A hollow body, two pieces of tungsten and urethane inserts help the Paradym and Paradym X irons deliver more ball speed with enhanced sound and feel.
Gear: Callaway Paradym, Paradym X irons Price: $200 each with True Temper Elevate steel shafts and Callaway Universal grips. $215 each with Aldila Ascent PL Blue shafts or Project X HZRDUS Silver graphite shafts Specs: A.I.-designed forged 455 stainless steel cup face with a hollow body, tungsten weights and urethane inserts Available: Feb. 24, but available for pre-order now
Who It’s For: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more distance and a softer feel at impact.
The Skinny: A hollow body, two pieces of tungsten and urethane inserts help the Paradym and Paradym X irons deliver more ball speed with enhanced sound and feel.
The Deep Dive: Ordinarily, when a golf equipment maker releases a new iron family, it replaces an existing club. But the new Paradym and Paradym X irons are not replacing the Rogue ST irons that dropped in January 2022. They are not replacing the Apex irons, either. Instead, the Paradym and Paradym X were made to be something different: forged, premium clubs created to deliver more distance, a softer feel and improved sound.
To deliver that, Callaway is utilizing several new technologies.
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The new Great Big Bertha line takes the place of Callaway’s Epic Max Star family and features lightweight clubs designed to be easy to hit and maximize carry distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Great Big Bertha woods and irons (2022) Available: November 11
Who It’s For: Golfers with slow to moderate swing speeds who need more carry distance and forgiveness to hit longer, straighter shots.
The Skinny: The new Great Big Bertha line takes the place of Callaway’s Epic Max Star family and features lightweight clubs designed to be easy to hit and maximize carry distance and forgiveness. They are not for everyone and are pricy, but they utilize materials like unique carbon in the driver and titanium and tungsten in the irons to deliver premium performance for golfers who struggle to generate clubhead speed.
Iron out the kinks in your game and save some money while you do it.
This month, Golfweek is helping you find the most affordable equipment on the market.
Whether you’re young and new to the game, seasoned and looking for an upgrade or just want some new equipment without breaking the bank, we have you covered.
We’ve already found some of the most affordable drivers on the market right now. Look out for affordable wedges, putters and other equipment coming out later this month.
Today, it’s all about the irons!
To classify as affordable, each iron set we selected had to come in under $1,000 for a set or under $150 per iron for a seven club average. Without cutting quality, we’ve done the digging to find the best deals out there at the moment. Many of the items below are currently on sale, so act fast!
With the PGA Tour set to restart at the Sentry Tournament of Champions this week in Hawaii, don’t be surprised if competitors like Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm decided to add one of the new drivers or the new golf balls to their bag this week.
Callaway Rogue ST irons have compter-designed faces, hollow-body construction for more ball speed and extra stability.
Gear: Callaway Rogue ST Max, Rogue ST Max OS, Rogue ST Pro irons Price: Rogue ST Max – $999.99 (at Carl’s Golfland and Dick’s) with True Temper Elevate MPH or Project X steel shafts and Callaway Universal grips; $1,099.99 with Project X Cypher Black, Mitsubishi AV Series Blue or AV Series White graphite shafts. Rogue ST Max OS – $999.99 steel; $1,099.99 graphite (at Carl’s Golfland and Dick’s). Rogue ST Pro – $1,199.99 steel (at Carl’s Golfland and Dick’s); $1,299.99 graphite (at Carl’s Golfland and Dick’s). Specs: Cast 450 stainless steel with internal tungsten weight and urethane microspheres Available: Feb. 18
For 2022, Callaway’s new Rogue ST iron family uses new materials and improvements to established technologies to boost distance and forgiveness for a wide variety of golfers.
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Callaway’s newest drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons for slower-swinging players are ultra-lightweight but pack a punch.
Professional golfers such as Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele typically use heavy, control-oriented equipment built to maximize feel. They have powerful, repeatable swings, so they don’t need gear that increases power and distance above everything else.
Most recreational golfers, especially older and slower-swinging players, do not practice like the pros, and their swings are less consistent. They need woods and irons that boost clubhead speed, encourage more carry distance and enhance forgiveness.
Callaway has addressed this part of the golf market for the past several seasons by making lighter, longer and easier-to-hit versions of its flagship clubs and given them the moniker Star. That trend continues in 2021 with the release of the Epic Max Star drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons.
Callaway’s Apex, Apex Pro ad Apex DCB irons are all forged for enhanced feel, while a cup face design and tungsten weights boost distance.
Gear: Callaway Apex, Apex Pro, Apex DCB irons Price: $185 each with True Temper Elevate ETS 95 steel shafts and Golf Pride Z Grip Soft grips; $200 each with UST Mamiya Recoil Dart 75 graphite shafts Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel body with tungsten inserts and urethane microspheres Available: Feb. 11
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Callaway’s Apex irons have bridged two worlds since they debuted in 2014, providing the feel of a forged club with the distance enhancement of an undercut-cavity, game-improvement iron. They provide power with feel, a combination any low or mid-handicap golfer should love.
The original Apex irons have been updated three times over the past seven years, and with the 2021 version of the Apex, Apex Pro and now the Apex DCB, Callaway believes it has the most advanced, broadest line of Apex irons yet.
Callaway Apex irons for 2021. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The standard Apex features a body forged from 1025 carbon steel for soft feel and a thin, forged stainless steel cup face designed using artificial intelligence. Callaway started developing driver faces using artificial intelligence three years ago, and it was used to create the faces in last season’s Mavrik irons, but this is the first time Callaway is bringing artificial intelligence to a forged iron. Supercomputers ran thousands of simulations to determine how each face should be made, with different parameters for each club. The long irons are made to enhance distance and forgiveness, while short irons concentrate on spin consistency and control.
Internal tungsten weights low the center of gravity and encourage a higher ball flight in the Apex long irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The help golfers hit higher-flying, softer-landing approach shots, Callaway added tungsten weights wrapped in urethane microspheres to the 3- through 9-irons. Referred to as a Tungsten Energy Core, the three-weight system varies the amount of tungsten in each club. The weights are metal-injection-molded to ensure precise placement, with lower-lofted clubs having tungsten designed near the bottom of the head to lower the center of gravity and encourage a higher launch. Higher-lofted clubs have tungsten placed higher in the chassis to enhance feel and promote a more piercing, controlled ball flight. On average, there is six times more tungsten in each iron compared to the Apex ’19 irons.
The urethane microspheres that encase the weights are tiny glass bubbles that absorb vibrations at impact. They enhance sound and feel but do not impede the face from flexing or reduce ball speed. Callaway said the new Apex irons are 3 yards longer than the 2019 model and 5 yards longer on shots hit low in the face.
Callaway Apex Pro irons for 2021. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The Apex Pro irons, like their predecessors, have a shorter blade length, thinner topline and less offset than the standard Apex irons. But the 2021 version is very different than last season’s Apex Pro.
Cosmetically, they have a more sophisticated look designed to appeal to better players, and the most significant difference is Callaway made the new Apex Pro hollow. This should help the forged, artificial intelligence-designed cup faces flex more efficiently to create more ball speed.
At address, the Apex Pro has the thin topline and minimal offset that low-handicap golfers like. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The Apex Pro 3-iron through 7-iron also have a Tungsten Energy Core system, like the standard Apex, but in the Pro model the mid- and short irons have the tungsten higher in the heads. The more elevated center of gravity in the mid- and short irons should allow accomplished golfers to shape shots more effectively.
The Callaway Apex DCB irons is the largest and most forgiving Apex iron. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Finally, for golfers who have admired the feel of the Apex irons but need more forgiveness, Callaway is offering the Apex DCB, which stands for deep cavity back. Like the Apex and Apex Pro, it is forged from 1025 carbon steel for soft feel, has artificial intelligence-designed faces and the Tungsten Energy Core system. However, for higher-handicap golfers the Apex DCB has a wider sole and thicker topline with more offset. The lofts are stronger, but Callaway said golfers can still hit their iron shots higher into the air because the center of gravity location is so low and back, away from the cup face.
Chances are excellent that Callaway’s new Apex MB irons are not for you. But that’s okay, because while almost everyone will appreciate these muscleback blades’ looks, they were not designed for the masses.
The Apex MB irons are for golfers who stare at the flag and consider two or three different approach options, who can feel the differences in the ways irons work through the turf and want no filters to mask the sensations created at impact.
The Callaway Apex MB irons have a thin topline and little offset. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Forged from 1025 mild-carbon steel for a soft feel, these irons have a razor-thin topline, virtually no offset and a thin sole. There is a small amount of pre-wear on the leading edge to help the clubs slip in and out of the turf more easily, but that is the only concession made to forgiveness. The Apex MB has the smallest blade length of any Callaway iron.
The circular weight in the back is designed to allow fitters to adjust the swing weight without shifting the center of gravity. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The circular weight in the back of the head is not designed to be removed or adjusted by players. It allows fitters to customize the swing weight – the standard weight is 8 grams – without shifting the center of gravity. A 4-gram or a 12-gram weight can be subbed into that location depending on the player’s needs.
The Callaway Apex MB is going to be sold through custom order only, so there are no set stock shafts or grips. A wide range of steel and graphite shafts are available.
Callaway’s newest better-player cavity back iron blends hollow-bodied distance with control and shot-shaping.
Gear: Callaway X Forged CB irons Price: $200 each with Project X IO steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips Specs: Forged 1025 carbon steel body with 17-4 stainless steel face and tungsten weights Available: Oct. 29
Many elite golfers are happy to switch irons as long as designers don’t make major changes and the new clubs perform better. It’s a paradox that traps clubmakers and engineers. Pros, college players and potential club champions want their irons to look and sound a certain way, and when designers stray too far from what players have grown accustomed to seeing and hearing, many players won’t even give the new gear a chance.
With the new X Forged CB irons’ release, Callaway has tried to overcome that challenge by designing a better-player’s cavity-back iron differently.
Callaway X Forged CB irons have a classic look at address. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Looking down in the address position, good players should like what they see: a compact blade length, only a touch of offset, some pre-wear on the leading edge and a relatively narrow sole.
The body is made from soft 1025 mild-carbon steel for a soft feel. But instead of creating the X Forged CB as a one-piece forging, Callaway designed the clubs to be hollow. That allowed designers to add a piece of tungsten inside the head in the toe area that offsets the hosel’s weight. As a result, the ideal hitting area is pulled more into the center of the face.
The tungsten weight on the back of the X Forged CB irons lowers the center of gravity and allows for customization of swing weight. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Callaway also gave the X Forged CB a tungsten backplate that is attached by two screws. Golfers will not be able to remove it, but custom fitters can swap in different plates to adjust the swing weight based on a club’s length and player preferences.
The hollow-bodied construction allows the face the flex more efficiently. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
For extra ball speed, Callaway gave the X Forged CB a 17-4 stainless steel faceplate. While the hollow-bodied construction allows it to flex more efficiently, it does not produce a ball flight as high as Callaway’s cup-face designs, so accomplished players should be able to shape their shots more easily.
