Gear: Callaway Apex Pro Irons (2023)
Price: $215 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips.
Specs: Hollow-body construction with a forged 1025 carbon steel body, forged 455 cup face (3-5) and internal urethane microspheres. Available in 3-iron (19 degrees) through attack wedge (50 degrees)
Available: August 18 (pre-sale) / Sept. 8 (in stores)
Who They’re For: Low and mid-handicap golfers who want a better-player’s distance iron that also delivers shot-shaping and forgiveness.
The Skinny: Using a softer metal and urethane microspheres enhances the feel of this iron, while the hollow-body construction helps increase ball speed. The updated sole improves turf interaction.
The Deep Dive: Callaway purchased the Ben Hogan brand in 2003 and sold the company in 2012, but it retained the right to use several iconic Hogan names, with Apex the most coveted. The first Callaway Apex irons arrived in 2014 along with a version for better players called the Apex Pro. At that time, before the better-player’s distance category took off, “pro” versions of irons were often simply smaller versions of the standard clubs with less offset, thinner toplines and narrower soles.
But with each passing generation, the Apex Pro has evolved more and more into its own club. With the release of the 2023 Apex Pro, Callaway is now positioning this better-player’s distance club alongside other designs for accomplished players.
Cosmetically, the new Apex Pro resembles the Apex TCB used by Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, but this club has a slightly longer blade and more game-improving features designed into it.
The Apex Pro long irons (3-5) have a hollow-body design and a thin 455 stainless steel cup face designed to flex more efficiently at impact to enhance ball speed. This is the same material and construction found in Callaway’s game-improving Paradym irons but in a more compact package. The 6-iron through attack wedge have faces made from forged 1025 carbon steel, the same soft material used in the Apex Pro irons’ chassis. Opting for 1025 carbon steel in mid- and short irons should soften the impact feel and enhance spin and distance consistency on approach shots.
Inside the hollow chamber of each head, Callaway added urethane microspheres, a material the brand has used for several years to reduce excessive vibrations while improving sound and feel. The key trait of the material, however, is that it does not inhibit the face from flexing, so golfers get those benefits without sacrificing speed or distance.
Callaway designed the Apex Pro irons to have a progressive center of gravity. The CG is lower in the 3-5 irons to encourage a higher ball flight, then transitions upward slightly in the mid-irons (6-8) and then even higher in the short irons (9-AW) to help golfers flight approach shots down for better distance control.
The screwed-in plate on the back of each head is adjustable for fitters and allows them to change the swing weight of the clubs based on their length and a player’s preference. To help golfers maintain speed through the turf and hitting area, Callaway designed the soles of the new Apex Pro to be slightly wider, more curved and to have a pre-worn leading edge. The trailing edge also has been rounded slightly. The sole is still narrower than the bottom of Callaway’s game-improvement irons such as the Paradym, Rogue ST or Big Bertha.
The Apex Pro will be available from 3-iron through attack wedge, and they have some technologies and look similar to Callaway’s updated Apex CB, Apex MB and Apex UT, so golfers can easily create combo sets. Callaway plans to offer pre-created combo sets such as The Player (Apex Pro 3-7, CB 8-AW) and Triple Play (Apex Pro 3-6, CB 7-9, MB PW-AW).