The new Callaway Apex series of golf irons have really caught the attention of those in the market for a new set of irons. Although the Callaway Mavrik sets were really well received, the Apex 21 and Apex Pro 21 Irons are putting Callaway golf at the top of the market right now.
We will warn you that all of the Callaway Apex irons are great-looking and high-performing. Deciding which of these irons is the best for your game will take a bit of knowledge.
Really understanding what sets the Callaway Apex VS. Apex Pro is the only way to make a great decision for your golf game.
We have tested both of these irons and can now give you a much better understanding of what you can expect from each of these clubs.
The Apex and the Apex Pro are impressive irons, and the Apex DCB irons are another great choice to consider, but you must first understand who they are for.
Table of Contents
No Time? Here The Overview
Callaway Apex 21 Irons Features and Benefits
The Callaway Apex 21 irons are built to increase ball speed. This should come as no surprise. Almost any iron released to the market today will have high ball speeds to help golfers get the distance they need; however, there is more to the Apex 21 irons than ball speed.
Let’s look at the features of this impressive new release.
AI Designed Flash Face Cup
Artificial intelligence has completely changed what Callaway can do with a golf iron. When the Mavrik irons were released with this AI technology, golfers began to realize how good it really was.
The AI designed Flash Face Cup technology in the Apex irons was used again to perfectly position the center of gravity.
In addition, the AI helped Callaway Golf to increase the spin characteristics across the face. With a set of Callaway Apex irons in your hands, you should have no problem getting a ball to stop on the green.
With the use of AI, the ball can come off the clubface fast but still have the spin need to stop on the green.
This is especially important in the short irons.
Tungsten Energy Core
Tungsten is an important material in a golf club. The Callaway Golf Apex 19 irons had a tungsten energy core, but the new Apex 21 irons have five times that much tungsten in the clubhead.
The result is a precise and specific center of gravity.
With more tungsten in the core, the club has a better launch, and it is more forgiving overall. If you happen to miss the center of the club face by a little bit, the Callaway Apex will help correct for you and get the ball traveling in the right direction.
Forged Blade Feel
The Callaway Apex 21 is not a blade style iron. In fact, both the Apex 21 and the Apex DCB are not going to be blade style choices; however, they do have a forged blade feel.
The Callaway Apex irons are forged from 1025 mild carbon steel.
However, in addition to this impressive forging, Callaway was able to get the urethane microspheres into the club head as well.
The microspheres help to improve the overall feel and give players more control of their golf balls.
Improved Shaping
In addition to the feel and the distance that the Apex 21 irons can create, they also have a unique shape compared to the Callaway Apex 19 irons.
The shape of a golf club is important for the look of a player but also for the turf interaction that you can get with the club.
The new shape of the Apex irons helps them cut through almost any lie that you may encounter and gives an overall better performance from a variety of lies.
The improved shaping can increase ball speed and get short irons to travel with more accuracy on those shorter shots that matter most.
Strong Lofts
Since the Callaway Apex irons are considered the distance club, you can imagine that their lofts are a bit stronger than some on the market.
If you are a player that struggles to get the distance necessary with your club, this is an iron that will help your case.
| Iron | Loft | Availability | Standard Length | Lie | Offset | Graphite Swing Weight | Steel Swing Weight |
| #3 | 19° | RH / LH | 39.00″ | 60.0° | 5.08 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #4 | 21° | RH / LH | 38.50″ | 60.5° | 4.57 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #5 | 23.5° | RH / LH | 38.00″ | 61.0° | 4.06 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #6 | 26.5° | RH / LH | 37.50″ | 61.5° | 3.56 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #7 | 30.5° | RH / LH | 37.00″ | 62.0° | 3.05 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #8 | 34.5° | RH / LH | 36.50″ | 62.5° | 2.79 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| #9 | 38.5° | RH / LH | 36.00″ | 63.0° | 2.67 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| PW | 43° | RH / LH | 35.75″ | 63.5° | 2.54 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
| AW | 48° | RH / LH | 35.50″ | 63.5° | 2.41 | D0 – D1 | D2 |
The lofts on the Callaway Apex irons are very strong. The 7 iron in the set has a loft of 30.5. Always keep this in mind if you are switching from an older set of irons and wondering why the new clubs you are hitting are going so much further all of a sudden.
Callaway Apex Pro 21 Irons Features And Benefits
The Callaway Apex Pro 21 irons are some of the best looking golf clubs on the market. With Callaway Apex pro irons in your golf bag, the precision, feel, and accuracy that you get will be unmatched.
Again, understanding the technology into these clubs will help you decide if your game is ready.
AI Designed Flash Face Cup
If you thought Callaway would leave the Apex Pro 21 irons out of the AI technology, think again. We are pretty certain that starting with the Callaway Mavrik irons and moving forward to the Callaway Apex irons that you will never see the use of AI technology go away.
The Callaway Apex Pro 21 irons are a forged iron that features the Flash Face Cup in the club head. With this technology, the ball speed at impact is quite high, and there is a greater ability for a player to get the spin they need from the club head.
With a players style club like the Apex Pro 21 irons, the spin that the club can produce is critical. The more spin in place, the easier it is for golfers to be accurate with their short irons.
Forging
The Callaway Apex Pro Irons are forged from 1025 mild carbon steel. These clubs have the look of forged iron and certainly the feel to follow it up.
The impressive thing about all the Apex irons is the forging process they go through.
Although Callaway golf does an outstanding job of providing feel in all of the irons they create, an Apex Pro is where they really set themselves apart.
The customers purchasing the Callaway Apex Pro irons will be quite demanding when it comes to feel.
Callaway knows this, and they adjust their club making accordingly to help accommodate this type of player. If you are particular about the way the club feels, the Callaway Apex Pro will not disappoint.
Hollow Body Construction
The hollow body construction is a newer feature in forged iron, yet it works quite well to help golfers that are trying to get increased distance and ball speed.
Since the hollow body of the clubhead allows for less weight and a better feel, there is much more a manufacturer can do with the iron itself.
Hollow body construction is something that TaylorMade used in their P790 irons, and it has really taken off across the world of golf.
Tungsten Energy Core
A tungsten energy core helps to work on launch and add a bit of forgiveness. When you look at the Apex pro irons, the last thing you would expect is that it is going to be forgiving.
The more forgiving a golf club is, the more clunky it tends to look. The Apex Pro irons are the furthest thing from clunky.
Even though the style of the Apex Pro is built for the better player, capable of hitting more precise shots, it does not mean that forgiveness was forgotten.
Having the tungsten energy core, golfers will notice that they have better control over launch and a bit more forgiveness than the Apex Pro 19 irons.
We will continue to see what tungsten can do to help improve golf irons of the future.
More Traditional Lofts
| Iron | Loft | Availability | Standard Length | Lie | Offset | Graphite Swing Weight | Steel Swing Weight |
| #3 | 20.5° | RH / LH | 39.00″ | 60.0° | 3.56 | D3 | D2 |
| #4 | 23° | RH / LH | 38.50″ | 60.5° | 3.43 | D3 | D2 |
| #5 | 26° | RH / LH | 38.00″ | 61.0° | 3.18 | D3 | D2 |
| #6 | 29° | RH / LH | 37.50″ | 61.5° | 3.05 | D3 | D2 |
| #7 | 33° | RH / LH | 37.00″ | 62.0° | 2.80 | D3 | D2 |
| #8 | 37° | RH / LH | 36.50″ | 62.5° | 2.54 | D3 | D2 |
| #9 | 41° | RH / LH | 36.00″ | 63.0° | 2.16 | D3 | D2 |
| PW | 45° | RH / LH | 35.75″ | 63.5° | 1.90 | D3 | D2 |
| AW | 50° | RH / LH | 35.50″ | 63.5° | 1.65 | D3 | D2 |
Golf irons with strong lofts are the norm now. The way that Callaway has been able to use AI and the tungsten in the club heads to help improve launch, they have been able to lower the lofts of the clubs.
The lowered loft helps to increase the distances that players can hit.
Most golfers that use the Apex Pro irons are not going to have a need for quite as much distance as those using the Callaway Apex DCB irons or the Apex 21 irons. Therefore these clubs have a more traditional lofting.
You can expect the Apex pro irons to have a 7 iron loft of 33 degrees. This is certainly more like the lofts that we saw several years ago.
Callaway Apex vs. Callaway Apex Pro Irons
Now that you have a better understanding of what these golf irons have to offer, it’s time that we break this down and start to compare one to the other.
When you look at the Apex Pro irons compared to the Apex 21 irons, you may be able to see there are quite a few differences. However, the similarities are there as well.
Technology
Callaway will never spare an expense when it comes to technology in their golf clubs. Both the Callaway Aped and the Apex Pro irons will feature top of the line technology.
Both clubs have the Flash Face Cup, urethane microspheres, tungsten energy core and are created with artificial intelligence.
If you like golf irons with tremendous technology and performance, you can’t go wrong with either of these sets. Trying to say that one has better or more technology than another would not be the case.
Distance
The Callaway Apex irons are going to beat out the Apex Pro when it comes to distance. If your sole purpose of getting a new set of irons is to be able to hit the ball further, the Apex 21 will solve any issues you may have had.
| Iron | Apex 21 | Apex Pro |
| 5 Iron | 23.5° | 26° |
| 7 Iron | 30.5° | 33° |
| PW | 43° | 45° |
The good thing to note about the Callaway Apex Pro Irons is that they will not cost you distance; they are simply more traditional in their lofts.
If you have a relatively fast swing speed, they will provide all you need to get the ball to your target.
Forgiveness
The Callaway Apex irons are more forgiving than the Apex pro. However, the tungsten characteristics in the Apex Pro have helped to increase the forgiveness a bit.
You will still have to hit the ball relatively close to the center of the club face, but you will have no issues from that point forward.
Forgiveness can be a great thing, but it can also make it difficult to shape shots. The Apex Pro is much better for learning how to shape shots and control ball flights.
Player Handicap
The Apex Irons are mid to low handicap players distance iron. The club looks and feels like a forged blade, but it is going to perform a little more like a cavity back type golf club.
The Apex Pro is more for the lower handicap player looking for the most impressive sound and feel that the market has to offer.
Apex pro irons are some of the best golf irons for the lower handicap golfers that still want just a bit of help with forgiveness and extra distance.
Pricing
The Apex Pro irons tend to be a bit more expensive than the Apex 21 irons. However, the price difference is not significant enough to make you choose one over the other.
Don’t pick which Apex iron you want in your golf bag by the price alone. There is not enough of a difference for this to be a deciding factor.
Pros & Cons
Callaway Apex 21 Irons
Pros
- Forged like feel
- Impressive use of AI technology
- Fast ball speed coming from the club face
- Strong lofts for extra distance
- Tungsten energy core for better launch
- Increased spin capabilities for better stopping power
- Flash Face cup technology
- Availability in a wide range of steel and graphite shafts
- Standard Apex look and amazing apex sound
Cons
- Can be difficult to keep the ball flight down with all the tungsten in the core
- Stronger lofts can create gaps in yardages
Callaway Apex Pro Irons
Pros
- Forged players style iron
- More traditional lofting
- Tungsten in the core helps increase forgiveness
- Mid to high launching iron
- Clean looking top down style
- Improved spin, especially in shorter clubs
- Carbon steel body
- Flash Face Cup to promote fast ball speed
- Beautiful tour performance shape
- Straighter leading edge
- Amazing Apex sound
Cons
- Not as forgiving as other golf irons on the market
- Won’t have the same consistent distance as the Apex irons
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you have a better idea as to the technology included in these golf clubs, and the differences between them, it’s time to take a look at a few of the questions that we are asked.
Since the Apex Pro is considered a tour performance iron and the Apex 21 is more of a player’s distance iron, there is certainly some confusion about which to use.
Are Callaway Apex Pro Irons Forgiving?
Anytime Callaway makes a golf club and puts the word pro in the title, expect to see a little less forgiveness.
The pro series golf clubs are built for those that need precision in their scoring clubs and want that impressive feel.
The Callaway Apex Pro irons have more forgiveness than we thought they would. With the forged performance, you can’t expect too much help if the golf ball is hit far from the center.
However, the new Apex irons combine the forged hollow body construction with the tungsten to offer a bit of forgiveness.
If you are a mid handicapper transitioning into a player’s iron, this set could be a perfect choice. For higher handicappers looking for forgiveness from the short irons to the long irons, stay away from the Apex Pro.
Who Should Play With The Apex DCB Irons?
The Apex DCB irons make up the third set of irons in the 2021 Apex models. The Apex DCB is the most forgiving of the three sets.
This is really a forged game improvement club with tons of forgiveness packed in.
You can’t really compare the APex DCB irons with the Apex Pro, as the differences are a bit extreme. However, if you are deciding between the standard Apex irons and the Apex DCB, try to think about where the future of your golf game is headed.
If you plan on getting better and want optimum ball flight, a clean look, and a player’s feel, stick with the Apex 21 irons.
What Is The Main Difference Between Callaway Apex and Apex Pro?
The main difference between the Apex and the Apex Pro is the use of the Tungsten Energy Core. Although the Apex Pro uses tungsten, it is mostly used in the long irons, and not as much is used as in the scoring clubs.
With the standard Apex, the tungsten energy core is seen throughout the entire set of clubs.
In addition, the Apex Pro is going to have a thinner look to it and an overall better player’s feel. The Apex standard is for extra distance and improved overall forgiveness.
Conclusion: Callaway Apex vs. Apex Pro Irons
With the Callaway Apex and Apex Pro irons, there is quite a bit of similar technology. When Callaway comes out with concepts and technological advances that help them provide consistent distance, great feel, and the proper spin in a set of clubs, they tend to want to use it.
However, there is no denying the fact that the Apex Pro irons are built for the lower handicap player. If you care about precision and control in the scoring clubs, the Apex Pro irons are the way to go.
For the mid handicapper that wants some of the best feel on the market, the Apex 21 irons can help to pull that off. With the urethane microspheres, decreased lofts, and improved shaping, the Apex 21 irons are impressive golf irons.
Try to think about the areas of your game where you can use the performance that these clubs have to offer. Also, consider how your handicap is trending. If you are able to analyze these things efficiently, you will know which club in the Apex line is the best fit for your game.
Read our review of the best Callaway irons to learn more!
