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Update: Callaway to release Apex Black irons (again)

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Note: If you missed out on the initial launch, Callaway is re-releasing the Apex Black irons, available on August 18th, due to popular demand. 

Tired of the same satin or chrome finish on what seems like every set of irons on the market? These new all-black (a.k.a murdered-out) irons may be your answer.

Callaway is set to release its Apex CF ’16 irons with a Satin Black PVD finish. The irons will have all of the same technologies as the original retail offerings: A progressive design with 360 Face Cups in the long irons (3-7) for forgiveness and distance, face plates in the short irons (8-AW) for feel and distance control, and a multi-piece construction throughout the set.

Callaway_Apex_Black_CF_16_Comp_Back

Read here for more tech talk on the Apex Forged irons.

The Apex Black irons, which are forged from 1025 mild carbon steel, will be available for $1,299 with steel shafts, and $1,499 in graphite. The stock shaft will be a stepless True Temper XP 95 shaft with a Satin Black finish that matches nicely with the all-black club heads, but other shafts will be available at no upcharge, as well.

Pre-sale date is set for May 20, while the official launch is on June 3.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the irons in the forums.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

19 Comments

19 Comments

  1. Dave

    Jun 15, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    Can I get a set in red no make that blood red as I’m having issues with my game lately. They will probably play better.

  2. Dave

    May 18, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Ya Tom your right like all the rest of the companies ,one year old Taylor made drivers last years first new model out of many they released.On line for $125.00 original price $395.00

  3. Dave

    May 18, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Nice clubs but the price is well the price is absolutely out of reach for us retired guys . I understand it costs for r@d but they are painted black how much was the paint? Oh ya and most of us long time golfers know the mark up on clubs , I don’t mine someone making a living but come on now guys they are just clubs. More does not mean better …………

  4. joro

    May 18, 2016 at 11:53 am

    I have been playing Wilson Blk Irons for a couple of years now and together with the blk. Aldila RIP iron shaft they are really stealthy, and the C100s are really great and understated Irons.

  5. Alan Medina

    May 18, 2016 at 11:29 am

    Are those plasti dipped? Black versions look kind of cheap. I like the brushed silver though!

    • Tom

      May 18, 2016 at 3:40 pm

      Comparison to other deposition techniques[edit]

      “Advantages[edit]
      PVD coatings are sometimes harder and more corrosion resistant than coatings applied by the electroplating process. Most coatings have high temperature and good impact strength, excellent abrasion resistance and are so durable that protective topcoats are almost never necessary.
      Ability to utilize virtually any type of inorganic and some organic coating materials on an equally diverse group of substrates and surfaces using a wide variety of finishes.
      More environmentally friendly than traditional coating processes such as electroplating and painting.
      More than one technique can be used to deposit a given film.”…..

  6. Dave

    May 18, 2016 at 7:02 am

    Funny. I don’t have a problem spinning the ball with mine. These do look nice.

  7. tish

    May 18, 2016 at 12:36 am

    Don’t forget the Nike Vapor Pro Irons too…they came out before the PXGs…and the Adams were out before anyone

  8. James

    May 17, 2016 at 11:48 pm

    Hope the black last longer then my Cleveland wedge, bottom and half way up back of wedge is now just a stainless steel color…..did Cleveland just paint the wedges??

  9. Brian

    May 17, 2016 at 2:59 pm

    $1,300….Titleist, Callaway, and Taylormade iron prices are getting ridiculous. A part of the reason I stick with Mizuno

  10. OH

    May 17, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    Pulling a page from the PXG playbook. Very original there Cally.

    • Cleveland....

      May 17, 2016 at 4:24 pm

      and possibly cobra might take issue w/ your statement. Looking back over time a lot of manufactures have had options for black finishes on irons.

      just glad more options for finishes are becoming available from the larger more accessible manufacturers.

    • lsf_21

      May 18, 2016 at 11:44 pm

      You must be new to golf equipment. Adam’s made black irons years ago. Callaway made black irons with the razr black. This has been done before pxg even existed.

      • OH

        May 25, 2016 at 10:34 am

        No, I’m not new to golf equipment and am well aware of prior model irons coming in black from other OEMs. PXG was the most recent, though, and this move by Callaway plus their markup on them versus the satin finish seems to follow suit to exactly what PXG has done.

  11. golfraven

    May 17, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    I would consider those if I was looking for new irons, even if I am not a big Cally fan.

  12. Chuck D

    May 17, 2016 at 2:19 pm

    Eldrick could have used a pitching wedge!

  13. Adam

    May 17, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Well shoot just got some APEX! But I am LH, these are RH only anyhow 🙁 That shaft is nice though, wonder if it performs identical to the stepped version?

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4

More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.

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Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

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Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

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With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

 

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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play? 

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week. 

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

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