are some subtle differences between the models as you'd
06:09 expect but it is worth being aware of these before making your decision on
06:13 which model you're going to go for or which combo set you you might put
06:17 together yourself. So I'm just going to hit a couple away and talk to you about
06:20 those differences. So I've got the MB in my hand and we've got about 175
06:25 yards to this green. Came out a lovely window, exactly the launch I would expect
06:33 to see, it wasn't climbing too much. I'll pop a little bit of data on the screen
06:37 now so you can see the comparison between the models but it's a very
06:41 familiar launch and spin window for me for what I'm used to. So somewhere around
06:46 just under the 7,000 revs per minute mark which produces pretty much a
06:50 good flight for me. Okay so that'll be interesting that's a little bit lower on
06:57 the face what I really did like about that is immediately upon miss striking
07:02 it somewhat I could tell you pretty much exactly where on the face that that came
07:05 from that was some really good feedback so that's a really nice feature of the
07:09 MBs. So moving into the CBs now again I'll pop the data up for the CB so you
07:14 can have a little look at where this comes from and from my previous testing
07:18 you'll see the the actual performance in terms of distance and spin almost
07:23 identical to the MBs. They're the same in loft, pretty much a similar
07:28 construction in terms of there's no hollow body giving us a little more ball
07:32 speed or anything like that so the windows are very very similar. It's just
07:36 the feel really I found between these models that is different. That'll be a
07:43 nice comparison actually that was again a little bit low on the face and
07:47 probably a bit heely but that's pretty much pin high actually I've just seen
07:51 where that's landed and that looks it's made it past the bunker that the MB
07:55 dropped into so that would suggest that I'm getting a lot more or certainly a
07:59 significant amount more forgiveness out of the CB than I am out of the MB. Okay
08:04 so now I'm going to hit a couple with the the Apex Pro Iron and this is a
08:07 this is a slightly different proposition to the other two obviously we know it's
08:10 a hollow body construction and again I'm going to pop up the data for you to have
08:13 a little look at for what we can see on screen and be interesting to see if it
08:17 carries through into a real-life situation here but what I saw was
08:20 marginally higher launch but a bit less spin so almost a bit more of a driver
08:25 flight so I was getting a significant amount more distance from the Pro Irons
08:29 than I was from the from the MB and CB.
08:33 Yeah that was absolutely flushed and that's on it so from I here I'd say five
08:39 or six yards past where my good strike with the CB and the MB has ended up
08:43 that's just past pin high and fractionally left of it and that's
08:47 something I have noticed with the pros and I think for me it'll it would be
08:52 attributed to just that slight more offset so obviously when we get a little
08:56 bit of offset on the iron it has the face has that little millisecond extra
09:00 to close through impact which if you do struggle with a right miss might be
09:04 something that's really beneficial for your game that's something that I do
09:07 notice all of my patterns with the pro versus the other two have just been that
09:12 five to six yards further left which is really interesting.
09:17 That is very useful for testing purposes because that's a very similar strike to
09:24 the miss here I had with the MBs and the CBs so there is a lot more assistance
09:29 there with those even on the miss hits I'm still looking probably five or six
09:33 yards further up the fairway and yeah again even the miss hits that went it
09:38 would normally fall a bit right for me off the low heel it's still a little bit
09:42 further left which would suggest that offset is doing its job so I'm really
09:46 impressed with that.
09:47 So I have to say I am super impressed I think Callaway have
09:51 absolutely nailed it with this apex range there's something for absolutely
09:56 everyone the blend of the aesthetic from the MB CB all the way through to the pro
10:00 you have to look pretty hard in someone's bag to know the difference
10:04 between the models and I think that's a really nice touch Callaway have
10:07 introduced to help those combo sets this year so for me I think these will fly
10:11 off really really really impressed with the performance something for everyone
10:16 they've got all bases covered.
10:17 So to read the full review head over to golf monthly.com
10:20 and do comment below which model do you like the look of and which do you think
10:24 would suit your game the best also check the description in the link below for
10:28 the best deals in your region.
10:32 you
10:35 you
10:37 (audience applauding)