Irons, man!

With news of updated irons from Callaway (available now) and Mizuno (September), these have been an exciting couple of weeks for gearheads.

By Tony Dear

Callaway Apex Ai200, Apex Ai300, and Apex TiFusion
A new Callaway Apex iron might not provoke quite the same excitement, or receive quite as much attention, as a new Titleist Pro-V1 or Vokey wedge, for instance, but for several golfers, it is a very big deal. When, in 2012, Callaway let the Ben Hogan brand go but retained the Apex name, loyal fans of the famed club might have winced hoping it would remain associated with Hogan forever, but few can complain about how Callaway has treated the club and the serious R&D dollars the company has sunk into its continued evolution.

The recent release of the new Apex Ai200 and Apex Ai300 told us a couple of important things about Callaway’s approach to dealing with, and its attitude toward, the Apex. First, the commitment to its elevated place in the iron hierarchy remains strong. After 2021’s significant release, last year’s addition of the Pro, CB, and MB models, and the aura that continues to surround the club under Callaway’s watch, we shouldn’t have doubted it perhaps, but it’s nice to have it confirmed.

Second, the change in naming the new models, from the somewhat convoluted and hard to follow (okay, it wasn’t that difficult to keep up if you’re an avid consumer of equipment news) letters/acronyms to a simple numbering system makes it easier (again, it wasn’t that tricky to know what the acronyms meant and who each model was designed for) to remember what performance characteristics we can expect from each club – basically, the lower the number the better the golfer. It also allows Callaway to introduce future models with small tweaks and changes in performance without complicating things further with more letters – the objective and design of an Apex Ai150 or Ai250 would be easier to grasp than that of an Apex (multiple letters here).

The Apex Ai200 is the better player’s model and unlike the Apex ’21, which it is replacing, has a hollow body filled with Urethane Microspheres to improve feel by dampening impact vibrations. The major difference between it and any past Apex, though, is the forged 455 Carpenter Steel face (surrounded by a 1025 forged steel body) that has been designed using Artificial Intelligence (Supercomputers rapidly processing thousands of potential designs and outcomes/scenarios to identify which works best) to create Ai Smart Face whose aim is to increase ball speed and produce a high launch but also increase the ball’s spin-rate. It’s a combination that makes a ball fly high and far, descends steeply and stop quickly on the green. That sounds pretty ideal to us.

The Ai200 certainly has a blade look about it with a shorter blade length, thinner topline and narrower sole than most of its players/distance competitors.
An MIM weighting system optimizes the Center of Gravity (CG) location, and an adjustable backweight allows fitters to customize the feel and weight you prefer.
Because its technological characteristics are much the same as that of its sibling. there’s not an awful lot to say about the Ai300 other than it replaces the Apex DCB and that its larger footprint and extra offset make it easier to hit and thus the model is designed for game-improvers. That said, it is an extremely sophisticated, sleek-looking game-improvement iron so better, perhaps, in the hands of a 16-handicapper than a 25-handicapper. It is also designed to launch a little higher than the Ai200.

Ai200
$200/club (4-GW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 21˚ , 7-iron – 30˚ , PW – 43˚
Shafts – True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid 100 (steel), UST Mamiya HDC Recoil Dart 80 (graphite)
Right and left-hand
Available on callawaygolf.com now or at retail now

Ai300
$200/club (4-GW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 20˚ , 7-iron – 29˚ , PW – 42˚
Shafts – True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid 90 (steel), UST Mamiya HDC Recoil Dart 70 (graphite)
Right and left-hand
Available on callawaygolf.com now or at retail now

For the Apex TiFusion, which it boldly says represents an industry first, Callaway uses a process it calls ‘brazed titanium’ to connect a titanium face to a 455 steel body. Titanium has been used for irons before but without a great deal of success. However, Callaway says the new brazing method and forged Titanium Ai Smart Face will allow the metal’s superior performance characteristics (thinner face = greater face-flexing = more ball-speed) to create a club that performs “like a 2-piece iron with the consistency of single-piece, forged muscleback”. The hollow body contains Urethane Microspheres to improve feel.

$300/club (4-GW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 21˚ , 7-iron – 30.5˚ , PW – 43˚
Shafts – True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid 115 Gunmetal (steel), Mitsubishi MMT 80 (graphite)
Right and left-hand
Available on callawaygolf.com now or at retail starting now

Mizuno JPX 925 Hot Metal, Hot Metal Pro, Hot Metal HL

What were we saying about convoluted, hard-to-remember names? Okay, the three new Mizuno models might have rather elaborate, disparate IDs, but we are not going to judge them for that, right?

The success of Mizuno’s JPX irons has laid to waste the theory it can only make forged blades and musclebacks, attracting both elite players and those looking for some GI forgiveness.

It wasn’t always so, however. Before Brooks Koepka started winning majors with them, the early JPX irons were roundly dismissed, and it wasn’t until Hot Metal hit its stride that they were taken seriously and began significantly contributing to Mizuno’s reputation. These new models will continue the trend as they seek to make it easier for players to hit higher, longer approaches.

The JPX 925 is cast using Nickel Chromoly 4335+ which, as we know from the past, is an extremely strong alloy (stronger than Mizuno’s standard Chromoly) first introduced in the JPX 923 in 2022. The stronger the Chromoly gets the thinner Mizuno can make certain parts of the clubface which makes it flex more creating greater ball speeds.

The new JPX 925 has a relatively ‘thick’ center 2.4mm-wide – 0.35mm thicker than that of the JPX923, but the areas around that tiny, central spot have a thickness of just 1.2mm and are referred to as ‘flex zones’. Mizuno calls this distinction in thickness CORTECH and, in conjunction with the Contour Ellipse face, it boosts ball speed from the very center and enables the whole face to flex more meaning speed is retained with off-center strikes.

The 4-7 irons also have internal, 11-gram tungsten weights which, when positioned forward and low (yes, low – Mizuno seeks not to reduce spin to a point where it becomes excessive and loses the golfer any amount of control), will help you hit higher-launching irons that descend more steeply and, thus, stop quicker.
Sound and feel are improved by ribs positioned under the topline stiffening that part of the clubhead and a soundbar in the cavity. In combination, they produce the sort of frequencies Mizuno is going for.

 

The sole also features Variable Thickness to increase the amount the face flexes.

Just like last time, the Hot Metal family also includes Pro and HL models for both budding Koepkas and golfers who need help getting the ball in the air. The tech in the Pro and HL is the same as in the standard version, but while the Pro has a shorter blade length, thinner topline, and less offset, the HL has a thicker topline, more offset and weaker lofts to help players hit the ball higher.

JPX 925 Hot Metal
$150/club (4-SW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 19˚ , 7-iron – 28˚ , PW – 42˚
Shafts – Nippon N.S. Pro 950 NEO (steel); UST Recoil Dart ESX (graphite)
Right and left-hand
Available at mizunogolf.com from September 5th, and at retail from September 19th

JPX 925 Hot Metal Pro
$150/club (4-GW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 19˚ , 7-iron – 28˚ , PW – 42˚
Shafts – Dynamic Gold 105 (steel); Mitsubishi MMT (graphite)
Right and left-hand
Available at mizunogolf.com from September 5th, and at retail from September 19th

JPX 925 Hot Metal HL
$150/club (4-SW)
Lofts – 4-iron – 22˚ , 7-iron – 31˚ , PW – 45˚
Shafts – Dynamic Gold 95 (steel); UST Recoil Dart ESX (graphite).
Right-hand only
Available at mizunogolf.com from September 5th, and at retail from September 19th

 

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